Modding "The Party" (aeromods on 2011 Ford Fiesta S sedan)

[basjoos]

Originally Posted by Cd

On the topic again of "scooping" critters up versus hitting them, years ago when the Lamborghini Diablo first came out, I remember a journalist making the observation that despite driving on a warm summer night, the car did not have the usual splatterings of bugs on the windshield due to the cars sloped front end. The bugs just flew over the car.

I get the same thing with my car. No bug splats on the front bumper and windshield except for the occasional big beetle. Also a greatly reduced accumulation of dirt, grime, and salt from road spray thrown up by vehicles driving ahead of me on a wet road.

To reduce the possibility of cranial damage in a collision between a human and a car with a sloped nose, just cover the hood with a soft, flexible material similar to that on today's dashboards, which was done to prevent similar cranial damage to the front seat occupants by impact with the metal dashboards found on older cars.

[Sven7]

Or cover the bumper and hood in long spikes to make sure any victims die immediately.

[RiderofBikes]

Originally Posted by Sven7

Or cover the bumper and hood in long spikes to make sure any victims die immediately.

[RiderofBikes]

Haha, a nice topic change the hardcore aero idea mods.
But, does anyone have any input on certain aftermarket (Wide body) front ends?? Pros/cons? I know the example image is a bit complex for most and not the most reasonable thing to do to ones car based on $$$...

But using an already made piece as a template, and finishing idea(s). Either for smoothing a certain area compared to DIY for either function and especially looks of finished product...


Like in this case: Redoing the front for more of Tapered Front w/Adjustable Air vent? as well with Full Front Wheel Skirts?


^^^looks like this would give enough side space for skirts, and free wheel movement. (keeping the stock wheel track width, no wheel spacers)

OF COURSE I realize something like this would add to overall CdA and potentially increase drag more than worth thinking about. Would front wheel skirts cause an increased turbulance affect inside the open wheel housing and increase drag even further?


I had also thought of wheel skirts with the rear section cut out like this...
(again... Keeping the same wheel track width)



Comments, Pros/Cons you guys might see that i might not of thought of?

[Sven7]

Those things make frontal area skyrocket and allow large pockets of turbulence to form behind them. There's a reason people's front wheel skirts are fitted tightly to the car- if they stick out into the airflow they may negate aero gains or even hurt FE. The only reason to have monstrous flares, covered or not, is to run monstrously wide wheels legally (not protruding from the bodywork). Rally cars have to legally drive from stage to stage so they must comply with local laws. And of course, their main goals are handling and acceleration, not top speed or fuel economy.

[landsailor]

Have had a 2 foot nose on my Mazda pickup for the last four years. Shape modeled after the research on ideal front shape for starting attached air flow. No bug scrubbing. Fully ducted to radiator and A/C cooler. Low Tech "composite" construction a la Basjoos. Plywood bucks. Aluminum cage covered in ABS. It nicely survived (5mph) with a grey hair in Ford Vic who slammed brakes on. Composite front end absorbed collision energy with no damage to the Vic and none to nose. Assume it flexed and absorbed collision energy.

Full block winter, variable block summer based on scan gage II. Significant mpg increases at highway speeds that correlate with engine sweet spot of 2200-2400 rpm's. No human nor beast scoops yet. All bird encounters that start at nose level result in laminar travel up over nose, hood, roof. and canopy. Rearview mirror shows them fluttering away unharmed.

One movie savvy gal at the local Dairy Snack labeled it Mad Max, a complement. Unintended benefit: intersection shock on other drivers, puzzlement, or intimidation. Often get to go first in a 4-way stop intersection when I would be normally in last of the "rotation".

Will post pic's when I figure out how.

[RiderofBikes]

Originally Posted by Sven7

Those things make frontal area skyrocket and allow large pockets of turbulence to form behind them.

There's a reason people's front wheel skirts are fitted tightly to the car- if they stick out into the airflow they may negate aero gains or even hurt FE.

Yeah, that's what I was thinking too but never hurts to ask. wasn't entirely sure about front wheel skirts and the distance between them if it was able to match the body as well, or just stick with the sleek hinged skirts everyone else has already been doing. Starting to work on them now, gathering ideas, rough drafts/parts list, etc.

"if it ain't broke don't fix it" lol, damn my quest to do everything against "rule of thumb"...

Maybe working on front or Rear bellypan today/tomorrow. Calling some shops around see if any have 4x8 coroplast available.

Any ideas about certain thin wood sheets? In question: 1/4" sheet of 3-ply plywood, MDF/partical board out of question. It's ok if its just temporary for now. I know well enough water is bad, but itll be under the car. Also with that large of piece, adding to aero efficiency should still help even with the increase equivalent of a small speaker box. ~10-15lbs, if that... Used mainly for the front for durability at this time. A starting point for now, and a proper template to transfer to a nice shiny piece of coroplast later on

[RiderofBikes]

K so i Finally found Coroplast in my area. After 7-8 calls later i wound up driving only 1.3mi to pick it up! haha, what a trip! I scrapped the wood idea and went head first into it this past monday.

Front and Rear underbellies.

All my local shops were busy so couldnt buy out a lift for an hour... Back was killing me for a couple days after. It's cool tho, im young enough to take the beating as everyone says! Must of been in and out under the car hundreds of times.


I'm forgetful sometimes and difficult with myself, and it just so happens i couldnt get into the groove that morning and remember everything i needed so trip after trip. It painstakingly was finished ...after 4 hrs...



Anyways, just a few details:

Simple Woodstock cutouts were placed behind the stock airdam,
Screwed through to hold in place. (1/2" thick x 3" wide)
Leaving roughly ~1/2" of room from the bottom line of dam.

Cut the Coro to length for Front section.
36" deep, Airdam width area 48", and for wheel opening/swingarm, no wider than 31" wide all the way back!
(trimmed panel for open lock to lock wheel movement and Contour to Airdam shape)


Screwed panel to the bottom of woodstock to match the airdam cutoff.


Undid the 2 small braces from frame to engine cross-bar. (Punched holes through Coro to match bolt holes for Braces, "sandwich" method)
Now that the end points were fastened, there was alot of panel movement in the middle, So... To reduce any panel movement.:


Cut Woodstock length to match inside distance of the Plastic Wheel Well Panels.
Was rubbing against engine block, so I cut a groove in the Stock to prevent any Hazards!
Fastened the Piece and screwed into place.

(Once in place, there was about 1" gap from panel)

"Stroke of genius", Yes... Simple fix, just use Spacers to fill in the gap!(used this concept to Temp fix 2 Motor mounts on previous car) But where to find spacers without running to store?


Used those extra Chinese Sockets with large enough holes to run a screw through into the wood. Panel Good and SOLID now.



Time for the Rear:
Used remaining 4'x8' sheet, cut off about 9" to shorten the length a bit.
4' width leaves about 1" or so between each tire, so no trimming was needed!

Cut out 2"x2"x4" woodstock/secured by woods screw+washer to be used for Anchor point (1/3 of distance from bumper to axle mounting points)


Cut small slits on the rear section(support pieces) on inside of mold.
Screwed down(Later redone with zip-ties)

Screwed Panel to Anchor Point(with its decreased distance to the ground, also acts as a bend point and to clear the Muffler)

The Rear Torsion Beam axle is a bit funky, and is the Lowest protruding object underneath the car, period. I was running out of time, and blasted through this... No where else was there an attach point available, and didnt have time to construct one either. So...

I cut the panel to reach the Front of the Beam, and ran Zip-ties around it "bonding" it with this movable part...

IT works and doesn't show any signs of sagging. It just simply bends/travels along freely with the Beam. Will figure out a better solution to this, next time im in the mood for pain again....


New art to go along with the new look of the car too.



EDIT: Pics are in!

[RiderofBikes]

Update. been almost 2 weeks since the mod, and havent been able to drive it much on account of the gf... I have my 1982 gs1100 to hold me over which i will be starting a new thread about its fairings.

Anyways, when i did last drive it, car felt great, coasted a bit better. and still had no issues with parachuting or anything, Now, reading through some more threads. I see slight potential if i add tabs to the belly, and turn it into a Diffuser. I know the angle of the belly could be a bit too steep to really have any positive gain with added fins, but maybe it could?
With the gf driving it more frequently, it couldn't hurt. She's learning and trying the whole drive smoother thing, but tends to get speedy now and then still which puts a damper on progress.

[Sven7]

Looks good. In for pictures of the new "paint" job!

If you redo the rear pan it appears you should aim for a 4* angle for maximum gains. Any angle over about 7* on a notchback will hurt efficiency (unless the rear window has attached flow).

It'll be interesting to see how the wood holds up. I would have sealed it first, but I am not familiar with your weather down in MO.