Thread: Aerodynamics.............

Originally Posted by PAT303

John,I fitted a webber ''economy'' carby to one of my 2.25's,it got economy by cutting the power by half. Pat

Yes, that is one way of improving economy. But let's face it, Series Landrovers, or the petrol ones anyway, were not designed with economy in mind. The engine is low compression and designed for durability and driveability with fuel economy way down the list of design factors, not only for the Series vehicles but also for the Defenders, although diesels are markedly better.

John

Anyone remember this tip?
Wheel on Bonnet = Aerodynamic improvement
Don.

Originally Posted by dromader driver

My 110 trayback is most fuel efficient sitting around 95 km/hour. over 110 is a definite no no.

Traybacks are less aerodynamic than wagons or hardtops due to the shorter cab. Also, you will probably find that leaving the tailgate off or open and lying flat will make a marked difference. The foot high tailgate on my tandem trailer feels like the brakes are on once you get over about 80!

John

Originally Posted by JDNSW

Traybacks are less aerodynamic than wagons or hardtops due to the shorter cab. Also, you will probably find that leaving the tailgate off or open and lying flat will make a marked difference. The foot high tailgate on my tandem trailer feels like the brakes are on once you get over about 80!

John

The best result for a tray back is a cover or canopy. It's been proven on wellside decks that removing the tail-gate doesn't help. Instead it creates more recirculation behind the cab which increases drag. On shallower and longer decks however the results would need checked.

Originally Posted by Don 130

Anyone remember this tip?
Wheel on Bonnet = Aerodynamic improvement
Don.

Thanks, reinforces my objective to have a 110 tourer with no roof rack or trailer, however an awning would be very nice, maybe standalone.

Originally Posted by Dougal

It's been proven on wellside decks that removing the tail-gate doesn't help.

If you are thinking of the Mythbusters' test, they certainly concluded that the aerodynamics were better with the tailgate in place. They concluded that the utes were designed so that there was some sort of vortex created behind the cab that needed the tailgate to work properly.

I'm not sure that you would get the same result with a cab shaped like the Defender.

I do remember that towing a very light empty box trailer behind my Series III slowed it down a lot more than having that same trailer full of bricks. There was also a lot of drag behind my car when the trailer was empty.

Has anyone tried a bonnet mounted wind deflector ?

The Defender is the first vehicle that we have owned where on occasions we get better economy in the city than we do on a trip.
Cruising at 100kph, I thought I'd be well in front of my "city" figures, but I wasn't.
Couldn't work it out until someone mentioned the "effort" that it takes to push a Defender through the air at that speed?
Pickles.