new drag reducing technology
 

Has anyone looked into fast skinz? It is a wrap that goes on your vehicle that uses the same drag reducing theory of a golf ball. I just saw it in a Popular Science Magazine and though it looked interesting.

MPG-Plus™, Drag Reducing Technology, Improve MPG, Vehicle Wraps, FastSkinz™

It actually isnt the same theory as a golf ball, which is why it wont work. However, they would like you to believe it worked on the same principles, ;)

sniff snifff.....

smells like a rotten can of SPAM.

(1 post).... just like the other thread that was started about this stuff.

i remember reading a thread about this here back when i was lurking

no-go

Have you guys heard of sharkskin? its a wrap you put at boudary separation radius and it premature layer seperation and thus reduces drag.... now if only i could find a link

"Sharkskin" uses micro-grooves parallel to the flow to reduce boundary layer turbulence. It was outlawed in rowing competition, but I've never heard of an automotive trial.

Hey guys, I have to apologize for posting about an article in Popular Science magazine that touted the virtues of vertical windmills.
I thought that since this is a magazine that has been around for over a hundred years, it had some credibility.

All they ever seem to offer are empty promises and vaporware.

Guess what is is the latest issue on page 37 ... Ta Da !
Entitled " Planet Fixers", there is a write up on 'driveable golf balls' SkinzWraps !!!, which it touts as increasing FE up to '20% '. !!!

Wow ! ( And i thought it was the same magazine that just busted the claim !! )

I was talking to the BAR Hond F1 Chief aero bloke a few years ago, William Teot, and they said it worked in areas but the were some reason or other they chose not to use it....?? strange anyway I know Airbus use it!

robchalmers -

I googled "sharkskin aerodynamic" and found these :

The Shark Coating - A technology imitating the "riblet effect" from shark skin - Softpedia - 16th of December 2006
Shark Skin Research Could Reduce Airplane Drag By 30 Percent - December 5, 2007
CarloSW2

Any claim for a 20% boost in MPG is always going to look dodgy!

For years aircraft have had micro-drilled holes in wing surfaces, which (if I remember correctly) create tiny pockets of low pressure when an airflow moves over the wing surface. The low pressure helps keep the airflow attached to the wing surface, albeit for the purposes of generating lift rather than reducing drag, but hey I guess it can work both ways. Fans of The Simpsons may remember Homer pickaxe'ing "speed holes" into his car, although they were slightly bigger than a fraction of a millimetre...

Any aero experts out there feel free to point out the bits I got wrong!

I think you may have heard of the experimental technique of boundary layer control involving powered suction.

Yeah I have seen this golf ball idea I don't know if it would work, although i would totally slap it on my car if I got some for free and try it out :D especially on my side view mirrors :p besides, you know this is probably spam because he has been here a month and only has 1 freaking post...

reply to 'skins'
 

- maybe just wrap your ride in one of those new Speedo LZR swimsuits? ;)

Fix your aerodynamics - chop the top.

Be a real golf fanatic - get "Fast Skinz" dimple wrap.

'Nuff said.

i think im better off shaving my head to get better aero in my convertible

lol you could always put on one of those rubber caps pro swimmers wear, no need to cut off precious hair, we don't get to have hair forever~~ :rolleyes: <--- He is not rolling his eyes, he is looking at his bald head

yeah but you can always tell the hardcore swimmers by the shaved head

just because I have only posted one thread does not mean it was spam. Some people are just too busy to sit in front of a computer all day. I agree that a 20% reduction in drag sounds like b/s, and I'd have to see it to believe it, but I tend not to dismiss anything without proof that it doesn't work either. If it wasn't so expensive I'd buy some and try it and post the results.

It's not that you've only posted one thread, but the topic that the thread covered. Try searching for the topic you intend to post the next time.. if you had done so this time, you'd have found several threads talking about this very product.

If you just randomly post something that you think is interesting, with no new information about it, all we do is clog up the servers... and I don't think Darin likes that. :)

There are certain things here that get a rise out of people, that can be discussed page after page, only to get a new thread a few weeks later, to be discussed all over again, with the same arguments, etc.

This isn't one of those topics.

I never thought it was spam. First, he didn't capitalize it correctly as any marketing type would have done, and it turns out it's one word FastSkinz, not fast skinz. Seemed a genuine request for information to me. Maybe he should have searched first, but hey, nobody's perfect.

And if a little thread like this taxes the ecomodder servers then someone needs new servers.

those holes iirc were fed by a compressor which caused them to ooze air
making the wings more productive during takeoff and landing effecively
lowering stall speed. bummer when they iced up though!

on the golfball skin... i remeber cycling helmets in the 90's that employed that thought. according to the tech which seemed to know his stuff, they worked.

on sharkskin it is not only the texture of the skin but also the loose, flabby
layers beneath the skin that allow oscilations by the sharks own movements
as well as the waters to be absorbed/disbursed, to make it such an efficent traveler.

longitudinal not transverse strips of silicone have been employed by both bicycle clothing manufatures as well as competitive swimwear companies - usually only to eventuallly get outlawed during competition.

i belive it was the last year that lance and his crew was sponsored by
discovery channel their speed suits as well as regular shorts/tops donned
tiny silicone dots throughout....

on surfboards and sailboards transverse 400 grit sandpaper scratches
are said to be the most effective surface treatment for speed.
that same grit is also supposed to simulate the surface texture
of extrude hone which is popularly used to smooth intake
manifolds for racing.

then of course during the 80's there was a 928 in competition
that sported reversed, raised (instead of sunken) NACA ducts
on parts of his vehicle. inspitation for airtabs???

lotsa surfaces can do lotsa good stuff if employed properly!

If this worked, the vinyl used on windows in vehicle wraps would work VERY well. It's mostly holes, perforated finely, so that it's almost fully transparent from the inside, but the image can be seen well from the outside. The small perforations should make it all work like a charm, if there's anything to it at all. Now it would be cool if you could get it perforated in the vortex generator / naca shape.

I am active on a boat design forum and the golf ball surface topic resurrects every now and then. Yes it does work to certain extent - enough that dimpled/grooved surfaces are banned in many sailing classes. This is under water but same difference. Helps to keep the laminary flow following in areas where it would break loose otherwise.

Is it a significant difference in a car - I doubt.

Sharkskin grooves are banned for their ability to maintain laminar flow at an impractical dollar cost. Dimples can help a boundary layer remain attached by starting or adding turbulence to make it thicker. If anybody wants to get around a dimple ban on boats, a few barnacles should do the trick.

well sometimes it seems that in racing yachts there is no such thing as "impractical cost"

I know they got some good results in some boat in the past but the rule change probably means more that the authorities don't want to deal with it and keep reviewing the under bodies in speculation whether they are legal - easier to ban dimples altogether.

Can you really quote a ban on dimples? They are used to ameliorate excreable shapes. Are there single-design classes with separation problems? The sharkskin ban I heard of was regarding the olympics*, where there is some attempt to make it a contest between athletes rather than well-financed technicians.

*Boycott Vancouver Winter Olympics, and their Sponsors, please.

Ya'know, like a golf ball - Boat Design Forums

"Back in 12 meter days, I believe 3M had a surface treatment that did exactly what you are describing. It worked to some extent so was ruled illegal."

I have no better source now but remember reading about it before from more "reliable" source. In general the problem seems to be that its very hard to know in which area it would help and in which area it would only add skin friction (which is big deal on boats)