Quote:
Originally Posted by TheCaptain
I know trucks are workhorses and everything, but isn't going more boxy less aerodynamic (read less fuel economy) then moving to a more aero advanced design?  |
Quote:
Originally Posted by Brokinarrow
Would have to ask some one familiar with fluid dynamics... but it would make sense to me that more boxy = more drag and less efficiency.
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I'm not an aero expert either but I do know that there's far more at play than brick vs egg. There are a lot of things that may seem like they're important to the average person but in reality, they play a small role. Meanwhile, seemingly inconsequential items can be critical to the overall efficiency. I don't know what these things are, but I know that peculiarities like that exist.
You also have to factor in how the entire chain of 'flow events' (I just made that term up by the way) occurs. It might be beneficial to make a bit of a sacrifice in one spot so that you can reduce the airflow to another point of particularly high drag elsewhere. And of course, when someone buys a truck, they want it to look like a truck. An extra half an mpg on the highway is probably worth less to customers than looking like the truckiest truck that ever trucked.