Takin' the Vortekz plunge
 

https://www.vortekz.com

That's right, after months of contemplation...the Vortekz fins are going on my Volvo wagon. I may be deleting my rear lip spoiler altogether or I might keep it on and try some A/B testing in the near future. In any case, my black Vortekz kit is ordered and will be installed once my car is done @ the repair shop.
Actually, I ordered 3 sets. My Dad expressed interest in them for his Mazda5. Since his birthday is coming up soon, I ordered him a primed set which I'll have custom-painted in body color and install for him.
Also...one of my co-workers just purchased a 1999 Audi A6 Avant. This afternoon he complained to me about his poor FE and how fast the rear hatch gets dirty. I showed him the fins online and he plopped $20 in my hand for a black kit.

And BTW: Since installing a Vortekz kit on my Nephew's Camaro this past Summer, he claims a modest mpg increase on long highway trips. But he also told me that he constantly has to field questions about them from curious people almost everywhere he goes.

I would love some good testing on these. it's interesting to say the least.

If you shaved your head they would probably stick, but removing them would hurt a lot more than ripping off a bandaid.:p

Looking forward to reading about your research.

VGs are HERE!
 

Wooohooo!....All 3 of my Vortekz kits came today via FedX Ground.

I'm installing the kit for my co-worker's `99 A6 Avant today during my lunchbreak. Mine will be installed tomorrow, provided that my car repairs get completed today. And finally, the primed VGs for my Dad's Mazda5 will be sent to the local bodyshop for paint next week. Installation for those won't be until the end of the month.

...and of course the obligatory response..."This is useless without PICS!"

Just want to see how many and spacing...I think these things do work based on my Airtabs...

Lol! +1

Since I lack digicam technology, pics are pending...but I'll see if my co-worker can snap some pics for us.

The A6 is done. Only took about 50min, taking my time. Once the roof center-line is established, the included templates take care of the spacing...its fairly idiot-proof. There are 10 fins per kit.

*EDIT 1/4/06* - And on another note: After 3 weeks of being Volvoless, my car is finally repaired. I'm sure I'll be a bit lighter in the wallet, but at least I'm back on the road again.;)

*EDIT 1/5/06* - The Volvo is done. (Attn:Brucepick) Interestingly enough, all 10 fins fit perfectly between the hatch hinges on the body while maintaining the recommended angles/spacing. They almost look like they belong there.

I like the suggestion on the website for how to find the point of separation.

One inexpensive method for finding points of air separation on your vehicle is by covering it with a light dust like flower or corn starch and then driving it for a short period of time (preferably on a closed course or empty street). Upon exiting your vehicle you will see the areas where the dust remains and then you can simply place the Delta Wings 100MM in front of those points.

I'm tempted to try this on Box, and see where the point of separation is. Though I don't know how much something like vortekz will help on something with a rear end shaped like an shipping crate.

EDIT: after poking around that website for a bit, I couldn't help noticing that under the pic of differences in wind tunnel testing it says "Wind tunnel testing diagram is based on previous research of a similar item". Does anyone know of a product like this with actual wind tunnel testing to back it up?

Seems like one of the University's in Georgia did a bunch of work in HD truck/trailer stuff relatively recently. From that, there have been some products made to take some advantage of that.

Now, your vehicle is smaller, yes, but if it could help reduce the drag produced at the rear, like a trailer behind a tractor.

Here's a product for a trailer...
https://www.solusinc.com/vortexstrakes.html

Really, it looks kind of simple. Thought about just attaching some aluminum angle to my trailer to do something similar. I won't really use the trailer until April, so I won't really do any testing until then. Might just get Airtabs too. Not sure yet.

My Jeep is the same color as flour...lol. Are you going to add any to the sides of the Volvo?

I've done something similar w/ the Volvo in the observation powdery snow on the roof of the car. After a short trip @ highway speeds, the snow disappears only @ the rear of the roof(~24" section in front of the hatch). My VGs are mounted ~7" from the drop-off point, so they should be in the heart of the flow. The folks @ "Vortekz" did recommend to me that I mount them as far back as possible on the boxy wagon.

On the Audi wagon, I was able to mount them even further back without interfering with opening the hatch. Like the Volvo, all 10 fins fit perfectly between the OE roof rails.

No, but if I did I'd use Airtabs instead. Vortekz delta fins are intended for the roof only.

OK, Its only been a week since the VGs were installed on my Volvo wagon. Its still too early to tell, but my FE has pretty much remained the same...then again, my time on the open highway has also been limited.
It was raining and foggy this morning and I did notice something kind of unusual in the water mist behind the car while driving on the highway during my commute...two slightly visible, counter-rotating vortices extending from the roof area. My rear lip spoiler is still on, but the vortices still seemed to flow level with the roof height without being deflected upwards. The spoiler will be coming off in a few weeks, so we'll see it some downward flow can be induced. The next time it rains, I plan on letting my Wife drive while I sit in the back to observe them more closely.

On another note, my co-worker has noticed a cleaner rear window on his A6 Avant. But he did tell me that it gets just as dirty @ lower speeds.

Also, my Dad's VGs came back from the bodyshop this week. They were painted Mazda 'Silver Green' and the bodyshop did a fantastic job in matching the color. Total cost for painting 10 VG fins...two pepperoni pizzas(it helps having friends in the autobody biz;) ) They'll be installed soon.

That would make a good picture. wink, wink, nod, nod.......

"It was raining and foggy this morning and I did notice something kind of unusual in the water mist behind the car while driving on the highway during my commute...two slightly visible, counter-rotating vortices extending from the roof area."

Ok, I'll open up some discussion. I find the VG stuff really interesting.

With just some preliminary info from the Airtab site, and going off memory, they discussed that there was a point when each individual Airtab being a certain distance apart, the vortex generation would be reduced. Reduced to a point where it wouldn't be useful. I'm paraphrasing.

Could it be that the Vortekz generators don't produce enough disturbance in the air to generate enough effect to be useful?

https://www.tracklab.biz/Tracklab/ass...Airtab9_sm.png
https://www.pickupspecialties.com/gas...tekz_blue2.jpg

:D Even better as a video, but it'd have to be really high res...I'll see if I can find the resources to make that happen.

I'm not exactly certain, which is why I installed them. But this exerpt from the Mitsu pdf is encouraging...
Vortekz basically mimicked the Mitsu delta-wing design and placement arrangement, whether of not they'll actually help my boxy wagon is yet to be seen.

Pics of my wagon....finally.

https://gallery.newbug.org/albums/vol...3852.sized.jpg

https://gallery.newbug.org/albums/vol...3850.sized.jpg

https://gallery.newbug.org/albums/vol...3851.sized.jpg

Yeah that spoiler needs to come off, I can see at once the airflow gets disturbed too early, even after the spoiler comes off they might be too far forward thou without spoiler they might work.

SL8Brick,
Looks good. Have you had a chance to get any hiway miles yet?

Phil

Thanx, Phil. No prolonged highway opportunities yet, but it did take me 2.5hrs to drive 33mi in the snow last night:rolleyes: ....that should do wonders for my FE average.:mad:

LOL, sounds like my trip over the pass last week. Better than 80 miles through the snow going less than 40mph. The worst is when I get down lower elevations and it all turns to 4" of slush. Yuck.
I thought that one of the air tabs claims was it kept the back of your vehicle cleaner (or I may be remembering someone elses claims about them). Does Vortex make any such claims, and if so did you see any cleaner rear glass?

Phil

With my rear spoiler still on, my rear window gets just as dirty. I'm going to remove it as soon as I get a few successive hours to do it properly. Hopefully I can get a tuft test in before then.
My co-worker w/the A6 Avant says that his rear window stays cleaner w/the VGs. Then again, the A6 wagon has a more gradual transition angle(~140deg) than the boxy Volvo(~100deg).
As far as I know, Vortekz makes no claims of it.

On another note...it was smooth sailin' into work this morning. A consistant 60mph on the highway and no red lights on the backroads:thumbup: :D . I still have lots of driving left this weekend...we'll see how this tank pans out.

Vortec Generators
 

I have installed some generators on my swift. These generators are hand made not the generators off the internet. My generators are made out of aluminum and are strong and light. I have seen the plastic ones and don't like them because after a while they will probably be weakened by the sun. I have tried these generators at different distances from the end of my roof line. I think I have found the best location. I (by fluke) found an easy test to see the generators in action without a wind tunnel. I have seen about 3% gain in mpg with them installed. The test I found by fluke really opens your eyes on how they work. I have some generators, I made extras for testing, if anyone wants them drop me a line...

Green Swift.

To my eyes, the install on that yellow 'vette looks like a mistake. I am fairly sure it should have clean separation at that point without them and that that model has underbody aero, maybe even a diffuser that fills in from underneath. I could see those maybe causing lift at speed.

I too took the plunge
https://www.fuelly.com/attachments/fo...9e9f79468d.jpg
https://www.fuelly.com/attachments/fo...a5816d527d.jpg
https://www.fuelly.com/attachments/fo...42ab2909de.jpg

those look really good, nice job:thumbup:

I been thinking about this for a while, with a few road trips coming up. The purpose of the Vortekz tabs are to keep the flow attached to the rear window. They were design around sedans. Would sticking them on a boxy wagon really work?

I hope so, but I have my doubts.

Also, any ideas on how to temporarily attach them? I do want to finally try them for myself (I don't mind buying them) but I don't want to rip off paint in case I change my mind.

The principle has been around for some years, been applied to truck bodies, aircraft, etc, I wouldn't say they were designed around sedans. Maybe that brand isn't quite as agressive as the ones used on large trucks and trailers and hence somewhere in between would suit wagons better.

Heat gun will probably get them off.

I look at it this way...the rear window angle of many wagons is similar to some boxy sedans. The only difference being the altered airflow from VGs obviously will not have a trunk lid to reattach to on the wagon. IMO, there should still be a decrease in low pressure immediately behind the upper half of the rear hatch. Its just an idea.

A brief update on my VG experience: My FE has remained unchanged. However, I have noticed an increased feeling of stability, especially when running in clean air on the highway. My boxy wagon seems less phased by crosswinds and passing tractor-trailers.

https://www.autospeed.com/A_108676/cms/article.html

Here's the section when they tested a MB wagon:

The hatch window of the MB is even more slanted than my 9-5, and it doesn't do squat for aero, it seems. There is one term, though, that I'm unfamiliar with; what is meant by "suction peak?"

zef95 -

What I noticed was the big effect the side view mirrors have :

https://us1.webpublications.com.au/st...08676_15lo.jpg
Attachment 1219

That looks like a big justification for a side-view mirror downsize/delete.

CarloSW2

Yes but they also widen the forebody there to a certain extent and possibly allow flow to come in at more of an angle behind. Also have to be careful messing with mirrors in that a smaller mirror with a fully blended root, can in fact cause more drag than a larger mirror out on a bit of a neck. That was something that turned up in the '08 Caravan redesign, think it's mentioned on the allpar site.

RoadWarrior -

Thanks. I am in the middle of downsizing, and I will be using this :

Blackburn Multi Mirror
https://www.rei.com/OM/style/736837?c...1-000423c27407
Attachment 1220

This might have the "root" problem you are talking about. What is good is that it should be easy to tuff-test. I will keep my passenger side mirror stock and compare the two. If it fails, then I can swap it out with other (flush half-conical?!?!?!) mirrors and test accordingly.

CarloSW2