Best approach for aero improvement on sedan roof?

[nickec]

Just stretch film over an armature.



Students did this.

https://inhabitat.com/students-devel...emissions-car/


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[Cash68]

I think you should stop messing with that awful car and just buy something else. Those are some of the most terrible vehicles in the entire world. Putting any effort into it will be a total waste of time, especially with used prii becoming so cheap.

[freebeard]

I think you should stop messing with that awful car and just buy something else.

Thank you for sharing. Bless your heart.

Those are some of the most terrible vehicles in the entire world

Wouldn't you agree that those are the vehicles that could be ecomodded first? OTOH 'worst ... in the entire world' puts you on a pretty slippery slope.

Putting any effort into it will be a total waste of time, especially with used prii becoming so cheap.

Prius is a benchmark for what exactly; in a world with 2-year-old off-lease Nissan Leaf electrics?

[19bonestock88]

Originally Posted by Cash68

I think you should stop messing with that awful car and just buy something else. Those are some of the most terrible vehicles in the entire world. Putting any effort into it will be a total waste of time, especially with used prii becoming so cheap.

Aren't you full of enthusiasm? Given that I haven't got money to be buying anything else at the moment(shame too since I seen a nice 07 Saturn Ion, or a decent 01 Saturn SW2, both manual trans, for cheap-ish), that's outta the question, as I've got other stuff that comes first, part of which is getting the Saturn I already own back up and driving...

I don't even particularly care for my current car, it's big, heavy, and it never came in a manual trans, so no swaps are reasonable, but I'm stuck with it for now, so why not improve its mileage until something better comes along?

Waste of time? I don't agree, as I've already gained ~10% in FE from what little I've done, and there's lots more to do for cheap...

Buy a Prius? Other than the stigma of driving one here in WV, hybrid battery packs are friggin expensive to replace/repair, and I would have to think really hard about taking a chance of getting stuck with a repair costing as much as the car did... I sometimes think of a G1 Insight, but the battery cost has so far dissuaded me from being serious about a purchase...

[kach22i]

Originally Posted by 19bonestock88

Waste of time? I don't agree, as I've already gained ~10% in FE from what little I've done, and there's lots more to do for cheap...

Having fun and learning are never a "waste of time".

Somewhat disposable cars are perfect for being laboratory experiments.

If not now, then when?

Just do it, and do it better next time around.

[19bonestock88]

I figured I would restart this discussion, a member on here supplied me with some free individual vortex generators, and gave me a good idea to test the airflow without needing a chase car and photographer... He suggested to use flour sprinkled over the roof of the car and drive at low speed; there would be indicated attached flow where the flour was swept off, and that would show the point of separation, indicating to me where to place the vortex generators, giving the best possible result for the effort...

[freebeard]

Thanks. Post's have been a little light in the forums lately.

You can get a flour sifter at Goodwill to get a nice even dusting.

[19bonestock88]

I did some preliminary testing, and discovered that since I hadn't washed the car in like 6 months, the flour stuck everywhere I sifted it on, except the upper middle part of the rear glass... To get a more conclusive test, the roof of the car will have to be hand washed...

[chumly]

Wash the dirt off and get better mileage from the weight saving alone....

[19bonestock88]

The roof is just covered in a layer of road grime that makes the flour stick instead of being blown off... There's probably not much actual weight in the dirt... However, maybe for sake of testing, I might wash the car...

I did however remove the VG array I had previously installed... Waiting on some data but it looks like a wash as far as efficiency goes...