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Aerodyn wind tunnel results!!!


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Gang, We'll post pics once we sort things out... Give us some time... You're all asking lots of questions, and we've had little chance to compile the data and sort through it all... I also have a commitment to Nissan Sport Magazine that needs clarifying... Give us a day or two!

 

Mike

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Bang up job fellas! Wish I could have been there to help out and watch it all go down, what an incredible effort!

 

I've been on the fence with regards to my next round of mods and this initial bit of insight has been the catalyst I needed to get the ball rolling as soon as my plane hits the ground in a few weeks.

 

:rockon:

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I am very excited to hear that VG's were tested and that the Supra 'wing' (the '06 STi has a similar 'wing' at the top of the rear window too) was on the list as well. I had a feeling that VG's would go a long way to improving the airflow over the back end of the car.

 

I am looking forward to seeing the pictures and reading more about the results.

 

See you on the road.

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Great Job guys.. Thank you all for doing this. This is revolutionary for us S30 owners. This might very well change they way companies make air dams and rear wings for our Z's I am anciously waiting on more data , pics, and video. Thanks again for all who donated and were involved.

 

Cheers.

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There was a really good pic on someones websight of what is being refferred to by the radiator sealing. John coffee maybe....???? It was a white road race car

 

could this have been it?

 

DSCF1969.JPG

 

This was from 74_5.0L_Z's photo album here on hybridz.. but looking at it a second time, it s hard to see if it prevents that much air from traveling under the car.. obviously his setup forces it through the radiator, but the point is (seems to be?) to avoid it pushing below the car entirely, and leaving the airflow no choice but to go through the engine bay and then out the engine bay vents.

 

I dunno if I am right nor not, but that was the car that *I* was thinking of regarding your comment, there, stony..

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VERY cool guys!

Awesome progress!!!

Can't wait to see the results!

Some of this info has already gotten me excited!

I have already built an undertray for my Z and soom will have the airdam sealed. I was thinking that the radiator was going to be the major factor for a big aerodynamic change.

 

So what to do with air that goes through the radiator to send it over the car?

 

Here are some pics of an L6 Z from japan that I think did a god job at sealing off the radiator and venting out the hood.

 

I guess the holes on the radiator support could be sealed a bit and the top of the airdam could be sealed much better.

nak-z1_thumb.jpg

nak-z12_thumb.jpg

nak-z8_thumb.jpg

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could this have been it?

 

DSCF1969.JPG

 

This was from 74_5.0L_Z's photo album here on hybridz.. but looking at it a second time, it s hard to see if it prevents that much air from traveling under the car.. obviously his setup forces it through the radiator, but the point is (seems to be?) to avoid it pushing below the car entirely, and leaving the airflow no choice but to go through the engine bay and then out the engine bay vents.

 

I dunno if I am right nor not, but that was the car that *I* was thinking of regarding your comment, there, stony..

I'm guessing that maybe there was another panel that covered the area where the stock grill goes. That would force all the air through the radiator and eliminate most of the huge hole in the front of the car.

 

Good work guys. I can't wait for the "official report". :cheers:

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The idea is just what it sounds like... sealed.

If you were to put a piece of plywood in place of the radiator... and stood the car on it's tail... it should hold water flush to the grill opening.

 

What is happening is that the radiator damn nearly blocks flow. Do not allow air that goes in the front of the car go ANYWHERE else without passing through the radiator. That makes the front of the car seem longer, lower, and smoother(weightless invisible G-Nose). More air from near the ground is able to go up and over the hood.

If you allow air to flow into(and freely through) the grill opening then the airstream divides higher up(and closer to the car) and actually FORCES even more air into the grill opening(and under the car).

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You have to think of the radiator as a flow limiter. It allows fairly free flow at 15MPH. The resistance to flow goes up very quickly as speed increases. At 80MPH the thing only allows a small percentage of the available airflow through. It effectively blocks airflow into the front of the car. Airflow goes around the entire front grill opening of the car.

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ok I hacked up some visuals for you guys.

 

 

Bad airflow. Too much air can get in the front grill opening and around the restrictive radiator and ends up going under the car.

240Zsideviewbadairflowweb.jpg

 

 

 

 

Good airflow.

240Zsideviewgoodairflowweb.jpg

 

Air forms a swirling,self sustaining pocket in front of the entire grill opening. This divides the air further away from the front of the car and allows air close to the ground to go over the hood instead of into the grill.

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I know this is not scientific, but years ago (1975), my step-father had a 70 240 (he is the one one who convinced me to by my z) that he did some areo work on, including an airdam that sealed the radiator as you discribe as well as a belly pan under the engine to clean up any air that went under the car. It was vented at the back so any air that went through the radiator exited under the car. There were some other changes like replacing the stock mirrors and head light covers and the BRE rear spoiler. The modifications he did added 3-4 MPG at 70 MPH, so it must have cleaned it up some. He swore by the half belly pan, but it was a pain to fit.

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I didn't really expect this testing to have any value for me, but I was really wrong on that one. Just this preliminary information seems to provide an explanation for the problems I'm having in keeping my car running cool while at speed. It appears that having my radiator leaned back is probably making it even harder for air to pass through and therefore the air is going underneath my car instead of through the radiator. Ever since I put in a thicker radiator the problem is worse, and now it makes sense. I'm definitely going to spend some time sealing my radiator.

 

My thanks to everyone that made this testing possible, it sounds like there will be tons of useful information because of it.

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