Aeromods for 2001 VW Beetle - Page 2 - Fuel Economy, Hypermiling, EcoModding News and Forum

bdufur · 12-03-2011, 02:37 AM

Way to go Ernie!

http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthrea...etle-8412.html

aerohead · 12-06-2011, 06:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bdufur

Based on the tear-drop concept, it does appear that DieselBeetle's kammback design is probably the way for me to go.

Any suggestions from the peanut gallery are appreciated before I get out there with the coroplast and cold beer!

http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthrea...ack-17012.html

bdufur,I recommend you use the Aerodynamic Streamlining Template' as shown in its thread.
If you want to cheat half-way,you could mimic the AUDI TT roofline and include a spoiler like the TT employs.The TT's roof is also too steep,however its spoiler gives the flow a place to re-attach too,helping both drag and lift.
The Beetle roof is so steep,it makes it very hard to 'fix.'
You'll notice the new,New Beetle has a cut down and stretched out roof.It is still too fast,but is an improvement.

bdufur · 12-09-2011, 12:20 PM

Thanks Aerohead, I'll check that out! If you find an easy pic of the Audi TT roofline to post, that will help out too. I'll post a pic of the New, NEW Beetle this week too - it does have a more flattened out roofline...

bdufur · 12-09-2011, 12:53 PM

Here's my first try at mocking up the Aerodynamic Streamlining Template on the New Beetle. Does this look right to you all? Can't believe how much tail that car would need!

Might be able to move the template forward a scootch -- but shows what a challenge this could be.

UFO · 12-09-2011, 01:08 PM

Yes, the NB is quite tall, it not only has a large frontal area, the Cd is high as well. Lots of room for improvement though!

bdufur · 12-09-2011, 01:23 PM

I saw one of these Fits last night after my son's Xmas concert at school. Interesting to compare the rear shape of the New Beetle w/ a Honda Fit. Clean break away lines on the Fit. Similar to the Kammback approach.

Here's a weird image of them on top of each other for comparison.

The Fit is Red. The VW Beetle is black. Gets me leaning more towards a kammback design that abruptly stops short of the rear bumper area.

Don't reckon I'll be doing a 15 foot boat tail anytime soon!

kach22i · 12-09-2011, 11:42 PM

Post #7 assumes it is a factory wing, that maybe, but compared to the one I found near our local library it looks to be mounted higher (+1").

This VW Bug wing seems to have a few similarities to my own little experiment. I'd sure like to see a wind-tunnel of this to see how the gaps are contributing.

Automobile pictures by kach22i - Photobucket

To my eyes, this is the nicest wing/spoiler for this year/model.

Sven7 · 12-10-2011, 12:01 AM

Post 7 looks factory to me. Also look at the speed variable spoilesr on the Turbos. I think TT's had em too. They were on the top of the rear window. Maybe worth looking into

TT as requested

heres a little bit of a spoiler

NB

bdufur · 12-10-2011, 01:13 PM

Kach22i - I obviously have a lot to learn about aeroflow - I would have guessed that that little spoiler on the black VW would be way too small to do much good, and way too low down - so I appreciate you stretching my brain to comprehend all of this --- and thanks to Sven7 for the great diagrams!

Sven7 · 12-10-2011, 02:33 PM

Yeah, I honestly doubt that spoiler is doing much actual good. It's so far out of the windstream it's actually just affecting the eddies behind the car. That's why when VW wanted to keep their cars on the road at high speeds they used ones like the Turbo one I posted.

Then you have the Beetle RSI with its Fast and Furious type spoiler (which actually looks pretty good). It seems to reach out enough that it might help with downforce, like Porsche's whale tails did.