I know that at least some of you will be interested in this... but some help is NEEDED
Im in the amazingly happy position to announce to you all, that I have access to my university's wind tunnel. Its a bit old, but they got it from Farnborough and it was used to test aircraft models. It has a 3d jig so it can measure drag, lift etc. Nowadays its used to test mmostly smaller pieces up to real size motorbikes.
Im going to build a rig with multiple oriffices for smoke testing (the one that shows multiple lines and how they get altered by the car's body)
Now i would like some info on where i could find a good beetle based lexan cover for an R/C. Probably it won't be a 1303 but i could alter it.
My goal is to madel the whole suspension front and rear along with inner fenders , engine, transmission and axles. I will try to use similar sized wheels and perform an initial test, so i can assess the beetle's stock aerodynamics.
As a next step i would try and modify the cover and model my body kit and run the same tests in order to see how good it is.
Finaly I would like to improve it further more, if time and budget allows.
All smoke testing will be recorded on video and photos.
If all goes as planned, the results of the initial test are going to be posted here for all of us to share.
If a lexan cover can't be found, or the one found isn't that good, I would try to make one from balsa (cheap and easy to scalpture on cnc)
If all of this fails, Im already building a 3d model of my body kit equiped 1303 and will run CFD on it to assess the aerodynamics.
if you have more info or want to help email me on
beetle1303@hotmail.com which is my personal email.
Last, but not least, we could simulate side scoop different positions and probably different chin spoilers.
Rob (Judgie), we all seen ur trys to improve ur amazing hill climb race car, and u are in the metal trade and u got skills man, I would be really thrilled if we could work something out
Cheers,
Chris