Evidently these things have been around for a while, but I just heard about them from the recent popular science magazine. According to Gizmodo having these installed will increase gas mileage 18-20%. Up-close it looks kinda hideous but I would imagine it doing wonders for the paint job in terms of deflecting small rocks. Would installing this on an already fuel efficient car would be redundant or would it be awesome? FastSkinz: Improve Your Gas Mileage And Achieve That Coveted Golf Ball Look - Geekologie
The FastSkinz website claims that it will improve the gas mileage of hybrid vehicles even more --- 20-25%: MPG-Plus™, Drag Reducing Technology, Improve MPG, Vehicle Wraps, FastSkinz™
This picture depicts all of the items like the golf ball texture, HHO generators, etc. They are a complete waste of money.
I'd like to see some scientific tests first. As a golf ball travels at about 150mph when hit and slows to just under 50 by the time it hits the ground (a good golfer - not me), the aerodynamic benefit may not be similar - unless of course this is your pulse and glide range
Oooh, that looks like an interesting product. Do you have some that I could purchase? I bet that I could get 10% better FE by adding a little to each tank of fuel. :madgrin:
The dimples work on golf balls. Shark skin coatings work on high-tech racing sailboats. Neither will make much difference for a production automobile. Golf balls are spherical, small, and travel at high speed. Racing sailboats are incredibly smooth and fair. Both of these situations allow significant gains involving boundary flow. With a car driving down the highway, it's not so simple. Tom
Hi All, The density of the flow next to a car body is much too low for these to have an effect. On a racing yacht, shark or 600 mph aircraft this is completely different. Golf balls are in the same aerodynamic regime as cars doing 50 mph, even at 150 mph. BUT, the change in direction of the trailing half of a golf ball is quite radical in comparison to the trailing half of a car. There are applications where dimples can help on cars, but they are few and far between. One of those might be the trailing half of the cockpit of a VW Beetle. But not a Prius. If you want some aero improvement, and do not live in a mountanous area, check out the flush hubcaps I made from the standard Prius trim rings and 10 mil flashing (24 inch wide coil available at Ace Hardware stores).
You would assume that Toyota were doing everything they could think of to improve economy, that would be practical and cost-effective. How did they do, from 2G to 3G? US EPA tests: City: 2G 48, 3G 51, +6.2% Highway: 2G 45, 3G 48, +6.7% (strong suspicions that when the tests changed in 2007, a scaling factor was used rather than the 2G Prius being retested) EU test: Urban: 2G 5.0L/100km, 3G 3.9L/100km, 28.2% improvement Extra-urban: 2G 4.2L/100km, 3G 3.8L/100km, 10.5% improvement We didn't have the coolant thermos before, I think the Exhaust Heat Capture system makes quite a big difference to keeping the engine warm in stop/start test cycles like the urban part of the test. Air conditioning and cold ambient temperatures are not tested, but it is at least the same test on both cars. 2G cars all had 16" wheels here, the 3G figures are for the 15" wheel; for the 17" wheel add 0.1L/100km to all figures. (I'd have done it in miles per imperial gallon but can't find a source for 3G extra-urban in mpg. The result would have been the same as the stated mpg figures are converted from the metric figures, after rounding to nearest 0.1L.) If wrapping the car in dimples could make that much difference to economy, Toyota would have done it already.
The main part of the improved mileage from wrapping your car in the Golf Ball skin comes from when the giant golf club swoops out of the sky and drives your car through the air landing you on a green in the next county.
Dimples do improve golf balls because the shape of the ball lends itself to dimples. You cannot change the overall shape of a golf ball, it has to be a sphere, on a car you have a little more design flexibility. On a car larger bumps more like shark fins in specific spots may help similar to the ones used on the Lancer Evolution. http://www.mitsubishi-motors.com/corporate/about_us/technology/review/e/pdf/2004/16E_03.pdf VW uses them on the underbody to reduce noise. They probably reduce drag as well.
The primary concern I would have in applying this material is that my car, aside from the weird look (and possibly decreased mileage) it would cause, would be that my car would behave like my golf swing and would constantly pull to the right On the course this isn't really a problem because I get more swings for my money; on the road, however, this could have an opposite effect. Of course if it resists paint stripper better than Prius factory paint, I'm in!
