Great forum, asking for help

[Ernie Rogers]

Yes, Bob,

Great points!

Laminar flow won't work (bugs) except maybe in solar cars.

Ernie

Originally Posted by Bicycle Bob

Hi Ernie,

Over sixty years after the P-51, I've yet to see extensive laminar flow on commercial aircraft, let alone production cars. So, you might want to start a separate study on what might be achieved, after we get the rest of the shapes right.
Perhaps the biggest area for improvement in North America is reducing wasted capacity. As I recall, it is hard to see around in traffic in your neighborhood from a small car, because of all the big, empty trucks. There are huge problems of perceived safety and status. However, we can remind folks that "John Wayne hauled his manhood around with only 1 HP."
Anyway, assuming that people will achieve enlightened self-interest regarding vehicles, we could encourage driver's co-ops to let people drive tiny cars and still have a big one available on occasion.
Personally, I'm sketching a cabinscooter that can take on a single adult passenger, bobsled-style, or the usual kids and groceries load. Occasional overloads would go on fold-down platforms beside the single rear wheel, on on a trailer. The driver's seat would recline, to allow sleeping over instead of some return trips.
See What is a Hypercar® Vehicle? for the hypercar project, too.

[noxman]

The Probe Iv i guess is the near real car for driving.
1983 Ford Probe IV Concept Information and History | Conceptcarz.com

Maybe Probe V has better cd, but wasn't so good for every day driving.

I still asking without reply :

Why the concerns didn't make car similar like Probe Iv?
I mean the low cd car, with good engine (1.6 max) and good passenger place.(4 door)
Is it so big problem make the cd 0.15 4 door limusine like 20 years old Probe IV project? I cry, because this must be so easy, just the lamino and body styling work.
Why Prius had big cd 0.26?

Why we got still the cubes with cd 0.3 ?

[donee]

Hi Noxman,

The Prius has a higher CD, because of the upright seating orientation. This is traditional with Toyotas (check out a Corrola), but even more so with the Prius, as there is less lay back room for the seats, due to the battery location behind the rear seat.

Additional issues are the rear-view mirrors and wheel openings.

Looking at that Probe IV picture, it does not seem to be very practical as its so low. They say that it has variable suspension height. Which then means the .152 Cd does not occure except on smooth roads.

I am not an expert on the terminology, and what constitutes a Laminar Flow vehicle, but would not Bajoos Aerocivic be Laminar Flow ?

[MetroMPG]

Originally Posted by donee

The Prius has a higher CD, because of the upright seating orientation.

This may affect projected area. Cd is more or less independent of vehicle size.

I am not an expert on the terminology, and what constitutes a Laminar Flow vehicle, but would not Bajoos Aerocivic be Laminar Flow ?

See this thread for definitions/discussion of different types of boundary layer flow: http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthrea...ence-1132.html

Basjoos' car wouldn't have a significant amount of laminar flow. Among road vehicles, only perfectly smooth, ideally shaped vehicles (eg. solar cars, velomobiles) have any hope of retaining laminar flow aft of the leading surfaces.

[donee]

Hi MetroMPG,

I do know how Cd is figured. But, the upright seating position has practical implications on shape, and thus Cd, IF you have a fixed vehicle length.

[MetroMPG]

Donee, that's true. Thanks for clarifying your point.