Rear window air-flow deflector?

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NevadaGeo

NevadaGeo

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A friend of mine had a front mount Yakima air deflector on his Subaru Forester that mounted to the front cross bar, helped reduce the drag from the rack up there. He attached it to the rear cross bar for the exact same reason. Don't see why it wouldn't work for your application.

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This seems like an interesting workaround. I will check this out further. I just remember these type of deflectors were very common in days past. Perhaps now, they are not so common because they probably affect wind drag and mpg. Part of our lowest common denominator society...
 
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NevadaGeo

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A friend of mine had a front mount Yakima air deflector on his Subaru Forester that mounted to the front cross bar, helped reduce the drag from the rack up there. He attached it to the rear cross bar for the exact same reason. Don't see why it wouldn't work for your application.

View attachment 19749
I looked this over with the Expedition and the roof rack runners are too far forward for this to give the down draft necessary to keep dust off the rear window. But an interesting concept!
 

powerboatr

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i went through this search insanity last june, for a deflector that actually forced air down the rear window.
I too found all the ones above and none except the yakima thingy would even come close to directing air down the rear window
we need a day at the wind tunnel.
in the past on a f350 dually with the cab height leer cap, i manufactured a small deflector from alum and it was just high enough to grab some air and worked pretty good at keeping the major dust and water off at speeds.
been tossing a few things around to make another small deflector to do the same.

we have a huge wind burble area on the rear window and liftgate, i imagine its not enough to change mpg, or ford would have made one, but it may be enough to keep rear window cleaner.
the burble does help aerodynamically speaking as it forms a bubble that allow the rest of the airflow down and around the flat side of the rear end,


maybe time for some cardboard mock ups
 
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NevadaGeo

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i went through this search insanity last june, for a deflector that actually forced air down the rear window.
I too found all the ones above and none except the yakima thingy would even come close to directing air down the rear window
we need a day at the wind tunnel.
in the past on a f350 dually with the cab height leer cap, i manufactured a small deflector from alum and it was just high enough to grab some air and worked pretty good at keeping the major dust and water off at speeds.
been tossing a few things around to make another small deflector to do the same.

we have a huge wind burble area on the rear window and liftgate, i imagine its not enough to change mpg, or ford would have made one, but it may be enough to keep rear window cleaner.
the burble does help aerodynamically speaking as it forms a bubble that allow the rest of the airflow down and around the flat side of the rear end,



maybe time for some cardboard mock ups
powerboatr, could you clarify this statement? What is a wind "burble" area? Is that Texas speak?:burnout:
 

powerboatr

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burble/bubble or rolling air flow that acts like an object, in relation to the other air around it
that is the swirling of air that occurs off a sharp angle break, like in our roofs to the lift gate is a sharp edge and it creates burbles/bubble or rolling masses of air, its almost a solid that it will cause air flow that is not part of the burble/bubble to flow past and gain some streamlining effect.
best way to see it in action, is in the rain watching air flow around a semi trailer
or some wind tunnel videos
 
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NevadaGeo

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burble/bubble or rolling air flow that acts like an object, in relation to the other air around it
that is the swirling of air that occurs off a sharp angle break, like in our roofs to the lift gate is a sharp edge and it creates burbles/bubble or rolling masses of air, its almost a solid that it will cause air flow that is not part of the burble/bubble to flow past and gain some streamlining effect.
best way to see it in action, is in the rain watching air flow around a semi trailer
or some wind tunnel videos
Okay, now I understand perfectly. I love your description! As a scientist, visuals like that make sense. Thanks.
 

powerboatr

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Okay, now I understand perfectly. I love your description! As a scientist, visuals like that make sense. Thanks.
oh shit we have two rogue scientists on board the site...
but i stray back to my aviation roots more than the evil genius that lies within :Big Laugh:
 

ExpeditionAndy

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oh shit we have two rogue scientists on board the site...
but i stray back to my aviation roots more than the evil genius that lies within :Big Laugh:
Now that you mention it, I build and fly radio controlled airplanes, and I was just thinking that if you gave this deflector an airfoil, you could get the air moving faster over the top surface and with an under cambered shape you might be able to direct the air right on to the window. Just a thought.
 
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NevadaGeo

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Now that you mention it, I build and fly radio controlled airplanes, and I was just thinking that if you gave this deflector an airfoil, you could get the air moving faster over the top surface and with an under cambered shape you might be able to direct the air right on to the window. Just a thought.
I love it to get the juices flowing. Go for it! Rogue science will win!
 
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