A few years ago I proposed golf ball dimples on a car reduces drag just like it does on a golf ball. Of course I was laughed at and verbally beaten to a pulp.
Methinks you protesteth too much, you copped it for going out the back door . The golf ball theory is a pet topic with LSR people I doubt anyone got too hot under the collar about it.....
EVERYBODY told me how it couldn't work, at least in their opinion
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No , not everybody
Well guess what? The Mythbusters tested if a car gets better mileage with golf ball dimples and the dimpled car got 11% better mileage than the same car with a smooth finish. They covered a car with 1" of clay and smoothed it out. It got 26 mpg in a precisely controlled mileage test. They carved out golf ball scaled dimples in the clay and the car consistently got 29 mpg!!! That means the "burble effect" a golf ball employes, the ripples in a racing boat hull and the "shark skin" texture of our latest super sonic fighters use does equate to a car covered in golf ball dimples. A dimplen car will go faster than a smooth one. I win!
That seems to be a reasonably sensible controlled comparison.
I'm going to cast flexable latex "tiles" with dimples on them. I'll cover the car with the tiles and make fiberglass molds off the body. Then I'll replace ANKLE BITERS smooth aluminum body with the fiberglass "dimple special body and see how fast it goes. Film at 11.Otto
Seems a lot of work......do you think the body is close to perfect as it is.?....then go ahead, it will be better with dimples whatever you do it would seem. If you have large areas of detached flow it will be an extravagant folly.
My bet is dimpling the body would be a long last in order of significance behind Cd( although it will become a function of it) and frontal area.... You will, it seems go faster with dimples and hell knows you'll be cuter but I suspect you'll be tired and broke and not that much further ahead.....