Quote:
Originally Posted by Logic
Here's the exhaust next to the number plate on an early Lotus Europa:
(my project car if I ever get the damn Anglia sold)
But it was moved to the more conventional spot in later models. |
So the second version of the boat-tail that I did had the exhaust moved to be at the end just like this. Not only did I reason similarly (the low pressure would help suction) but also that the hotter air might actually provide slight thrust. We can show that, aerodynamically, that's the optimal placement for an exhaust.
Unfortunately, from an engineering standpoint, it's crap. What I didn't know at the time was that exhaust fumes contain a crapton of water vapor (I later realized from the combustion, duh). That water pooled in the pipe where it bent upward, corroded it, busted it, and then filled the rear tail with hot gas. Which was of course as airtight as I could make it.
Oh, but it gets better. I actually discovered this pretty early, and if I were at home I could have fixed things promptly. But I found this out while on a trip in Alaska. So I was
400 miles from nowhere and
2800 miles from home. While I limped home the exhaust melted my rear bumper, cracked all the plastic on the tail, fused all the wiring, and destroyed all the electronics. And that was *after* I cut open half the tail to let the fumes out.
I have since discovered that regulations clearly state that the exhaust pipe needs to be at least level with the ground, and they recommend having a 30 degree down kink with a slight grade downward afterward. So the only way to get the exhaust to come out mid-level on the car would be to raise the entire muffler assembly. That would almost certainly impact performance worse that the gains of having the exhaust in a better spot.
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