Tuft testing - Page 4

Bill in Houston · 06-28-2007, 11:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bman83GL

It's really nice for determining if the pressure behind your radiator increases (bad for cooling flow) or decreases (good for cooling flow) when you add a belly pan, and that sort of thing.

Remember you need to measure in front of the rad, and then behind it, because what influences the flow is not the raw pressure, but the differential across the radiator. Very cool that you bought the gauges and are experimenting. What an excellent group this is.

sonyhome · 07-08-2007, 11:26 PM

CO ZX2 · 07-09-2007, 08:48 AM

Nerds laugh at me, You did all the tuft testing that you showed us all. Now show us the projected outcome of the changes you intend to make on your car.

Thank you, CO ZX2

Nerds laugh at me · 07-09-2007, 04:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CO ZX2

Nerds laugh at me, You did all the tuft testing that you showed us all. Now show us the projected outcome of the changes you intend to make on your car.

Thank you, CO ZX2

The projected outcome of me sticking junk all over my car will be that people ( including my family ) will stare and laugh at me even more than they normally do.
Also, any slim chances that I might one day go on a first date ( I'm now 34 )
will become even slimmer.

Am I being sarcastic ..... sadly no ( really )

Oh ... you mean aero-wise ? I don't drive fast enough to see a real difference. I only use my car to drive the 7 miles ( exactly 7 ) to work and back. ( 7+7 miles back)
Average speed is about 42 MPH ( speed limit is 45 MPH ) I have a hill that is just under one mile that I get up to 50 MPH and shift into neutral on. ( yes - the car is automatic. ) ( speed limit there is 55 )
I tried killing the motor a couple of times while coasting, but that doesn't work too well on an auto, since the car must be in 'park' before it can be restarted again. ( You have to pull the car over to the side of the road. )
I have several stoplights, and most are under a minute.
I think what kills my mileage is rolling resistance and weight more than aero ( by a long shot really )
Since I must be to work by 4:00 AM, I do all my driving stunts early in the morning when there is little to no traffic. I drive like normal on the way home.

I ride the bus as much as I can, and would like to bike to work, but I'm a little leary of new things like that. ( How will I be affected by 100+ degree temps while trying to pedal up that hill and rain... and criminals at 4 in the morning .... and ...and .......AAAAHHHH !!!! )

BTW, The next time that I visit my parents, I plan to do some more extensive tuft testing, including ........... well give me some time, since an illustration will do more than words ( I'll have a piece of cardboard dangling from the back of the car covered in tufts to show the flow a several feet behind the car )
I'm hoping that some of this can be beneficial to someone, but for me it's just couriousity ( and boredom )

I plan on adding a cardboard extention like this :

It would just be a flat piece of cardboard that would stand out straight from the back of the car and be secured by some bracing attached with the bumper bolts.
It would be mounted just top the right of the plate so as to be legal and have the required safety flag.
The purpose of the thing would be to show the pattern of the air flow behind the car ( vs. just on the surface of the body ) much like what you would see in a wind tunnel using a smoke wand.
Do you filks think this would work, or do you think that the airflow would be disrupted by the device ?

CO ZX2 · 07-09-2007, 06:52 PM

N.l.a.m.-you are getting serious. They will quit laughing when you get 75 mpg. They will cry and kiss you when you get 100 mpg. Your cardboard will come to a point at the rear, right? What will you do at the bottom, cover it?

If you don't mind me asking, what do you do for a living?

You honestly do have exceptional ability in drawing and design.

I didn't see the rest of your post before I started writing. Heck, if you're gonna go that far, duplicate from your pattern for the other side and bring it to a point in the rear. Maybe taper the bottom up some, and cover the top. Duct tape will hold the pieces together.

Then you will be testing something that may be out of this world.

Nerds laugh at me · 07-10-2007, 04:45 PM

[QUOTE=CO ZX2;62748]N.l.a.m.-you are getting serious. They will quit laughing when you get 75 mpg. They will cry and kiss you when you get 100 mpg. Your cardboard will come to a point at the rear, right? What will you do at the bottom, cover it?

My car is a Civic DX automatic. The best I have ever seen was 56 MPG with the car ( but MetroMPG and I think it a fluke ) The average is just over 42 MPG highway - around 35 - 37 city.
So 75 MPG .... uh.... no. Not unless I found some mountains like yours .

As far as what you were talking about above , Actually, I think you misunderstand.( Or perhaps I misunderstood you ) That piece of cardboard is just a flat piece of cardboard with tufts all over it. Seen from the top it would just be a flat piece of cardboard turned on its side.
The purpose of it would be to see the airflow several feet behind the car.
Hopefully this would show any vortexes and spinning eddies.
Do you think it will work, or actually effect the test ?
If you don't mind me asking, what do you do for a living?

I'm a gigello. ( Yah ... sigh. It gets a little boring sometimes with all those beautiful women. All they want is to make love all day. Oh well at least they pay me exceptionally well .) *
You honestly do have exceptional ability in drawing and design.

Thank you ! I need tons of practice.

I didn't see the rest of your post before I started writing. Heck, if you're gonna go that far, duplicate from your pattern for the other side and bring it to a point in the rear. Maybe taper the bottom up some, and cover the top. Duct tape will hold the pieces together.

Hmmm - again not sure what you mean. I plan to tuft test the car with, and without wheel covers ( maybe very temporary front ones too that would come off at the slightest turn of that wheel.) and with a couple of other add ons as well, such as my doublely-stuped-shop-vac-lookin-cone-headed-double boattail-extention.
All of this would involve both my mom and dads time( the drivers of both the car and the chase vehicle - with me as the camera man) , so I don't know how much I can realistically get done in an hour or two.

Then you will be testing something that may be out of this world.

Nah ... people will just laugh and say "What the heck did you do that for moron ."[/QUOTE]

* Actually, I work at your favorite store - or rather it's clone - Lowes.

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