03-04-2013, 05:15 PM | #1 |
Drives: Suburban/Z-71 CrewCab/1972 442 vert Join Date: Mar 2010
Location: Minot, North Dakota
Posts: 34
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Lower Front Fascia Bumps
What is the purpose of the two front "bumps" sticking out on the lower front air dam? I kinda like them, but they are odd, and must have been designed with a purpose...but, por que?
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03-04-2013, 06:07 PM | #2 |
just can't get enough
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Functional for both pedestrian safety and aerodynamics (downforce).
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03-04-2013, 06:07 PM | #3 |
Drives: 1969 Corvair, 2018 Camaro T4 RS Join Date: Mar 2009
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The canards? Aerodynamics.
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03-04-2013, 06:07 PM | #4 |
Drives: Civic Join Date: Feb 2013
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Pedestrian impact and how they bounce off the hood and not through the windshield. Or something like that.
Chevy also claims it creates down-force.
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03-04-2013, 06:09 PM | #5 |
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they're primarily to meet European pedestrian safety standards. Common on BMW, MB, Audi/VW and other manufacturers designs now. Keeps pedestrian head impact low or something if they're stupid enough to walk out in front of your car and get hit by it. Not a huge issue yet in the US but probably will be soon. They also can tweak the 'fangs' to serve some downforce purpose albeit not to the extent that a full on air dam/splitter up front can serve on high performance models.
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03-04-2013, 06:42 PM | #6 |
Camaro6 2016-2018
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Shark Teeth
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03-04-2013, 10:13 PM | #7 |
Drives: Suburban/Z-71 CrewCab/1972 442 vert Join Date: Mar 2010
Location: Minot, North Dakota
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Cool.
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03-04-2013, 10:27 PM | #8 |
Slammin' all six gears
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Stingray nostrils
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03-06-2013, 09:05 AM | #9 |
just can't get enough
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For visual reference and delight...
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03-06-2013, 09:22 AM | #10 |
Drives: 2007 Corvette Coupe Join Date: Feb 2013
Location: Florida
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I read what they were for when the C7 was first introduced, but I still don't see how they work. I think it is just more mumbo jumbo from governing safety committees.
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03-06-2013, 09:55 AM | #11 |
Drives: '10 GTI for now Join Date: Feb 2013
Location: Ellicott City, MD
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when you hit the pedestrian, the fangs break their legs. That way, they'll be unable to walk out in front of other cars in the future. Duh.........
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03-06-2013, 12:02 PM | #12 |
just can't get enough
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Serious head injuries is the most common fatality metric in pedestrian:vehicular accidents... this lower bumper design helps (as part of the comprehensive preventive measures) in minimizing this.
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03-06-2013, 12:27 PM | #13 |
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I'd guess that ideally these 'fangs' would have gone across the entire front of the car to add downforce but the government regulations forced it to look like this. You can see a similar design in the Viper ACR. I'd suspect for the ZR1 / Z06 there might be a bolt on air dam sent in the truck for the customer to install for "track use only". If you think about it, government regulations are similar to a sanctioning body rulebook in motorsport; engineers must tweak "ideal" designs to fit "in the box".
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03-06-2013, 12:53 PM | #14 |
just can't get enough
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It's well known that vehicle design can influence the type and severity of pedestrian injuries. Modifying the front structures of passenger vehicles to reduce the severity of pedestrian injuries has been the subject of research for decades...
The most common crash scenario involves pedestrians crossing in front of a passenger vehicle that is traveling straight. These crashes typically occur in daylight on roads with speed limits below 40 mph. The majority of pedestrian deaths occur in dark or twilight conditions and at locations other than intersections, where vehicle speeds may be higher and where drivers do not expect to have to stop. Page 23 onwards has greater detailed insights on the engineering approach towards increased safety measures... http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstr...202/102873.pdf And here's another publication on pedestrian:vehicular safety measures... http://www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/pdf/esv...ceed/00089.pdf |
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