Ok well I dont know alot about air flow and all the things related to it so ill just say wats on my mind

Well to start i personally really like the wingless look on the cobalts - i just think they look really clean.
But I was always under the impression that our wings - altho massive - are working real deal spoilers that create the downforce on the rear of the .... yadayadayada so on and so on

now here is where my question comes in

would a vortex generator (the thing on the back of an evo) be a useful addition to the cobalt if the wing was deleted?
now some people told me that a vortex generator only improves air flow - and then some told me it creates downforce... so now i have no idea lol

I would really appriciate it if someone could clear this up for me
thanks

 

I highly doubt are wing does ****, maybe if your going like 150+, if your concerend get one of these.

 

lol yea im gonna get right on that

that sorta defeats the purpose of a wingless cobalt IMO

that wing better add at least 50hp before id buy it

 

http://www.mitsubishi-motors.com/cor...004/16E_03.pdf

this should clear things up. essentially, vortex generators create a different flow of air on the rear half of the car. when the laminar (smooth) airflow coming from the front and top of the car separates at the rear of the roof, it creates a drag force due to the turbulent (non-laminar) flow. the vortex generators serve to smooth this airflow and allow for a more laminar flow down the rear deck of the car, and thus allow the rear wing to properly function.

though i'm sure someone else can help fill in some more details.

but FINALLY my aero engineering education is serving some good use!



and no, it probably wouldn't help the cobalt. it really don't help the evo too much, either, but engineers probably had designed the part specifically for the evo's profile.

and no, it won't increase downforce.

 

Mufnman had about 95% of it (rep added), even the mitsu website leaves some of it out.

If you look at the pictures of air velocity:
without the vg

with the vg


In the first picture, you will notice the blue area right against the rear windshield. That is an extremely slow moving, low pressure area. You can think of this as the drag that the vehicle created. The more of the red that you have, and the less of the blue, the faster your vehicle will travel through the air.

Okay now with that out of the way...Vortices are spinning air, that swirls in an ever expanding spiral.

The "Vortex" Generator creates vortices, but doesn't actually smooth out the air, it just directs the turbulence where it serves our purpose better. The blue area next to the windshield, drag, needs to be minimized. These VG's are designed to send the vortices downward, not straight back. The purpose is to push the air that is next to the windshield, and get it moving. Technically, a little bit of downforce. Not much, no more than maybe 5lbs, but it is there.

The VG's do assist in the downforce of the wing, or airfoil, by directing the turbulent air downwards against the glass, making the calmer air flow directly across the wing. Thus creating even more downforce.

If you were to watch an aicraft's airspeed while cruising through non turbulent air, and then watch the airspeed as it hits turbulent air, the airspeed will drop. The reason is, some of the energy created in the forward direction is being used in the vertical and reverse directions. Some energy is used moving the wings up and down because of the variable lift. And extra drag is created because the air coming off of the wingtips is not as smooth.

It should actually help a cobalt sedan with the high rise spoiler a little bit. But the coupes have a very aerodynamic back half of the car as it is. Adding that to a coupe might actually disrupt the smooth flow over the back, and provide more drag at high speeds. I'm not entirely sure, the only way would be to test in a wind tunnel.

Aerospace Engineering, at the Air Force Academy.

 

always great to have another aero on board

i was thinking about it last night, and the 'vortex generators' serve a similar purpose on an automobile as winglets serve on airplanes.

there's a few more years of school before i really will start to understand this engineering stuff, but hopefully it'll pay off with a racing team or something :-)

 

hey thanks alot guys for the reply - lol answered my question perfectly

 

now if somebody wants one:\
http://motors.search.ebay.com/vortex...r_W0QQfromZR40

 

Adding rear downforce isnt really needed on a cobalt, the car has very low front downforce to start with which means at high speed there is a great deal of lift, if you add more rear downforce your going to create even more front end lift

If you want to add downforce do it up front