"Wheel Pants", aka streamlining outboard wheels/suspension

[Sven7]

Fiberglass Wheel Pants for Street Rods from Deco Rides

Remember Tommy Ivo's slingshot front-engine AA fuel dragster that had a pair of trick, streamlined, aluminum wheel pants that fit over the cycle wheels that would steer with the wheels? DECO RIDES is proud to announce its latest new product, a pair of fiberglass "envelopantes" (as my hero car designer Guseppi Figoni would call them). No, these are not intended for Bonneville cars, they are for street rods that want to look like Bonneville cars.

Or perhaps custom built ecomodder trikes?

We start with a pair of Radir 18-inch 12-spoke spindle mount wheels and a pair of 3.50 x 18 motorcycle tires with the maximum load bearing capacity you can find. You can use your choice of Willwood or Airheart single-spot brake calipers, and a rotor and caliper bracket for the above spindle and caliper form Total Performance. Fat Man Fabrications offers an aluminum adapter that not only mounts the caliper, but you can also mount the fiberglass wheel pant to it. Or you can build your own.
Dimensions of the wheel pant when sitting on the floor of the garage upright, by themselves, with no wheel or tire inside it, are 25 3/4 inches tall, 40 3/4 inches long and 7 1/2 inches wide, outside dimensions.

Thought that deserved its own thread. Whatcha think?

[aerohead]

Aerodynamically,we'd need to see it in plan view to see how it compared to strut.wing sections.
Glad folks are thinking of such things!

[NeilBlanchard]

The thing about outboard wheels is that while the frontal area is smaller (all else being equal) but you have exposed the suspension bits to open air flow, and you have to be concerned with interference of the flow around the larger main part of the car and the outboard wheels. The plan shape of the wheel fairings are not likely to be symmetrical - the channel between the main part of the car and the outboard wheels will require something different than the air flow past the outside of the wheel fairings.

Those suspension bits are designed for the structural requirements, and they will not likely be all that great for low turbulence air flow.

If you cover the suspension bits, then you have to choose which thing the wheel fairings are attached to - the wheel of the main chassis. This then adds to the complexity, either by adding unsprung weight, or structurally attaching the fairing to the main chassis while allowing the wheel and suspension to move inside it.

The front wheels also have the added complication that they swing through a fairly wide arc when steering sharply, and there has to be enough clearance for this; as the suspension travels up and down in the steering lock position. With a wider wheel, the fairing extends farther back, and this requires proportionally more clearance.

Phil, I seem to remember that you posted a comparison done by Mercedes many years ago, between a single-mass car and an car with outboard wheels. What were the details on the differences?

[HydroJim]

I believe we need to open source develop a front suspension design for a open wheel rear wheel drive car.

thin 12 inch wheels for low mass, rolling resistance, and frontal area. the only 12 inch wheels are from the geo metro, but it would be nice to go with something that is not as wide. Everything I've looked at either compromises on the width, the height, or weight.

The closest I've come to perfection is using ATV front uprights and spindles with a bolt pattern adapter to attach the geo metro wheels or honda civic vx wheels

Let me know what you think. I'm thinking it might be hard to find tires, so the design would have to be based on a certain specification tire.

[Sven7]

Jim, I was thinking about your project when I came across these. For my stromvogn I had thought about moped front wheels/tires a bit but decided I'd prefer something larger diameter for cruising (and to get those luscious fenders). There are extremely light racing wheels available for sport bikes, although pricing would be an issue if you bought them at the outset.

The problem also remains as to lateral strength on motorcycle wheels, should one go that route (I intend to). One obvious option might be a large degree of positive caster, much like a chopper's extended front fork provides. This would lean the wheel into the turn, though the forces would vary depending on speed since the chassis does not also lean, as a cycle does.

The majority of weight on a reverse trike would want to be over the front wheels and we don't know how much understeer you'd get without "leaning" the suspension into turns. There are suspension calculators available (for free?) to figure that out in regards to Locost cars; they could probably be modified to test trikes.


As far as airflow...

The Edison 2 VLC has an interesting suspension system if anyone can figure out how it works. Otherwise, what about F1 car stuff? I think they essentially have very long carbon fiber control arms. Of course, most of the problem with using car tires is keeping them level while the opposite is true of motorcycle tires. Surely you could stuff a very flat double wishbone setup inside an airfoil and keep the struts inboard.

There are more primitive options as well, but I don't think we'd want to use them at 55mph.

[plasticuser]

Didn't the car industry try these in the 30s, then abandon them because they'd act like a sail in cross-winds and cause horrible instability?

The second thought I had was, when looking at the photo, the fairing goes below the rim line, which means in a tire failure situation, that fairing is toast.

I'm not trying to rain on anyone's parade, or give 'lessons from history' - just putting this here for completeness of the thread.

[COcyclist]

Originally Posted by plasticuser

Didn't the car industry try these in the 30s, then abandon them because they'd act like a sail in cross-winds and cause horrible instability?

And the original Tucker design too.

[COcyclist]

HydroJim, This off topic but have you seen what these guys have done starting with a diesel Kawasaki Mule?

Dirigo Car | The Dirigo Project In the late spring of 2007 a... | Car, Were, Had, Have, Front

[Sven7]

Originally Posted by plasticuser

Didn't the car industry try these in the 30s, then abandon them because they'd act like a sail in cross-winds and cause horrible instability?

The second thought I had was, when looking at the photo, the fairing goes below the rim line, which means in a tire failure situation, that fairing is toast.

I'm not trying to rain on anyone's parade, or give 'lessons from history' - just putting this here for completeness of the thread.

I see what you mean- it would have a higher drag coefficient in side winds than a normal car. The 1948 TASCO prototype (begun by Virgil Exner) would have had the same problem-


TASCO TASCO TASCO TASCO!!!!!!!! by Tyler Linner, on Flickr

And yes, I believe they call it a "scrub line". Measure 1/4-1/2" below the rim and anything above that line will be ruined on the first flat tire.

Originally Posted by COcyclist

And the original Tucker design too.

Anyway... I like pictures

[HydroJim]

Edison2 uses them, and they drove cross country in the vlc. im sure they ecountered cross winds at one point.

The side drag coefficient can't be any worse than existing cars?