Project: The Anal Probe

[arcosine]

Really don't need an air dam with a belly pan. I'ts better to let the air flow underneath, since the bottom is smooth, in my opinion. Yes, it looks like the under side of the tail is over expanded, the end could be lower. Sides look nice. Thanks for the video, it was informative.

Maybe they know something here:

[Sven7]

Going to try to reply quick before bed

Metro
Thanks, I saw Phil using longer tufts on the T100 and thought I'd try it out. There are at least three rows of tufts under the tail but you can't see them well in those videos.

WS
We'll see tomorrow. Dust deposits seem to agree.

Cd
I think it's nylon or something. Bright freaking yellow but somehow appears white on camera. Not too concerned with "clean" airflow from one tuft to the next... should I be?

Arcosine
Haven't gotten around to taking that off. Don't know where the license plate will go, as it looks terrible on the grille.

I do think the bottom is too low, but we'll see for sure tomorrow. If it is I'll do an array like this to figure out by how much


Mazda Aero Testing by Tyler Linner, on Flickr

[Sven7]

Shows position and color of tufts

Look at the dirt deposits on the rear end from less than a week of commuting! Also check out the little areas of dust on the underside just before the back plate. Definitely detached, if not over the entire panel.

The white piece of paper reads, "AERO TEST ecomodder.com". I heard a few passersby muttering, "hmm, aero testing."


Tufts by Tyler Linner, on Flickr

[Cd]

Sven, thanks for posting the Mazda image. I'm surprised to see a current car design being tuft tested!

Also, i had never seen that 'air curtain' method of seeing the tufts behind the car.

I imagined a way that the flow could be seen behind and above the vehicle : add a tall 'spine' down the center of the car and thread your tufts through the spine.



BTW, I also have seen a method of tufting the area at the hub area of a wheel : Apply tufts to a strip of tape and pull it tight from one side of the wheel well to the other just above the hub of the wheel. Just don't plan on doing this with the front wheels unless you are not going to turn the wheels !
Now that i think about it, an even better way would be to tie your tufts to a piece of thread and then attach the thread to either side of the wheel well.

As far as interference from other tufts, i know nothing of aerodynamics so that was just a guess, but it cant hurt to stagger them 'just in case" !
If anything, it will keep the tufts from snagging each other.

[Cd]

If you have detached flow along the bottom of the tail and are concerned about lowering the angle due to scraping on ramps and such, you could always just create a hinged section that hangs down.
As you bottom out, the section would move upwards and then fall back down to the correct angle once clear.

[Sven7]

Hah, nooooooot worried about scraping it.

Also not going to do much elaborate tuft experimentation, if just for the fact that it's hard to get a camera operator.

[Sven7]

Turns out cops don't appreciate one headlight being down.

[HydroJim]

Originally Posted by Sven7

Turns out cops don't appreciate one headlight being down.

What happened?

[Sven7]

On the way home from a pot luck. County Sheriff pulled me over, told me off for the headlight and asked wth was up with the car. I reassured him that I am working on getting the fixed headlight conversion done asap (which is true) and explained the car in like five words. He let me go.

Been pulled over four times in this car, vs once in the Rabbit.

Seems cops do appreciate you being honest with them, which is always my policy.

[Smurf]

Originally Posted by Sven7

Seems cops do appreciate you being honest with them, which is always my policy.

... unless you have ND plates on in Minnesota. In Fargo ND/Moorhead MN, soon as you cross the river into MN you have to take everything off your rear view mirror, no radar detectors visible, etc. I had a friend get pulled over because he had a tree air freshener hanging, but his main offense was he had ND plates in MN.