Well Would You Believe It...

[Cyker]

Yeah, supposedly nitrogen is more temp-stable or something than atmospheric air, but I think alfie's on to something with his helium idea!

Maybe that's how they got the car to fly in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang

[Thermal]

A friend of mine worked in the UK for several years and claimed that most Brits are crazy when it comes to talking about cars.

I refused to believe him, until I spotted this thread.... :!Removed!:

Entertaining though. :D

[Sagitar]

Anybody going to mention spoilers?

I was thinking of fitting one to mine but testing the handling characteristics of going round a roundabout at 30mph before fitting, then seeing what the comparison was with it on. ;)

I think you are confusing the function of spoilers and wings. Wings are fitted to increase downforce and improve adhesion and handling. Spoilers are fitted to affect laminar flow over the vehicle and reduce drag. They can improve acceleration and top speed and/or fuel consumption. The rear spoiler on a Prius is clearly there to improve fuel consumption. It causes the air that flows over the vehicle to experience a longer, gentler slope from the roof to the spoiler, which helps to maintain laminar flow and delay separation. This reduces drag, improves fuel economy . . . . . . .

. . . . . and keeps the rear window clean (well, the upper section of it anyway) . . . . . :D

[Sagitar]

The rear spoiler on a Prius is clearly there to improve fuel consumption. It causes the air that flows over the vehicle to experience a longer, gentler slope from the roof to the spoiler, which helps to maintain laminar flow and delay separation. This reduces drag, improves fuel economy . . . . . . .

. . . . . and keeps the rear window clean (well, the upper section of it anyway) . . . . . :D

I made this slightly tounge-in-cheek remark the other day and was interested to see, yesterday, just how true it is.

I drove from Telford to Ampthill in heavy rain on three different motorways. The traffic was pretty dense at times, with speeds varying quite a bit, but mostly in the high 60s. The lower part of the rear window on the Prius was obscured by water more-or-less immediately I started driving, but the upper part of the window remained absolutely clear. On the sections of the motorway that were illuminated, I could see clearly that no water was falling onto the upper rear window, so I can only assume that it was being carried clear of the top of the car down to the spoiler by the laminar flow.

Incidentally, indicated consumption for the out-and-return journey was 60.6 m.p.g. I did much better than that going (66+), when it was dry and I was able to do most of the journey with the cruise control set to 70, but the journey home was much more stop-go because of the traffic and the heavy rain.

[Raeman]

The TTE rear spoiler on my SR keeps the top of the window dry aswell. Wierd that i only noticed that tonight having owned the car for a few years!

[Sico2]

I usually fuel my Yaris half full, because I am somehow convinced that dragging 40kg of fuel with you when you do not need it may increase the fuel consumption of extra weight that you can avoid.

Should I maybe loose some weight too? :P

[carlowlad]

Here is an autospeed article on the subject:http://www.autospeed.com.au/cms/A_110296/article.html

Should help answer a few questions.