Alternative to wheel spats and smooth wheel covers?

[RandomFact314]

I think its a awesome idea, have the front hooked on from the inside, something that does not spin but turns with the wheel, like the brake caliper for example? and I think Wheel skirts for the rear would still be good... But this way there is no need for tring to find a solution to front wheel skirts and you can just have those turn with left or right with the wheel

[Deezler]

I like this idea. A lot of fabrication to get it right though.

[cfg83]

Hello -

Similar to the wheel spinners, the Taxi "Cap-Ads" are an option :

Smooth rims?

Originally Posted by cfg83

ai_vin -



Oh yeah, I've considered those, but I think they are very pri$ey :

CapAds not rotating wheel cover - No non not rotating advertising media hubcap

This is actually the "effect" I wanted to create with my old SC2 back in the 1990's. I wanted to make it look like my car was "floating" over the road.

Because you are adding a heavy "weight" to the outside of the wheel (at least that's how I *think* it works), I suspect that the driving characteristics change.

...

By design, they use a weight to try to keep the image oriented. But they are also assuming the image does not extend past the wheel.

CarloSW2

[Rokeby]

Although made in different posts, all the parts for what seems to be
workable front wheel/fender skirts have been mentioned:

1. A non-spinning wheel disc with a center-point bearing attached to the
wheel for outside the wheel , non-permeable support and centering. But
instead of having the rough diameter of the wheel, it would be slightly
larger than the diameter of the tire, and even be rolled slightly
inward around the outer edge of the tire. The disc would be cut off on a
chord at the level of the rocker panels.

2. The wheel disc would also be attached to the spindle with three braces
that wrap over and behind the tire/wheel, one at the top, and two at
~+/-120 deg from the top one.

3. A flexible membrane stretched across the wheel opening.

In this way, as the wheel is turned side to side in tight turns, the non-
spinning disc contacts and stretches the whole length of the membrane.
Anti-turning force from the membrane against the wheel would be
minimized.

[EDIT: Small diameter rollers affixed to the inside of the disc might be
needed to keep from side loading the center bearing as the disc pushes
out against the membrane in turns. This is getting complicated.]

This I think, just might do the trick.

Of course, removing the rig to change a tire would be the devil's own
work!

[Deezler]

I think this idea has come up before. But what about a ring of brushes surrounding the front wheels, similar to what some busses and trucks use to cut down on rain spray?

McMaster-Carr has some strip brushes with a flexible backing. I still wonder how well they would conform to a wheel arch, though.

McMaster-Carr

[xecute]

Front spats are the next big thing. There are two parts to Fords 1983 Probe IV set up, and a lot of people have missed the details on that landmark system because it wasn't seen unclothed for many years.

Fords 1983 Probe IV show car used a 75% total coverage plastic inner liner hooked onto the front wheel spindle. On front drive cars which don't have fully floating axles, they are little more work to hook up, but not a problem. The Mac Pherson strut or Wishbone spindel will work as a solid mount.

The silver 0.152 cd Probe IV had the standard plastic spat cover over the front, and the plastic liner inside stopped the 16" alloy wheels and tire combo rubbing the polycarbinate outer entirely, so it was probably the smartest system around. There are a few photos of the kit dissambled on the net, in front of a Pacakard sign in some storage house, and it is showing the driver side shroud removed, and the plastic inner liner. Epic stuff.

The system got down to the 0.137 cd Probe V in 1985.

I'm using it on my Mustang soon. The front wheel has to be really wide on mine to test for aquaplaning, so I use 240/45 415's and a very basic Polycarbonate cover on the outside surface, the next size up 255 /45 415 wheel to gain a 10 mm 0.394" running clearance and that allows the whole wheel to turn without the tire hitting air and creating the 0.8 cd a rolling wheel can generate.

A rolling wheel conver is the differernce between the 0.22 and 0.15, and can be 40% or more of the air drag reduction.

[xecute]

This is the system, which has two parts, A and B

http://i1215.photobucket.com/albums/...cute6/FP41.jpg



http://i1215.photobucket.com/albums/...cute6/FP42.jpg

[xecute]

Stuck for idea, look at these Spat Mobiles

Latest update was Mar 26, 2013 at 4:25am

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