Lowering Car to Improve MPG

I've been thinking about this for some time but had decided what I want are cabin controlled front bumper air-dam and side skirts. The idea is that at speeds above 45 mph, the air-dam and side skirts would descend to within inches of the road bed. Speeds above 45 mph tend to be on paved, relatively level and other than tires and road kill, fairly flat roads.

Air dams and side skirts tends to force the air around the car instead of allowing it to 'stick' to the underside. It also generates a negative pressure to help hold the car to the road. Racers use serious air dams and side skirts for these effects and they should reduce the coefficient to drag to more than compensate for the larger profile area. But like all things in engineering, testing is the proof.

GOOD LUCK!
Bob Wilson

 

Haha, Whats next? Perhaps we can then implement the F1-banned ground-effect to enable hypermiling those offramp 25mph corners at 55mph without hitting the brakes

 

I think blocking the grill lower the drag more than lowering the car. I've scretch the lower front nose when I pull into some high parking curbs.

 

As far as I know they are roughly equivalent. The drag force is proportional to the Coefficient of Drag (Cd) times the front cross-section area times the velocity squared. Dropping the car would decrease the area, smoothing air flow should decrease Cd, either is desirable. To the first order, you should be able to figure out the % decrease in front cross-section area to know how much improvement you might get. Ultimately the only way to find out is probably to try it

Rob

 

I already can't drive in deep snow, or on the gravel logging road into where I live. I scrape the front valance parking, and getting on any ramp angles. If the car were any lower it'd be sitting on the pavement.

Icarus

 

Wouldn't lower your Prius then but some of us never drive on unsealed roads.