Brumby Aerocap

Thalass · Post by **Thalass** » Mon May 04, 2009 12:21 pm

I entered this pic in the photochop comp ages ago, and it was kinda crappy.

(yeah I know it's crappy :P)

I found this thread on the ecomodder forums (weird people, but not bad).

(click for the thread)

This is what I want to do on my brumby ev. Only not out of wood. And I'd have a camera instead of crazy flap window things.

AlpineRaven · Post by **AlpineRaven** » Mon May 04, 2009 9:16 pm

There is an WB Ute going around in Deer Park looks a bit like that, it looks like a courpe but its really a ute..
Cheers
AP

YouTube · Post by **El_Freddo** » Mon May 04, 2009 10:01 pm

Does it really work though - The only way to find out would be in a wind tunnel. If you watched old school myth busters they tested the aero dynamics of a ute (or "pick up truck" in american) to see if driving with the tailgate down was more fuel effiecent than having it up. They concluded that the tailgate up was more efficent due to a circular wind path or a rolling turbulance air body was created in the tray with the tailgate up, this acted as a natural canopy that directed airflow over the back of the vehicle with no effect on performance.

With the tailgate down this turbulance did not occur and the back of the cab was subjected to a drag effect.

My 2c - you'd really have to check it in a wind tunnel, it may look good by eye but that means nothing.

Cheers

Bennie

Thalass · Post by **Thalass** » Wed May 06, 2009 1:55 am

I've seen that episode, too. It's a good point, and I can kind of see how the air looping in the tray would form an ideal shape for the rest of the air to flow around. But it still take some energy to make the air swirl around in the first place, so you lose out there. Whether a cap like this would be worth it is up in the air, I guess, but these ecomodder guys do have actual numbers somewhere about whether it makes a difference. I'm keeping an eye on this particular one to see how it works out.

As far as looks go, I'd be aiming more for an aerodynamic version of the traditional cover box thingo you see on the brumby, rather than trying to look like a coupe. But we'll see. heh.

AndrewT · Post by **AndrewT** » Wed May 06, 2009 9:15 am

Should base it on a Vortex then....they are supposed to have a way better than average drag co-efficient. Unfortunately they look stupid

D3V1L · Post by **D3V1L** » Wed May 06, 2009 10:33 am

yes bennie that very true when your talking a ute with an open back. but in terms of the cap it would be more effecient. i know a long time ago i real a lot aobut air effeciency and that shit, and the one thing that always stuck with me, is a cap similar to that. it makes the car into a more of a plane wing type shape, (flat bottom and curve over the top) which makes more dynamic, problem is it causes a little bit of lift. so i dont know which is better..ahaha

im interrested to see how your brumby project goes mate, its been interresting me from the start

dave

Thalass · Post by **Thalass** » Wed May 06, 2009 8:11 pm

hehe and I hope I can back it up with actual results.. eventually. The house should only be two months or so from being finished (I hope), so not long after that I'll start looking for a donor. Hopefully by the end of the year.

Thalass · Post by **Thalass** » Fri May 08, 2009 9:44 am

The guy doing this posted a simulation of his ute. It's not the best, but kinda illustrates what should happen.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tmU-dcK9 ... annel_page

I think the current version is best, where the sharp angle at the back gives a clean separation of the air on the one spot. Whereas all the others tend to have the separation creep forwards, giving you the big swirling things coming off the back. Something like that, at least.

Thalass · Post by **Thalass** » Mon May 18, 2009 5:41 pm

And one last update: The guy has finished it and painted it up all shiny. I think it looks great!

Something like this on a brumby would look really good.