04-12-2014, 07:42 PM
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#1 (permalink)
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EcoModding Lurker
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Best height for airdam
Is there a "right" height for an air dam? I am going to put one, plus side skirts, on my Honda Fit soon. But what is the optimal height? The car has about 7 inches of clearance on the front and sides.
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04-12-2014, 08:08 PM
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#2 (permalink)
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Master EcoModder
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practically, the best 'height' is where it wont scrap.
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04-12-2014, 08:27 PM
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#3 (permalink)
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Master EcoModder
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There is no one height. The idea behind the air dam is to reduce turbulent airflow under the car and redirect it to the sides where it hopefully less turbulent. Many use a measurement that coincides with the low hanging parts. On my GP thats about 6".
In this picture you can see the subframe in the background my air dam is 1/4 inch below that. This configuration on this car vary rarely scrapes because it is further back. If it was forward of this location it would drag more often. Same with the side the wheel base will determine how low you want go.
Many here have done lawn edging air dams. Do a site search there is quite a bit of information on air dams and splitters maybe even some for a Fit. You might also want to look in to belly pans. |
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04-12-2014, 11:10 PM
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#4 (permalink)
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Corporate imperialist
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Best height for an air dam is as low as you can go.
At some point friction from the air dam scraping on the ground will over come aerodynamic gains, until the air dam wears away.
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04-13-2014, 07:44 PM
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#5 (permalink)
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Lots of Questions
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I thought the best height was whatever the lowest hanging item on the car is. Any more than that and you are adding surface area to the car.
If that is the case, then moving things or tucking them up higher into the belly would be beneficial, no?
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04-14-2014, 08:59 PM
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#7 (permalink)
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EcoModding Lurker
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Thanks for the link. 40+ pages is a lot to read. I'm going to have to mull it over and do some more measurements. Putting $150+ of parts is going to have to be sure to give me a decent ROI. The rubber belt at Tractor Supply is kinda pricey.
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04-15-2014, 02:20 AM
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#8 (permalink)
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Not Doug
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I think that the lawn edging can look good if done right. Let's see if I do better the second time!
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04-15-2014, 02:27 AM
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#9 (permalink)
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EcoModding Lurker
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seems best aeromods for return on investment are airdam, underbelly covers, wheel covers, and kammback or boattail. airdam and underbelly can be coroplast it seems, not too much $. Lawn edging is cheap, too, as Xist mentioned.
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04-15-2014, 03:38 PM
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#10 (permalink)
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DieselMiser
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Passenger Car Front Air - Dam Design Based on Aerodynamic and Fuel Economy Simulations
"To reduce the drag a lot of aero-parts are used these days such as air-dam, skirts, spoiler, undercover, dams etc. However the design of these aero-parts must be optimized to get the desired result as their addition alone does not guarantee improvement in performance."
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