>>They are supposed to clean up the airflow under a vehicle. That is suspect in a vehicle as high as the Vanagon. There is just too much airspace between the van and the ground for these to be truly effective. In some cases, they do help direct airflow upwards to he radiator to assist in cooling chores. I'm not sure about vanagons as I have not had occasion to evaluate for this feature. Well, we call them air dams in the UK too, but if we have to have two names for everything, then chin-spoilers doesn't exactly roll off the tongue, but it'll have to do I suppose... and even on a high vehicle they perhaps can do what they are supposed to; create a low pressure under the vehicle, front in particular, which might well draw more air through the radiator. Overall a good one would naturally spill air around the side of vehicle. A lower mass of air traversing the underside should also reduce drag, and no doubt what happens at the back is, a usual with low speed aerodynamics, much more important than at the front! hence blunt nosed and sharp tailed aircraft fuselages - note the still common acceptance of the original French for most aircraft parts - 'fuuuwzelaaage', lovely innit, one hardly has to ask what it is. Try 'empennage' now there's another GREAT word, what would we call that now in the US, a blister - YUK!. Personally, I think that the originators of all these bits and pieces should have their naming conventions respected - but then I do go out in the midday sun... occasionally - and it would mean sticking to English a lot more, dratt! (its getting veeery cold here, so we need a few flames as Autumn's coming on). Two countries separated by a common language - now who said that (other than Alan Titchmarsh recently when Ground Force visited one of Bette Midler's 'Green lungs' in New York, New York - funny place that, they keep repeating themselves)? Clive '88 Syncro Vanagon (now where did that yuk name come from? - the PR guru who thought it up should be shot a dawn, preferably sooner. Nah, Transporter/ Caravelle/ much nicer and strangely, more descriptive) P.S. Anyway, my vote is for 'ugly cheap fibreglass ting under de bomper on NASCAR(s)' , whats yours?
----- Original Message ----- From: "Donna Stewart" <DStewart@CHRM.COM> To: <vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM> Sent: Thursday, October 10, 2002 9:35 PM Subject: Re: what is an air dam
My son is learning to drive on my two Vanagons. He further damaged the "air dam" on my Wolfsburg recently by driving into a driveway with a deep gutter at pretty much full speed (i.e. 25-30mph). >>> Ben T <BenTbtstr8@AOL.COM> 10/10/02 01:05PM >>> In a message dated 10/10/02 12:58:49 PM Pacific Daylight Time, hradek@YAHOO.COM writes: << what is an air dam? gary the air head >> Dear Gary the air head: <boy, that felt good> The item(s) being auctioned appear to be components of the urethane pieces normally installed under the plastic bumpers on late model Vanagons. You may know them by their other nickname "chin spoilers". They are supposed to clean up the airflow under a vehicle. That is suspect in a vehicle as high as the Vanagon. There is just too much airspace between the van and the ground for these to be truly effective. In some cases, they do help direct airflow upwards to he radiator to assist in cooling chores. I'm not sure about Vanagons as I have not had occasion to evaluate for this feature. BenT |
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