Side mirror drag & effect on fuel economy - quantified

[edbso]

Interesting, not my car.

[TheDon]

looks a tad lopsided . I have noticed a difference in airflow on the passenger side of the car. Since I have no A/C I drive with the front windows open. Before the passenger side seatbelt wouldn't flap in the wind( wasn't any disturbing it) Now with the mirror gone it flaps like a bat out of hell, so I roll the window up a little more. I'll see what improvement it yields at the end of this tank.

[Xringer]

I wonder if you mounted an AirTab on the shoulder of the fender about 12 or 16 inches forward of the side-view mirror, would it have any effect on the mirror's cd??

http://www.airtab.com/how.htm

"Each Airtab® produces two vortices of air, each approximately 4 to 5 times the height of the Airtab® and several feet in length. These tight swirls of air "bridge the gap" between tractor and trailer and lets air flow more smoothly into the vacuum at the rear of the vehicle."

If this is true, then perhaps the "two vortices of air" might flow around the mirror, one above and one below.?.

Some yarn on the face and trailing edges of the mirror, before & after might be interesting..


I really like my two side mirrors and would not want to change them at all.
But, if the air flow hitting those mirrors was to somehow be modified, to help the cd, that would be having my cake and eating it too!


Thanks,
Rich

[beaglebot]

Pardon me from stepping in late.

Other than cost I'm wondering why no one has mentioned retractable mirrors. Something that is aerodynamic when deployed but can be folded/pulled into the the car so that it's just flush with everything else when you don't need it.

[MetroMPG]

beaglebot: I sort of did the "low tech" version of what you're describing:

[beaglebot]

MetroMPG that's actually the mod that got me thinking about taking it a step farther, so at least you have me thinking

[ebacherville]

the mirros on my truck mush suck 5 mpg there HUGE..

On my crx I moved them inside the window.. there convex morros so I can still see my blind spots pretty well.. however a camera system would most likely be the best option..

[Xringer]

I got to thinking about cameras the other day when I was out on RT-495 during a rain storm. It was real overcast and about 7:30 AM and it was really coming down..

Anyways, a lot of people just didn't want to use their lights. So, while watching my driver's side mirror, I noticed that dark colored cars & PUs came out of nowhere, slowly appearing like ghosts, out of the rain very close behind me.

Whereas the cars with that had running or headlights on were very easy to see, even 100 yards back.

That got me thinking that a camera would have be pretty dang good to be able to
show me those rain-sheath vehicles. It would need to be good in low-light and have hi-res.

[NeilBlanchard]

Hello,

Many years ago I remember seeing (in Popular Mechanics?) a semi-recessed mirror. The outside was a bulge in the glass, and the mirror was located about half inside and half outside. I'm sure it would be a LOT better than what we have.

Edit: Funny -- I did a Google search and found...this site! If these mirrors stuck out a few inches and the glass had a protruding bump:


Edit 2: Check this out!
http://ecomodder.com/imgs/aerocivic/Mirror.jpg

[NeilBlanchard]

Hello,

Here's a Ford prototype that uses cameras:

They claim a Cd of 0.19 (!!) and also 70mpg.