Well, I stumbled across this interesting thread at EcoModder.com:
http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthrea...ator-3709.html

Folks are playing around with a free web based 2D Fluid Modeling program called Flow Illustrator:
http://chernyshenko.sesnet.soton.ac.uk/FIHome.htm

Basically, it renders fluid flows around a defined solid object (you can upload a bitmap of what you'd like to model) and makes a little movie (< 2MB in size or the thing chokes). There are some tricky parameters which the creator of the program explains (it's rather technical) in this post:
http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthrea...html#post47549

It's not meant to be a totally accurate aerodynamic/wind tunnel model (it's only 2D after all) but it's intended to give you some nice visualizations to see the air/fluid flow around a given modeled object is moving...roughly.

None the less, I was able to make some pretty cool little movies of how a VERY low resolution MINI might look in a stiff breeze. Set the Re (Reynold's Number) variable at 250000 (I think I'm off by a degree of magnitude, but using 2.5M didn't change the appearance of the movie) for several MINI wing configurations...

Disclaimer: This is a VERY rough approximation as I used a very low resolution bitmap of the MINI to generate the movies. It's probably not accurate and probably doesn't correlate with any real world performance, but it's pretty cool looking and likely gives you an idea of where the problem areas are in a MINI in terms of aerodynamics.

For better results/modeling, someone may want to try a higher resolution bitmap than what I used (256x128 was the biggest bitmap for which I actually got the web site to return a working movie, folks have gotten 512x256 but I couldn't get a larger bitmap not to choke). Leave some room in front of the car's outline in the bitmap to allow the fluid flow to go linear before it hits the outline of the car, also leave an open channel below the car (delete where the wheels hit the ground below the body) to allow for flow from under the car to get to the back of the car.

I've uploaded 9 of the models and movies I've made.

Dave

No Wing: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uppa87-XQ4g

Sort of like the MCS Stock Wing: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tyk0UbroZto

Small Wing Above the Rear Hatch just above the Roof Line: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=grVs4fvFzFU

 

A few more Models:

A JCW like Wing Placement: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zsHALvf3PXI

JCW Wing like placement with a little kick up in the trailing edge: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QrwrCHRiq_Y

Mini GP/Challenge Wing like placement: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hH6WfOo9vIA

Dave

 

I have to admit, i find these pretty interesting!

 

Last 3

JCW/GP like Wing with a little kick up at the trailing edge: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=43ePJbIxJiM

45 degree wing right off the trailing edge of the roof: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_yUoTxJ8zFA

45 degree wing off the base of the back window: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nrUhHBMtSAQ

Whew...feel free to edit these bitmaps or use better ones to make your own Flow Illustrator movies. Maybe you can get the higher resolutions to work so as to make prettier (more accurate perhaps?) movies.

I'm not an aerodynamics expert by any means, anyone who knows about this stuff have any comments? I think I used the wrong value for Re in all of mine, but I'm not sure, could have sworn that the value of Re=250000 was a car sized object going about 60 mph, but I'm not sure now. The information on Re values is buried in the EcoModder thread listed in the first post.

Have fun.

Dave

P.S. If you search for "Flow Illustrator" in YouTube, you'll find a whole bunch of other movies others have made of various other vehicles/shapes:
http://www.youtube.com/results?searc...rch_type=&aq=f

Pretty entertaining.

 

Yeah, it's a fun little thing to play with. I especially liked the Oscar Meyer Weinermobile: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yVQ6HMQH7OM

I think it has some issues with turbulence though...even a MINI has a cleaner slipstream!!

Dave

 

I'd like to see someone design a modification to the MCS rear spoiler that directed air down the rear hatch to help keep it clean instead of being a vacuum cleaner.

YD

 

Very Cool, now can someone design a wing that keeps my back window clean?

 

+877856745856 almost pointless to even think about washing the boot.

 

Thanks Dave, fun stuff and interesting. I've been working on a few ideas and testing them out. Finding that they are keeping the hatch window cleaner. Look in my gallery for other aero devices I've been working on.
JS

 

very cool stuff. PM sent.

 

So, Joel, what if you took you "wing tip" idea and created a duct that picked up the laminar flow against the rear side window and turned it around to the rear window? Sort of an extension of what you have in the photo, but with a little more "duct" structure?
What I like about the wing tip is it looks like all that fruit that hangs off F1 cars these days!! Even if it doesn't work, you could just make a reference to a McLaren F1 and everyone would stand back...

 

Forget McLaren -- I say use Honda's early "Dumbo ears" in place of the rear wing.


Seriously though, that rear window wing tip is an interesting idea.

 

Interesting Info for Fireballed! APR Jet Wing Owners

Here's a link to APR's computational fluid dynamics analysis of their GTC-200 wing - http://www.aprperformance.com/index....sk=view&id=183

The GTC-200 wing isn't exactly the same as the Fireballed! APR Jet Wing (59.5" span vrs. 48.25") , but it's the closest I could find on their site. FWIW, the different end plates will also make a difference (probable for the better on the Fireballed! wing), but I still think the results are pretty interesting.

For reference, I measured the angle of attack on the Fireballed! wing at its lowest setting at approx. 1.5 degrees. I'll try and measure the middle and upper settings this weekend.

 

Phil,
Thought about that quite a bit and drew up some ideas but was never satisfied aesthetically with the other designs. And, as you point out, this does relate to F1 design.
JS

 

Anyone know if just-a-cooper owners have the same gripe about the boot gathering dirt?

 

How about a front grill lip spoiler that provides some down force to twitchy front end during high speed runs, and also provides wind flow into the front grill opening ? It Replaces the entire thin strip grill opening in front bumper or R53 and uses same mounting points......

Like this:

Attachment 36321