Using Simple Aerodynamics to Beat High Gas Prices (Home Improvement Store Edition)

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[@stratos2]

Now do the changes you suggested. Really curious how far you can push this!

[@colinbowman8816]

Agree!

[@eatthedead1ify]

same!

[@snermann]

the upgrade looks cool and if its efective nice however i do recomend removing the wheel cover since it could technicaly kill u in curtain situations like where u need to lets say brake a lot, since u dont have the wind moving thru the brakes anymore becouse the cover if u break too much and go downhill and use breaks a lot they will not cool that efectivley which will in turn heat them up and make them brake worse, however there might be a solution in formula racing since they usualy do a lot of aerodinamic stuff so maybe look there for anwsers, im not a profesional just my personal opinion on the things i know

[@roguenoss2482]

@@snermann he could do something simillar to the front wheels of the mclaren speedtail. Pretty much an aero cover that's not spinning with the rims and has ducts for airflow to the brakes.

[@arturogarcia-fp7di]

Really i was expecting that and boom the end 😡

[@BikeGuyFPV]

8:12 actually, you can do something to stop the turbulence by the rear lights. You could put a big piece of clear PC plastic and curve it to fit the gap. You can still see the signals from behind but still get rid of the turbulent air.

[@piggyporkerboo]

came here to say this

[@TheProtocol48]

PC plastic curve...sounds like a project in and of itself.

[@excaliburjohndeere7657]

What about wire mesh or insect screen that you would see you in a window it is also see-through. I would like to make a boat tail out of insect screen

[@0xsergy]

@@excaliburjohndeere7657 lol.

[@OlafGodredsson]

Packing tape

[@brianfox340]

The proposed new shape would hit the ground on every bump and dip. Maybe halfway between would work better. Clearly if a manufacturer did this they could relocate the tail lights to the tip, which would help that area massively. I'm actually really impressed with a 13% improvement.

[@raven4k998]

yeah it would to low is just as bad as to high cause pot holes and other bumps in the road make the lowest possible being very bad for the car driving down the road sadly

[@user-wh6ys9hx7o]

I thought you were fishing in the thumbnail And I cant believe that you actually did this job for real Its absolutely amazing that you put this thought into action. Thanks for letting me watch such a great video

[@peterxyz3541]

You could use clear plastic sheet to transition your tail light

[@dundeedideley1773]

cling film lol

[@outlaw7x77]

Led lights come in all shapes and sizes. Incorporate your own designed aero lights being sure to follow state laws. Part 2?

[@larsassinck3868]

Exactly what I thought

[@ZafiraSteve]

I was going to say this

[@hambaallah1948]

People on back cant estimate distance if you use plastic clear. Likely they will hit you.

[@paulgrieger8182]

Word of caution: I modded a minivan for hypermiling and added "smoothies" wheel covers. I had insufficient front brake cooling, and the front brake pads cracked in half.

[@TM450FI]

It's a minivan..............

[@mattcee7113]

You can add front brake ducts to help cooling and it’s also race car technology

[@jeffk464]

Death is a small price to pay for increased miles per gallon.

[@Brandon-uy1uv]

yea, a cars wheels/ rims are designed to absorb and dissipate heat, some even help force air into the brake discs for improved cooling

[@jeeewhyyypheee]

Maybe adding brake duct to channel direct air from front could help?

[@paulheineman]

Nice, I was on the team that built that solar car. Rotating wheels create a lot of turbulent air, so that lower side surface will probably always be turbulent, except if you make stationary wheel covers like on old Citroen cars, or the modern 'lightyear zero'. Putting tape over the gaps around your hood makes a surprisingly large difference too. Interested if you can find a way to keep the underside laminar as we struggle with that on our solar cars also, but only around the wheels (sucks that they have to spin to move)

[@msbealo]

You, or someone you worked with, probably did the maths but what proportion of the drag is from viscose forces? I'm more used to boats so I don't have a handle on this. Adding surface area with act against you eventually.

[@paulheineman]

@@msbealo Correct, that is partly why the solar cars are so small. It is always a balance. The trailing edge has a significant impact on the overall drag so you can get away with adding a certain amount of bodywork in the back.

[@YoutubeChanneI]

Man I really love learning about air flow and how things work and can be improved. Just subscribed, this channel is awesome!

[@ratuldeoun7228]

Science is super fascinating especially outside of the classroom 😂

[@dundeedideley1773]

13% is kinda huge to be fair! I suggest putting wheel spats on the rear wheels as well, should net you antoher 1-2% at least!

[@daylen577]

13% is absolutely mental with some foam, but also immediately shows how moot this project is. It's neat, don't get me wrong, but you very quickly run into diminishing returns and cap out at whatever your state allows. Unless you can min-max by really making a new body or major changes to the existing body and also move around the lights, there's just no way it's going to get much better.

[@gibbs677bg]

but how does it fit in a normal Walmart parking space???

[@pancudowny]

Old saying in advertising: When selling the numbers, always go with the more impressive. 13% don't mean much if it gets 10-mpg as-factory. But if it gets 20-30 MPG....😉

[@kentonian]

@@gibbs677bg the whole thing could hinge at the top and fold over the top of the car. Or an idea I had years ago would be for a tail like this to be inflatable. It would just inflate once you were on a highway

[@ddjohnson9717]

10% increase means every 10 fuel up you save one right(as in 10 fuel up = 11 fuel up) no? that's a lot or am I missing something?

[@blacksquirrel4008]

I had to tow a utility trailer 1000 miles behind my Land Rover, which used to get 18 mpg hwy. The trailer was heavy but, since it also had two sea kayaks on top of it, it effectively filled the void behind the tall Rover with a tapering mass and the mileage actually went up to almost 20.

[@vitopannucci2001]

I moved to an apartment nearly 200 miles away and had a table in the bed. Typically that same drive would average 22-23 mpg including a bit of city, but this time it was a tick over 25 mpg at the pump. With a table.

[@brianfox340]

That's incredible.

[@pravindahiya719]

@@vitopannucci2001 the speed must be significantly lower than normal driving & as you told in another comment - the drag depends exponentially on speed !🙏

[@pravindahiya719]

your lower speed was a big contributer to the increased milage.

[@27Zangle]

Back in 2005, I had loaded my vehicle to relocate cross country. It was loaded down far beyond what should’ve been in the car. It was rated 17c / 26h and with it loaded down, closing the gap between the bottom of the car and the road, it got 31-34mpg on the highway.

[@theneverman]

Long haul truckers have those foldable panels to reduce that butt-drag. Nice work.

[@coffeemugs947]

I have been wanting to try this bizarre idea for such a long time! Props to you for do it as making efforts to minimize random error in your experiment!

[@aerostaraircraftsanctuary604]

How about removing the rails on the top of the roof? You could also add skirts to the rear wheel wells. Consider removing weight too, carry less fuel, remove interior rugs, rear seat when not in use and toolboxes in the trunk etc. Type of tires makes a big difference in mileage as well as tire pressure. Also, did you do a tuft test without the vortex generators?

[@cagneybillingsley2165]

or you could just buy a car that's already aerodynamic

[@poplaurentiu4148]

@@cagneybillingsley2165 & super-efficient like : VW XL1..

[@-The_Phantom]

@@cagneybillingsley2165 lol , the guy's trying to save money

[@jimmybobco]

Ahhhhhh a true hypermiler ;)

[@GonTar_X]

Remove the tools? Sure let's just get stranded in the middle of nowhere with no phone signal and hope for a beautiful single lady to pass by and give us a ride

[@markschlehr6911]

I've been thinking about this for years. Many cars could benefit from an inflatable airstream on the front. Maybe clear and it wouldn't interfere with headlights or visibility. And deflates for city driving/ parking. There you go. My patentable idea revealed.

[@AdisMedzikovic]

Thanks now I‘m going to get rich

[@Ilove3SGTE]

Maybe for an electric most gas cars have radiators at the front that need cooled. Also the font is actually most of the time less important then the back.

[@jimysk8er]

Are you referring to a nose cone? If so, unless you are reaching supersonic speeds, it's not really that beneficial to add a nose cone at the front. Your front cross section remains the same. Adding a splitter or a dam of some sorts to reduce air going under the car would be helpful and could be inflatable.

[@reecedeyoung6595]

@@jimysk8er or just a metal plate attached to pistons with a sensor that moves it up and down depending on road conditions. Pretty sure the Acura integra did something like that in the 90s

[@jimysk8er]

@@reecedeyoung6595 yep a couple of cars have venting based on temperature or rear and front wings based on speed and or braking.

[@miguelcontreras5782]

I like what you are doing! just a few of suggestions: 1: Dont go for the the design where you creat a flat rear with a curved top that extends all the way down to de floor (9:24) it will create way too much lift and might make your car fatally unstable at 65mph 2: Following the previous recomendation, try the side and front skirts you mentioned, but first try to create a smooth underfloor, it will have massive gains. 3: If you can get away with not using disc wheel covers, but instead create a way to close the wheel arch (at least at the rear) you could also stand to gain a lot.

[@jj4791]

Yes like the old chevy caprice they got amazing gas mileage and were very modern and stylish in 1993... not.

[@iNDY1001]

Fascinating, I went with under-body flattening and smoothing, and adding bits of foam to attempt to create better flow attachment. fuel savings were negligible. Handling and overall sense of stability improved however, my car felt so much nicer to cruise in road noise minamised, just glides along taking curves with a sense of stickiness and stability with the road. Alot of the fidgetiness went away. Now the in the rain the water stays attached to the windscreen and windows and trails off in surreal ways. Adding quick foam vortex generators at the bottom of the front door caused the sticky water to trail downwards. I speculated the capless filling system might not be sealing properly, so I've fashioned a cover and am in the process of seeing if it makes a meaningful difference.

[@atomicsmith]

That lower side turbulence is probably from the wheel well. You'd have to put a skirt over that to improve it. The underbody is indeed where most of your drag comes from. I've seen some analysis that at nearly half of the drag on most gas cars comes from the underbody...

[@nelsonphillips]

I second this advice. A flat floor would be better than skirts(edit: as proposed from the video @9:08) as this will increase the frontal area. I have a recent video on how much a floor impacts drag.

[@Ripsticker45]

what! drag can't possibly come from an area on the car consumers can't see!

[@diyEVguy]

@@nelsonphillips Yes: F_d = 1/2∙ρּּּ⁠∙v²∙S∙c_dּ with F_d as drag force (N), ρּּּ as the density of air (kg/m^3), v as speed (m/s), S as frontal surface area (m^2) and c_d as drag coefficient (-). Adding "skirts" could reduce c_d, *but* would simultaneously increase S. Edit: also the angle shown at 9m15s should be max 15° according to rules of thumb if I remember correctly from aerodynamics class.

[@dperreno]

As to Adam's suggestion - yes, I would try covering the rear wheels flush with the body side if possible - that would probably make a big difference on the side of the vehicle. Unfortunately, you can't do this with the front wheels as they need to be able to turn.

[@cailco100]

@@dperreno Depending on how the wheel turns. the inside of the wheel well, the changes in camber and how much space the tyre takes in the well under bumps and compressing. you can mount something that either links to the suspension or wheel hub. that turns with the wheels. More engineering and mechanical complexing. but you get it right and you can do the front as well. Better to save the headache, time money and possible illegal or cops pulling you over. or having something just fuck up. sticking with the back is probably best. which sucks.

[@AustinPerdue]

I had the privilege of owning Aerocivic for a short time, and I'm thrilled to see others experimenting with boat tailing and other aerodynamic items.

[@excaliburjohndeere7657]

How do you think a wire mesh Boat tail would work like you would see in a window. The thing would breathe so it would decrease lift. I’ve been thinking about it for about a month. I’ve done some experiments in the shop using a air hose the airflow follows the curvature and angle. I can put my hand under the wire mesh and don’t feel any direct pressure from the air hose that I am blowing on the screen at the angle it’ll blow straight through but it follows the curvature of the wire mesh When you’re trying to mimic the boat tail angle

[@AustinPerdue]

@@excaliburjohndeere7657 I can only guess. So long as the mesh is fine enough, I'd wager you'd get nearly all of the benefit. I'm of the opinion that an inflatable tail is probably a better way to go, however, and it isn't all that expensive to have manufactured.

[@O-cDxA]

@@excaliburjohndeere7657 I've wondered the same ! I suggested this idea for enclosing recumbent bikes, but haven't seen anyone take up the idea. Screen would direct air down the sides of the vehicle, while also allowing air to pass through from crosswinds ! Would love to see what you come up with.

[@zamin_ali]

If you decide to make the changes that were suggested, please make a follow-up video. Really curious if the improvements will make a significant difference. Thank you.

[@kari53]

We did this back in the 90's on a high-school car learning about aerodynamics. I later doubled the fuel economy on an old Ford van. GM had prototypes similiar to your car. Infact the EV-1was there real application of extending the range of their current car. However, manufactures soon learn people didn't like this look for your vehicle. There are cap manufacturers though that have aerodynamic caps for your truck to increase mileage. Loved your video. I can geek out on drag coefficiency numbers and designs along with hydro-dynamics.

[@jfv65]

the single most effective improvement would be to make a flat underbody panel and screw that to the car. Maybe closing off the rear wheel wells would help too. And fitting narrow low rolling resistance tires.

[@samkwant4050]

wouldn't the rear end work like a massive diffuser with a flat floor though? All the low pressure pulling the rear of the car downwards

[@dundeedideley1773]

@@samkwant4050 not if it stays this tame of an angle. A diffuser doesn't really work that well at highway speeds anyway.

[@outlaw7x77]

Jack up the tire pressure.

[@louf7178]

Have wanted to do this for years. Catalytic converter heat is a concern; a closed bottom might deter against catalytic converter theft, too.

[@jorghelfrich8884]

@@louf7178 Indeed, even just exhaust pipe heat and other types of heat build up are a concern when doing this. It'll definitely need something other than cardboard/foam

[@hikerJohn]

Cover the taillight indents with clear plastic. The back end can be wider so there's less turbulence on the sides. You can also put a clear plastic tail cone over the hole so it's more like a wing . . . Reading the other comments I'm just repeating what others have said. The bottom cant be as low as you showed or you wont be able to get in the gas station driveway. Replace body panels with carbon fiber to cut weight, a lot of energy is used accelerating that heavy car. Take the back seats out. Take off the rear glass.

[@acoffeewithsatan]

I was thinking the same thing! One could even take a budget approach and use clear packing tape to form the cover.

[@thatguyalex2835]

The solution to high gas prices? Don't drive, unless it is necessary or for special occasions. Have meetings on the computer. Have cities that have amenities near residential (or included in a multipurpose building, like the 2014 canceled Sky City in China or the 1989 Sky City 1000 concept in Japan).

[@hikerJohn]

@@thatguyalex2835 Yep, follow the leading and manipulation of the lefts agenda. The peons or peasant should just stay home while the elites have fun.

[@Cuttablebeast1]

Wide body issue could be solved using scrape friendly products like a door rubber sealer for the absolute bottom part.

[@Blakezilla594]

...ooooor just get a motorcycle

[@xxmagnonxx1]

Another thing I thought of that could help is covering the tail lights with acrylic or polycarbonate in the shape of the foam added. Keeping them visible while not losing that sweet aero

[@Lumber_Jack]

Nice work. My day job is aerodynamics and I will say the one big thing that jumped out at me is that you left the base area open, which creates a cavity inside your boattail. You could very well be creating low pressure inside the cavity which is then acting all along the rear hatch and bumper of the vehicle. Low pressure on aft-facing surfaces creates drag. You may see a notable benefit by simply closing the back end of your boattail (would need to move the license plate for visibility of course). Also, if you haven't already, research the "Kamm back" concept, which was developed by the Germans many years ago and has some benefits. Basically they discovered that at some point, extra boattail length doesn't help anymore, so long boattails are not necessarily better. Sometimes you are better off with a short boattail with shallower angles. Keep flow attached as long as possible to aid in pressure recovery behind the vehicle, then truncate the boattail at the point where it won't help much more. Compared to your long "steep" boattail that has separation on the sides and lower surface, a shorter shallower boattail may do as well or better.

[@isaiahc8390]

Repent and follow Jesus my friend! Repenting doesn't mean confessing your sins to others, but to stop doing them altogether. Belief in Messiah alone is not enough to get you into heaven - Matthew 7:21-23, John 3:3, John 3:36 (ESV is the best translation for John 3:36). Contemplate how the Roman empire fulfilled the role of the beast from the sea in Revelation 13. Revelation 17 confirms that it is in fact Rome. From this we can conclude that A) Jesus is the Son of God and can predict the future or make it happen, B) The world leaders/nations/governments etc have been conspiring together for the last 3000+ years to accomplish the religion of the Israelites C) History as we know it is fake. You don't really need to speculate though because you can start a relationship with God and have proof. Call on the name of Jesus and pray for Him to intervene in your life. - Revelation 3:20 Revelation 6 1st Seal: White horse = Roman Empire conquering nations under Trajan 98-117 AD & Gospel spreading rapidly. 2nd Seal: Red horse, bloody civil wars with 32 different Emperors, most killed by the sword. 185-284 AD 3rd Seal: Black horse, economic despair from high taxes to pay for wars, farmers stopped growing. 200-250 AD 4th Seal: Pale horse, 1/4th of Romans died from famine, pestilence; at one point 5,000 dying per day. 250-300 AD 5th Seal: Diocletian persecuted Smyrna church era saints for ten years, blood crying out for vengeance. 303-312 AD 6th Seal: Political upheaval in the declining Roman Empire while the leaders battled each other. 313-395 AD Revelation 7 Sealing of 144,000, the saints, before trumpet war judgments, which led to the fall of the Roman Empire. Revelation 8 1st Trumpet: Alaric and the Goths attacked from the north, the path of hail, and set it on fire. 400-410 AD 2nd Trumpet: Genseric and the Vandals attacked the seas and coastlands, the blood of sailors in water. 425-470 AD 3rd Trumpet: Attila and the Huns scourged the Danube, Rhine & Po rivers area, dead bodies made water bitter. 451 AD 4th Trumpet: Odoacer and the Heruli caused the last Western Emperor (sun), Senate (moon) to lose power. 476 AD With the Western Roman Emperor (restrainer of 2 Thes. 2) removed; the son of perdition Popes took power. Revelation 9 Two woe judgments against the central 1/3rd and eastern 1/3rd of the Roman Empire. 612-1453 AD 5th Trumpet: Locust & scorpions point to Arabia, the rise of the Muslim army. Islam hides Gospel from Arabs. 612-762 AD 6th Trumpet: Turks released to attack Constantinople with large cannons (fire, smoke, brimstone). 1062-1453 AD Revelation 10 The little book is the printed Bible, which was needed after the Dark Ages when Scriptures were banned by Popes. Revelation 11 7th Trumpet: Martin Luther measured Roman Church; found that it’s an apostate church, not part of true temple. The two witnesses are the Scriptures and saints who proclaim the pure Gospel and testify against the antichrist Popes. Papal Church pronounced Christendom dead in 1514 AD. Silence for 3.5 years. Then Luther posted his 95 Thesis, which sparked the Protestant Reformation and brought the witnesses back to life. Millions of Catholics were saved. Revelation 12 Satan used the Roman Empire to try to wipe out the early Church, Satan was cast down as the Empire collapsed. Revelation 13 The antichrist beast Popes reigned in power 1,260 years, 538-1798, is the little horn of Daniel 7, son of perdition. The false prophet Jesuit Superior General rose to power from land (earth) of Vatican and has created many deceptions. Revelation 14 Points to great harvest during the Protestant Reformation & wrath on Catholic countries who obey antichrist Pope. Revelation 15 Overcoming saints victorious over the beast. Prelude to 7 vials and judgment on those who support Papal Rome. Revelation 16 1st Vial: The foul sore of atheism was poured out on Catholic France, leaving them with no hope, led to revolution. 2nd Vial: The French Revolution started in 1793, killed 250,000, as France had obeyed the Pope and killed saints. 3rd Vial: The French Revolution spread to rural areas of France, where Protestants had been killed in river areas. 4th Vial: The bloody Napoleonic wars shed the blood of countries who had revered and obeyed the antichrist Pope. 5th Vial: Judgment on the seat of the beast. Papal States invaded in 1798, Pope imprisoned, removed from power. 6th Vial: The Turks vast domain dried up, they were only left with Turkey. They lost control of Palestine in 1917 AD, Israel became a nation again in 1948

[@O-cDxA]

@Lumber Jack : What about Box Cavities ? I have seen several cars that improved their drag by having a box cavity. Are you saying that in this case the open area is too deep, and that a box cavity needs to be shallow ?

[@Lumber_Jack]

@@O-cDxA I have used base cavities to reduce drag on heavy trucks (see SAE paper 2005-01-3526) and it's important for the cavity shape and depth to produce a recirculation bubble pattern. They are generally shallow cavities, about 0.2*W to 0.25*W deep where W is the base width (~ 8'6" for a heavy truck trailer). This raises pressure on the aft-facing base area and produces a thrust which offsets overall drag. Same effect you get on a modern pickup truck with the bed closed except it acts on the rear of the cab. Modern pickup trucks are putting lips on the trailing edge of the cab to enhance this effect. If a cavity is too deep or has the wrong shape, it can create the opposite effect, and lower pressure on the base area, increasing drag, or cause other problems. All of this could be explored with CFD to get an idea of what works for this vehicle. Sometimes the optimal shape will involve cutting the boattail short (Kamm back concept) in order to get max advantage out of all the competing effects, including with/without cavity. A long taper isn't always the best or most feasible.

[@peterxyz3541]

The term for this approach to cars is “hyper mile” or “hyper miling”. Check out Buckminster Fuller’s design

[@rkan2]

Ecomodder is the place to be

[@wrenchpony9735]

@@rkan2 agreed. Been following Ecomodder for a long time. Aerocivic is the O.G. aeromod.

[@Iowa599]

Awesome! You may have legal issues about the length of air ducting that extends past the tail lights & licence plate. Since the ducting is functioning as body work, the rear of the car is now legally defined as the end of that, and your lights may be required to be at the rear of the car. As for the licence plate, it may be required to be viewed from the side of the car, but it's not since you need to look down the "portal". Otherwise that's pretty cool. I think you should make one from 0.030" aluminum held on with pop rivets when you have the design "finalized", so it is a little more durable!

[@ac.creations]

Better off to bondo all the gaps, sand, and fiberglass the whole thing.

[@shpstr]

Just wanted to comment the exact same thing. In the whole video I think I didn't see the licence plate once. And yes, tail lights. I guess they're called "tail" lights for a reason ...

[@Iowa599]

@@ac.creationsI guess he could 'glass the whole thing, since currently it is foam!

[@punker4Real]

Not an issue as he added a red light see 5:05 but should add red reflective tape or reflectors

[@Iowa599]

@@punker4Real that's a taillight, only, and it looks more like an afterburner.

[@confuzionn4843]

Subscribed to see where this goes. Well put together video, solid idea.

[@tinyhotopicbitch]

A big problem i can see here is starting with an AWD car for this experiment, they typically get lower gas mileage since the engine powers all 4 wheels as opposed to a front wheel drive car that only powers two

[@Mohas191]

bruh that's something that you opt in or opt out with 1 button for most cars. You usually don't use AWD unless it's snowy or something

[@P6fitz]

@@Mohas191 that's in most cars in trucks labeled 4WD. Most AWD cars you don't have the choice, and it's turning 4 wheels all the time

[@tinyhotopicbitch]

@@Mohas191 Pretty much every AWD car is full time AWD no choice, especially Subarus

[@ryanbromley3641]

Ik on Infiniti’s the awd decouples about 20mph and only reengages if it detects slip

[@wopmf4345FxFDxdGaa20]

Why is this a problem? Why AWD cars wouldn't benefit of aerodynamics improvements just like 2WD cars? Yeah, the gain may be relatively slightly less but in the other hand, a lot of people drive AWD cars. The same could be said of many other things in a car. Big problem starting with a gasoline car, diesel cars usually get way better mileage / efficiency. Big problem starting with car of that size, that body model, etc. countless other factors.

[@KF99]

It could be a brilliant alternative for external rooftop trunks or small trailers. It can imrove both capacity and aerodynamics.

[@jackthatmonkey8994]

Good point - though more weight increases rolling resistance, decreasing MPG!

[@TheFallenFaob]

Some semi truck trailers have small version of this on them called a trailer tail

[@briancoss8482]

Hay that's good thinking There "

[@Dejawolfs]

it'd make the car more rear heavy though which could do funky stuff to handling.

[@xavierrodriguez2463]

@@Dejawolfs not really, it all depends on how you incorporate the real wheels

[@RustOnWheels]

My biggest gas saving trick: driving 50/55 in stead of 65/70/75. It’s absolutely mind boggling how much that saves.

[@saeedhossain6099]

yep, drag increases by the square of speed, speed increases linearly with speed

[@RustOnWheels]

@@saeedhossain6099 And to top that other factors add to a more than square increase; engine speed, drive train losses, friction losses… It all adds up to more than one would expect.

[@snitox]

I would also suggest putting those vortex generating fin attachment to the side to reduce turbulence. Also take note of the wind direction, is easily available on weather apps.

[@0MoTheG]

2:00 What people always miss: air has mass and likes to maintain direction as anything does.

[@sebastianucero7535]

I'm a lawyer in Argentina. The insurance law here makes this modification a breach in the insurance contract. If you have a car accident while having this modification, the insurance is canceled and you need to cover the damage. I don't know if is the same in the US. Very nice video. Thank you

[@Lolatyou332]

Insurance is ass anyway. They cancel insurance for anything they can because they know most people won't pursue legally.

[@oldschoolmotorsickle]

Sr Abogado In the US there is federal law and standards, and locally there are 50 different state jurisdictions, all with differing laws and interpretations applying. I personally cringe when I see some local lout with a mile-high pickup truck; in a crash, a normal sedan can go under (submarine) the tall-boy truck. I’ve never seen one of these illegal trucks cited, much less litigated or sued for egregious damage and lethality. This little car experiment is totally benign by comparison.

[@TheSFMCreators]

You could potentially cover the taillights with a clear plastic sheet, keeping them visible but allowing the air to flow smoothly. I am unsure how this would introduce glare to the taillights though.

[@alexrosado3890]

Your solution and potential problem is inspiring. I myself thought of just moving the tail lights and plate to the back but your idea is much better.

[@TheSFMCreators]

@@alexrosado3890 I mean alternatively, you can cover the taillights and wire auxiliary lights to the back (simple red and amber lights, like the ones you would see on a trailer). I think that solution would be the best of both worlds

[@isaiahc8390]

This world is rapidly passing away and I hope that you repent and take time to change before all out disaster occurs! Belief in messiah alone is not enough to grant you salvation - Matthew 7:21-23, John 3:3, John 3:36 (ESV is the best translation for John 3:36) if you believed in Messiah you would be following His commands as best as you could. If you are not a follower of Messiah I would highly recommend becoming one. Call on the name of Jesus and pray for Him to intervene in your life - Revelation 3:20. Contemplate how the Roman Empire fulfilled the role of the beast from the sea in Revelation 13 over the course of 1260+ years. Revelation 17 confirms that the beast is in fact Rome. From this we can conclude that A) Jesus is the Son of God and can predict the future or make it happen, B) The world leaders/nations/governments etc have been conspiring together for the last 3000+ years going back to Babylon and before, C) History as we know it is fake. You don't really need to speculate once you start a relationship with God. Can't get a response from God? Fasting can help increase your perception and prayer can help initiate events. God will ignore you if your prayer does not align with His purpose (James 4:3) or if you are approaching Him when "unclean" (Isaiah 1:15, Isaiah 59:2, Micah 3:4). Stop eating food sacrificed to idols (McDonald's, Wendy's etc) stop glorifying yourself on social media or making other images of yourself (Second Commandment), stop gossiping about other people, stop watching obscene content etc. Have a blessed day!

[@C-64]

@@TheSFMCreators yeah i like this solution too, that way if someone crashed into the portion sticking out behind your car there will be no excuse.

[@Adri9570]

-General Aladeen: just make it...more pointy! 🧔🏻🚀

[@vibratingstring]

15 degrees is max taper before breakaway. Hypermilers tape up all the seams in the front end. Makes a difference!

[@sebastiankrueger-kiefer7696]

Love love love this I’ve always been obsessed with air flow and how it affects things. I’m the type of person to do this exact same thing and not give a shit what it looks like

[@johnjones928]

Most of what you've done was covered a hundred years ago, the raised tail you designed was experiencing reversion from the lack of clean flow from under and around the car. in the 1930's an aerodynamasist named Kamm found out the rear of an airfoil design didn't have to end in a true taper, the rear third or so could be cut off without adding muchvdrag to the design. I think you're on the right track by lowering the overall shape to give it a flatter floor, some of the most efficient profiles resemble a bisected teardrop with some of the tail cut off.

[@uncareid5557]

I vaguely remember a "Kamm back" car. Chevy Vega?

[@rp9674]

Might be a good approach to start extreme cut it back incrementally and see where improvement drops off

[@capriceranana5733]

Check out en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rumpler_Tropfenwagen for another water drop design!

[@rp9674]

@@capriceranana5733 beautiful!

[@oddshot60]

@@uncareid5557 There was a number of them back then. My first thought goes to the Shelby Daytona Coupe.

[@saborwolf]

Take a look at the Volkswagon XL1. They used similar aerodynamics, covered the rear wheels, removed the wing mirrors and had cameras instead, made it out of light materials, and put in a pretty small engine. It was a hybrid, though the battery would get you maybe 30-40km. But it achieved anywhere between 150-300mpg, depending on how you measured it

[@gamechip06]

And you can buy a nice 911 for that price, I don't think anyone who bought the xl1 had any financial issues.

[@THESLlCK]

@@gamechip06 it was a fling experiment, but still. It's not like the tech is not replicable. You could custom build something like that for maybe 30k.

[@Dang_Near_Fed_Up]

@@THESLlCK And then spend double that jumping through governmental hoops in order to get it judged to be street legal, so you could get a tag and insurance. The government does not want efficient vehicles on the road, they want their tax money from gas sales. There are many more efficient vehicles from around the world that can not be imported into America for that very reason. Case in point look at the fuel economy stats on the exact same model motorcycles and cars in Japan and Europe that are imported into America, they get better mileage / range, and have better performance, despite only minor cosmetic changes and deliberate engine efficiency decreases required in order to allow them to be imported into America.

[@sargera1]

corvvette did this way back lol, stingray

[@hobbes5043]

@@gamechip06911 is a planet killer. Get a Prius bqueer

[@jeremyholland4527]

I love stuff like this. I love doing anything I can to get a little better gas mileage. Airing up tires, coasting to stops if I see the light is red from far back and even drafting a little bit. Ironically I drive a full size truck.

[@harrymills2770]

Van-lifers and vacationers often use rear cargo carriers mounted to the rear bumper. You could also put a tail 'cone' and a nose 'cone' on your camper. Save gas, carry more cargo.

[@confusedone97]

Vortex generators help remove any *smooth* flow you might be getting down the side of the car. You probably already have a ton of turbulence from the wheel wells, but I think you need to try your run again with the vortex generators removed and the yarn indicators back on to see if that helps at all

[@briancoss8482]

I was wondering about that myself? Why vortex generator's? They create turbulence "

[@kai.05]

From what I know, it's to prevent low pressure zones where there are gaps, preventing a more violent form of turbulence and vortices. Not complete sure though

[@cameron.t]

Yeah, the older 737 Classic had vortex generators to induce flow separation over the wing due to the apricot-shaped nacelles and also around the tail area. I’m not an engineer… but I think vortex generators are generally counter intuitive to having smooth airflow over a surface.

[@peteinwisconsin2496]

Vortex generators are used on the upper surface of light aircraft wings to increase lift at low speeds (for Short Takeoff and Landing or STOL aircraft) though at the expense of greater drag and lower top speed. I am confident that these are NOT helpful on the sides of your car. A partial or full belly pan would likely be helpful though as another stated, be sure to allow an outlet for hot air from the radiator. The "aero" features on cars for the last 25-30 years are there to make the car look distinctive and give the illusion of value. No way do those features push the car down the road or reduce its weight.

[@cas343]

@@briancoss8482 turbulence can be used to reattach airflow. Look at modern fighters with their massive strakes at the wing roots. They provide most of the lift

[@40PMLucian]

you should really go all out and make the most aerodynamic and fuel efficient subaru hatchback to exist

[@zhichaozhao172]

Hi, i suggest you can add a foam to cover the grille, like AGS. This can reduce 20cts drag, and your car normal doesnt need that much air inlet at a high speed. And Air dam is definitely worth to try.

[@roadtoyoungaeshtetics9960]

Love this channel. Just found it. SUBSCRIBED

[@killsalot78]

9:24 One thing about the front air dam is that it creates a high pressure zone in front of the car. This causes drag not as turbulence but in the from of downforce, with the high pressure air pushing the front of the car into the ground. Useful in racing but I don't think its going to help for fuel efficiency. I think simply making the rear swoop level with the cars body line would do a lot more than any front aero. And for the tail lights, I think you could go outside right now, put clear packing tape over the void, bridging it. And then you'll have another 1-2% right there. Either way for version 2 there are a lot of easy easy ways to make flush, unobtrusive covers instead of having that big parachute pit. I would suggest adding some undercladding before you add a front air dam. But really I find it most interesting of all that you're able to get 13% efficiency without doing anything to the front areo. Part of me wants to see how much fuel efficiency you could get just by only modding the rear.

[@rocketman99]

Front dam is not needed under the hub I agree but mud flappers infront of the front wheel would help a long way

[@KingCobbones]

Unfortunately, "making the rear swoop level with the cars body" will create ground-scraping issues. I have seen the problem many times as motorhomes or trailers with a lot of structure behind the rear wheels negotiate the transition from a business to the roadway :(

[@isaiahc8390]

Repent and follow Jesus my friend! Repenting doesn't mean confessing your sins to others, but to stop doing them altogether. Belief in Messiah alone is not enough to get you into heaven - Matthew 7:21-23, John 3:3, John 3:36 (ESV is the best translation for John 3:36). Contemplate how the Roman empire fulfilled the role of the beast from the sea in Revelation 13. Revelation 17 confirms that it is in fact Rome. From this we can conclude that A) Jesus is the Son of God and can predict the future or make it happen, B) The world leaders/nations/governments etc have been conspiring together for the last 3000+ years to accomplish the religion of the Israelites C) History as we know it is fake. You don't really need to speculate though because you can start a relationship with God and have proof. Call on the name of Jesus and pray for Him to intervene in your life. - Revelation 3:20 Revelation 6 1st Seal: White horse = Roman Empire conquering nations under Trajan 98-117 AD & Gospel spreading rapidly. 2nd Seal: Red horse, bloody civil wars with 32 different Emperors, most killed by the sword. 185-284 AD 3rd Seal: Black horse, economic despair from high taxes to pay for wars, farmers stopped growing. 200-250 AD 4th Seal: Pale horse, 1/4th of Romans died from famine, pestilence; at one point 5,000 dying per day. 250-300 AD 5th Seal: Diocletian persecuted Smyrna church era saints for ten years, blood crying out for vengeance. 303-312 AD 6th Seal: Political upheaval in the declining Roman Empire while the leaders battled each other. 313-395 AD Revelation 7 Sealing of 144,000, the saints, before trumpet war judgments, which led to the fall of the Roman Empire. Revelation 8 1st Trumpet: Alaric and the Goths attacked from the north, the path of hail, and set it on fire. 400-410 AD 2nd Trumpet: Genseric and the Vandals attacked the seas and coastlands, the blood of sailors in water. 425-470 AD 3rd Trumpet: Attila and the Huns scourged the Danube, Rhine & Po rivers area, dead bodies made water bitter. 451 AD 4th Trumpet: Odoacer and the Heruli caused the last Western Emperor (sun), Senate (moon) to lose power. 476 AD With the Western Roman Emperor (restrainer of 2 Thes. 2) removed; the son of perdition Popes took power. Revelation 9 Two woe judgments against the central 1/3rd and eastern 1/3rd of the Roman Empire. 612-1453 AD 5th Trumpet: Locust & scorpions point to Arabia, the rise of the Muslim army. Islam hides Gospel from Arabs. 612-762 AD 6th Trumpet: Turks released to attack Constantinople with large cannons (fire, smoke, brimstone). 1062-1453 AD Revelation 10 The little book is the printed Bible, which was needed after the Dark Ages when Scriptures were banned by Popes. Revelation 11 7th Trumpet: Martin Luther measured Roman Church; found that it’s an apostate church, not part of true temple. The two witnesses are the Scriptures and saints who proclaim the pure Gospel and testify against the antichrist Popes. Papal Church pronounced Christendom dead in 1514 AD. Silence for 3.5 years. Then Luther posted his 95 Thesis, which sparked the Protestant Reformation and brought the witnesses back to life. Millions of Catholics were saved. Revelation 12 Satan used the Roman Empire to try to wipe out the early Church, Satan was cast down as the Empire collapsed. Revelation 13 The antichrist beast Popes reigned in power 1,260 years, 538-1798, is the little horn of Daniel 7, son of perdition. The false prophet Jesuit Superior General rose to power from land (earth) of Vatican and has created many deceptions. Revelation 14 Points to great harvest during the Protestant Reformation & wrath on Catholic countries who obey antichrist Pope. Revelation 15 Overcoming saints victorious over the beast. Prelude to 7 vials and judgment on those who support Papal Rome. Revelation 16 1st Vial: The foul sore of atheism was poured out on Catholic France, leaving them with no hope, led to revolution. 2nd Vial: The French Revolution started in 1793, killed 250,000, as France had obeyed the Pope and killed saints. 3rd Vial: The French Revolution spread to rural areas of France, where Protestants had been killed in river areas. 4th Vial: The bloody Napoleonic wars shed the blood of countries who had revered and obeyed the antichrist Pope. 5th Vial: Judgment on the seat of the beast. Papal States invaded in 1798, Pope imprisoned, removed from power. 6th Vial: The Turks vast domain dried up, they were only left with Turkey. They lost control of Palestine in 1917 AD, Israel became a nation again in 1948

[@saugod]

Nice video. Thanks for posting. Gas prices so high I started biking, otherwise no money left, at the end of month for food.

[@grim-upnorth]

me too, I bought a bicycle for 300, saved 40 a week in diesel for 4 weeks so far, that's 160. another 4 weeks of cycling to work and I've paid for the bike. After that, it's all pure savings

[@georgeclark5813]

I don't know if it's important but you have the coolest attitude man right on

[@Tech-Navi]

I think by covering the entire underside of the car and making it flat will improve the efficiency by a lot. looking forward to the next video

[@fijapopovic5335]

There are a lot of cars that have an aerodynamic shape made for hypermiling however not a lot of them were sold (because everyone use a car for different reasons or they were just concept cars). Here are a few : Audi A2 TDI 3L VW XL1 Honda Insight Tatra 97 BMW i8

[@nicolainielsen7700]

McLaren Speedtail?

[@fijapopovic5335]

@@nicolainielsen7700 The Speedtail is made for speed not for hypermiling but it sure have an aerodynamic shape

[@olsonspeed]

This reminds me of the fuel hikes and shortages of the 1970s, experimenters attempted to increase their vehicles efficiency with aero improvement and questionable engine mods. Craig Vetter is a pioneer in improving vehicle aerodynamics, his motorcycle fairings were very popular, he also Sponsored the Craig Vetter Fuel Efficiency Competition.

[@michaelhyer3168]

It’s always amazing to me how much better fuel economy cars get when you stay between 60 and 65 mph. My non hybrid accord with the small 1.5L averaged close to 50 mpg on my 80 mile commute the other day through Palm Springs. Driving 75-80, I would have averaged closer to 32 mpg. Proper tire pressure and not driving like I’m being chased by an angry T-Rex have helped me save at the pump.

[@MA-it3ps]

I took my grandma’s 2017 V6 Accord on a road trip and it got 40 mpg at 60 mph. Quite impressive for a V6 with only 6 gears

[@pablogarin]

I was thinking of doing something similar to my truck bed by puting a slanted cover and removing the tailgate to extend the cover all the way back. I never did it, but it's good to know it would've worked!

[@BlackBird-nn2yc]

pretty sure a cop doesnt feel the same way about the license plate "being readable". you can read a license plate from almost everywhere behind a car. you can read yours only straight behind the car. also there is a channel on youtube called "Julian Edgar" on how to improve the aerodynamics of your road car, it goes into detail on how to improve your car earodynamics (without making it look like a fish)

[@NicholasRehm]

Dare I ask.....how permanent is the goop on your tires? That's some true dedication to mileage

[@thinkflight]

Not a mark!

[@O-cDxA]

@@thinkflight I see you must have been poking around at the Ecomodder forums. 👍 I'm surprised at how many comments you have on this video. I have to restrain myself from commenting to them all. It's frustrating seeing the same arguments over and over again. I really hope to see a version 2. As I am sure you can tell, the angle of the sides is too steep and you are getting flow separation. ( If you recall, Darin from Ecomodder had the same issue with his boattail. ) The open portion of the tail makes a nice box cavity for the airflow, but I'm worried that your plates aren't visible enough. Some reflective tape would also be good there as well. I like that lighting you have in there ! I just might steal that idea ! Regarding the angle of the tail underside, If you drive up even a slight incline, it will scrape if you bring the angle down any. I suggested an idea on the AeroCivic for a fix to that : what about having a flat panel ( floor ) that is at the correct angle, but is mounted with arms that compress ( I'm thinking of those hydraulic arms that hold up your hatch ) If that would be too costly, just have the panel hang loose by wire, and hinged. It would shake when you go over bumps though. I respect that you did this without listening to the critics. I did a quick tuft test with my 1993 Civic hatchback. It's only a few seconds long, but you might find it interesting. I have always wanted to go all out and do a boattail but Basjoos ( AeroCivic ) beat me to it. Looking forward to seeing more from this project !

[@IamJakePark]

Awesome video, this channel blowing up! Probably will see more efficiency increase with boxier cars such as Jeeps or FJs.

[@G1NZOU]

Our Toyota Avensis wagon has a similar pinched back to it and gets great MPG, we've been really pleased with it, first automatic we've bought too.

[@hovhanneshovakimyan]

I would connect an LED to the taillights and insert a translucent diffuser into the rear open so that the LED illuminates it evenly, turning it into a new taillight. In this case, you don't have to worry about your original taillights. As a result, improved aerodynamics will give you a better MPG.

[@mindlessmrawesome]

You should check out Aptera, they're a startup EV manufacturer that's been trying to make an affordable EV, and one of the major methods that they're focusing on is making their car extremely aerodynamic. Their car looks like a dang spaceship

[@diyEVguy]

Yeah I want one too!

[@ErikSeastead]

Aptera is awesome but the big range solar panel model id really want is 50k at least. And after all that it's only a 2 seater with no storage. In the meantime there are always used 99 insights!

[@rp9674]

It makes everything else look like a brick

[@randomchannel323]

Yeah it looks like a wingless plane

[@ucheucheuche]

To resolve the drag issue I would've stuck the red tufts down flat. This would physicscally elliminate drag.

[@insevanhouts]

Great project, don't stop here!

[@jackthatmonkey8994]

In the Netherlands they did an extreme fuel mileage build. They got 1L per 32km on a small hatchback, which is 70 MPG+ They did strip it out for lightness, lowered it, did the tail thing and deleted two of the 4 pistons

[@GoldenCroc]

Which a 20 year old, combustion engine only, VW lupo 3l and Audi A2 (3l) can do from the factory, 100% stock. So I dont know if I would call it extreme... Extreme from what they started from perhaps, but not as a mileage number.

[@GoldenCroc]

@Random I dont, thats why I used the Eu-mix fuel economy rating numbers. Seems unlikely their test route is much more demanding, but who knows. OP didnt state or link it, as you asked.

[@TheManfet]

If you start modifying the air flow at the front end, do not forget about the airflow through the radiator. I would guess they lead that air flow to the bottom of the car too.

[@counterfit5]

I got to witness an Isuzu Trooper overheat because they were pulling a trailer in a slow parade, and had covered nearly the entire grille with a poster. In August.

[@largesizejellyfish3014]

In northern states during winter you could easily get away with covering 90 percent of the radiators. Some modern cars come with shutters in the grill that can close to improve aero.

[@sasas845]

Yes, closing the radiator holes with a clean surface will help with drag. But as the other commenters mentioned, you should watch out that cooling stays sufficient (this is why stock cars with front grill shutters have a mechanism to close & open them automatically dependend on cooling demands)

[@rp9674]

Active radiator shutters, if it doesn't already have them

[@drury2d8]

Nasa's Dryden center had a few articles of this in the 1970s - Semi-Boat Tail fairing.

[@drury2d8]

Heres the report : www.nasa.gov/centers/dryden/pdf/87934main_163113.pdf

[@Crackhouts]

My man! I have always wondered about this.

[@dungeonbrownies]

With that shape, you'd essentially be building a dropped Beetle, right?

[@AustinPerdue]

Sure, with much shallower taper angles. The Beatle has among the worst drag coefficients.

[@mrln247]

Looking to see if anyone else mentioned VW, the old Porsche's where more slippery I believe.

[@AustinPerdue]

@@mrln247 most of them had coefficients of drag in the 0.4x range. A lot of modern sedans are in the upper 0.2x range now.

[@GoldenCroc]

@@AustinPerdue There really havent been *that* much improvement for sedan body shapes since the Audi 100 (C3) in 1982. But yeah, some cars back then, not to mention just ten years earlier, were way above 0.4

[@maartentoors]

The 'THING' reminds me of the "Lightyear One" -comes to mind- .. also "Citroen DS".. However, here in Europe (Amsterdam) we pay €2,18/liter which is $9,92/gallon $5,499/gallon seems like UTOPIA!! Just saying. :) You are AWESOME. please keep posting these awesome projects/videos!

[@plainText384]

About the same in Germany. Even pre pandemic and everything gas was probably around 1,40€/l or about 5,93$/gallon back then.

[@FlyingFun.]

Us gallon is a bit smaller so the figures will not quite compare but yes us gas cheaper fuel, they all drive big inefficient cars mostly though, maybe that will change now fuel is getting do expensive?

[@maartentoors]

@@FlyingFun. True! I didn't realize, US Gallon is about 12% less than Imperial gallon. So in comparison: $8,81/gallon in EU compared to $5,50/gallon in the US. There is a difference there, but I sit corrected :)

[@FlyingFun.]

@@maartentoors I only found that out recently too. Bit strange really but I think it's a similar story with other measurements too. You would think a us gallon wouldbe bigger if anything seeing everything is bigger and better in the us lol.

[@diyEVguy]

Yes! Also Porsche to some extent.

[@dereksollows9783]

You have reinvented the "boat-tail" of the 1920's and "30s. Great video

[@dominictarrsailing]

really great stuff! I reckon you could put a transparent faring over the break light cutouts, then you'd get smooth flow there

[@Eduardo_Espinoza]

These are my top favorite mods for real improvements, & I actually love how it looks!

[@tobiaskaczmarek]

0:29 $6.438 for a gallon (3.785 l) so 6.438 / 3.785 gives us $1,70 per Liter. $1 = 1.01 €. So 1.72 € per Liter. Here in Germany this would be considered cheap compared to our gas prices. It's 2 € per Liter here (6th September 22). Would be round $ 7.50 per gallon.

[@wopmf4345FxFDxdGaa20]

Yeah, that's still very cheap compared to EU prices. It was that cheap here some time before the Russia war in Ukraine . . . Luckily the price has fallen here. At highest it was around 2,70 € / litre what I have seen here in Finland, now around 2,2 € / l.

[@divinehatred6021]

@@wopmf4345FxFDxdGaa20 Keep in mind that US roads are really long and poorly constructed.

[@philc2729]

I appreciate the effort undertaken to explore aerodynamics on your vehicle. Can you comment on the weight of the rig, as it does have a small impact on your overall efficiency as well.

[@richard153]

you can try clear acrylic shaped like the tail to help eliminate the turbuklence behind the tail lights, just like the headlight covers of an old ferrari.

[@asdrubalegirolamo660]

Making the car lighter would also decrease the amount of fuel you engine has to use . You could also add spats on the rear wheels, tape the panel gaps in the front of the car, use clear plastic sheet to transition the tail lights. You can also look at the VW XL1.

[@flazerrazer2992]

how do you expect him to make the car lighter weight

[@poplaurentiu4148]

@@flazerrazer2992 well i know few tricks but like true facts that some lighter composite carbon body parts can replace the factory ones right (like hood, trunk-door, doors, front fenders)? also carbon structural seats can shave even more weight compared to factory stock OEM.. if long trips are not mandatory daily the spare wheel can be removed shaving some more weight...

[@sanjuyon_]

@@flazerrazer2992 Remove the spare wheel, door inserts, rear seats, carpeting, anything in the trunk, etc.

[@ronaldjesse9892]

@@poplaurentiu4148 you need a huge amount of miles to cover the huge price what you have to pay for these carbon parts.

[@Makex_sweden]

I LOVE THIS!!! Please go all out on this project! Its super interesting and also very educational

[@MKLDSNTA]

her: Why'd u stick that behind your car ? Him : for Lunch

[@markifi]

i always wanted to try this!

[@adamhale6672]

This is hilarious and genius simultaneously. I bid you great gas mileage.

[@BluefootOnEire]

9:19 Careful reshaping the foam boards, drag in only one of four forces at work here. You may inadvertently design in lift.

[@rocketman99]

Not quite it would rather seperate then generate any proper lift

[@winterwatson6811]

i wouldn’t worry: lift is engineered into many modern cars to reduce rolling resistance at speed. even if he accidentally built an airfoil with enough lift to flip the car, the foam and joints would likely not be strong enough to support the force. i imagine that the tail section would be destroyed well before the car was at risk of a crash.

[@roywhiteo5]

lol its not like hes going to the salt flats

[@allangibson8494]

@@rocketman99 Hatchbacks are particularly bad in that regard. That’s why they have spoilers on the top of the boot lid to separate the airflow from the car. Drag from the underside of the car is often the biggest unaddressed source of drag on modern cars however…

[@SH1974]

I had a Subaru Legacy (2.0 flat-4, gasoline) once, that was nice to drive, but consumed around 10-12l per 100km (19-23 mpg). Now I have a Toyota RAV-4 (2.0 line-4, turbodiesel) which is certainly worse in aerodynamics (way taller) and it's also heavier, but consumes just about 5.8l per 100km (equals 47mpg). Adding a long tail to that car would maybe spare a bit, but according to the car's size that tail would be probably longer than the car itself, haha.

[@bill_clinton697]

For the tail light situation, you could wire a 4 pin trailer harness and connect some lights up to that.

[@jazzy1871]

You could tape some clear sheet plastic (thick enough it would bend but not wobble over the lights and back pyramid shape for the license plate to profile into the Styrofoam, and some back finder skirts without too much work and maybe pick up a few more %. 13.7 % is pretty legit though. If someone had 50 mile commute, payout would be pretty quick!

[@Broockle]

i was thinking about where his license plate is even visible to the public Is it really only thru that window in the back? I'd think that's not street legal, u can only see the plate when u'r directly behind his car.

[@asparagusstaging430]

@@Broockle It definitely isn't. In many states, even a "frame" on the license plate is illegal if it arguably makes it hard to read.

[@car_ventures]

Use c!ear perspex on rear lights to keep aero shape and visibility. Add the front air damn and side sections as you suggested too, hope to see how it changes. Belly pan or air damn, essentially anything that cleans up air underneath, makes a noticeable difference.

[@bluejack644]

Pretty cool experiment. I've seen some pretty cool front spoilers, skirts, wind splitters, rear deck extentions and the like, on cars at the drag strip.

[@JAKEWJONES]

Great video. Great experiment. You are lucky no one changed lanes into that and broke it off. It needed lighting on it.

[@JMak02]

You could also tape the body panel gaps especially in front for a little less drag. Also with tape make the front as smooth as possible without going overboard and overheating the engine helps. I think all this as well as any weight reduction you can manage in addition to your mentioned improvements would make a huge difference.

[@spaceT999]

taping body panel gaps while it sounds good in theory, air doesn't go in or out from it, this is because the air that's close to the panel is moving pretty slow, and doesn't have enough energy to go through it, and it would be easier to just go around it, rather than in it.

[@michaelseitz8938]

Thanks for doing this! Now, us other nerds don't have to 😁

[@ggauras7363]

Very cool man!!! 10/10

[@Readous]

I remember seeing a subreddit that had a bunch of people doing this kind of thing to their car. Some of their MPG readings were insane

[@sdfghjkl6519]

Awesome experiment! It's funny how your design for changes are strikingly similar to concept cars manufacturers put out as well as how some race cars are designed (particularly for f1 and endurance racing). I think your biggest answer as to why manufacturers don't do this is that they don't sell. Especially considering the current climate of the car market being SUVs and trucks, these designs simply don't work as they are much higher off the ground. This would lead to the dirty air you were referring to in your video.

[@drippingwax]

You can make trucks and SUVs more aerodynamic, too, and a 13.7% improvement would save more fuel, but a boat tail on a Suburban or minivan would be too long.

[@jaxxxn_]

I would love to see you implement these changes and test it, also the wheel covers are good but they need airflow like an aerodisk type wheel because without it your brakes could get too hot while driving

[@drippingwax]

Downshift.

[@jaxxxn_]

@@drippingwax ?

[@1Captain23]

@@jaxxxn_ Downshift.

[@isaiahc8390]

This world is rapidly passing away and I hope that you repent and take time to change before all out disaster occurs! Belief in messiah alone is not enough to grant you salvation - Matthew 7:21-23, John 3:3, John 3:36 (ESV is the best translation for John 3:36) if you believed in Messiah you would be following His commands as best as you could. If you are not a follower of Messiah I would highly recommend becoming one. Call on the name of Jesus and pray for Him to intervene in your life - Revelation 3:20. Contemplate how the Roman Empire fulfilled the role of the beast from the sea in Revelation 13 over the course of 1260+ years. Revelation 17 confirms that the beast is in fact Rome. From this we can conclude that A) Jesus is the Son of God and can predict the future or make it happen, B) The world leaders/nations/governments etc have been conspiring together for the last 3000+ years going back to Babylon and before, C) History as we know it is fake. You don't really need to speculate once you start a relationship with God. Can't get a response from God? Fasting can help increase your perception and prayer can help initiate events. God will ignore you if your prayer does not align with His purpose (James 4:3) or if you are approaching Him when "unclean" (Isaiah 1:15, Isaiah 59:2, Micah 3:4). Stop eating food sacrificed to idols (McDonald's, Wendy's etc) stop glorifying yourself on social media or making other images of yourself (Second Commandment), stop gossiping about other people, stop watching obscene content etc. Have a blessed day!

[@grand-dadmiral]

this fella really do be telling me to covert my beater shitbox into a budget mclaren longtail

[@stevejones1318]

Great video. Most people could save at least 13% on their fuel bill if they were lighter on the gas pedal, use engine braking, check tyre pressures, cruise at 60mph rather than 70mph, fit new air filter and spark plugs ...etc.

[@craigsawyer6453]

I plaid around with Aero. on my car too. The under part of the car is the BIGGEST source of drag. Fix that first if you can. I have tried commercial air dams and home made air dams and found that the ones I made were far more efficient at speed. The down side is that at street speeds they made the car WAY less efficient, to the point that I had to make a decision, it was either going to be an all highway/track car or a every day car with out air dams. Look at what Chevy did with the wheel wells on the Corvette Z5 performance models. Smoothing the air inside the wheel well area on a production car seems to be a cost effective way to get more efficiency. I made some "well skirts" that worked well and did not impede wheel travel. The dealer laughed at my well skirts and the next year Acura Racing was running something similar. Note: duct tape will ruin paint... I have used silicon with some success and was able to get the car back to looking somewhat normal after I was done "playing". I look forward to seeing what comes next!

[@louf7178]

Thanks. Why worse at low speed?

[@stalbertjocelyn]

Have you looked into low friction tires or increasing tire pressure on the ones you have. You could use corrugated plastic to seal the underside of the vehicle.

[@minineji7050]

Tbh low friction tires are awful, would never recommend them, grip(friction) saves lives, I'd rather save some grip than save some pocket change. Plastic on the underside of vehicle is very effective tho

[@srck4035]

Increased pressure and low friction tires are both dangerous. Tires have grip for a reason

[@somaday2595]

Yes, the under body creates a lot of friction, but do not forget about dissipating the exhaust heat. Replacing the outside rear view mirrors with small outside cameras and inside displays,

[@srck4035]

@@somaday2595 also if you cover the bottom you run the risk of flying off. For real.

[@xcalium9346]

@@somaday2595 Cause that's totally legal in the US...

[@kevinStyler6299]

I love the last clip. That's what science is all about

[@mdtransmissionspecialties]

I’ve noticed in my 96 f250 with the 8ft bed going down the interstate with the tailgate down I’m not having to push the pedal as hard and this is a honest fact. Thank you for the good video got my subscription:)

[@kkallioj]

Mythbusters proved driving the tailgate down to be less efficient.

[@hardrivethrutown]

I'd love to see an improved version with all the improvements you pointed out. This actually reminds me of the old 30s/40s aero cars

[@danthiel8623]

They had it right.

[@alexli1994]

The outcome on the modifications you did to your car remind me of the Mercedes Vision EQXX and the McLaren Longtail. The EQXX is really neat because it's using the same principles you're using for the same purpose. And, granted, the McLaren is using the same principles for a different purpose, but nonetheless, super interesting and very fascinating results.

[@MiguelGarcia-vj7oo]

Look up Porsche 935/78, either in momo or martini racing livery.........

[@Rearmostbean]

@@MiguelGarcia-vj7oo the whale tail!

[@86surge90]

With all of that downward flow on the tail, i'm betting he's introduced more lift. And that new design makes his car look like an air foil from the side. If he tries driving any faster i think the air will rip that tail upwards.

[@imthebestthingsinceslicedr5400]

When I saw the thumbnail I thought you photoshoped your car but as I proceeded to the vid I chuckled when I found out you actually fabricated this for real. Awesome content 👍