Audi A4 front end aero question

[SmellyCat]

What do you think of this front end of a 2003 Audi A4? Is it odd that it tapers to the bumper? Seems like an air dam is needed. What do you think?

[mpg_numbers_guy]

I would think an air dam would benefit any vehicle unless it was already close to the ground or had a really smooth underbody. Seems like it would benefit from a grille block since it has 2 appearingly large grilles. But then again I'm a hypermileing/ecomodding noob myself; most of what I know has been gained simply from reading this site and others.

[freebeard]

What year is it? Look to see what Audi may have done since.

Keeping air out from under the bottom is generally good, but Audi builds for the broadest application. I'll bet it's got a fairly good bellypan, that obviates the need for more airdam.

Any airdam will bring attendant pain, it's a question of what you can put up with. My limit is grinding on 10% of bump strips.

It also depends on the use case. Deep snow? Gravel driveways?

[SmellyCat]

Free beard, it's a 2003 Audi A4. Yes, the engine has a tight smooth belly pan that is beautiful and a bit of a pain to remove for oil changes. It does tell me instant Mpg on the dash which is nice. The newer Audi,s do have a more Airdam looking front end. I will stop at the dealer one day to see what they have under it. On thing I like about airdams is if a little dog runs in front of me, it will often bounce the little critter out of the way and not let me squash him.

[SmellyCat]

2003 vs 2018

[SmellyCat]

This the 2003.

[kach22i]

The post below is from 2013 in an Audi forum.

Post #30
undercarriage Plastic Shields under driver seat, NOT belly pan

Below is the best picture I could find of the RS4 under body for comparison.

Letting some air in under the car with such an extensive belly pan I'm guessing is alright. Then again, I'm not the one doing the wind tunnel testing.

Audi Climatic Wind Tunnel Detailed
https://www.autoevolution.com/news/a...led-35658.html

Located at Audi's huge facility complex in Ingolstadt, the Wind Tunnel Center has been at the center of car development for the four-ring branded cars for years (or, to be more precise, since 2008). What makes this wind tunnel a little more special than the other ones used by the majority of the car makers is the fact that it can simulate any kind of weather you can think of.

[Vman455]

Audi, like every other manufacturer, uses a combination of air dams and closeout panels. Here's the front of the 2018 S5:



This setup is similar to the Honda Clarity PHEV, which also uses a small central air dam.

[freebeard]

There ya go.

On thing I like about airdams is if a little dog runs in front of me, it will often bounce the little critter out of the way and not let me squash him.

There's your use case. I haven't run over a dog in decades. I once watched a cat get run over. It bounced three or four times between the pavement and undercarriage, then it got up and walked away.