Windshield Blocking?

[Gollum]

I just had a quick thought I'd run by you guru's of the air.

 

We know that more rake on a windshield is better, and we know the S30 windshield isn't the greatest. It doesn't have a ton of curvature, and it's not very raked.

 

But...

 

We do have a bit of cowl area between the hood and the windshield, and judging by pics I've seen of the primodonna Z you can achieve a lot better windshield angle with just stretching into the cowl area leaving the hood length alone.

 

So what about this as an effective alternative? Put a small piece of lexan about 4-7 inches high at the front of the cowl area, in a curved manner in order to start air moving over the roof of the car before it reaches the windshield. This would cause the air to make a slow, more gradual change in direction.

 

But would it work? or would air just spill over it causing more problems than solving?

 

I just figure that if the hood on the new Ford GT40 can help force air over the car, keeping pressure in front of the windshield down, why can't a small piece of plastic have a similar effect?

 

This would obviously be for the hardcore guys that have already looked at other areas of their car and have a "total package" laid out and aren't just looking for their first aerodynamic modification.

[Challenger]

Ive also looked at something like this. I have a picture of a ferrari Z kit car with a piece of fg that smooths the transition from cowl panel to the windshield. Ill look for it.

[boodlefoof]

So, just to help me conceptualize, you're talking about putting a small spoiler at the front of the cowl? Seems like it should help.

 

You could always rake the windshield too.

 

http://www.geocities.com/boodlefoof/Project_Racer-Zroof4.html

http://www.geocities.com/boodlefoof/Project_Racer-Zframe3.html

[Gollum]

I think you've probably got the idea of what I'm talking about. To help (since nobody seems to want to post on the topic) I've drawn an image to give people an idea of what I'm talking about. Just a short screen to act as a spoiler, to help imitate the effect of a raked spoiler, making the transition from the hood survice to the roof of the car smoother.

 

The Z has lots of room for this in the cowl area, just means you probably won't get a ton of air in your heat/ac system.

 

 

Oh yea, I've always admired your chop. I've always thought it looks well done. If I ever chopped a Z myself I probably would move the front edge forward like the primodonaZ, as well as a small chop.

[BayAreaZT]

I thought a windshield spoiler would benefit a S30 when I saw one on a PPI TT. I think one should be fabricated and tested.

 

[cygnusx1]

At the very least it would shield the wipers. If I remember correctly there is a photo on here of an S30 with such a body panel over the cowl.

[OlderThanMe]

Ive also looked at something like this. I have a picture of a ferrari Z kit car with a piece of fg that smooths the transition from cowl panel to the windshield. Ill look for it.

 

I saw that car at ZdayZ 2007 and it was a pretty slick piece. Definitely something to put some thought into using.

 

I think a raked windshield or a windshield from another car would work better. (maybe a large minivan windshield all cut up...)

[WizardBlack]

Well, I have a quick question (maybe dumb), but for a track car or a "sorta street legal" car, why not kill two birds with one stone. We have the following:

 

1. Air void behind the back edge of the hood leading up to the beginning of the windshield that interrupts the primary air flow over the top of the car.

2. High pressure air under the hood that is practically bubbling over like a pressure pot to try to get out.

 

I know my car is a "sorta street legal" type that sees a bit of weekend cruising and maybe track time (once a billion things are brought up to snuff and I feel it's safe at 8/10ths). I have stripped most of the interior, dash, sound, air, wipers, etc. Now, the very top of the firewall in the engine bay just blocks off the compartment where the wiper motor resides. The top of it is covered with the tray panel that fits around the wiper arms and allows air to breathe into the air conditioning system. Why not cut a bunch of vents in the front panel of this compartment that separates it from the engine bay? It would allow air in the engine bay to breathe into the compartment via these slats and up/out of the existing slats on the tray panel. The air needing to get out of the engine bay would have another route to get out and it would provide a flow of air pushing out of that troubling area that is somewhat of a "dead space" as it is now. Maybe that would help the air flowing over the hood stay more laminar as it transitions up over the windshield.

 

You'd need to block off the compartment openings that lead to the air conditioning (which would no longer be there) unless you wanted more hot air to feed into the cockpit. I realize this theory wouldn't be much use on a street car with all the normal accessories.