Caravans - What happened to car roof top aerofoils

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Thu 19 Mar 2009 20:18
Caravans - What happened to car roof top aerofoils - bathtub tom
Those things like a wing on car roofs that caravaners used to sport. They were supposed to reduce the overall drag of the outfit. You still see them on lorry tractor cabs, but I can't remember when I last saw one on a car.

Were they banned for some reason?

Did they have any beneficial effect? I suspect they didn't because they were too far away from the front of the 'van.

Also, those bargeboards on the front corners of large trucks (they follow the curve round the side of the cab). What purpose do they serve?
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Thu 19 Mar 2009 21:28
Caravans - What happened to car roof top aerofoils - AlastairW
Don't know about the aerofoils, but the bargeboards on trucks are something to do with cross wind performance. Some still have them, but they are better integrated so you don't notice them so much.
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Thu 19 Mar 2009 21:53
Caravans - What happened to car roof top aerofoils - none
I was talking to an old codger of a transport manager a few weeks ago about the roof spoilers fitted to HGV's.
He recalled that when first fitted to his fleet, fuel consumption improved by about 10% - ie from 9 to 10 mpg.
Most drivers soon found out that the extra speed available gave time for longer tea breaks, rather than fuel economy. Then along came the 56mph limit and spoiled everything.
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Thu 19 Mar 2009 22:19
Caravans - What happened to car roof top aerofoils - J Bonington Jagworth
"Were they banned for some reason?"

Probably because they were so hideous that even caravan owners (who, apart from those with Airstreams, must all be aesthetically blind) thought twice about installing them.. :-)
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Fri 20 Mar 2009 07:49
Caravans - What happened to car roof top aerofoils - L'escargot
They probably went the same way as the fly deflectors that some people used to fit at the front of the bonnet in the 1950s.
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Fri 20 Mar 2009 09:26
Caravans - What happened to car roof top aerofoils - shawad
The vans became more streamlined so no need for one anymore?
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Fri 20 Mar 2009 09:30
Caravans - What happened to car roof top aerofoils - Falkirk Bairn
The vans became more streamlined so no need for one anymore?


Streamlined bricks - that's a new one.
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Fri 20 Mar 2009 09:54
Caravans - What happened to car roof top aerofoils - L'escargot
>> The vans became more streamlined so no need for one anymore?
>>
Streamlined bricks - that's a new one.


The aerodynamics of objects depends on more than just the general shape. Individual details have a large effect on the various coefficients ~ drag, lift, pitch, roll, yaw etc.

Cars which in the past were considered by the layman to be good aerodynamically (Jaguar E-Type for example) were in fact quite mediochre because of the lack of attention to detail.

Edited by L'escargot on 20/03/2009 at 09:57

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Fri 20 Mar 2009 10:17
Caravans - What happened to car roof top aerofoils - mike hannon
I seem to remember those fly deflectors could work.
Trouble was, what looked acceptable on the front of an Austin Somerset was out of place on an E-type.
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