Zoleco: custom aerodynamic car, 1.0L Suzuki drivetrain

[zoltanbod]

Just as a comparison those 1000lbs worth of lead acid batteries is about 17 units with an energy capcity of 25 per, 425 in total. I gal of gasoline is about 9 lbs and has 15970 units of energy. Yes batteries make very good ballast.

[RobertSmalls]

Originally Posted by zoltanbod

Just as a comparison those 1000lbs worth of lead acid batteries is about 17 units with an energy capcity of 25 per, 425 in total. I gal of gasoline is about 9 lbs and has 15970 units of energy. Yes batteries make very good ballast.

A rich man wants 1000lbs of lithium, not lead. That's 1.2 gallons of gasoline equivalent.

Btw, a gallon of gasoline weighs 6 lbs.

[RobertSmalls]

21ft² is fine, but unremarkable. You can see how it compares to other cars. Your donor car, I believe, has 19-20ft² frontal area.

Your car will have to distinguish itself in its drag coefficient, then. The front of the car is sound (and, incidentally, not very important to overall drag). As to the rear, does it fit inside this parabola? You can go slightly steeper than that template, but if your roofline gets too steep too fast, you'll develop a very high drag vortical wake behind the car.

If you can match the performance of a specially modified GM Impact, you'll have a Cd=0.15, which is 60% better than the best production car ever sold. I'll throw that into the calculator for now.

Also assuming some very good LRR tires, 250g/kWh @ 65mph, summer gas, summer air, and a warmed up car, I figure 118mpg (1.99L/100km) at 65mph is achievable. These are all best-case numbers.

As you said, this is all just (very sound) theory and (well-informed) speculation, and the proof is in the prototype testing.

[zoltanbod]

Your right that was gas not water we are runing on.

[zoltanbod]

I looked at the modded impact.Looks like the nose on the Zoleco a longer gentler arcing point along with my my hood.My windshield slope is 28 degrees up the center,can't tell on the impact.My windshield arc continues into and over the roof and falling away down the back window at a gentle 17 degrees.the sides of mine taper in from the front axcle to the tail at 24 degrees.My wheel openings are smoother.The half tear drop shape theoretically has a Cd of .09,so for argument sake lets guess mine at .12,so i think that caculates out to a 27.9lbs drag at 65mph? What do you think? I can hardly wait to do real world testing and compare it to our speculations.

[NeilBlanchard]

I think to get as low as even Cd 0.15, you'll have to have wheel skirts -- wait does it have front wheel skirts? Can you post some photos?

[zoltanbod]

The wheels are fully enclosed .no openings at all.Check out the Zoleco videos on Youtube.

[zoltanbod]

The Zoleco and that parabola are very close fit.

[zoltanbod]

Also check out my album.I added a few more photos.

[JasonG]

It seems the rear shape is too abrupt.
I predict detached air flow. 23 deg is too steep.
Try to take it for a drive with the old drivetrain and do some tuft testing before you commit to a mold.