Windscreen air intake

[markweatherill]

The base of the windscreen is a known high-pressure area on cars.
I wondered if locating the engine's air intake there would have any real effect on aerodynamics?
In fact, why isn't that standard practice on cars??
(I was reading about such an intake mod on Autospeed, about a Mazda MX5 where it was done for performance)

[wagonman76]

Probably no effect on aerodynamics, since the air an engine draws in is negligible compared to the air passing over the car at highway speed.

I would mostly be concerned about rain and snow pooling up in the area and getting in the intake.

[ConnClark]

Some cars do have the engine intakes located there.

[Frank Lee]

Cowl Induction hoods have been around for ages.

[Bicycle Bob]

The front end is also a swell high-pressure zone, and it usually gives a more direct path to a radiator. The mystery to me is why there is so seldom any decent ductwork to the rad, let alone a variable intake. The famous Rolls Royce grille is a non-working copy of their original scheme, which had a thermostat that restricted air instead of water.

[evolutionmovement]

It's amazing the simple pre-war tech that was forgotten—other cars also had the thermostatically controlled radiator shells and some cars had lights that turned with the wheels, usually as a set of optional auxiliary lights. At least the latter is finally being used again, if only by too few.

[ConnClark]

Originally Posted by Bicycle Bob

The mystery to me is why there is so seldom any decent ductwork to the rad, let alone a variable intake. The famous Rolls Royce grille is a non-working copy of their original scheme, which had a thermostat that restricted air instead of water.

This sort of system didn't deal with rapid load variations well and had troubles keeping things cool enough on steep hills. It would also have troubles in modern city stop and go traffic today.

[aerohead]

Originally Posted by markweatherill

The base of the windscreen is a known high-pressure area on cars.
I wondered if locating the engine's air intake there would have any real effect on aerodynamics?
In fact, why isn't that standard practice on cars??
(I was reading about such an intake mod on Autospeed, about a Mazda MX5 where it was done for performance)

Is the Mazda drafting behind other race cars such that the ordinary ram-air available at the forward stagnation point is eclipsed by the lead car?

[markweatherill]

No, as far as I could see it was just an aftermarket add-on - as Frank says above, cowl induction isn't a new thing - but I hadn't seen one before.