Lincoln Aerodynamics (BAD)

[red91sit]

So, i was thinking of ways to improve my cars aerodynamics, I came up with a little drawing of some plans, but before i go about trying to implement them, I was wondering if anyone would like to share their ideas of how to make it better. The idea for the new nose came after driving after it snowed. The snow didnt' stay attached past the nose, it went straight up from the front of the car.

The idea for the nose is from the old Dodge Daytona's and Superbirds. They were aslo very un aerodynamic to begin with, but they got them down to a cd of .29. The whole front fascia comes off as one unit, so it would be easy to remove that and make a new one out of foam or something, it will be freakishly massive though haha.



Stock,

[zpiloto]

Need Toecutter to chime in but I think the nose would help but the backend should be where you should put a lot of effort. Go with undertrays, wheel skirts, partial in the front, figure a way to slope the back, some kind of deflector on the hood to help push air over the almost straight windscreen and tape the door handles.

[MetroMPG]

In this case, front end mods are justified, owing to how square the transitions are. I'd bet you're currently getting separated flow at the very front of the vehicle.

I'm with z: fashioning something to taper the roofline downward and the greenhouse inward past the back window is critical on this car. The wind sees it as a pickup truck with a tonneau cover - you need a "bed" aero shell (see the Phil Knox references for his method).

I'm sure Toecutter will chime in with his list of mods.

We need a thread to refer people to. This question comes up pretty regularly.

[MetroMPG]

Don't forget smooth wheel covers. You've got some serious food processors on there now

[red91sit]

I do already have the grill block, and underbody panels on the front. The problem is when I get to the end of the engine bay, I have the exhuast pipes and a driveshaft that moves up and down several inches. Behind that I have the rear end which is a large source of drag as well, but again it moves making it much more difficult to make aerodynamic.

The hood already does have a bit of a lip at the end which would help, but as you mentioned the air is already well disturbed here from the front of the car. I was mostly concerned with the nose at this point. It's not the biggest place for drag, but the easiest for me to fix. How does the shape of my planned nose look? I read a lot of reports from NASCAR testing, and they seem to have found best aerodynamics when the nose when it was shaped about like the one I have pictured. I've heard that you want the most air to go over the vehicle, but their testing went against this idea. Perhaps this is due to the high ground clearance? Or the lower the nose the more flat they were?

[MetroMPG]

I've read both: that you want a blunt, roughly hemispherical leading edge (as you've done). Problem with that is the stagnation point becomes higher, so more air goes beneath the car, with implications for handling (front end lift).

The other school of thought is generously rounded front-to-hood-and-sides transitions, but the lower part of the bumper should be more or less vertical, to lower the stagnation point and get more air over the car. (The EV1, Honda Insight, and the Bonneville Cobalt that came up earlier this week are more like this)

EDIT: I'd go with option 2 for your car because you have more unshielded stuff beneath the car.

[lovemysan]

Originally Posted by red91sit

I do already have the grill block, and underbody panels on the front. The problem is when I get to the end of the engine bay, I have the exhuast pipes and a driveshaft that moves up and down several inches. Behind that I have the rear end which is a large source of drag as well, but again it moves making it much more difficult to make aerodynamic.

The hood already does have a bit of a lip at the end which would help, but as you mentioned the air is already well disturbed here from the front of the car. I was mostly concerned with the nose at this point. It's not the biggest place for drag, but the easiest for me to fix. How does the shape of my planned nose look? I read a lot of reports from NASCAR testing, and they seem to have found best aerodynamics when the nose when it was shaped about like the one I have pictured. I've heard that you want the most air to go over the vehicle, but their testing went against this idea. Perhaps this is due to the high ground clearance? Or the lower the nose the more flat they were?

If your worried about the driveshaft etc. Leave the tunnel area uncovered and install some spoilers.

[MetroMPG]

Originally Posted by MetroMPG

We need a thread to refer people to. This question comes up pretty regularly.

List added: List of aero mods you can do to your car

Not discouraging discussion of specifics for your particular car, but I think a general list will be useful to have around.

[Silveredwings]

don't forget lowering, shopping the roof, and shaving the handles.

[zpiloto]

Originally Posted by red91sit

The hood already does have a bit of a lip at the end which would help, but as you mentioned the air is already well disturbed here from the front of the car.

I ment to raise the hoodline with it sloping from the front to the windshield where it's about 5" high toward the windshield. I did this on my Madza and saw about a 1.5% increase in FE but the windshield slopes a little better than yours.