11% Fuel Consumption Decrease

Cowcatcher · **Posted:** Fri Jan 01, 2010 11:12 pm

OK, funny thing on Mythbusters. They took an old Taurus and ran mileage test stock, with a coating of clay and finally with the coating of clay with golf ball dimples taken out. Same mileage with or without the clay but 11% improvement with the dimples. Left them speechless. I would like an 11% improvement but I think I will pass on this mod. :-)r

geordi · **Posted:** Fri Jan 01, 2010 11:30 pm

That was an awesome episode, but I think you got your thread title backwards. It was an 11% fuel consumption REDUCTION with the dimples.

BTW... If there was a way to apply those to the CRD, I'd rock it. It certainly would make the Jeep look different from all the others out there!

One of these days I'm going to dummy-up some foam mockups of those airtabs to see if they really do change the performance / economy. I'm not adverse to spending money, but I'd like to know REALLY how many I would need, or if they even work. And since I have lots of foam laying around from my theatre work... Free testing supplies. :mrgreen:

Cowcatcher · **Posted:** Fri Jan 01, 2010 11:35 pm

Your right I fixed it. LOL :ROTFL:

You know geordi, I think there are a few places in the mid-west in the spring and early summer where you could park a Liberty and get the golf ball effect done for you no-charge.....except for replacing all the glass. :BANANA:

Diggerfreek · **Posted:** Sat Jan 02, 2010 1:00 am

Cowcatcher wrote:

Your right I fixed it. LOL :ROTFL:

You know geordi, I think there are a few places in the mid-west in the spring and early summer where you could park a Liberty and get the golf ball effect done for you no-charge.....except for replacing all the glass. :BANANA:

Then after you don't like the look any more, you get Line - X :pepper:

geordi · **Posted:** Sat Jan 02, 2010 11:45 am

Noooooo, hailstones are bad for the finish! :ROTFL:

Actually, on the mythbusters-inspired car dimpling... I think I may have figured out how to do it for very little weight and still match the contours of the subject car. A thin layer, about 1 inch thick of solid foam, which when heated gently, will bend and follow contours. Similar to the blue foam in home depot, it is a rigid insulating foam rather than soft like seat cushion padding.

I'm still pondering the way of attaching it, but I'm leaning toward big flat magnets, like they make signage out of.

nursecosmo · **Posted:** Sat Jan 02, 2010 12:24 pm

geordi wrote:

BTW... If there was a way to apply those to the CRD, I'd rock it. It certainly would make the Jeep look different from all the others out there!

For only $100 I will give your Jeep a good going over with a ball peen hammer. :mrgreen:

warp2diesel · **Posted:** Sat Jan 02, 2010 1:18 pm

Cowcatcher wrote:

Your right I fixed it. LOL :ROTFL:

You know geordi, I think there are a few places in the mid-west in the spring and early summer where you could park a Liberty and get the golf ball effect done for you no-charge.....except for replacing all the glass. :BANANA:

My old Jetta Turbo Diesel got that weather mod and I never noticed any mileage improvement.

Cowcatcher · **Posted:** Sat Jan 02, 2010 5:17 pm

geordi wrote:

Noooooo, hailstones are bad for the finish! :ROTFL:

Actually, on the mythbusters-inspired car dimpling... I think I may have figured out how to do it for very little weight and still match the contours of the subject car. A thin layer, about 1 inch thick of solid foam, which when heated gently, will bend and follow contours. Similar to the blue foam in home depot, it is a rigid insulating foam rather than soft like seat cushion padding.

I'm still pondering the way of attaching it, but I'm leaning toward big flat magnets, like they make signage out of.

Wrapping it in that big bubble wrap might serve the same effect and it is light and cheap. Plus your paint color would kinda show through. :pepper:

Rich · **Posted:** Sat Jan 02, 2010 7:31 pm

Cowcatcher wrote:

Your right I fixed it. LOL :ROTFL:

You know geordi, I think there are a few places in the mid-west in the spring and early summer where you could park a Liberty and get the golf ball effect done for you no-charge.....except for replacing all the glass. :BANANA:

Unless you are in MN and are smart enough to pay for the glass option on insurance.

I pay $14/yr for each car, and get free glass with cracks/breaks. Thus far... one in the WRX and one in the CRD. :BANANA:

The other option is volley fire from a few spud-guns loaded with golf-ball shot.

Squeeto · **Posted:** Wed Jan 06, 2010 2:04 pm

Quote:

11% improvement with the dimples. Left them speechless.

This is well known in aviation. Gliders have been using turbulators on airfoils for years.
The air as it hits the front of the truck is smooth (laminar) continues up the glass and soon separates away from the surface of the truck (boundary layer) and becomes turbulent.

smooth - good
turbulent - good
smooth to turbulent transition area - bad (a lot of air drag)

So the idea is to turbulate the air before it hits the truck, i.e. dimples. It works on golf balls too.

Hey, I don't have the hat for nothing

nursecosmo · **Posted:** Wed Jan 06, 2010 2:24 pm

A brick with dimples is still a brick. I am sure that some very small improvement is attainable with air foils, but a much more effective mod would be to streamline the underside of the jeep with a smooth (or even dimpled) sheet of plastic or metal.

geordi · **Posted:** Wed Jan 06, 2010 4:51 pm

Design me a template for the cut-out, and I'll get the 24-gauge galvalum and fit it to the bottom of my CRD for a test. I'm game!

11% Fuel Consumption Decrease

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