[tla]

Great pics!

In the 2nd and 3rd pics, I noticed what I think are small air dams protruding down along the wheel wells in front of the rear wheels.

Is that a new feature in the current model, or did you have those in the previous model?

My Beijing-built i30 doesn't have them.

As hard as I look I can't see what you are referring to. Maybe it's just the side skirts that you can see???

Trish's car has what he is talking about .. so did our old SLX hatch...

Yes, I was referring to these air dams or wind deflectors.  They're a simple way to reduce drag and, therefore, improve fuel economy.

[neoto]

@meehalych: nope, plain fabric seats.
As with many things, these should be used meaningfully - when the car warms up, it does not feel comfortable any more and you switch them off. This way, it should not harm our fella's down there. Anyway... 180€ for heated seats and 300€ for parking sensors? Are you kidding me, Hyundai?

[Surferdude]

Great pics!

In the 2nd and 3rd pics, I noticed what I think are small air dams protruding down along the wheel wells in front of the rear wheels.

Is that a new feature in the current model, or did you have those in the previous model?

My Beijing-built i30 doesn't have them.

As hard as I look I can't see what you are referring to. Maybe it's just the side skirts that you can see???

Trish's car has what he is talking about .. so did our old SLX hatch...

Yes, I was referring to these air dams or wind deflectors.  They're a simple way to reduce drag and, therefore, improve fuel economy.

I think you'll find they are just stone deflectors to reduce the amount of atones and gravel hitting the door sills and damaging the paint. Not air dams. Certainly not aerodynamic. IMHO.

[rustynutz]

 

[tla]

Yes, I was referring to these air dams or wind deflectors.  They're a simple way to reduce drag and, therefore, improve fuel economy.

I think you'll find they are just stone deflectors to reduce the amount of atones and gravel hitting the door sills and damaging the paint. Not air dams. Certainly not aerodynamic. IMHO.

I could understand their purpose as stone deflectors if the car was mainly going in reverse.

I've been looking at cheap and easy ways to improve fuel economy, and noticed this discussion about rear wheel wind deflectors http://www.gassavers.org/showthread.php?t=6596.  Based on the discussion and the various links, size and shape are very important: bigger is not always better

[Dazzler]

I've been looking at cheap and easy ways to improve fuel economy, and noticed this discussion about rear wheel wind deflectors http://www.gassavers.org/showthread.php?t=6596.  Based on the discussion and the various links, size and shape are very important: bigger is not always better

They must help a bit my Toyota Camry Hybrid is designed to be very Aerodynamic and it has them too...(similar size and shape to the i30 ones)

[Surferdude]

Ah yes. Note to self. Look more closely at pics. That's the rear wheel not the front.    Then I should re-read the topic title.
I can see what you mean now but I had something similar behind the wheels on my Impreza which was abviously a stone deflector.
Gonna have to read up on those things.

[bumpkin]

I also have these on the ix20, they are aerodynamic in that they channel the air away from the main body of the tyre and force it to the bottom third of the tyre treads where the treads on the low resistance tyres funnel the air through.

The ix20 also has a rubber deflector all around the bottom of the front spoiler which does much the same job

[eye30]

Some interesting comments.

I have them and also the rear mud flaps.

I thought they were all to do with channeling any water/muck/stones etc away from the body of the car which appears due to the rotation of the wheel and affords rear end protection to that area of bodywork.

[bumpkin]

Some interesting comments.

I have them and also the rear mud flaps.

I thought they were all to do with channeling any water/muck/stones etc away from the body of the car which appears due to the rotation of the wheel and affords rear end protection to that area of bodywork.

By the time that they would do that on the rear wheel you have already filled the wheel arch with the offending objects.

[eye30]

Some interesting comments.

I have them and also the rear mud flaps.

I thought they were all to do with channeling any water/muck/stones etc away from the body of the car which appears due to the rotation of the wheel and affords rear end protection to that area of bodywork.

By the time that they would do that on the rear wheel you have already filled the wheel arch with the offending objects.

The bodywork by the rear door i.e the spay/muck etc coming out by the wheel near to the rear door.

The reason I say this, before I had the rear mud flaps fitted the rear end of the car got full of splashes etc but as soon as they had been fitted the spray reduced by near 99%

[Lakes]

interesting, i never took much notice of them b4.
at what speed do they become most efective?

[bumpkin]

Some interesting comments.

I have them and also the rear mud flaps.

I thought they were all to do with channeling any water/muck/stones etc away from the body of the car which appears due to the rotation of the wheel and affords rear end protection to that area of bodywork.

By the time that they would do that on the rear wheel you have already filled the wheel arch with the offending objects.

The bodywork by the rear door i.e the spay/muck etc coming out by the wheel near to the rear door.

The reason I say this, before I had the rear mud flaps fitted the rear end of the car got full of splashes etc but as soon as they had been fitted the spray reduced by near 99%

Thus proving the point that they don't do any protection, that's what mudflaps are for.

Lakes: I suspect that they are most effective in the ix20 from 30-60mph, that would be in the most efficient economy range of the car, but of course will still be doing something above 60mph.
Sent from my 1000et

[rustynutz]

In the scheme of things I reckon these make bugger-all difference.....

If we are concerned about aerodynamics then we'd be better off doing away with our rear spoilers & mudflaps.....

[bumpkin]

Entitled to your opinion Russ, but perhaps you should be speaking to the designers of all the manufacturers who have decided that they do make a difference, you may even get a job with one of them when you prove that they are wasting money

C'mon, we all know that they will cost cut if at all possible, surely the additional cost of two moulded parts and the mounting of those parts to each vehicle would be seen by management as wasteful if they "make bugger-all difference"

[rustynutz]

Entitled to your opinion Russ, but perhaps you should be speaking to the designers of all the manufacturers who have decided that they do make a difference, you may even get a job with one of them when you prove that they are wasting money

C'mon, we all know that they will cost cut if at all possible, surely the additional cost of two moulded parts and the mounting of those parts to each vehicle would be seen by management as wasteful if they "make bugger-all difference"

Yes, I am entitled to my opinion....

Manufacturers do it all the time....take spoilers for example. At the speeds we're allowed to do they do "bugger all" too, yet manufacturers still fit them....

[Surferdude]

Entitled to your opinion Russ, but perhaps you should be speaking to the designers of all the manufacturers who have decided that they do make a difference, you may even get a job with one of them when you prove that they are wasting money

C'mon, we all know that they will cost cut if at all possible, surely the additional cost of two moulded parts and the mounting of those parts to each vehicle would be seen by management as wasteful if they "make bugger-all difference"

Yes, I am entitled to my opinion....

Manufacturers do it all the time....take spoilers for example. At the speeds we're allowed to do they do "bugger all" too, yet manufacturers still fit them....

Yeah. But spoilers have an aesthetic value. They are ther efor looks in 90% of cases. Even on cars where they are effective you'd have to be doing way above legal speeds to get any real benefit.

[bumpkin]

Why do manufacturers fit spoilers??

Because the consumer wants them and they add a premium to the vehicle, yes shock horror, we the consumer want our cars to look good so they add a price to the car we buy.  The i30 does not come with a spoiler as standard, we pay Hyundai to add them, or we go up the range to where they are fitted as standard, but pay a higher cost to get the "street cred".  We want our cars to be attractive, manufacturers recognise that, and encourage us to do so by spending more.

I cannot however see the aesthetic pleasure in the underbody air deflector, I certainly can't see it at all, unless I get down low to wash the car.  It is not an optional extra, this thread shows that many people didn't even know they existed, I can't ask Hyundai to remove them and take money off the purchase price, no more than Dazz can with Toyota.  They are there and that's it.

I would take issue with your statement that they would do bugger all, wind hitting a flat block at a 90 degree angle (in this case the tyre) creates more drag than if the wind is channeled to hit at a lesser angle.  Open your window at 100kph and put your hand out.  Place it palm outwards and you get the 90 degree angle.  The drag on your hand means that you have to exert force from your body in order to maintain that angle.  Alter the angle to even 60 degrees and less exertion is required on your behalf in order to maintain the angle, thereby your drag coefficient is greatly reduced. 

This is why formula one cars don't look like bricks.   (and yes I know the tyres are fully exposed on an F1 car, but note that they have winglets on the front spoilers and curvature on the radiator pods to channel the air around and over the tyres, not all the aerodynamics on a race car are for downforce)

PS While I was writing my tome, Trevor said it in a sentence

[2i30s]

great post Brian.  i was going to remove those plastic thingies on my hatch because i think they look ugly,but after reading all of your posts I'm leaving them on. 

[meehalych]

bumpkin
This is why formula one cars don't look like bricks.
I wouldn't mind watching bricks racing 

I spotted the deflectors you're talking about here, in the dealer's show-room, where I came to take my new car home.

[rustynutz]

I have my opinion, you have your opinion..... 

My thinking is that the front wheels have already deflected the wind so like I said, in my opinion the effects of these deflectors would be bugger all.....happy to be proven wrong though....


Oh, and I do realise spoilers are fitted for aesthetic reasons....I even had one fitted to my i30 cos' I liked the look. 

[bumpkin]

My thinking is that the front wheels have already deflected the wind so like I said, in my opinion the effects of these deflectors would be bugger all.....happy to be proven wrong though....

So the air which is deflected by the front spoiler and front wheels does not re-enter the area between the front and rear wheels when driving at 100kph in your opinion.  I think that you will find it does.

Oh, and I do realise spoilers are fitted for aesthetic reasons....I even had one fitted to my i30 cos' I liked the look. 

That's not what you said here.  If they did bugger all they would not even be aesthetic and you wouldn't have bought one!

Manufacturers do it all the time....take spoilers for example. At the speeds we're allowed to do they do "bugger all" too, yet manufacturers still fit them....

[rustynutz]

So the air which is deflected by the front spoiler and front wheels does not re-enter the area between the front and rear wheels when driving at 100kph in your opinion.  I think that you will find it does.

You've not heard of drafting or slipstreaming then?
While I'm sure some of the air does re-enter, I'd imagine there would still be a low pressure "wake" in front of the rear wheels....no?

That's not what you said here.  If they did bugger all they would not even be aesthetic and you wouldn't have bought one!

  Surely even you could work out that I was referring to a spoiler being fitted even though they create bugger all downforces at the speeds we're allowed to do?

[bumpkin]

I won't comment any further

http://autospeed.com/cms/A_2456/article.html

[rustynutz]

I won't comment any further

http://autospeed.com/cms/A_2456/article.html

While that's an interesting article, I see very little about the rear deflectors that we are discussing....
Have I missed something? 

[bumpkin]

I won't comment any further

http://autospeed.com/cms/A_2456/article.html

While that's an interesting article, I see very little about the rear deflectors that we are discussing....
Have I missed something? 

The section about frontal flows mentions them, but the overall article is about cleaning up the airflow which it is acknowledged manufacturers are attmepting to do by fitting deflector devices ahead of the wheels.  At the time of this article it was more common on front rather than rear, but it does acknowledge that rear deflectors are becoming more prevalent.

The original comments on this thread suggested that they may be to prevent stone damage, chips etc, this shows that they are indeed air deflectors with a function related to aerodynamics and economy, which is the point I have maintained all through the discussions I believe.

[AlanHo]

I am feeling left out of this "conversation". My 2011 1.6 CRDi Premium does not have the little thingies in front of the rear wheels. Hence it would appear that Hyundai decided they were irrelevant and removed them for the current model year.

I would not be surprised to discover that they are simply a robot picking up location for the body shell at some point during manufacture, cleaning or painting. Hence nothing to do with aerodynamics.  Do they have a hole in them at right angles to the body?

[bumpkin]

No Alan, they have no holes in them.  The article I linked to above states quite clearly that they are air deflectors and my 2011 ix20 Style BlueDrive has them and therefore Hyundai do not feel they they are irrelevant, but there may be more to be gained by fitting them to the BlueDrive ECO models than the mainstream range in the UK modelrange.  As seen in this thread some of our members have them and some don't, this conversation started with Accims new i30CW having them, but we have deduced that Lester (eye30) and Steve (2i30s) also have them.

Sent from my 1000et

[rustynutz]

Mine has them as well......

And so far nothing I've read has shown that they actually do much....

[AlanHo]

If they are so important - why are they not fitted to the Premium model in the UK?  It looks as though I am going to have to resort to adding some as recommended in Bumpkin's link article using lumps of foam and lots of gaffer tape.......  I'm just a bit worried about the fact that they generate aerodynamic lift - I don't want the car to become unstable on the motorway so I will put a concrete block or two in the boot to compensate.....