Ford Escort ZX2 Aerodynamics

[BabyDiesel]

One thing I have thought of is to build a containment system in order to keep the air from spilling over the sides of the car. You can see an example of this on the Bonneville Fusion:



Notice how the side edges of the roof is raised slightly. Doing this from the front bumper to the boattail end should encourage air to flow straight over the car in an organized fashion.

[aerohead]

Originally Posted by BabyDiesel

One thing I have thought of is to build a containment system in order to keep the air from spilling over the sides of the car. You can see an example of this on the Bonneville Fusion:



Notice how the side edges of the roof is raised slightly. Doing this from the front bumper to the boattail end should encourage air to flow straight over the car in an organized fashion.

The fences on the roof of the Bonneville car are to spoil lift should the car lose traction and get sideways on the track,where at the anticipated velocity,it would be enough for the car to lift-off.Other than that,the fence serves no function.

[freebeard]

The fences may be required to longitudinal and upright to pass inspection.

For examples that follow the airflow better, the Bertone BATs:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfa_Romeo_BAT

[BabyDiesel]

Another idea that bites the dust I don't mind being wrong. It is how you learn, and learning is what I am receiving!

Those cars made me sing out loud "Duh-nana-nana-na-nuna BATMAN!!!"

Wait, Batman drives an eco-car?!

[freebeard]

[BabyDiesel]

TBH, I kinda forgot about this thread LOL

I'm back to it though! It seems that my car has hit a "fuel economy ceiling" and will not break it. 48 mpg is as high as my tank average can get, and this is with heavy P&G EOnC.

Is there any aero mods that I can refine? Do tire splats really help?

Side panels will reduce drag, I have just got to figure out a way to attach them to the body! I really want to make a pair for each side, one flush along the outside edge of the car, and the other along the inside of the tires from front to back.

For example, the inner ones would be similar to those found on the Bonneville Corvette you posted, freebeard. The outer ones would be the same as everyone else who has ever done them!

[Cd]

What have you done at the rear of the car ?
I notice that the rear of a stock ZX2, such as yours, is very rounded.
Before you go all out with a full boat-tail, have you considered some trip strips, or giving the rear of the car a sharper edge like new cars have ?

[BabyDiesel]

Cd - I have fender covers and a rear belly pan on the back. I have contemplated a kammback, but I have not gotten around to it yet.

I remember Darin made the rear of his Civic like that. I'm going to head outside and figure out how to do likewise!

Btw, what are trip strips?

[aerohead]

Technically,a trip strip is any device which acts like a turbulator to trip a laminar boundary layer into a forced transition to turbulent boundary layer,or energize a TBL over a 'fast' contour.
It can be sand glued on,a wire,a bright molding on a Landau roof,dimples,nubs,ribs,micro-vanes,vortex-generators.
The sharp edge on the Prius is a fix to a design problem discovered in the wind tunnel.The original body created bistable flow,buffeting,and noise generation.
The hard edge fixes the separation line to maintain a constant drag coefficient,rather than one which 'hunts.'
Since they extend the elongation of attached flow and pressure recovery,they contribute to higher base pressure and lower pressure drag.All good.
Don't expect any remarkable savings.

[freebeard]

I'm a big fan of rooftop tailfins. This could adapt to a Kamm-back for your notchback:


http://jalopnik.com/meet-the-mitsubishi-pajero-evo-the-last-forgotten-homo-1704009601