Aerodynamic Mods to Reduce Drag

[MalcolmReynolds]

Funny thing is, one of the prototypes was longer, giving the car a much sleeker look. Shown below is the 2003 concept car.

Wow, I LOVE the look of that car! Too bad they didn't make this the follow up to the current i-Miev. That really is nice. I will have to save that image to give me hope that someday we will see cars like this... Very sweet!

 

[JoeS]

On a separate thread, mjg0711 posted this amazing wrap which just *looks* as though it provides sleekness to the car:

Marty, those look like Mooneyes covering the wheels. Correct? How are they attached? I was wondering how they have worked out long-term? Any galling or dirt accumulation between the covers and the wheels themselves? I need to look back over these threads as I believe jray3 tried them for a while and eventually took them off and I had issues with them on my Gen1 Insight (they chewed up the car's alloy rims).

 

[mjg0711]

Hi JoeS;
These caps are just ordinary 15-inch hubcaps I found on E-bay. But I have had a problem with keeping them on! lol. And I only have that problem on the driver's side front wheel. I have thrown 2 of them off the car when going over potholes at speed. :roll: I have no problems with the other three wheels. Anyone have a theory?

Thanks for the compliment on the wrap.

 

[jray3]

The aero wheel covers I used are spun stainless steel with a full set of sharp steel grippers on the backside, sold by JC Whitney. I stopped using them because of the noise- the car 'crinkled' at low speed. The steel wheels flex so much even rolling on smooth pavement that it earned my silver car the nickname "Jiffy Pop". I never lost a cover, even after a hard cub hit (but the cover was easy to beat back into shape due to the memory from ]<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/FHvtieU4-7Y" frameborder="0" allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen></iframe>
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FHvtieU4-7Y
Those wheel covers are now with an i-MiEVer who isn't active on this forum.

 

[mjg0711]

Hi jray3;
Thanks for the response. I know the "crinkled" noise. Yes, mine makes the same noise. But I sure do like the look. The disks I'm using are the same spun stainless.
However, when i look at the stock plastic hubcaps, and the stainless ones, I notice that the shoulder on the plastic one is much broader; it extends into the wheel about an inch more that the grippers on the stainless. Hmmm.