Aerocaps are alive and well in China (pickup truck aero shells)

[niky]

"Aero" style caps are available for several models here in Asia. And the quality is generally good enough to last for several years (or over a decade, maybe?) before the rubber seals start to leak.

They're not as popular as the straight caps, though... which are more useful.

[aerohead]

Originally Posted by Xist

I wonder how much windtunnels cost in China.

I'm not sure about cost,but China has many leading world-class laboratories.American P.hDs (two I know personally)are traveling to China for advanced training.
There is at least one low-speed wind tunnel over there.They are researching high-speed rail with it.
Their fuel economy requirements are too stringent for many US automakers products and they cannot be imported or produced.
After my experience with Chinese in college, I wouldn't sell them short.

[freebeard]

No taper in plan = not an aerocap.

[serialk11r]

Originally Posted by Xist

I really like my Android!

Probably also made in China? Mine is haha.

Apple sucks for the record. Also if you want to talk "eco friendly", those giant hunks of billet aluminum they use for their computers are probably as bad as it gets.

[Sven7]

Man, if they styled it nicely like Bondo's cap it would seem to be a decent product! Now, though, it makes your Ram look like a Ssangyong.

[bondo]

Originally Posted by Sven7

Man, if they styled it nicely like Bondo's cap it would seem to be a decent product! Now, though, it makes your Ram look like a Ssangyong.

Thanks Sven7 for the kind words. Coming from someone like you who works in automotive design, that is a compliment indeed.

The influence of the Asian culture always has a bit of flair to it in automotive design. One design aspect of the far east aerocaps is the fact that they recessed the surface of the roof to allow for a space to put the third brake light into. This breaks up the most important surface of an aerocap, the top. Also, by doing this, it diminishes the angle of the rear window which reduces the rear visibility.

Maybe aerohead could chime in and verify that the step down to a recessed top of the Chinese aerocap may hurt the aerodynamics of it. I'd say it probably does. As far as quality of the Chinese aerocaps, I feel they are quality made as Aerohead implies in his earlier post.

Bondo

[serialk11r]

Originally Posted by bondo

Maybe aerohead could chime in and verify that the step down to a recessed top of the Chinese aerocap may hurt the aerodynamics of it. I'd say it probably does. As far as quality of the Chinese aerocaps, I feel they are quality made as Aerohead implies in his earlier post.

I would guess that it does just based on general principle, but the recess is pretty shallow so it may not hurt that much. If you think about it, your typical sedan has a much bigger pocket of turbulent flow sitting over the rear window, but they compare pretty well to say fastbacks or hatchbacks (like the Prius or Audi A7 hatchback, sloping down significantly) in terms of drag.

[freebeard]

Not to name-drop, but I was standing next to the T-100 as aerohead described how the air just skips over his recessed rear window. Did the videos ever get posted?

Bumps seem to be worse, but golf balls have dimples; so who knows?

[SlideWRX]

Originally Posted by aerohead

Their fuel economy requirements are too stringent for many US automakers products and they cannot be imported or produced.

That can't be true; I know the Jeep Grand Cherokee is sold over there. A very 'not stringent' Fuel economy case. They use a 2.99~ liter engine because anything 3.0 liters or higher has a serious tax penalty. In the US, the smallest gas engine available is 3.6l.

The government simply doesn't allow importing large volumes of vehicles, to encourage local manufacturing. Most of the major automotive companies have set up local factories to produce/sell there.

[ChazInMT]

The only thing I take issue with is the non raidused corners. It looks like the top shape is good. Unless the box has a plan taper, I`m not so sure a plan taper on the cap wouldn`t be a wash in drag reduction. So, if they only radiused the edge, it would be pretty ideal aero wise.