limb wrote:Can anyone explain to me if the tesla cybertruck's aerodynamics are any good. According to common sense, theres a reason all cars have curve, but the cybertruck is very blocky and edgy.
All the articles touching upon the drag claim its actually very good but that seems a bit fishy
Compared to the existing pickup trucks it is definitely of lower drag. The nose cross sectional area is not
larger and is sitting lower to the ground and the windshield is sloped in low angle from the leading edge.
The rear of the cab is also sloped instead of being at 90 degrees. So streamlines do not form a perpetual
vortex at the rear of the cap and in instead flow to the rear tail gate where both the cyber truck and
regular pickups have a standing vortex. These trapped vortices act to sap kinetic energy from the vehicle.
I have not seen the numbers, but the cyber truck should be substantially less drag than existing pickups.
At one stage Dodge was going in the right direction (early 1990s) but then reverted to the standard blocky
shape because the dicks who buy such vehicles think that aerodynamics is for faggots.
There is a limit on how aerodynamic the cyber truck can be. It still has a large gap between the ground
and the chassis. Note how sports cars practically hug the ground. This reduces drag substantially since
the streamlines then flow over the top instead of dragging over the rough bottom of the vehicle. For
sports cars this acts to keep them planted firmer to the ground. The nose of the cyber truck is still a
flat "paddle" pushing the air instead of diverting it over the top. Pickup trucks and trucks will always be
less aerodynamic than the sedans and sports cars. If Musk is claiming otherwise, then he is just pushing
his usual snake oil.