Quote:
Originally Posted by cfg83
aerohead -
Since I think most cars spend the majority of their time above 30 MPH, would it be safe to say that aero-mods "always help", but that the return, the "bang for the buck", is better above 35 MPH? I keep thinking there's an "economy curve" that would slope up and apex around 55 MPH, and then start to slope down with diminishing returns. Orrrrrrrrr, would the apex of the curve change as a function of the Cd (aka basjoos)? Kind of a BSFC for each Cd.
CarloSW2
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I think the low speeds are a"wash" for aero,and emphasize to people that I meet, that my mods are virtually useless around town.So yeah,I think they really begin to shine at the higher velocities.------------------ The thing about the "apex" is that as one continued to streamline towards the ultimate,say Cd0.11-12.that you could push that curve up,forestalling the effects of the air.---------- The whole premise of CAR and DRIVER's "Crisis-Fighter-Pinto" was,leave the 70-mph speed-limit alone,and streamline the cars so the achieve the same mpg at 70,they then achieved at 55.----------------------- With the T-100,I've got data from 45-mph(72km/h),to 80 mph(129km/h),and the speed/mpg plot is pretty linear.The best mpg is at 72 km/h (39-mpg),it falls to (36.5 mph) at 88 km/h,and by 120 km/h she's down to 32-mpg.The jump to 129km/h costs a whole mpg.It's not legal to test at higher speeds so I'm stuck.Best mpg should occur in the 35-40 mph range (56-64 km/h) but it's not safe for me to attempt steady-speed driving at those kinds of velocities to check mpg ( no scan-gauge!).These lower speeds will always remain the domain for best mpg but I can't imagine the highway motorist surrendering to such speeds.So in the meantime,the mods will help.