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THIS Is How To Get More Range WITHOUT Bigger Batteries! #buildempire
#howto
8207 read – 901 like
Improving range still tops the agenda as a way to convince drivers to go electric. But the question is, how do car companies do it?! Better batteries are one solution, but what role can aerodynamics and drag play in the plight for more efficient electric cars?! Imogen and Jack went to a top secret wind tunnel at Audi’s HQ in Ingolstadt to find out!
0:00 Top Secret Location
0:53 EVs, a new era for aero?!
1:17 Aerodynamics, and a little bit of science..!
3:27 A new engineering status quo?!
4:14 A massive fan and some big sieves
5:13 Why not use a computer?
6:08 Reality?!
6:40 Drag, and a little more science..!
7:55 A trip down memory lane
9:57 What are we trying to do?!
11:06 Time to turn on the wind!!
12:23 Some top aero tech
15:32 Active spoilers
16:58 The EV opportunity
17:52 How low can you go?!
18:34 Time to cool down
19:00 Engineering rockstars and concluding thoughts
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#electricvehicles #evs #cleanenergy #automotivedesign #cardesign #WindTunnel #windkanal #engineering #aerodynamics #physics #automotiveengineering #sustainability #design #audi #audietrongt #Drag #fluiddynamics #dragforce
Great to see that you continue to emphasize the importance of aerodynamics – and great to see that it is finally coming back. I hate that something as shallow as fashion could be seen as more important than the laws of physics. Also – that classic Audi 100 was always a big favorite of mine – I was 10 years old when it was released – and the aerodynamics of it was always the key reason for me liking it. More stuff like this please!
Flat bottomed cars, you make the rocking world go round
Ok, I’ll be the weirdo:
Slippery when designed well…
And I loved the design.
I wonder at what speed a rear boogie with 4 small and narrow wheels would be more efficient than 2 thick ones? If both setups had the same lateral grip.
Great video. you’ve remind me of what someone once said❤The richest people in the world build networks; everyone else is trained to look for work.” “There is a difference between being poor and being broke. I once attended seminar and ever since then i been waxing strong financially, and i most tell you the truth..
A very informative video, thank you especially to Imogen for such a clear explanation of a very complex process. More please.
Nice to get my thought confirmed, that a spoiler in general is not making it any more aerodynamic, it is only supposed to put more pressure on the rear axle. When looking at the small size of this specific spoiler, I am sure above 400km/h its starts to create useful downforce. So in normal traffic below 200km/h it is just a completely useless cosmetic part that could malfunction over the years, just like the artificial motor noise coming from the speakers of combustion engines in a lot of recent sportive looking cats. What a BS world we live in, where everything is just supposed to look nice, creating wrong images, pretending to be something, when it technically isn’t.
Regarding the red old Audi 100, that was a real step forward, I remember driving the 5 cylinder version above 200km/h while listening to music, unthinkable in any other “normal” car in the beginning of the 80’s. Pretty advanced. My Audi 80 from 1993 was ironically much louder than the old Audi 100 even at lower speeds.
The Etron GT is really a very beautifully shaped car, but why do they use regular side mirrors when everybody knows that they will cause a turbulence on the side window that functions as a membrane to couple the noise right into the cockpit, when they could use tiny cameras, like smart companies do, eg. Korean car makers on some of their latest models.
They use double glasing as well as tiny cameras on aerodynamic “sticks” that they flip out as soon as you roll, while they cost less than half the price of the Audi but offer twice the warranty!
German car manufacturers please wake up and make cars better, more reliable and affordable, because people will tend to have less money for mobility these days.
Use carbon fibre and make the cars much stronger and lighter!
I think frontal area is heavily overlooked. My boxy, non aero, brick of a windcatcher: an old Citroën 2cv (0.51) has the SAME drag as a shape optimized, windtunnel tested, Tesla model X (0.24). This is completely due to the fact that the model X has over twice (!!) the frontal area of that inefficient shaped car of mine. Let’s make cars small and sensible again! The model X mini would be twice as efficient (and no, the y doesn’t count, it’s still slightly massive)
The Aptera getting 10 miles per kilowatt hour is a perfect example of how critical aerodynamics can be. (Most EVs get 5 or less, with upper 3’s being the average)
Brilliant video, nicely presented and really interesting to see where the future is heading. Cracking car as well, look forward to collecting mine soon once production delays are sorted.
1000 hrs in a wind tunnel ? Sounds like their first time on the the learning curve of aerodynamics .
man the Audi brand has moved far from what it used to be. To me it’s still number 4 in Germany behind Mercedes, BMW and Porsche. And some of the models they put out are just (really) expensive, glorified and rebadged VW/Skodas/Seats.
One word: Aptera
What a BS concept… most cars are fairly aerodinamic, ESPECIALLY the electric ones.
95% of cars are commute cars, this means they are used from home to office and back. They are not to be used EVERYDAY ON LONG COMMUTES!
By long I mean 2+ hours. If you are doing less than 2 hours a day, chances you are dealing with city traffic.
Aerodynamics are so crucial yet manufacturers insist on producing wardrobes on wheels, gunging great SUVs looking like they were chiseled out of granite. The Toyota Bz4x being a prime example.
Do you want 10% better efficiency on your car? Put two inch smaller and thinner wheel on your car 🙂
removing the audi badge and all the stink from it gives you 10 extra miles free of charge.
Is it? Or is the better solution to simply cut the size of the car in half? I’m feeling like a bit of drag and a car designed for the actual number of people who’ll be in it, is probably better in the long run 😉
I worked as an undergrad in a wind tunnel at the NPL at Teddington. Enjoyed it so much. The smoke only comes out when the client’s on site. It’s pretty much just because it looks cool. It serves no qualitative purpose.