2018 Jeep Wrangler spied looking more aerodynamic

[freebeard]

I used to work at a Jeep dealer. I absosmurfly loathe Jeep people. The Jeep (Wrangler, not some rebadged other for mass sales) is the absolute best vehicle for its purpose, which no one at all has any real need to have performed.

Did it make you blue?

So basically Jeeps are good vehicles happening to bad people?

[cRiPpLe_rOoStEr]

Originally Posted by adam728

Better? The current Wranglers are basically a 50/50 weight distribution.

But placing the engine closer to the center of the vehicle would still improve stability.

[freebeard]

T'other way round. Mid-engined cars turn more readily, cars with more weight at the ends ride better.

...on the highway anyway, it may be different creeping over rocks.

[aerohead]

Originally Posted by cRiPpLe_rOoStEr

Though aerodynamics are the least concern of a Wrangler buyer, moving the engine a few inches back in order to get some clearance for a more aerodynamic front clip would also lead to another benefit as it would improve stability due to the weight bias better distributed between the axles.

The whole front end can be modified by a padded bra (falsy).
Sculpt a radius'd nose out of contact cement-joined urethane foam blocks (discarded foam sofa cushions) with an electric carving knife,covered by a tailored and sewn,Naughahyde cover,attached to the nose in identical fashion as an ordinary automotive bra.
(you can actually buy a low-cost commercially produced bra and harvest all the attachment pieces from it to sew onto the new unit.
The added weight will be meaningless.
You might need testosterone replacement therapy though.

[freebeard]

Pedestrian friendly.

[cRiPpLe_rOoStEr]

As long as it doesn't affect its approach angle, might be a good idea.

[The Other Andy]

I really like the Wrangler. I have no need for it, but I like it anyway and could see myself owning one.

From what I've seen around the web, the next model will have a more steeply raked windshield (the main takeaway from these photos) as well as a front end that angles back towards the hood ( \ ).

Although I haven't read anything to this effect, they could probably fill in some of the space between the top of the front bumper and the wheel wells.

Originally Posted by Fat Charlie

Wrangler, template. Template, Wrangler.



And that's about as far as this conversation's going to get.

I used to work at a Jeep dealer. I absosmurfly loathe Jeep people. The Jeep (Wrangler, not some rebadged other for mass sales) is the absolute best vehicle for its purpose, which no one at all has any real need to have performed.

I wonder how much benefit that top has at highway speed. Is there a hardtop version?

[aerohead]

I held a protractor up to the image and measured roughly 30-degrees down-slope.
This would put the flow near the bi-stable condition which Hucho warns us about.The flow alternates instantly between a fastback wake and squareback wake,causing a booming turbulence kinda like a von Karmann vortex street behind a singing wire.
You can see the drag implications with Hucho's VW Golf-Rabbit research

[Hersbird]

That reminds me of the R-pod campers which are trying to be teardrops but with full interior height. Some people seem to get no benifit mpg compared to their previous traditional travel trailers. Then R-pod added a spoiler to lessen the slope and I suppose, detach the air. It seemed to help but to me the design doesn't seem worth the loos of room for little to no improvement in mpg.
r-pod Airflow - R-pod Owners Forum - Page 1

[aerohead]

Fachsenfeld (Kamm) tested a trailer similar to the r-pod.

We have no idea what the Cd of a tow vehicle-trailer combo is though (and this would also depend on the tow vehicle itself.
With some body side camber,a 'tail-less' tailer has lower drag

If we give it the body side camber,and loft the roof up to Kamm's roofline we get rewarded

Adding more tail, rounding the edges,boat-tailing,and adding a diffuser would drop it even further



But we still don't know what the tow vehicle/trailer combo numbers are.
Too bad manufacturers aren't required to publish their aerodynamic 'R-Factors.'