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Wind Shedding - Is the Contour Aerodynamic?

Scorpion8

Hard-core CEG'er
Joined
Jul 10, 2008
Messages
1,681
Location
Juneau, AK
We get some wicked cross winds coming up the channel that I drive along twice each day, at points where it intersects the glacial fjords and mountain valleys. My 'tour doesn't seem to buffet these cross winds very well and am trying to discover either if my front end is getting worn, or the car just isn't all that good at shedding wind.

Any thoughts? How's your 'tour handle cross winds and head winds?
 
IMO it takes cross winds very well. Much better then say a hard body Nissan pu or a elantra, only cars I really driven to compare it to.
 
it was real bad driving my mustang across lake erie yesterday. the wind was blowing me all over the place
 
didn't top gear use a mondeo a few years back to prove that a jet engine could blow over a car (countering Mythbusters claim that it couldn't).

I have to admit that my tour is better as shedding crosswinds than my explorer, but pales in comparison to the rest of my fleet (the cougar and towncar)
 
Our platform is pretty aerodynamic from the front, but I haven't seen any stats for the sides. If you got blown around, make sure all your bushings are still in good order.
 
I've always thought the Contour pretty slippery. That said, it only weighs 3,000 pounds, so getting tossed about in high winds is a real possibility. My '88 Town Car weighs some 4,400 pounds, but is as broad as a barn. Still, it does quite well in the crosswinds due to its heft alone. The huge cabin, exterior, and solid structure impart a feeling of security that is pleasant.
 
The contour is very good from the front....one of the better cars out there IIRC from the numbers.
 
I've always thought the Contour pretty slippery. That said, it only weighs 3,000 pounds, so getting tossed about in high winds is a real possibility. My '88 Town Car weighs some 4,400 pounds, but is as broad as a barn. Still, it does quite well in the crosswinds due to its heft alone. The huge cabin, exterior, and solid structure impart a feeling of security that is pleasant.

Likewise my Ram 1500. I don't feel tractor-trailers alongside me as much as I do in the Contour which at times feels like a toy in cross or buffetting winds. For awhile I suspected my 'tour front end had turned to goo. It appears that is not the case.
 
Likewise my Ram 1500. I don't feel tractor-trailers alongside me as much as I do in the Contour which at times feels like a toy in cross or buffetting winds. For awhile I suspected my 'tour front end had turned to goo. It appears that is not the case.

When I used to tear across the plains of Montana in my green 1994 Taurus SHO, I used my trunk-mounted Cobra CB antenna as a weathervane. Seeing 18-wheelers keeled over on their sides in the ditch like big, old drunken dinosaurs was enough to keep you from passing one if the wind was blowing to the left.
 
now, is that awesome drag coefficient we have floating around out there for the SVT only due to the bumpers/ground effects?
 
now, is that awesome drag coefficient we have floating around out there for the SVT only due to the bumpers/ground effects?


isn't it calculated by the total frontal area of the vehicle? if so the SVT would be higher then a non svt because of it larger frontal area because of the front bumper.
 
isn't it calculated by the total frontal area of the vehicle? if so the SVT would be higher then a non svt because of it larger frontal area because of the front bumper.

Frontal area is measured in cubic inches, and is separate and mutually exclusive from drag coefficient. Though additional frontal area can hamper drag coefficient (like my Town Car), properly placed and designed panels can make a car more slippery (like the SVT).
 
I drive my CSVT in So Cal Santa Ana winds. In gusts up to 70 mph it seems to stick to the road just fine. Maybe the lowered ride height helps?
 
Drag Coefficient (Cd) and frontal area (Af) are two seperate things, but are related in real world use. Cd is a unitless dimension to describe how "slippery" a particular shape is to the air. In theory, Cd is the same for a given shape, regardless of size, but in practice it can vary. Using Cd and Af, and a couple other factors, one can determine the force of drag on a moving object pretty easily.

Fd = 1/2*ρ*v^2*Cd*Af
Where
Fd = Drag Force
ρ = density of medium (air in this case @70F and dry it is 0.074887 lb/ft^3))
v = velocity of object relative to medium (car speed in this case)
Cd = Drag coefficient
Af = frontal area
 
These cars have always been thought (and proven) to be pretty aerodynamic. Kepp in mind that you are driving a car that weighs well under 3,000 lbs in some trims. I don't know enough about suspension and allignment to tell you about that, so I'll leave it up to the experts.

For a comparison: My Contour is much better at handlinmg crosswinds than my Focus, which is both taller and much lighter.
 
I've always thought that my contours (and mystique) are some of the best cars in the wind that I've driven.
 
Yea i got this strech of highway to my bros and its 75 and wind is incredable their i thought i handeled rather well 98 svt.....got a 99 jeep cherokee sport 4.0 few things done to it and it handeles rather simalar in the cross winds compared to the tour but, the weight is the main issue i think this coridor runs about 55-75 reg and storms blowing over the city it gets above 100.....High wind warnigs daily ( C-470 loop) But other wize it handels like its on rails i think.



Rocky Mtn Runnin
_______________________

98 csvt 2.5 #2800 SF mdntb (2nd owner) :laugh:
99 jeep cherokee 4.0 blk/gry



Not your avarage driver runnin the Rocky Mtn's
 
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