I not an expert on arrow dynamics, but I really want to know if you put a wing on your car, will say mounted centered on your cars balance point. Lets say this wing wasn‘t like those ricers trying to produce down force so there civic doesn‘t fly off the highway, but a wing that produced lift, this could improve the gas mileage of your car. I‘m thinking it could even be mechanical in some way providing various amounts of lift, but on the highway you could make a 3000lb car drive like it was 2000lbs. That‘s a big *** difference, i just don‘t know how crazy drag would be on the wing itself, but I was just reading about something called the tube plane, a large percentage of its lift was created with the main body of the plane, technology is a far larger market than oil, driving around in vehicles shaped like bricks isn‘t helping MPG‘s. Any comments
Wow. I never thought about it but I personally would not try it cause I like to drive 100+ mph and I may get lift off. I would think if you wanted to save on gas you would get a smart car or hybrid or something like that.
Lighter cars don't necessarily get better mileage. Well engineered cars get better mileage. Lift would be a lack of traction which is loss of control. Wings are designed to produce down force to combat loss of traction at high speeds due to lift. Wings on ricers are a whole different subject, decoration.
Lighter cars have smaller engines, which in turn should have the best gas mileage. (exp: Motorcycles get better mileage per gallon than cars) As for your theory, it has some faults. Consider the following: 1) If you have a wing pushing down to pull the car up, you will not have the best contact to the road. Less tire pressure on the road is wasted energy. Possibly resulting in more RPMs. Planes don't use their wheels except to brake due to this. 2) The wing would cause more drag than would be of any help in reducing gas mileage; at least in my knowledge of drag. Even though planes are very 'slippery', the down force of their wings is their biggest drag. If you look at modern jets, they have swept back wings to give lift, but swept back to provide better distance and speed. 3) There are cars out there that have almost a 0 (although it would probably never happen) air drag co-efficient. The less air drag on a car, the more economical it is with fuel. Also, if you notice, many sports cars have body's that are VERY low to the ground. The lowest amount of air to go under the car gives you an even better air drag. AlsoWhile many cars look like 'bricks' (Chrysler 300 comes to mind), they actually bend the wind around the car quite well. Think of it this way: It has been proven that a pick-up truck gets better gas mileage with their tail-gate up, rather than down. (air gets 'caught' in the bed rather than just flowing over the entire truck - see mythbusters) Its not a matter of the air simply flowing over the vehicle, but being able to move out of the car's way. Thats the 'bending' part. (I don't quite get it, but I'm sure you can find more information out there about it) Don't stop thinking though. You might be onto something, but just not there yet. Try looking at the tires. They are actually a cars biggest drag factor. (good 'ol friction and heat) Good luck in your search of knowledge.
