Wheel skirt design...

[19bonestock88]

Originally Posted by mcrews

I would curve the trialing edge up to the fender, gently.

Also, I experienced a vibrating at higher speeds and had to run a thin piece of metal along the bottom edge.
THe material we use is just too flimsy NOT to vibrate.
take alook at my skirts.....
http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthrea...ast-16970.html


see post #37 to see the metal bar I installed.

Before embarking on my project, I read both your entire skirt thread, and MetroMPG's, and as a result, I've used a "carpet bar" on both sides as a reinforcement... I should have gotten a pic before I fixed the skirt... For now, I just taped the trailing edge of the skirt firmly to the bumper cover with plastic strapping tape... I have since bought more nylon rivets, so another solution is in development...

Originally Posted by freebeard

Go around signage shops and see if you can get a partial (or used!) sheet of PolyMetal. The piece I got was 2x3ft or so for $20-25.

It's a stiff as 5/8" plywood. Follow the horizontal cut line for the bumper on top and box out the bottom like on that Miata. aerohead's example terminates in an angled skeg. That could in turn be an outer fence on a diffuser.

I haven't found any PolyMetal or AlumaCorr anywhere near me locally; in fact, I haven't even found full sheets of coroplast yet... Not many sign shops here in WV, given that I don't live near a major metropolitan area... However, on Wednesday, I'll be in Charleston most of the day; maybe I'll drive around and find something...

[California98Civic]

Originally Posted by 19bonestock88

So, I'm making wheel skirts for my Malibu, and I've come to a part where I've got a question... Right now, I've got the skirt following the wheel arch for the first 135 degrees or so(imagine this as a portion of a semicircle), then curving out and going outside the arch straight back for about 6" and terminating... Underneath the skirt, the body tapers inward near the bottom, leaving about a 2" gap between the bumper cover and the skirt face... Now, this area is open for air to flow from the wheel well out the back of the skirt, but is this good, or would I be better off to taper the skirt back into the body of the car, and risk airflow separation due to the somewhat sharp curve?


The top of the rear part(blending from semicircle to square sticking out) touches the car, but the bottom part doesn't...

This sounds a little like what I did with mine, amybe, but I cannot tell without pics. Here is a pic of mine:



The bottom of the trailin edge does not contact the body. Here is a link to the post where I showed home I mounted it:
http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthrea...tml#post464528

Hope it helps.

EDIT: Sorry, at first I had missed the pics you posted on the previous page. Now I have seen them. And yes, my design could help you a lot. I mounted my skirt outside the lip of the wheel well, a change from my first version which was more like yours. Doing so solved vibrating and rubbing problems and made it easier to conform the skirt shape to the body for the most part.

[19bonestock88]

I am thinking about extending the length of my skirt to the end of the bumper, since I got a load of free coroplast, but re-doing it like yours would require re-fashioning mounts for my carpet bar... Since the skirt is fastened to the carpet bar with Velcro, and the trailing edge is taped, there is very little vibration, even at my 80mph freeway speed...

I'm also mulling over the thought of making front skirts too... My thought is to use a spinner hubcap (with one side weighted to the spinner holds its position) and fasten a piece of coroplast(reinforced to retain shape) to it, that way the skirt will move with the tire instead of rubbing it...

[aerohead]

Originally Posted by 19bonestock88

I am thinking about extending the length of my skirt to the end of the bumper, since I got a load of free coroplast, but re-doing it like yours would require re-fashioning mounts for my carpet bar... Since the skirt is fastened to the carpet bar with Velcro, and the trailing edge is taped, there is very little vibration, even at my 80mph freeway speed...

I'm also mulling over the thought of making front skirts too... My thought is to use a spinner hubcap (with one side weighted to the spinner holds its position) and fasten a piece of coroplast(reinforced to retain shape) to it, that way the skirt will move with the tire instead of rubbing it...

Be sure to observe the wheel flop (full range of motion,from lock-to-lock,including vertical displacement) from say,potholes,while the wheel is turned.

[19bonestock88]

Well, given that I want the front skirt to be attached to the wheel/tire(just not rotating with it), and not much bigger, I don't expect much interference with the fender at stock height... I'll still check full lock conditions to see if the skirt would rub on the fender... I'm way off from making these though, and if some decently smooth hubcaps come up, I might abandon the front skirt and instead do something similar to what OG VX did...

[freebeard]

A 'spinner' disk that underlaps the wheelwell opening won't offer much improvement, IMHO. Better to go with a smooth disk on rims wider than the tire tread, and a round-shouldered tire.

[19bonestock88]

Stretching tire onto a wide wheel(Hellaflush?) with a smooth cover? I would have to buy a 8.5" wide wheel to stretch a 205 tire... I figure such a spinner disc(with additional fairings that underlap the leading edge and overlap the trailing edge of the fenderwell) would provide a gain of some kind...

[BamZipPow]

I have discovered that my wheel pant attached to my single wheel trailer fork vibrated a lot and in the process had a tendency to beat up the attachment points. Keep in mind that front skirts attached to the front wheels will probably incur the same degree of vibration. Look at the bracing that was done fer the front wheel fenders fer the Plymouth/Chrysler Prowler. Those fenders still vibrated/bounced with all of that bracing.

[19bonestock88]

Alright, guys, here's the final version of my rear wheel skirts... No tape here, as it's just held on by nylon rivets(I learned that when the package says 1/4" to drill a 5/16 hole, cause the retaining pins are the devils own work to get pushed into the rivet to secure it)



I painted them, but they aren't a perfect match, even though I used the same paint code and everything... But I digress; it's close enough for me...

[freebeard]

Looks good [enough]. The color shift may be due to the color of the base coat you put the paint over.

My car is actually two different colors. Most people don't notice but I see it every time I walk up to the car.