"active" aero grille slats on 06 civic concept

[MetroMPG]

06 civic sedan modified by aftermarket japanese company - note increasingly common camera side mirror trick. more interesting from an aerodynamic perspective (and arguably more effective) is the lower grille area closed by plastic slats.

these are likely "active" slats and only open to permit airflow through the engine compartment when necessary, reducing overall drag significantly.


zoom in


zoom in

full gallery (japanese site)

.

[MetroMPG]

correction: apparently it is a honda concept vehicle (not aftermarket) - and a hybrid to boot.

[SVOboy]

WTF? It's so ugly. But anyway, I like the slats, but they're prolly computer controlled aren't they?

[Matt Timion]

I've been told that the video rear view is actually illegal. Is this the case? I'd love to put one of these on my car.

[SVOboy]

That might be a local law or something, my friend (from like 8 years ago) had a van that can video rear view cuz you couldn't see anything out the back of it, pretty sure it was stock.

[MetroMPG]

Originally Posted by SVOboy

WTF? It's so ugly. But anyway, I like the slats, but they're prolly computer controlled aren't they?

doesn't say, but i'd think so. it's really just a photo gallery, slim on details.

it'd be a relatively easy thing to do, hooked up to the coolant temp sensor. although it would obviously cause problems in winter conditions. they'd get frozen in place by icy winter road spray/wet snow & freezing rain. for that reason, we'll likely never see 'em in production (at least in cold weather markets).

the more interesting question about the mirrors would be to compare the energy required to power them and their view screens to the savings they offer from reduced drag. hmmm...

don't forget they have to be powered all the time, even in city driving where their aero benefit is nil.

[GasSavers_DaX]

Originally Posted by SVOboy

WTF? It's so ugly. But anyway, I like the slats, but they're prolly computer controlled aren't they?

I would assume they are on a thermostat controlled circuit, similar to the cooling fan(s), so that when a specified temperature is reached, the ECU tells the slats to open.

[Matt Timion]

Originally Posted by MetroMPG

the more interesting question about the mirrors would be to compare the energy required to power them and their view screens to the savings they offer from reduced drag. hmmm...

don't forget they have to be powered all the time, even in city driving where their aero benefit is nil.

This is what ultimately made me abandon this modification months ago. Now only would the energy consumption high high, but the resulting aerodynamic benefit would be next to zero. Add to that the cost of the cameras and a small LCD screen and we're talking lots of money.

Here is one guy's insight with the camera:




The camera itself is mounted at the rear by the rear lights.

here is a thread discussing it:

http://www.insightcentral.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1640&highlight=camera

[MetroMPG]

cool link matt. (guess i'm not going to get much work done today...)

[MetroMPG]

good points in those threads. they don't discuss energy use, which is unusual for a bunch of hybrid geeks (said with due respect and envy). however someone raised the point that cameras aren't as good as eyes, esp. in the dark.

then again, an outside mirror replacement isn't strictly necessary...

have you ever seen the super-wide rearview mirrors that are sectioned to provide a panoramic side-rear-side view?

you could also put a mirror inside the car at the corner of the window.

but worrying about the mirrors is the wrong place to start. there's other low-hanging aerodynamic fruit that can be picked first on the average car (the insight not being average).