Which mass produced car is closest to a teardrop shape ?

[aerohead]

Originally Posted by metroschultz

Hey Phil,
How about weighing in on one that perhaps us poor people could buy from a junkyard and play with.
I was thinking of the Ford Probe.
I have no numbers but, from what I remember they were designed with aero in mind from the factory.
Also their sister car the Mazda MX6.
Both are relatively inexpensive if you were to buy a rolling assembly from a bone yard and add your own drivetrain.

I'm thinking take my Metro/Swift engine /trans and put in a stripped out Probe rolling chassis.

I would play the devil getting the weight out (and for the suspension I would not be able to remove weight), but what about the possabilities for aero on something like that?
Schultz

MetroSchultz,I dug through my rat's nest and found two road tests for the Probe,March,1988 and August,1992,both by CAR and DRIVER. The cars does have Cd0.32 ( same as Taurus) and I estimated a frontal area of about 20.1 ft sq..Curb weight:2,940/2,894 lbs respectively.EPA highway is 26 for both cars.Car and driver got 16mpg and 20 mpg respectively.The '92 model is a GT.The C and D guys drive with "spirit" (as I can attest to after being driven around Ann Arbor in a 911 Carrera by one of their road warriors),so the Probe would probably do better mpg in your hands.---------------------------- I found some tests on Escorts,but no mpg above say 35-mpg.

[aerohead]

Originally Posted by Cd

Aerohead : I believe you posted these pictures a while back. What car is this and what was it's Cd ?
While not a mass produced car, I still find it interesting. Also one more question for you : What was the Cd of the Oldsmobile Aerotech in both Longtail and shorttail versions ?

Cd,I looked through Fachsenfeld's book and it looks like the car is a 1939 Maybach SW38 "Jaray-Kombinationsform".------------- Cars like this were tested at the newly-opened Kraftfahrtforshungsinstitut,Stuttgart windtunnel (designed by Kamm).This is the world's first full-scale windtunnel and now is part of Daimler-Benz.The car registered Cd0.16 as shown,and Cd0.14 with wrap-around windshield.------------------------------- For the Old's AEROTECH,I did some reverse-engineering with Indycars(which the Aerotech is based on) and Porsche 917 and 956 stuff and came up with Cd 0.175 which is WRONG!!!!!!!!!!!! Too many unknowns! Yesterday I GOOGLED Aerotech drag coefficient,found a site and got Cd0.19 for the long tail car.--------------------------- No data for the short tail car,but back-figuring,using the 1978 Mercedes C-111 with full 60-inch boattail suggests the short tail Aerotech has about Cd 0.247.

[aerohead]

Originally Posted by lunarhighway

i think perhaps a worhty winner would be the 1970 citroen sm



0.26Cd ! and not to much frontal area by the looks of it it's got a smooth underside that slopes up gently... a true drop on wheels

When I moved from Dallas I discovered two SMs on a used- car lot in Denton,Texas.The lot owner had driven the cars regularly and claimed 130-mph cruise speed with the Masseratti engine.He never tracked the fuel economy,so no info there.Too bad!He was asking $3,500 (US) for each car.Thanks for the memory!

[Christ]

That kind of reminds me of the thunderbirds from the same vintage... they had an issue with lifting the front end of the car over 120mph, from what my Uncle tells me (He had one, tuned and built, and decided to barrel it into the fields outside Elmira NY at over 150 mph, since he had lost steering capability by contact of tires a few MPH before that. (Wind hitting the tires as they moved from centerline would affect the nose's direction... he found this amusing, and nature and physics both showed him a "good" time while he played with his own life, and that of any potential unlucky bystander.)

[metroschultz]

OR?
I just saw an older Datsun B210.
They look relatively aero to me.
But that is my eye not actual testing.
I know they were light. (?2000 lbs?)
so I can lighten it even more,
and they are plentiful in the boneyard.
Any thoughts any one?
S.

[basjoos]

Originally Posted by Cd

Aerohead : I believe you posted these pictures a while back. What car is this and what was it's Cd ?
While not a mass produced car, I still find it interesting. Also one more question for you : What was the Cd of the Oldsmobile Aerotech in both Longtail and shorttail versions ?

This car was built for the Fulda Tire Company for 150+ mph tire testing on the autobahn. It had a 150hp engine and was lost during WWII.

In 2005, Fulda Tire commissioned Maybach to build an updated version of this car for 200+ mph tire testing. This new car is called the Maybach Excelero, and although it is a beautiful looking car with styling cues from the 1939 car, it depends more on its 700hp engine and less on a low Cd (0.27) to reach its 218mph top speed. Below are some links about the 2 cars.

Fulda - German tyres made affordable > 1930 Milestones
Maybach Excelero Show Car Coming To Sydney - Next Car Pty Ltd - 19th August, 2005
IGN: Maybach Excelero

[botsapper]

Since we're discussing about the zoom-zoomlet MX3, a car I drove for about ten years. Here's a very quick slice for a mod. Full belly pan, shaved door handles, smaller wheels & tires (concession for the small wheel well space) but matched with new & appropriate tall geared transaxle, lowered stance & narrowed track, cover all front openings (maybe slightly rolled fender wells), wheel spats & covers, remove wipers & new tighter cover panel, smaller side mirrors combined with integrated cameras, deeper low drag rear spoiler. Tried a boat tail treatment but didn't 'look' right. Wanted to create a clean 'doable' mod.

[bondo]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IhSonPwM8zE

[cfg83]

botsapper -

Originally Posted by botsapper

Since we're discussing about the zoom-zoomlet MX3, a car I drove for about ten years. Here's a very quick slice for a mod. Full belly pan, shaved door handles, smaller wheels & tires (concession for the small wheel well space) but matched with new & appropriate tall geared transaxle, lowered stance & narrowed track, cover all front openings (maybe slightly rolled fender wells), wheel spats & covers, remove wipers & new tighter cover panel, smaller side mirrors combined with integrated cameras, deeper low drag rear spoiler. Tried a boat tail treatment but didn't 'look' right. Wanted to create a clean 'doable' mod.

Welcome to EM! I like the design aesthetic of your mods. I can't help but think of a rocket ship.

CarloSW2

[botsapper]

Thanx for the welcome. I've been lurking awhile. Had to make a contribution when the MX-3 was mentioned. It was a reliable commuter/handler and stylish but different enough from its (Civics, Metros, Paseos) numerous contemporaries. When it was new I shaved the nameplates & logos, people mistaken it for a new (perhaps a resurrected 914) Porsche model. Ordered the 4-cylinder RS, instead of then smallest V6 available GS, that gave me consistent mid-30's mpg. The aero styling reminiscent of 3rd gen Ford Taurus/Sable & front engined Porsches, great styling successes. Coincidentally, Porsche helped develop the Mazda K-series V6.
The MX-3 is becoming rare so if there is one available it could be unique & great-looking eco mod project.