Air Curtain

[dremd]

Yes, videos are huge, 4 10 minute 720p videos + a dozen stills.
I probably should have uploaded smaller versions, but I like to have the whole video up on YouTube, that way anybody can see it all.

Sorry to disappoint, but I had to leave home and will not be able to post links until I get back.
Posted from iPad 3G

Edit: I hurried up with testing since I was about to install side skirts. They might help some, but they are mostly there to cover a huge dent that will be visable in videos.

[mcrews]

tic toc

[dremd]

Note for those in countries that don't drive on the right side of the Road, I do drive on the right side of the road (please watch out for me if I travel to your country) So Drivers side is "Left" and Passengers side is "right" in this post.

Speeds: side roads 35MPH Pulse, 20 MPH Glide (as per SGII) Main road 55 mph Cruise then glide down overpass to turns +- 1 MPH for all videos except end of 55 mph glide.


Base Drivers Side

Drivers side inner fender well


Passangers side

Modified Passengers side inner fender well (using Factory parts) (photo is upside down)


Drivers Side Setup 1


Drivers Side video 1

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NiqIH2nwQPg

Drivers Side Setup 2


Drivers side Video 2

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7z89xejoRu0

Passangers side Setup 1

Passengers side side Video 1

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yGhxuyupfVk

Passangers side Setup 2


Passengers side side Video 2

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m1-HysjZzpg

Let me know what I screwed up, could have done better, etc. This is my first tuft test.

I have my Ideas on results, but am not going to state them here YET (as not to taint your opinions of the results).

[Cd]

Well done ! That camera is rock solid !

I couldn't see a difference. Just a suggestion, but perhaps an A-B test from the low vantage point that you had in the middle post. I would speculate that a good place to see a change in the turbulence around the wheels would be just past the wheel on the EDIT : door ( where you had the camera mounted in the middle picture ) Several short 2.5" - 3" tufts mounted on the door and spaced with enough room to not get tangled together would show the turbulence change better than a few long ones.

Thanks for taking the time to do this test !

One more thing : can we get a picture of the front of the car after the modification ?

[dremd]

Side vent in center of frame is ducted to intercooler, which then dumps its heated air out of the vents pictured in the my wheel well. From the factory the air just had to make its way out of the cracks, this mod pulls intake air temps down about 5f closer to ambient.
Trailer hitch imprint is aftermarket and unintentional.



That Camera is Awesome it is a GoPro Motorsports Hero 1080p I had it in lower quality 720p, which is nice, because it shots super wide, which helps when there is no view finger.
Motorsport Racing On Board Camera: HD Motorsports HERO
I had a golden opportunity to be a Reseller of them and passed it up, big mistake.

I'm not following you on the tuft/ camera placement, maybe a paint over one of my pics?

P.S. Here is the mod that bumped up testing (here test fit in dark) hopefully it fills the wake behind the front wheel a little, but it is mainly for appearance.

[Floordford]

dremd: seems like it wasn't really effective. As a side suggestion, yellow string might be more visible. Im glad you made an effort to try though.

[HighMPG]

Forget the curtains i know covers are way better!

[Arragonis]

Originally Posted by dremd

Note for those in countries that don't drive on the right side of the Road, I do drive on the right side of the road (please watch out for me if I travel to your country) So Drivers side is "Left" and Passengers side is "right" in this post.

Left and Right are universal though (except for Mrs A...), so you could use those terms

My Fabia had that grill in the front, left wheel well for the IC. It also had a vent in the bumper ahead of the wheel well but I think that was for looks.

[autogyro]

Aaahhh...REAL SCIENCE! Excellent! It bears out what the simulations show. The front of the tires are relatively clean, but the upper rear is very turbulent (vorticene?). I doubt any "air curtain" would be able to hold itself together at that location.
The combined velocities of the oncoming airstream added to the reverse direction motion of the tire circumference result in large negative pressures. Nature loves to fill in vacuums with vortices.
The idea, somehow, is to get positive, or at least neutral pressure at that spot.

[dremd]

I agree with everything above.

I'm going to say my vent is useless as an air curtain, that said, this does not rule out using a larger vent (look at front of M1) to have some actual effect.