Aeromodability of a VW Bug?

[kach22i]

Rehinging or replacing the doors sadly takes all the beautiful simplicity out of the original concept Tyler came up with. It can be done, just I'm not the man to do it. I have a hard enough time doing regular maintenance on my vehicles.

Frank Lee, great example and picture. I'll have to take a closer look at the hinges on that type of car next summer at all of the car shows I go to.

[Sven7]

OK. So watch this video, and keep an eye on the front wheels. It says the beam is narrowed 6", so the wheels are inset that much. See how that helps so the tires don't rub, even when the thing is almost literally lowered to the ground?


Well, you may say to yourself that's all well and good, but what about the giant fenders that now stick out farther than the wheels? I challenge you to narrow the fenders enough so they are juuuuust wide enough for the wheels. That way you get the drag reduction and may not rub as much. If you're modifying them anyway you can cut out any parts that may end up rubbing, and put on front wheel skirts where the gaps are.

[video]

[kach22i]

That poor car.

[Sven7]

I love it

You'll hate what I've got planned for my F100...

[Quasimoto]

I came across these when looking for VW parts. Check it out!

Wings

[kach22i]

Originally Posted by Quasimoto

I came across these when looking for VW parts. Check it out!

Wings

Interesting, and they don't seem to be making any claims about increasing the mpg.

That wing might be better placed above the window to lengthen the car's body.

[UFO]

Originally Posted by Quasimoto

I came across these when looking for VW parts. Check it out!

Wings

Very Nice! That's just the thing I want to adapt to my New Beetle.

[Frank Lee]

Originally Posted by kach22i

Interesting, and they don't seem to be making any claims about increasing the mpg.

That wing might be better placed above the window to lengthen the car's body.

They are positioned correctly in the pics.

[Frank Lee]

Frank, those cars have completely different hinge mechanisms. The American car doors with C shaped hinge arms move out as they rotate, but Beetle hinges rotate the door literally using the hinge pin as the axis. If you have any 1:24 scale car models lying around they usually use the C arm type hinge. It allows a larger radius for the door to open on so it can clear the fabulous body forms we see on those cars.

Wrong. The only purpose of the C arm is to allow the entire hinge to be internal vs hanging outside like the VW's; cosmetics and perhaps a lil bit of aero.

[brucepick]

I think this part of this thread should be moved over to the Humor forum. IMHO.

As for aeromodding a bug, it seems to be true that you can improve any car's aero. But boy, the old bug (as a class) has a lot going against it. Big bulges sticking out just about everywhere, and none of them where you want them, except maybe the nose.

The OP ( in post #1) was interested in building a whole new body on the basic chassis or floor pan. Seems like a worthwhile pursuit for someone with the skills. Just my .02.