look again at those windtunnel pics, see how nicely the flow moves over the hightop? one thing to remember, its the shape and frontal area combined.... moving the pop top back does not decrease the frontal area (head on view). But it might place that part in a low pressure region. And again, the 600 pound gorilla in the corner is the rear end. Back to the bustle concept. Alistair
On 21-Jan-10, at 7:10 AM, Jim Felder wrote: Another possible improvement that removing the luggage rack could make AERODYNAMICALLY (and not in any other way, such as utility) is that the front of the van would have "a finer point of entry" and smaller "frontal area" which I am told aerodynamicists are always looking for. From what little I know about aerodynamics, removing that six inches up front and moving it back to mid-cabin would probably be an aerodynamic improvement. The discussion, even if I knew what I was talking about, would still be academic because of the vanagon/westy''s many other aerodynamic shortcomings. I agree with the poster who said that the seals would probably not protect from the elements with the front removed. One of my one-of-these-days projects is to create a cover for that luggage sump up top, hinged at the front so that if you filled it with stuff, the thing would act as a deflector over the cargo. I even picked up a front fiberglass section from Unca Joel once to fulfill that project with without messing up my car in the process of experimentation. Haven't gotten too far with it yet. Jim |
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