Short Skirts?

[azraelswrd]

Xringer -

I'm not sure how much of the tire projects away from the well but it looks like you could even do a full skirt and still have over half of the tire still exposed. That makes me think fairings in front of and behind the rear wheel might be even more effective.

[Xringer]

Originally Posted by azraelswrd

Xringer -

I'm not sure how much of the tire projects away from the well but it looks like you could even do a full skirt and still have over half of the tire still exposed. That makes me think fairings in front of and behind the rear wheel might be even more effective.

That may be true, but I'm not going to get into anything that complex.
If I went out the garage right now, I could have coroplas cut and taped
in about an hour. Old retired guys try to keep things simple.

Cheers,
Rich

[trikkonceptz]

Now that we are fully into the summer rainy season hear in S. Fla, I get to watch alot of vehicles move in the rain. I noticed something peculiar. All the turbulence that came from the wheels, repelling water came from the gap above the wheel. I never see the water interrupted in flow around the rim, even when coming off the front tire.

Led me to believe that theoretically a wheel skirt could probably be small enough to cover the wheel well gap and a bit of the top of the tire. Anyone care to test this for me?

[NeilBlanchard]

Hi,

A couple of points: I think that closing the gap between the wheel and the opening would be beneficial, and is probably the best bang for the buck on the front wheels. (Maybe in combination with some foil tape on the wheels or full moon covers?)

It is not very hard to hinge the Coroplast to make a support "wedge" that allows the skirts to cover more of the wheel. If you cut a 'V' in the back through just the one face and into the corrugation ribs, this lets you fold a portion that can touch the lower part of the car's body; to support it.

To cut the 'V' I retracted all but the tip of the blade on my utility knife, and held it at ~45d; and then the opposite way. Once the ~1/4" wide 'V' strip is removed, you can then slide the metal support rod (I settled for 1/8", but 5/32" dia would be ideal) through the whole thing. (I had previously cut it to length, leaving ~1/4" space to the tip of the rod; so it won't touch the car body.)

I then used two pairs of pliers to bend the rod to hold the folded panel in position. The Coroplast is quite tough, and with a little care, it was not damaged by the jaws of the pliers.

I did have the acrylic sheet skirts that I had made before; to use as a pattern, so this Coroplast pair was made in ~2 hours; including attachment. (The longest time was spent cutting the large curved edge back to just the outer plastic face; so the fastening tape would be flush.) The next set (if needed) will have a similar flange on the angled panel so I can fasten them with tape more easily.

[Xringer]

Originally Posted by trikkonceptz

Now that we are fully into the summer rainy season hear in S. Fla, I get to watch alot of vehicles move in the rain. I noticed something peculiar. All the turbulence that came from the wheels, repelling water came from the gap above the wheel. I never see the water interrupted in flow around the rim, even when coming off the front tire.

Led me to believe that theoretically a wheel skirt could probably be small enough to cover the wheel well gap and a bit of the top of the tire. Anyone care to test this for me?

Very interesting observation. Might even be seeing a little of that
top of the tire action in this pic.. It kinda looks like the air is really
whipping around at the one o'clock position..