If you must have outside mirrors, at least make them doubly useful
 

http://ecomodder.com/forum/attachmen...1&d=1457120117

Well, I'll be....

Source: Black Flag

When I was still biking I once, while riding on the highway in the evening, got struck on the chest by a not entirely empty strawberry milkshake beaker that was thrown out by some @&€ just ahead. That covered me and my bike all over. McDrives, gotta love those.

I wonder what would happen if that beaker struck that mirror...

Would be fine for use on race tracks though.

And if the vent is closed the aero isn't hurt.

The over engineered dream car... the Lexus LFA does some fancy aerodynamics with their side mirrors. They are designed to funnel air directly into the rear/side air intake vents for the rear mount engine.

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikiped...us_LFA_001.JPG

Actually, I think when the intake is open, that it could lower the drag relative to when it is closed. Especially if the air that enters the car is vented out into a low pressure zone behind the car - or behind the mirror?

We've discussed the aerodynamics of ducts at length here... right? They ADD drag unless you count the rare case of a properly engineered heat exchanger duct that adds a bit of energy to the stream via heat.

The LF-A is front-engine. However, the mirrors are interesting.
http://i1047.photobucket.com/albums/...psfzdjsubl.jpg

When rain hits the passenger air intake in a regular car, you don't get wet, same solution can be applied to these.

That is the whole issue.
The mirror is mounted to the door.
If it were a road car it needs the dirt/water trap and flowoff all inside the door.
That would be troublesome.

But this is a race car, it will just have a nozzle to direct the air (and everything it contains) where it does best. The driver wears a helmet anyway.

You may be right. My point, though is to shift the air through the duct means that it doesn't have to flow around the mirror, and that could reduce the drag of the mirror.

Interesting question: When the quarter window on my Superbeetle is flipped all the way open so it is scooping air into the car, does stuffing the turbulence at the A-pillar into a resonant plenum help or hinder the overall drag?

wind-wing
 

I've never seen data published for them.We do know that for scoops,the best external type is the Baumann type (Goldenrod has four of them,P-51 Mustang uses it)
http://i1271.photobucket.com/albums/...itled23_10.jpg
and for internal scoops,the NACA submerged inlet
http://i1271.photobucket.com/albums/...itled-12_1.jpg
http://i1271.photobucket.com/albums/...d2/scan1_1.jpg
*the wind wing would necessarily have higher drag do to it's instantaneous eruption from the body,with no lead.or trailing fairing.Very high local velocity and extremely low local pressure,and turbulence area larger than it's isolated frontal area.Maybe Cd 1.5,I'd have to peruse Hoerner's work.