4 ms·
Ok I hate to do this, but you're wrong about the tail reducing drag instead of increasing it. The rear of the prius has a design feature to reduce the effect of
by Phillipharryt 7y ago
Ok I hate to do this, but you're wrong about the tail reducing drag instead of increasing it. The rear of the prius has a design feature to reduce the effect of the turbulent wake created by having a flat rear, but it still has a large vertical surface at the rear creating a lot of wake. You can clearly see this in a wind tunnel.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ov0iNPfs-WM https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ov0iNPfs-WM
- et2o 7y agoNope, do not believe so. The short tail with a vertical back is called the Kamm effect. It's a mix between having a practical design and minimizing drag. The numbers do not lie; there is a reason the Prius has an extremely low drag coefficient. Just think this through on a systems level. Obviously Toyota's engineers are not idiots and would use whatever aerodynamic effects they would since the entire point of the car is maximizing efficiency. If it was more efficient to have a different shape while still remaining a practical automobiu, it would. The entire design of the Prius revolves around this.
- Phillipharryt 7y agoI'm not sure you're actually reading my message. A bluff at the rear of the car is terrible for aerodynamics, but having a rounded shape is inconvenient for the interior and storage. A compromise is made where you have a slope and then a bluff. The prius has this slope and then bluff. The flat surface is still bad for aerodynamics, it is not there to benefit them. Also stop just googling for wikipedia links then coming back with information you've only just learned. It's ok not to know everything.