Baby template car for DARKO 2016
 

I've set my mind to a return trip to DARKO Technologies wind tunnel in 2016.
I've thought of at least 16 additional mods for the T-100 to test.
Since I'm going,it would be efficient to have at least 1-additional vehicle to test while I'm there (like we did with Gary's Prius).
I figured out that a 1/3rd-scale 'Template'-mobile will fit in the back of the T-100.
She'd be 21" high,42" wide,and just shy of 8' in length.Built up from plywood,foam,and fiberglass,she wouldn't weigh much.I've already located some 'scale' wheels at Harbor Freight Tools.
The 76-mph airspeed at DARKO is plenty enough to achieve critical Reynolds number and accurate Cd.
The model would be a way to verify the 'Templates' actual aero characteristics.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Also,if there's a member in the Salt Lake City area with a bone stock, 1st-gen Honda Insight,it would be great to do a meetup at the tunnel and throw your car onto the load cells and see how it's Cd compares to the A2 value from North Carolina.I'd cover the cost.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
It allows one year for fabrication and even at my glacial pace,I think I can get it all ready by then.:p

Can't wait for the results!

Care to elaborate on the 16 mods you want to do to the 'yota?

That sounds great. I would also like to know the 16 mods you are planning for the T-100.

This is a great idea. My request is that you consider a geodesic construction. It can be laid out as a flat pattern with darts and cut from a single sheet. That will self-assembly into an accurate surface. Much less work. :thumbup:

http://starship-enterprises.net/file...%20Pattern.jpg
http://starship-enterprises.net/files/3f%20icosa%20Peel%20Pattern.jpg

I can provide all the relevant edge lengths for a prolated ellipsoid.

'What do you think, sirs?'

geodesic
 

It would be fun to see the geodesic structure under smoke,'n also get some numbers,but if I'm gonna make my target I better stick with what I know.
The model has got to be as close a representation of the drawings as I can do,so as not to introduce any unknowns.
The velocity and pressure profiles of a streamline half-body are dependent upon the compound curvature.
Windshield wipers and roll-down windows would need more 'conventional' surroundings.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
IF a geodesic 1/3rd model were to appear in Ogden,Utah,September,2016,we'd be impelled to get it into the tunnel,and I'd sure help underwrite the cost.(hint-hint,wink-wink!) Plus,there's some pretty good Mexican food nearby.:)

16-mods
 

The list is at home but here goes:
*reworked airdam with belly and edge radius
*grille plug
*improved cooling ductwork
*reconfigured hood blister,widened out to edge of A-pillars,with NACA submerged-inlet /ventilation duct-to cowl inlet
*faux GTP full-compound,triple-curvature windscreen
*faux 'active' windshield wiper cowl area fairing
*new mini-mirrors
*mirror delete
*faux flush glass
*tape all seam and cut lines
*full gap closure between cab and bed
*restore missing belly pan section
*add belly pans to lower A-arms
*add urethane pan sections around rear axle gaps
*faux 'active' wheel fairings(before and after front wheels)
*ditto rear wheels
*lowered diffuser addition to boat tail (2.8-degree)
*add blended flow fence into lower perimeter to close in Coke-bottling
*lower rear skirts to former full depth and add integrated flow fence
*reconfigured aeroshell
*reconfigured boat tail
*reconfigured boat tail stinger (full-length)
*simulated suspension drop (deflate the tires)
Looks like I'm at 23 things to test,plus the model.

I assume the "faux" components would essentially be non-functional and used for the wind tunnel test, but the other components would be functional for use when driving the truck?

faux
 

Yes,some of the things I want to test would never survive on the road unless they were active,to accommodate weather, road clearance,or DOT regulations.
The windshield would have to be 'real.'
I can't lower the truck so I'll just let the air out of the tires 'n see if it shows on the computer screen.
Flush glass isn't going to happen.Nor a pliable cab/ bed gap-filler,or unit construction.
Lots of Gorrilla tape and aluminum sheet,Formular,etc.,composite mockups.
I will be able to simulate a 'future' in which these things were part of a production vehicle.

Coincidentally, about the size of a single wheel trailer for a VW Beetle. Wink, wink; indeed.

Edit: Could I make a rear-steer reverse tricycle and put a ball hitch on a nose probe and have it track successfully, a least going forward?

Wait a minute—42"x3 is 10' 6" wide.

What size are your candidate wheels?

tracking/wheels
 

I think that for towing,the front wheels would have to be free to turn and rear wheel fixed,as when pulling with a towbar,or with fixed front wheels,allowing the rear to turn as on Bam's 1-wheeler.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
The wheels are about 8.5" X 2.5".