I was reading through some spoiler threads for fun and came across this post

I like how the stock S spoiler looks, but I'm getting pretty fed up with how dirty the boot gets. Following the links in that post I read the article and found it very interesting and well put together. I'm wondering if anyone has tried this on an R53, and does the boot stay any cleaner. at $2-$3 per airtab, it's a serious thought to just buy four and see what happens.

Thoughts?

 

interesting...wonder if you gotta put them all the way around like that.... looks goofy as heck... a lot goofier than dirt lol

but if 4 on top do wonders....im in.

 

I'd take dirt any day over those things, they just do not look right on our cars..

 

yeah all around may have been functional but a big NO THANKS from me. I was thinking four on the top, in line with the antenna (the antenna being the "5th" if you can think of it that way) maybe.

I've seen the spoiler attachment that supposedly keeps the boot clean, but have always thought it was A LOT of coin $$$ to keep the dust off.

 

the dirt is pretty bad, I agree, they look wierd in the picts, but thats cause the article went nuts.

imagine just the roof line.

Here I cut the rest of the car out, so we're talking about this..



maybe even less.

 

I might consider these for under the car, but I will live with a dirty boot and just wash it more before i install them on the roof or any other area that can be seen

 

awesome articles! though the diffusers shown are a joke this technology is very old and very useful

 

can you recommend better then? are they a joke because they don't work? I am considering them because of price and functionality. I think that the spoiler extension is a bit ugly (uh oh, relax people it's my opinion) and way too pricey. I'm totally open to other thoughts though.

 

its cool honestly I would design something myself before putting that stuff on my car. not only that but read the articles, those do not do much at all. I am sure if a little research was done you could find much better products than these.

do not mean to offend. I am a perfectionist and those look terrible in my opinion.

 

http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k2...ni/MyMini2.jpg
http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k228/yakimini/MyMini3.jpg

These are are easier on the eyes I think

http://www.psmini.org/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=4923

There is about 4 maybe 5 of us in the Club that have them installed

 

Does anybody know if the factory "mudflaps" help with dirt at all?

 

I agree about them being outdated and a bit ugly, but they seem to work. and if they flow the air there, it could keep the boot cleaner. I was thinking about building something similar to what you see on the roof(s) of evos and STIs. a strip of small "bumps" to knock the air down the back glass. any thoughts?

 

and the airtabs article is funky as hell. They claim
1) No visual impact!
2) No increase in drag, yet the Insight dropped gas mileage 3%-7%!

There are lots of things one can do for decreasing drag, and I guess vortex generators are one of them. These won't be on my car any time soon though.

Matt

 

i would assume that they are better than none!

 

the fact that these hurt the Insight and only helped a bit with the car with the sloped rear windshield lead me to believe that they aren't appropriate for the Mini. They seems to offer some help for cars where the boudary layer separates from the car at slight angles and the turbulent flow then screws the pooch. On the Mini, the angle of the back end just seems way to different than the sides and roof to have any hope of this working well. Think about cars with the Kamm backs. Things like the Shelby Daytona Coupe, and lots of other cars. There you want to separate the flow clealy from the surface (that's why tons of cars now have little ducktail like shapes along the back of the trunk and the like). Adding energy to the boundary layer is exactly the opposite of what one wants to do at edges that are like that.

But to each thier own, and if some want to use these, have at it.

Matt

 

Dr Obnxs, I think you hit it on the head. I am not sure that within reason there is really a way of getting the airflow proper to the back of the MINI without sacrificing a lot of looks and a little efficiency. It was a decent thought, but I think we're just destined to have a dirty boot.

 

now you are on the right track. these things obviously do not need to be that big and so putting the airtabs on seems quite pointless to me. go for it. I would be interested to see if the custom ones help. those were very subtle!