Mirror delete make window down driving worse?

[spacemanspif]

This is a bit of random idea but also something I am noticing in my car since I basically can compare side-by-side...literally.

I deleted my passenger side mirror. I think it helped my MPG and when the windows are up, I do notice a little less noise coming from that side of the car. However, I drive with my front windows down when its hot out and I have been noticing MORE noise from the passenger side than driver's while on the road.

My question would be; Does the side mirror "block" some of the air going into the cabin thus making the car more aerodynamic than if the windows remained down but the mirrors were gone?

Judging by where I can move my hand and not feel any wind behind my driver side mirror I'm guessing that my car is not using the full cooling ability of the window. I also notice that the noise coming from the open passenger window (with no mirror) is more constant and doesn't sound as turbulent as the opposite side.

I know that the best is no mirrors and windows up but my car drinks gas like a fish when the A/C is on so I stick with the breezy method.

[Cd]

As soon as i find them, i will try to remember to upload a couple of images i took of my cars drag in the rain at the A pillar.

On one side, my mirror was out and on the other the car has never had a mirror.

Both flow patterns looked similar, if not identical, and it puzzled me.

This is on a 1993 Civic

BTW, good question !

[freebeard]

maybe it kind of depends:
Reducing Windnoise / Raingutter Fillers

[RedDevil]

Maybe you can influence it by advancing the base of the A pillars.
Somehow I believe that protruding A pillars will cause less turbulence at the side windows, reducing noise and enhancing the benefit of a mirror delete.

Oh, and if you do use A/C use recirculation... especially when it is really hot. With recirculation I have to kill the A/C regularly or it gets too cold.

[spacemanspif]

Cd: it rained a couple times this week and the pattern in both windows looked the similar on my car too. Once the weather cools down and I can drive to work with the windows up I plan to tuft test all the glass but the windshield to see what is going on. I can only do the glass because I'll be the one looking at it and won't have the luxury of someone else videotaping while I drive.

Freebeard: Aren't those basically window rain guards? Interesting idea to pus air off the car but I don't really see how it helps, I would assume it would hurt the airflow since its creating a negative pressure area behind it... But I'm no where close to being an authority on the matter. Would be easy enough to build and tape to my windshield though.

Reddevil: speaking of easy to build and tape on my windshield the length of quarter round idea could be viable to making a protruding A-pillar. Although my car doesn't really have a defined edge as the windshield wraps around the A-pillar in the same was the rear wraps around the C-pillar. I'd worry about snow build-up like mentioned in the link but it doesn't snow often here where it would become a problem. I'm very familiar with the recirc. button and have converted all my friends and family to use it for keeping the car ice cold.


Its amazing how many people never touch buttons on the dash because the don't know what it does and don't want to break anything...its a button, push the F-ing thing! That's what it was made for, you won't break anything.

So what would be better:
A) Windows down; mirrors gone
2) Windows down; mirrors installed
C) Windows down; with rain gutter (freebeard example)
D) Windows down; protruding A-pillar (red devil example)

[aerohead]

Originally Posted by spacemanspif

This is a bit of random idea but also something I am noticing in my car since I basically can compare side-by-side...literally.

I deleted my passenger side mirror. I think it helped my MPG and when the windows are up, I do notice a little less noise coming from that side of the car. However, I drive with my front windows down when its hot out and I have been noticing MORE noise from the passenger side than driver's while on the road.

My question would be; Does the side mirror "block" some of the air going into the cabin thus making the car more aerodynamic than if the windows remained down but the mirrors were gone?

Judging by where I can move my hand and not feel any wind behind my driver side mirror I'm guessing that my car is not using the full cooling ability of the window. I also notice that the noise coming from the open passenger window (with no mirror) is more constant and doesn't sound as turbulent as the opposite side.

I know that the best is no mirrors and windows up but my car drinks gas like a fish when the A/C is on so I stick with the breezy method.

I ran my CRX at Bonneville,with,and without side mirrors at just short of 98-mph.It made no measurable difference in top speed.It would make no measurable difference in mpg.
The mirror can contribute so little to overall drag that it would take a very expensive,world-class full-scale wind tunnel to measure the difference,with and without.

[Cd]

Removing the mirrors was worth .015 counts in drag.

[aerohead]

Removing the Fusion's mirrors would drop the Cd from 0.34,to 0.325.A 4.41% reduction.
At 55-mph this would net you a 2.2% mpg increase and no outward vision.
Without a wind tunnel you'd never be able to see this 2.2% improvement through the signal-to-noise ratio of road testing.
These quanta would be specific to the Ford Fusion.
Every car would be on a case-specific basis.No generalities could be inferred.

[2000mc]

.08 by lowering? they just set the body right on the ground?

[aerohead]

Originally Posted by 2000mc

.08 by lowering? they just set the body right on the ground?

Yep,this is the way of the future,recent past,and some current production cars/SUVs.