FastSkinz = golf ball dimples for cars!

[ecomodded]

But.... a Ball Peen dented hood would look pretty snazzy on my Beettle , hmmm.bang bang bang bang bang bang , Perfect !

[backpacker3]

I posted a while back about doing this with plasti dip but everyone though it was a bad idea.

BTW old tele man I see you haven't joined team pontiac with your vibe yet. EcoModder Team Competition

[ecomodded]

How were you going to use the plasti dip to make the dimples ?

[davelobi]

Originally Posted by ecomodded

How were you going to use the plasti dip to make the dimples ?

Could he possibly have intended to use the plasti dip as glue to hold the actual dimpled golf balls to the car?

I could actually see some merit to dimples and imagine it has been tested by the car makers. They are trying lots of new things (grill blocks, smooth under body, etc) to deal with the outrageous cafe standards. They are about to hit a wall.

[ecomodded]

After more thought on the subject I am changing my stance on the lowly dimple.
I think there is a better "design" then the Dimple somewhere out there.,It dawned on me the dimple is being used on spinning round balls with success but remember.. the car is not spinning , even if a model was to mostly round.

To clarify my point I included the below information for consideration.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Golf Ball Spin Rate

A golf ball's spin rate -- refers to the speed that it spins on its axis while in flight. It is measured in revolutions per minute (rpm). The spin rate off a driver generally ranges between 2,000 and 4,000 rpm, while the average, cleanly struck wedge shot spins at about 10,000 rpm.

The golf ball spin generates lift, thus a shot's spin rate directly influences how high the ball flies and how quickly it stops after landing.

Golf Ball Spin

[ecomodded]

Sooo I challange someone to come up with a surface design that will work or should/could work on a car travel at speed, with no rotation.

Off hand I think shaping the body threw indents to direct the airflow to where it should best go could help.

[backpacker3]

Originally Posted by ecomodded

How were you going to use the plasti dip to make the dimples ?

It's in this thread this was the plan

"you could do a coat of plastidip and then set some balls in it and keep adding layers of plasti dip until you have decent sized dimples in it."

You would take the balls out when you're finished of course.

[Xist]

Originally Posted by Old Tele man

I do not think that I am especially smart, but I find this diagram to be extremely insulting, sufficient to close the thread in and of itself. The windshield does not create a straight wall of air that extends into space, I will later post something more reasonable, based on my limited understanding. Also, I cannot imagine that any glorified gift wrap will make any shape aerodynamic in and of itself.

According to the company’s tests, which have ranged from everyday driving to NASCAR wind-tunnel testing and setting records at the Bonneville Salt Flats, FastSkinz can boost efficiency by 18 to 25% depending on type of drivetrain. A local Dallas blogger went for a ride in one of the test vehicles and had this to report:

“Peter notes that the EPA’s site says the Scion in question should be getting 22 city driving and 28 highway. On Monday, we were getting about 28 with stop-and-go, 34 on the highway. He says he’s been seeing 27-29 city, 32-35 highway.”

This is despite the fact that the EPA’s MPG estimates tend to be quite generous and forgiving.

Wouldn't an 18-25% increase indicate a 36-50% decrease in drag?

Generous and forgiving? How come most of us routinely beat it?

Originally Posted by Frank Lee

Many EM Fastskinz posts...

Originally Posted by MetroMPG

Search is your friend:

http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthrea...ighlight=skinz

http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthrea...ighlight=skinz

http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthrea...ighlight=skinz

http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthrea...ighlight=skinz

That thread is closed.

Originally Posted by aerohead

There is nothing theoretical about boundary layers.This is a fully mature element of the science of fluid mechanics,demonstrated time and time again with peer-reviewed analysis.
If MythBusters demonstrated a drag reduction it cannot be attributed to the drag reduction effect associated with the dimples on a golf ball.
Smooth automobiles already operate at super-critical Reynolds number with turbulent boundary layer without any aid from tripping devices.

http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthrea...tml#post332378
Next post:

Originally Posted by ChazInMT

Keep in mind a golfball is a small spinning sphere in open air, a car is a lumpy shaped object moving along with solid ground 3 to 12 inches away. These facts make a huge difference in what the air does in relationship to their passage.

Originally Posted by 2000mc

tested!
Fastskinz Test Drive: Can a Golf Ball Covering Improve MPGs? - Popular Mechanics
unwrapped ford flex = 24.55mpg
wrapped ford flex = 24.52mpg

It works!

Oh wait...

The other one...

Originally Posted by ecomodded

Using the Giant myth buster size dimples negates any effect in my opinion and is probably the reason mpg went down in their tests. They increases cd with the larger bumpier surface area. Destined to fail using their tests conditions.

Mythbusters showed a 10% improvement of the car with modeling clay, but no dimples, to the car with dimpled modeling clay, and the dimples in a crate on the back seat. There are enough criticisms of their "scientific testing" on this site, but I think that their problems were elsewhere.

[user removed]

If you have ever hit more than a few golf balls at a range, the ones that are worn down fairly smooth fly very erratically. I used to play to a 5.6 handicap on a course that measured 6800 yards from the white tees.

The dimples on a golf ball are for stability. Cars are not spinning at 7000 RPM as they move through the air they way a golf ball spins off of a decent 9 iron.

regards
Mech

[niky]

Why dimple the car at all?

A single, large piece of discarded bubble wrap taped to the roof should have similar effect.

-

Hmmm... I think I've got an idea for a future article...