A little help with wheel skirts?

[aerohead]

Originally Posted by Christ

My original inspiration was a MS Paint file I made out of sheer boredom earlier today... it's crappy, but gets the general idea.

Christ,that would be a good cleanup to the rear and get you in better position for more daring mods later.Also,have you considered integrating fairings for the rear tires into your valance? Those would clean things up even more.--------------------- And another thought looking at your photo.The rear windshield is blacked out on both sides and you have no vision there.If you made flat panels which mated to the contour of the hatch,which projected straight back a couple feet,with a top which sloped down like the Kamm roofline,and a bottom which came up like a diffuser,you could capture a big chunk of wake,and the surrounding air would skid off the attached vortices formed inside the voids outside the panels,and off the top and bottom panels.----------- It wouldn't be as good as a very complex and difficult to build formal boat tail,but you'd see a benefit at the pump.---------------- Continuum Dynamics has already proven the concept under a DARPA grant from NASA for an 18-wheeler.You could build it over a weekend probably.

[Christ]

Originally Posted by aerohead

Christ,that would be a good cleanup to the rear and get you in better position for more daring mods later.Also,have you considered integrating fairings for the rear tires into your valance? Those would clean things up even more.--------------------- And another thought looking at your photo.The rear windshield is blacked out on both sides and you have no vision there.If you made flat panels which mated to the contour of the hatch,which projected straight back a couple feet,with a top which sloped down like the Kamm roofline,and a bottom which came up like a diffuser,you could capture a big chunk of wake,and the surrounding air would skid off the attached vortices formed inside the voids outside the panels,and off the top and bottom panels.----------- It wouldn't be as good as a very complex and difficult to build formal boat tail,but you'd see a benefit at the pump.---------------- Continuum Dynamics has already proven the concept under a DARPA grant from NASA for an 18-wheeler.You could build it over a weekend probably.

I'm actually thinking about removing all the rear glass and replacing it with metal, a'la Caravan Cargo models. This may or may not include the sliding glass, and most likely would include the rear glass in the hatch as well.

I'm not sure I can quite visualize exactly what you're saying about the back window, though.. do you have a link or something to show?

For the rear tire fairings, I hadn't honestly thought about it, but I did think about full side skirts after I've established my ride height and weight requirements (after she comes off the road for project time.)

I also figured that while I'm under there for the transmission swap, I might as well figure out my mounting points for a belly pan, or at least an engine compartment bottom cover.

I don't have a representative pic, but after my dad buys me a new bumper cover (he hit mine... backed into it) I'm going to make a permanent upper grille block to fit in the space of the removable grille, and probably start with removable plugs for the lower grille areas.

I'm still not wholly sure what's actually going to happen with the rear of the van yet... I'm keeping that thought 007 for now.

[BackroadBomber]

Originally Posted by Christ

Did you know in PA, I can legally delete both outside mirrors? I'm not going to, but I can, if I really wanted to. I drive to NY state alot, though, so I'd have to look around and find out if it's legal up there.

Hey I live in Buffalo, N.Y. And the law here is the driver's mirror is mandatory and you must have at least one of the other 2. So you could at least take of your passenger mirror.

[aerohead]

Originally Posted by Christ

I'm actually thinking about removing all the rear glass and replacing it with metal, a'la Caravan Cargo models. This may or may not include the sliding glass, and most likely would include the rear glass in the hatch as well.

I'm not sure I can quite visualize exactly what you're saying about the back window, though.. do you have a link or something to show?

For the rear tire fairings, I hadn't honestly thought about it, but I did think about full side skirts after I've established my ride height and weight requirements (after she comes off the road for project time.)

I also figured that while I'm under there for the transmission swap, I might as well figure out my mounting points for a belly pan, or at least an engine compartment bottom cover.

I don't have a representative pic, but after my dad buys me a new bumper cover (he hit mine... backed into it) I'm going to make a permanent upper grille block to fit in the space of the removable grille, and probably start with removable plugs for the lower grille areas.

I'm still not wholly sure what's actually going to happen with the rear of the van yet... I'm keeping that thought 007 for now.

With respect to the rear glass,it looks as though Chrysler has blacked-out the outer edges of the glass with paint.My thought was that since this area was already "blind",streamlining panels could be attached behind this area,extending straight back to create the 90-degree rotated Kamm "steps" on each side.The panels could be attached to a bicycle rack so to speak.---------- You wouldn't lose any visibility to speak of,as this area is already covered.

[alohaspirit]

im not very good with ps but heres my 5 min ms paint rendition

[Christ]

Originally Posted by aerohead

With respect to the rear glass,it looks as though Chrysler has blacked-out the outer edges of the glass with paint.My thought was that since this area was already "blind",streamlining panels could be attached behind this area,extending straight back to create the 90-degree rotated Kamm "steps" on each side.The panels could be attached to a bicycle rack so to speak.---------- You wouldn't lose any visibility to speak of,as this area is already covered.

I think I understand what you're saying...

You're suggesting that I make the sides of a Kamm extension to keep the side airflow attached past the rounded edge of the rear pillar, right?

This is a great idea, however, If I'm getting what you're saying correctly, would I also not want to make the upper portion of the Kamm? I'm not too worried about losing visibility, I'm used to driving trucks which don't have rear windows, and relying on the side mirrors to judge my driving.

Once I get my wife's car finished, and I get some more garage time, I'll probably pull the van in and measure it up for a Kamm extension... gotta find some decent metal that's affordable, though. I'll probably cut it from the CRX in my dad's yard. I think the roof will make a decent size piece of thin steel from which to make a kamm that follows the shape of the roof as an extension.

A question about the Kamm though - is it better to follow the natural taper of the sheet metal in the extension, or to make the extension follow a prerequisite angle?

(That spoiler thing isn't removable on my hatch - it's stamped into the sheet metal. It looks like a great mounting point, does it not?)