Concept car?

[Eagleboy]

why would u want to do this to a beetle? its not used for racing or anything

Hi John, meet the New Beetle RSi:

http://www.vw-cup.co.uk/images/images05/cars/carspage/Beetle.jpg

http://www.vw-cup.co.uk/images/images06/cars/carspage/beetlersi.jpg



And, well, this is just badass...
http://www.speedace.info/speedace_images/volkswagen_beetle_flying.jpg

 

[C0RR0SIVE]

There at one point in time was a car that had this idea applied to the bottom of it all the way down and up. They showed the test results. Not much of a difference because of the vehicles massive weight and the speeds we travel at.

 

[NeedAcpu]

Ok you go put a bunch of dents in your beetle and I will get a good sports car. Then we will race and see what is better

 

[mac_mogul]

It would have absolutely no effect on a car.

If a car were to move at the SCALE speed of a golf ball, then maybe it would have some effect, but the car would need to be going somewhere in the neighborhood of 400mph.

So, if say it WERE to have an effect at normal speeds, it would really depend on WHERE you dimpled the car. If you dimple it up front, it will cause friction and affect drag. If you dimple it on top, it will increase downforce. if you dimple it on the bottom it will decrease downforce. If you dimpled it on the sides, it would have no effect other than making the car quite unstable at speed.
This of course is assuming that the conditions are perfect. No wind whatsoever from any direction. Otherwise your car would go flying way off course and into the rough...

 

[The General]

A golf balls spins in the air, dimples on a Beetle would just slow it down, unless you're gunna do tricks like ATIRAGEPRO. http://techist.com/showthread.php?threadid=111975

 

[joshshift]

actually dimples would help the beetle but not enough to notice it. its the same reason why cadillac puts dimples on the bottom of the skid plates on their cars, why sharks skin isnt smooth, and why the skin of f14 jets are rough.

 

[Eagleboy]

Right - the driver wouldn't notice it, but gas consumption would decrease. Again, not noticably, but over say a 2 year period, dollars and cents would add up.

It doesn't matter the speed at which the vehicle is moving - the dimples would still affect it to some degree. A prime example is the dimples in the high-end cycling clothing. Cyclists aren't going over 40mph except on the larger hills, often weigh less than 180lbs total with bike, and yet the dimples affect the aerodynamics of the rider.

 

[UA_Iron]

Car manufacturers would never do it because:

A. The tooling involved to stamp out metal panels with dimples would get outrageously expensive
B. It would look ugly to most consumers
C. Any performance increase is negligable

Now if someone wanted to delve into the fluid mechanics and aerodynamics of such a surface than it have involve a masters thesis in mechanical or aerospace engineering. The funding would be hard to obtain and economically it wouldnt be sound.

 

[molsen]

the golf ball is spinning and is relatively lightweight against its speed, and thus the dimples have an effect. a perfectly smooth round surface on a light object is never going to fly perfectly straight and is going to be subject to various pressure differences to alter its course and slow it down. the dimples help eliminate that. totally different concept with a car. cars are already aerodynamically stable because they are designed that way and because they aren't 360º symmetrical. a perfect sphere is aerodynamic, yes, but not stable.

 

[Nukem]

hahah just hit a bunch of golf balls at the car and give it dimples.

Just park it on a driving range and buy everyone a bucket... problem solved! You can test out your theory, and you can practice your swing at the same time! LOL