Honda Insight Tail Extension Project

[2003protege]

haha, wow that'd be something else! but it'd be really fun to watch lol.

[skyl4rk]

How about a shapeshifting body with controller and high level algorithm tied to wind sensors on all sides of the body.

[botsapper]

You guys are tough. Here's how multi-dollar computer assisted vehicles look when they try to handle severe crosswinds. See if our coroplast tails could adjust the yaw angles.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5X_7Xt2ga-s

[MetroMPG]

Jim: earlier in the thread you mentioned posting a summary/breakdown of the project (costs, etc.). Have I missed that?

No pressure, if you haven't yet. Enjoy your well deserved R&R!

Originally Posted by 3-Wheeler

5) Some people at work really liked the change in the look of the car. Most people did not say anything, but simply stared at it for a while, then went on their way. Several people had smiles on their faces and were chuckling as the car went by on the way home.

Curious: where do you work - or what kind of work, if you don't want to be specific. I can think of workplaces I've had that would have been aeromod-friendly, and others that would have been, um, aeromod-averse.

One other question: will the tail live on the car during this winter?

[lunarhighway]

won't a larger tail actually stabilise the car in crosswind conditions? i think i read this in an article about the mercedes 111 (i think) where a fin was added for high speed runs. the fin at the rear actually enlarges side surface (without adding frontal area or much drag) so when the wind pushes against the side of the vehicle the rear will be pushed out more, and the car will "steer" itself into the wind countering the effect of the corsswind.
so a longer tail should be somewhat similar to a tailfin

[spydyr]

Originally Posted by skyl4rk

How about a shapeshifting body with controller and high level algorithm tied to wind sensors on all sides of the body.

Brilliant, now if only we had the funds of Ironman or Batman...

[wyatt]

Originally Posted by spydyr

Brilliant, now if only we had the funds of Ironman or Batman...

In the Dark Knight, the Batmobile has aerodynamic spoilers that activate when using the brake pedal. They are toward the rear of the car and have a side benefit of moving the center of pressure further back. What actually reminded me of it was the video of the spoiler on the car working dynamically to optimize down-force.

[RobertSmalls]

Originally Posted by MetroMPG

I can think of workplaces I've had that would have been aeromod-friendly, and others that would have been, um, aeromod-averse.

That's a very interesting point.

I hesitated to add a boat tail in part because I thought it would be frowned on. But now I work in a plant that makes aircraft components, even though we don't deal with aerodynamics. There's an awful lot of full-sized pickups in the parking lot, and a very large number of Prii. I think a boat-tail might go over just fine.

[aerohead]

I was walking from the truck towards the grocery store the other evening,when a fella drove up in a 1st-gen Insight.He'd seen the T-100 online and wanted to talk about it.
I was more interested in the Insight and asked about his personal best in it.
He's a math major and was down at U.Texas at Austin shopping the math dept.He lives in Muenster,Texas,and he said that coming home,he drafted 18-wheelers the roughly 280-miles between Austin and Gainesville where he exits for Highway 82.
Anyway,he said that he pulled 95 mpg at the posted speed limit.
So it's encouraging,that if you can get the air off the car,she'll return that kind of economy.
The boat-tails should help with that in a big way and it will be fun to finally hear the results after these add-ons make it through gestation.

[Varn]

You are famous, cool beans.

That is an interesting observation about mileage, although drafting a semi is not without hazard in such a tiny car or even a larger one.