Cold weather testing in Dixie

Well the annual, six weeks of freezing weather has arrived but I don't really have much on my plate for testing. The blue, water noodle in the NHW11 is working perfectly fine. Cheap, robust, it is hard to improve other than to maybe use duct tape to match the black bumper cover.

We have a 2010 Prius so I'm thinking about testing two styles of bumper cover, air inlet blocks: recessed and flush. Recessed has the advantage of preserving the car appearance. But the resulting vortex between the lip of the bumper and the block at the base might 'leak' out the sides and cause drag. A flush cover optimizes drag reduction but it is exposed to parking hazards.

In a perfect world, I would make an insert (think SR-71 inlet spikes) that moves forward as the ICE and transaxle temperatures increase. At cold internal temperatures, the insert is flush with the bumper. But as the ICE and transaxle temperatures increase, the insert moves forward. Made out of expanded polyethylene foam, it would have excellent mechanical properties in an area subject to road hazards.

The colder, denser air also supports sealed versus unsealed wheel cover testing. In theory, reducing air flow through the wheels would reduce drag and cold, dense air is perfect for measuring subtle drag forces.

Block and transaxle heating would be interesting but I suspect the results are predictable. I would rather work on a 'docking' parking place to automate plug-in.

So many options and so little time, I'm open to suggestions.

Bob Wilson