Tesla M3 DIY Wind Tunnel Testing - Front End Aerodynamics

[@0thomas0thomas]

Hey Ed,I didn't know what to expect with the change on your channel, this is actually pretty good! My job being aerodynamicist for cars (not for Tesla however) I can tell you few tricks : Even if your video is great, the shape of the front end of the car is not important at all.Usually it's the designer team that choose the overall shape and the aerodynamicists just confirm it's ok. The only rule is to avoid flow separation but it's quite easy given the high pressure gradient happening here. I'm glad you spotted the air curtains, flowing on the outboard of the tire, as you explained correctly, they are here to clean the wake of the front tires and not to be mistaken with brake cooling ducts that go, well, on the brake caliper. Concerning the flat surface on the front, it's due to the new design of electric cars : in normal conditions (not racing) they don't have a lot of cooling needs compared to ICE, and cooling is HUGE in drag... So designers come with new front faces (some people don't like, I like) that clearly reduce the mass flow rate going through the exchangers. But Tesla's secret to really low drag is not where everybody looks. Electric cars have a very big and flat battery on their underside and this is the key : full flat bottom with high energy flow to get a beautiful wake balance between top and under flow. For your next video you should do the same but stick all your little ropes on the diffusor and look how the flow will be attached on the middle and not attached to the sides (polluted by the rear wheel wakes). Because in the aerodynamic of a car, the most important things are the rear wake and the wheel wakes. Glad to see you back and I hope you're doing ok!

[@ExperimentalAirlines]

This comment is what I was really hoping for! You have answered a lot of my questions already and given me ideas for other areas to check out. So it sounds like basically the front is flat because there is no grille, and it doesn't help much to make the nose sharp after all. Oh well, it's more mundane than I thought. I still would rather have a pointy nose, like a jet fighter or Porsche. Thank you again for your feedback.

[@Francois_Dupont]

the most important part is actually the rear, having a nice smooth rounded rear is way better that a squared one.

[@0thomas0thomas]

@@Francois_Dupont Désolé François mais c'est complètement faux!

[@NJFPV]

@@Francois_Dupont I still have a hard time, conceptually, with casting aside front end contours as not important. I suppose I am not an aerodynamicist, so my assumptions are strictly speculation and grounded in thought, not fact, but when I stick something flat out the window at 60mph, my hand gets thrown back violently, but when I stick something out the window that has what I would consider to be good aerodynamic qualities (sleek, pointed front end), I get very little resistance. I have a difficult time wondering how this does not transfer to larger objects, or why every very fast plane doesn't have a square front end if it doesn't matter. I'd guess that the best physicists in the world have worked this stuff out, but I could be wrong...

[@Francois_Dupont]

@@NJFPV you said it yourself. the overall shape is most important, not the front. you hand is mostly flat front and back. having a square back create a vacuum. type into google image "aerodynamic shape" you will see that everything ever designed will have a thinner rear than the front. even a zeppelin have this characteristic shape of bigger front thinner back.

[@worldtrav72]

Cool to see aero in action. Thanks for doing this!

[@wamplertube]

Ted! I’ve been wondering what happened to you! Excellent to see you again!

[@ReevansElectro]

It needs an Armin wing.

[@ExperimentalAirlines]

Just wait....

[@WyllSurfAir]

The interesting part would be to see what air is doing in the back end of the car. The more they are able to keep air laminar and attached around the rear windshield and trunk area of the car the more they can reduce the turbulence behind the car and thus reduce the drag.

[@ExperimentalAirlines]

I'm glad you're interested, and I am too. Clearly there will be some turbulence in the back, we just need to see where. Good for another video!

[@O-cDxA]

@@ExperimentalAirlines Really looking forward to the video 👍

[@midnight121190]

Ah yes this is what I’m looking forward too as well 😊

[@westcoastaerialservice1457]

Glad to see you’re back!

[@aliberk3112]

You are back! KZbin didn't show me your uploads on my subscribtion feed. I would never know if I had not checked your channel while browsing old channels I am subscribed to. Happy to see you back :)

[@Matth9782]

This is cool, would love to see a follow up on the newly designed model 3 front bumper.

[@rmay000]

6:05 the airflow won't detach at the frunk-gap. it's very near to the front of the car and the hood is still coming up to block the airflow. the boundary layer is still "fresh" an full of energy at that point. it's similar to how you wouldn't see separation in front of the thickest part of an airfoil. the boundary layer will probably transition from laminar to turbulent though.

[@ExperimentalAirlines]

No doubt, not worried about the gap. It was the flat, vertical fascia surface that forms the lead point that I thought may deflect the airflow upward enough to detach just behind the nose, near the frunk. But it looks good.

[@FPVREVIEWS]

Glad to find your channel again. Like the new brand, and concept. Still subbed, and will look for your stuff in the future!!

[@TravisTLK]

This is very interesting. It would be interesting to see other parts of the car.

[@ExperimentalAirlines]

Cool, thanks for saying so. I think I will check into the rear part next.

[@TaylorPhase]

@@ExperimentalAirlines 2 years later and no rear test

[@midnight121190]

Thank you for doing this! I’d love to see it for the model y too 😉 Really appreciate this test though!

[@digitaldreamer8637]

Appreciate the effort! Great results! 👏🏽

[@AlabamaBassPlayer]

Great to see you making videos again Ed.

[@falcon7350]

thanks for taking the time to do this,, all so i like the input at the end at 8:42 , many dont take the time to add or think of things like this as even the new with car seat backs

[@O-cDxA]

Excellent video. Would you be willing to do the same test with a flat piece of cardboard taped to the indented front surface ? Tufts would then show where the stagnation point moves to, and I would think that you could test the efficiency in real time to see if the indent is indeed a aerodynamic tweak, or just 'style'. Thanks for posting !

[@MOONsRCPLANES.]

Really happy You are back sir🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉

[@D1ckeyMouse]

No more experimental airlines?

[@Sojiira]

Super interesting, fun and educational

[@stickmixfpv188]

Awesome to see you doing great and enjoy doing videos again. Even it's not rc related. Do what ever makes you happy old friend!

[@paulunglaub8427]

Please MORE

[@captainchaos3053]

Oddly the 1988 Vauxhall Cavalier had a drag coefficient of just 0.29 which for a basic family saloon was bloody good. The equivalent Ford Sierra being about 0.34 and Rover 200 series cars of the same era coming in at about 0.32 it's not hard to see why the Tesla is the shape it is and the effects produced. The car designed in the 1950s the Morris Minor matched the Cavalier at just 0.29 allowing the little 950cc engine to achieve very high fuel economy and very little wind noise inside the cabin. Some modern cars manufacturers could learn a lot by looking at previous successful designs and steering away from form over function with cars having less usable space inside than ever while continuing to grow ever larger on the outside.

[@stephendrew1763]

If the frontal area is flat you have an air bubble that sits in front of it. This bubble can oscillate and shedding vortices above and below at a certain frequency. By having the lip you reduce the air bubble and create stability with air flow staying attached on both sides for longer. But to be honest compared to an ideal aerodynamic body it's still pretty crappy but that's what you get if you want 4 wheels as in a car!

[@chrisleech1565]

Welcome back! Did some housecleaning of my subscriptions and wondered hmmm...Tesla details?? I built some of your incredible foam core designs and am still flying them.

[@Eli-kr5bm]

It would be interesting to see how air attaches behind the wheels (pilot door and copilot door) with the cover and without the covers

[@O-cDxA]

I was walking past a new Honda Accord. I noticed the "chrome" accent piece is also angled like the Model 3.

Get a Vorstiener front lip or Unplugged front lip and/or their front bumper too and do a vs! :D Still, very neat field test you mocked up! Yarn Tufts are so messmorizing to watch. I love seeing physics in action!

[@JohnnyVegasStudio]

Good to see you back Ed! I dunno; that shape on the front lip sure looks like and inverted wing to me. :)

[@Tore_Lund]

Nice! Now do the rear from before the rear wheels to the centerline on the roof down to the rear licenseplate and you only need tufts on half of the car, right and left are similar.

[@orbitaljellyfish808]

A worthy video

[@FalconF]

Very interested in aero for the rear and maybe some thoughts on how that might interact with a trailer being towed behind it.

[@midnight121190]

Did you do this for other parts of the car?

[@Ampereeify]

Can you do The same but with extra lights i front? LED bar and so on

[@Travisneedham1]

Cool video Ed. Sad to see you not making plane vids anymore, but happy to know you are doing well :)

[@MSmith-jf5wo]

The air "Damming Effect" is well shown, at 7:40 through 8:17, causing turbulence and loss of efficiency. (I'm sure theat Elon reached out to FORD about that, as they were one of the "First Pioneers" in laminar flow research on automobiles). (NIce car, for sure... But wouldn't hold my Kayak, R/C Airplanes, and all my fishing gear!). Haha! Thanks for bringing our attention to this...

[@daniebello]

I remember this one guy on youtube thought that getting a sticker of a fake grille on his model 3 was a good idea. everyone in the comments told him it would look stupid but he did it anyway. then he acted surprised and disappointed when he didn’t like it after it was installed

[@jdmoney1000]

Great job!

[@TravisTLK]

Not know much about aerodynamics, I would have expected the split line of air moving over the car and air moving down to be at that leading edge. As you said, and the test shows, it's further down below that leading edge.

[@miwiYT]

No licence plate?

[@MOONsRCPLANES.]

Sir Why don't you make new videos about RC PLANES???? We really miss you

[@th3welfarewarrior]

Thank you

[@billnipp2309]

I wonder what the plastic license plate holder does to aerodynamics....

[@amelialam774]

Hi，are you interested in reviewing some tesla accessories ？

[@JakeBullit123]

Hey Ed, I think you need to make a new front end out of foam board and packing tape.Then take it to Elon and show him how much more efficient you made it.Sure he`d give you a few quid,or a job ;)

[@suj241]

Can u do it for a Geo metro or a 89 swift

[@dougkuechenmeister8733]

Very Cool! Thanks for putting your thughts out on this.

[@krishnareddy5589]

What is frontal area ,any one pls ?

[@paulojorge4522]

do you have the Alula evo plant? Pass her to me

[@GrandadIsAnOldMan]

Great first Tesla video Ted. No way I will be buying one, completely out of my price range but I am interested in your take on them and will be following your new direction and stick along for the ride 🙂👍👍🚗

[@ExperimentalAirlines]

Thank you sir. I will try to keep it interesting. We may all be driving electric cars one day.

[@O-cDxA]

I clicked on this immediately, and loved the entire video. Everything from the comedy, to the multiple camera angles. Subscribed ! Great explaination of what the air is doing as well. I'd love to see a video of the rear of the car, since the angle of the rear glass seems rather shallow when compared to " faster looking " designs. It seems like flow would have less velocity and just might detach in some areas. There is a manufacturer that sells a front lip and small rear spoiler for the back. Together, they show a .18 Cd, in CFD testing ( Fluent ? ) , so I found the turbulent area at the front interesting. This is my first video i have watched from you, but besides rear end testing, another interesting area would be behind the wheels, both with, and without the aero wheel covers. GREAT VIDEO. Subbed !

[@dreiak]

It is my experience that the flat front end looks just fine, but due to how lighting is picked up in high gloss reflection, high gloss paints make the front end look like the top portion is more bulbous than it really is, whereas semi-gloss and matte finishes pronounce the body lines a bit more, and mute the contrast on the underside of the lip, making it look closer to its actual geometry, and making the front end more attractive. imgur.com/gallery/HCF3JKY

[@T28-f6b]

Hello Ed, nice video, I have a big motor glider project that I have finished, I can send you a short video if you would like to see it, all of you RC videos really helped me, thanks heaps for all those videos! How can I contact you via email?

[@ExperimentalAirlines]

Just watched it on your channel. That is a beast! Nice job. I'm subscribed.

[@T28-f6b]

@@ExperimentalAirlines Thanks Ed, I have been making gas powered scale models for a while but this is my first attempt at a electric motor foam build, Ill post the test flight soon.

[@eastindiaV]

If you could get something speed of light, or near speed of light, you could find a straight path back and forth to create a time tunnel... at that speed subatomic particles and radiation accumulate in wierd ways, and over time, melt or Fuze, or disintegrate parts of whatever ship is going that speed. In theory you could radio control a perfect cube with the propulsion system at the center of gravity thats made of something basic like steel or graphite... over that distance under that speed you would see the "wear pattern" devolop and could build a manned spacecraft around that safely... it would grind a lot of material off... but what's left behind gets carbed into a fibonacci shape that would also naturally produce lift, I think. And you could reverse engineer that to ascertain a lot of other things. A plane should be just a crystalline structure of fibinacci silhouetted surfaces, all oriented in the right direction, obviously.

[@xaralampos1959]

This front face of the car is mimicking the sharks nose. It’s a creature that is traveling with little effort in the water and saves energy when can’t find food. Look it up and let know if it’s true.

[@jackdaniels7913]

This popped up in my feed and I almost unsubscribed before I looked closer and noticed its your channel and not some random bs that snuck in some how close call and it's the ugliest part of the car 😅 🥃cheers🍻

[@ExperimentalAirlines]

Glad you watched. Yes, I could not ignore the weirdness of this part of the car. There's gotta be a reason! Maybe this is part of it.

[@nadeemimran6295]

You cannot be away from wind Ed, better be airborn .

[@ExperimentalAirlines]

You said it best my friend!

[@larrycbrown1]

were you on M*A*S*H :) :)

[@chrsfincher]

I was like wait a sec where did a Tesla channel come from lol. Nice to see ya making vids again

[@ExperimentalAirlines]

Man, I needed something to make videos about and can't get any air time! I hope to sneak in a flying vid once in awhile.

[@DavePinnock]

What's a fasha?? Do you mean fachia.. :)

[@ExperimentalAirlines]

"Fasha" is how we say it in medicine in America, and I'm sure it's wrong compared to the Latin root!

[@qanon_qanon]

That curve on the front is not proprietry to Tesla, the Ford Probe V has the same curve since 1983. Nothing is ever new from Tesla.....

[@MICHGO1]

INTERESTING. THE MUSIC DRONING ON WHILE YOU TALK CAN BE ANNOYING.

[@ExperimentalAirlines]

Thank you for the feedback. I'm trying some new stuff, getting it dialed in.

[@DankRCX]

What happened to EA?? Nothing said, just a name change and no explanation? Ed, what happened? Why not start another channel?

[@ExperimentalAirlines]

Sadly, not flying too much these days. Just having a go at a new thing. I did put out an explanation video a few weeks before. Starting a new channel from scratch with zero subscribers is not something I think anyone would advise. At least a few of my existing subscribers will enjoy electric vehicle related content, and those who don't can skip it. Just wait until I start adding foamboard accessories to the Tesla.

[@DankRCX]

@@ExperimentalAirlines Thanks for your reply! I somehow missed your explanation video. We foam board builders/flyers miss you! Your designs are always fun to build and fly! Hope you are flying again someday.

[@susanbarker4228]

@@ExperimentalAirlines I too have learned alot from your videos and they are fun to make. Hope you will be able to get back to flying sometime. Its a really fun hobby! Thank you

[@freiherrvonbraun6942]

@@DankRCX Hey, can you link me to the explanation video? I couldn't find it

[@JoshWeaverRC]

Yup, it's that time. Time for a foamboard Tesla. And if it has wings and flies, all good.

[@ExperimentalAirlines]

Maybe not the whole car, but foamboard parts. Yes, my friend....

[@air-headedaviator1805]

Hmmmmm.... Now I’m just thinking about taking a tesla body and putting it over a Dodge Demon, and REALLY see what those aerodynamics can do!

[@V0YAG3R]

Oh, great. Another of Tesla's alt-sock puppet accounts doing guerrilla marketing. Cute! 👌🏻

[@paperkiller25]

Go back and look at this guys previous video. The Channel was previously called Experimental Airlines. RC Model aircraft and DIY RC stuff. No gorillas here...just a few trolls like you LOL!

[@V0YAG3R]

paperkiller25 Yes, everyone and anyone who doesn't think like you is a troll. And Islam is a religion of peace 👌🏻

[@BH-ds3wv]

@@V0YAG3R Pretty sure if you think like a troll; you're a troll.

[@chrispychickin]

I don't see why you can't create a new account if you're going to do a complete 180 on channel content. I seriously doubt 95% of your existing subs want to see this vid. You've made some great stuff in the past, but I'm unsubscribing at this point, because I don't want to see this content, but also because this tactic is underhanded and disrespectful to your audience

[@greghart99]

Un-subbed

[@loukask.9111]

why?

[@Fynmar91]

@@loukask.9111 Probably because this is the first video in 2 years and he never subbed to a channel called Tesla Details. I personally don't mind. Let's see what the future brings.

[@rileyhowe9610]

You don’t have to leave a comment letting him know you’ve unsubbed just if your gonna do it , do it nuff said don’t be a prick I didn’t subscribe to a Tesla channel either but I like to see Ed back making videos

[@rileyhowe9610]

Belmont Kraft wow mature 😂🖕🏻