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 | How does the HighwayGlider work? |
| HighwayGlider is simply an air deflector that fits over the flat front license plate right in the very front of your car.
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| HighwayGlider’s coefficient of drag is around 0.3 vs. a typical front license plate’s coefficient of drag is about 1.0. |
| At around 70 mph every 2% of the 3% improvement of in the coefficient of drag is directly translated into fuel savings |
| Because the HighwayGlider is placed right in the very front of the vehicle, it starts the air deflection process in the most effective way, while your car is pushing its way through the air that resists against its forward movement. |
| The radiators and grills on the front of cars are designed to prevent overheating during stop-and-go traffic in extremely hot climates.
In cooler temps, not only the vehicle/truck does not need such big front grill, the entire air intake opening affects the fuel efficiency of the vehicle at highway speeds. |
| The problem with Front License Plate that it is the "least aerodynamic component" of a vehicle by far. Additionally, because it is located right at the front tip of the vehicle, it hits the air at a disastrous 180 degrees with absolutely no deflecting capability whatsoever. |
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| Some comments about the unique design - "the Curve": |
| The design or the curvature of HighwayGlider is radically different than also aerodynamically designed nose of a plane or a bullet. |
| There are reasons for this type of design. As our computer simulations showed, the goal was to create maximum amount of Laminar Flow in an optimal shape.
Unlike the Turbulent Flow that is created by the regularly exposed License Plate, the Laminar Flow goes over the front grill and the hood; as well as around the bottom front of the vehicle. |
| Unfortunately, we had to work on a very limited Boundary Layer, a bit larger the dimensions of the standard license plate and is limited to 1.8-2.9% of the frontal view of an average passanger vehicle. |
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| Can we talk about Aerodynamics of my car? |
| | Energy Needed during motion = av + bv2 + cv3 |
| The letter v represents the velocity of the car, and the letters a, b and c represent three different constants: |
| The a component comes mostly from the rolling resistance of the tires, and friction in the car's components, like drag from the brake pads, or friction in the wheel bearings. |
| The b component also comes from friction in components, and from the rolling resistance in the tires. But it also comes from the power used by the various pumps in the car. |
| The c (commonly known as cd, Cd or cD in physics) component comes mostly from things that affect aerodynamic drag like the frontal area, drag coefficient and density of the air |
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| Drag Coefficient examples: |
| - supplied by the Auto Manufacturer |
| - does not include Front License Plate |
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| Flat License Plate = 1.00 | Hummer = 0.55 |
| Greyhound Bus = 0.59 | Prius = 0.26 |
| Honda Civic = 0.34 | Insight = 0.25 |
| Average SUV = 0.41 | HighwayGlider = 0.24 |
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| | Please note that the Coefficient of Drag used in EPA's lab is supposedly based on "pre-sales" model, meaning a vehicle that does not have a front license plate. |
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| Can we do the Math now? |
| HighwayGlider's frontal coverage area is 0.86 sq ft, with Drag Coefficient of 0.24 |
| It replaces about 2-4% portion of the front area (usually the bumper) that resists the head wind with drag coefficient of about 0.95 |
| Direct improvement of Coefficient of Drag in the front license plate area of the vehicle translates into about 1.0-2% fuel efficiency. |
| Depending on the size and the shape of the vehicle and the highway speed, at least an additional 1.0-2.5% fuel efficiency is achieved
by deflecting the head wind over the front grill/hood and underneath the vehicle. |
| So, overall fuel saving at 70-75 mph on the highway will be around 2-5%, with annual savings of $25-$60 at the pump, depending on variety of conditions. |
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| Things You Should Know About Your Car and its MPG? |
| Average Speed of EPA’s Miles-Per-Gallon test on Highways is based on average of 48.3 mph.
Government's EPA Source |
| Even though almost every airplane structure and part is tested in air tunnels or with simulation software for aerodynamics, nearly none of the automobile manufacturers give high priority to aerodynamics during designing phase.
The issue is that in the testing formulas, EPA uses the coefficient of drag that is supplied by the Auto Manufacturer, with no questions asked.
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| Average (non-congestion) Speed on US Highways is around 72-74 mph. |
| Sweet spot, when the fuel consumption starts increasing (drastically) as the speed increases, is around 38-46 mph. |
| Unfortunately, EPA's official Highway Mileage Test is conducted in a closed environment where air/drag resistance is totally ignored.
See the Pictures.
Therefore, we do believe that the "actual" highway mileage ratings are about 20-25% less than what the government tells us after the official EPA tests.
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| At over 75 miles usually almost half of the fuel used is consumed by pushing the air in front of the vehicle. |
| What percent of the fuel is used on the Highway: At the first glance, we may think that we do not travel at highway speeds that much. But the fact is that we travel most of our miles on the Highway. Since MPG is based on miles, therefore we actually use a much higher percentage of our fuel on highways. |
| Importance of the Wind: At any given time average speed of wind (even without the surface turbulence on a highway) is approx. 10-20 mph from any one of the four directions. Statistically, this translates into head-wind during 25% of the time and tail-wind during 25% of the time.
This means that when you are randomly travelling on the highway, your car is exposed to drag resistance at 75 mph cruising + 15 mph head-wind. Conversely, when the wind comes from the tail direction, your vehicle's drag resistance will be 75 mph for cruising minus 15 mph the effect of the wind.
Unfortunately the negative marginal effect of the 15 mph head-wind (total drag at 90 mph) on the mpg is much greater than the positive contribution of the 15 mph tail-wind (total drag at 60 mph). Even the new modified Federal Testing standards totally ignore the Wind factor. |
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| How do I attach HighwayGlider to my car? |
| Very easily. As easy as mounting your license plate with just four standard bolts. |
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| May my HighwayGlider be ever obselete? |
| Absolutely not! No matter what technology powers our vehicles (battery/electricity, hybrid, ethanol, butanol, solar, hydrogen),
there will always be need to push personal transportation vehicles at highway speeds. Obviously, when the fuel costs rise, your annual savings increase considerably. |
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| How about City Driving? |
| During the designing process of HighwayGlider, we took city driving conditions and tight parking situations into consideration.
Therefore, converting the HighwayGlider from a highway mode to an unavoidable in-city mode is a snap: just press from two sides and remove the deflector. |
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| What happens if my HighwayGlider brakes during a mini car accident? |
| It is true that small portion of the owners will do need replacements due to unfortunate incidents.
In that case, we will do every effort to send you a replacement device at cost or below cost. It is our belief that owners of HighwayGlider will be much careful drivers and those mini incidents will eventually cease to happen. |
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| Does HighwayGlider increase my safety? |
| HighwayGlider makes you a much better driver. You will subconsciously will avoid getting too close to the car in front of you. |
| Even though HighwayGlider’s raw material is one of the most durable and hardened clear premium polycarbonate,
it is breakable in the case of high impact into another vehicle - usually between two bumpers.
However, because of its multi layered and unique conical design it will absorb at least some of the impact during considerably serious crashes.
Therefore, it will reduce the actual damage on the body of the car and will keep the passenger a bit safer.
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