[svxistentialist]

Originally Posted by ItsPeteReally

Well because as the management buzz-word speakers would say it's the 'low hanging fruit'. It seems easy and cheap to prototype, a few sheets of plywood, something that you could find by raiding a local skip (dumpster) is all you would need to start. It's the measurement of the results that's difficult.


Cheaper still, take the mirrors off entirely, or manually fold them back. The problem is still measuring how much benefit this actually gives you.


What chip will give you another 40hp at the wheels, which probably means more like another 50hp at the flywheel?
Is there a magic chip which will give you another 20% more power? I don't think so. Certainly not without prejudicing the reliability and longevity of the powerplant.

A possibility, but how much would that cost? Several hundred pounds I guess, would it save 100 lbs of drag? How much would it affect the useability of the car?

As I said, it's the germ of an idea. One that might stand a chance of bearing fruit, and may well be totally undetectable from outside the car. If it works then it will give not only better performance but better economy too.

I'm not claiming that it will work, only measurement will prove that.

So, has anybody got access to a wind tunnel?

Interesting thread. Verified success depends very much on the accurate measurement of any changes. Without wind tunnel access, I can't see the point.

I'm also inclined to agree with Michael. It does seem to be gilding the lily to try and improve on an already slippery shape. Also, improvements in CD only give any decent benefit at somewhat illegal speeds. Any changes you make may improve the slipperiness of the car in the wind, possibly at the expense of downforce, and make the handling at very high speed more dangerous.

Closing the mirrors or removing them should make a measurable difference. Measurable say, at an airfield, using a number of top speed runs, with/without or folded/not folded.

Smoothing the airflow under the car should also yield improvement. I still think these type of improvements would only show up under continuous hi-speed track use. The notional gain [or reclaiming] of 50 lost horsepower is only true at banked oval speedtrack velocities.

In real life, I would prefer to improve the power output or torque, something that would genuinely shift the metal a little faster, when you could actually use the benefit.

Roll on supercharger mod

Joe