First Name
Wouter
Joined
Jun 2, 2021
Threads
1
Messages
13
Reaction score
34
Location
Belgium
Vehicles
Taycan 4S
Country flag
Hi everyone,

we just released a video on the aerodynamic features on the Porsche Taycan:


I hope you like it!!
All comments welcome :)

In part 2, we'll take it to the streets and compare the results with simulation data!
Sponsored

 

Kingske

Well-Known Member
First Name
Frank
Joined
Jun 6, 2020
Threads
79
Messages
1,431
Reaction score
1,641
Location
New Jersey and Colorado, USA
Vehicles
2020 Porsche Taycan 4S, 2024 BMW X3, 2014 BMW 3 GT
Country flag
Hi everyone,

we just released a video on the aerodynamic features on the Porsche Taycan:


I hope you like it!!
All comments welcome :)

In part 2, we'll take it to the streets and compare the results with simulation data!
Very clear overview. Thanks. It is a bit strange, though, to hear a comment on keeping enough of the wheels open to help cool the brakes whereas such brakes are hardly used given the strong regeneration capabilities. Looking forward to Part 2. Bedankt @Wouter Remmerie voor de interessante video.
 
OP
OP
First Name
Wouter
Joined
Jun 2, 2021
Threads
1
Messages
13
Reaction score
34
Location
Belgium
Vehicles
Taycan 4S
Country flag
Very clear overview. Thanks. It is a bit strange, though, to hear a comment on keeping enough of the wheels open to help cool the brakes whereas such brakes are hardly used given the strong regeneration capabilities. Looking forward to Part 2. Bedankt @Wouter Remmerie voor de interessante video.

I agree! In principle, brake discs can be made smaller if you use re-gen braking. But given it's a Porsche, I can imagine they don't want to take chances (a full battery prevents you from braking through re-gen, for example, or things could overheat when doing it too often) and still fit full brakes (and proper cooling)?
 

submatrix

Well-Known Member
Joined
May 14, 2021
Threads
19
Messages
593
Reaction score
424
Location
California
Vehicles
2021 Taycan
Country flag
Great video, really awesome to see all the little engineering tricks Porsche did to reduce drag and improve handling. I don't think Tesla does a lot of these, especially any of the active ones like closing the radiator flaps, rear spoiler activation.

Also just seeing the car from all these different angles makes me appreciate the beauty of the exterior design even more :)
 

Kingske

Well-Known Member
First Name
Frank
Joined
Jun 6, 2020
Threads
79
Messages
1,431
Reaction score
1,641
Location
New Jersey and Colorado, USA
Vehicles
2020 Porsche Taycan 4S, 2024 BMW X3, 2014 BMW 3 GT
Country flag
I agree! In principle, brake discs can be made smaller if you use re-gen braking. But given it's a Porsche, I can imagine they don't want to take chances (a full battery prevents you from braking through re-gen, for example, or things could overheat when doing it too often) and still fit full brakes (and proper cooling)?
The full battery situation is a valid point. Other than that it is probably an aesthetic preference and/or carry-over expectation from the ICE age, IMHO.
 


Scandinavian

Well-Known Member
First Name
Peter
Joined
Nov 3, 2019
Threads
47
Messages
3,047
Reaction score
2,639
Location
France
Vehicles
Taycan T, Tesla M3P, Aston Martin DB9, Porsche 996 C4 Cab
Country flag
Thanks for sharing! It will be very interesting to se part two. And then to compare that to the hideous aftermarket spoiler.

Porsche Taycan Porsche Taycan Aerodynamics Features - VIDEO BA36F6A4-9875-4335-ABEB-8B748F09D62C
 
Last edited:

Arno

Well-Known Member
Joined
Apr 16, 2020
Threads
17
Messages
240
Reaction score
397
Location
Europe
Vehicles
Porsche Taycan Turbo S & Tesla Model-S 100D
Country flag
Very informative and interesting video indeed, from a real Porsche oracle :like: Thank you for sharing! I really enjoyed this one, and look forward to part two ?
 


OP
OP
First Name
Wouter
Joined
Jun 2, 2021
Threads
1
Messages
13
Reaction score
34
Location
Belgium
Vehicles
Taycan 4S
Country flag
Great video, really awesome to see all the little engineering tricks Porsche did to reduce drag and improve handling. I don't think Tesla does a lot of these, especially any of the active ones like closing the radiator flaps, rear spoiler activation.

Also just seeing the car from all these different angles makes me appreciate the beauty of the exterior design even more :)
I agree @submatrix , having the car up the "lift" really makes it look very nice!
Tesla does work on aero quite heavily, but indeed, I don't know of any active flaps at the front. They do have air curtains, and we've had the fortune to have a look at a 3D scan (which we then compared to wind tunnel data) of the model Y (and model 3):
https://airshaper.com/blog/tesla-model-y-aerodynamic-benchmarking
 
OP
OP
First Name
Wouter
Joined
Jun 2, 2021
Threads
1
Messages
13
Reaction score
34
Location
Belgium
Vehicles
Taycan 4S
Country flag
The full battery situation is a valid point. Other than that it is probably an aesthetic preference and/or carry-over expectation from the ICE age, IMHO.
I agree @Kingske
Legacy arguments probably come into play.
I did see a video of "Engineering Explained" where he mentioned that Porsche "reserves" some battery capacity for regen situations / future battery capacity loss:
 
OP
OP
First Name
Wouter
Joined
Jun 2, 2021
Threads
1
Messages
13
Reaction score
34
Location
Belgium
Vehicles
Taycan 4S
Country flag
Thanks for sharing! It will be very interesting to se part two. And then to compare that to the hideous aftermarket spoiler.

BA36F6A4-9875-4335-ABEB-8B748F09D62C.png
Oh that one looks bad!
It's too small & slender compared to the size & design language of the car itself, I would say.
Also, if we're honest, you need a lot of aero if you want to have substantial effects on a 2.5 tonne car, so it may need to be bigger :)

We did an automated morphing of the rear and it automatically turned into an iconic Porsche ducktail spoiler!

It's quite similar to the spoiler extending at higher speeds.
 
OP
OP
First Name
Wouter
Joined
Jun 2, 2021
Threads
1
Messages
13
Reaction score
34
Location
Belgium
Vehicles
Taycan 4S
Country flag
It would be interesting to watch the behavior of the front vents as to when they open and close and the conditions that determine this.
True!
We didn't get any info on that, but for sure, someone can pull it from the software somehow?
 

Kingske

Well-Known Member
First Name
Frank
Joined
Jun 6, 2020
Threads
79
Messages
1,431
Reaction score
1,641
Location
New Jersey and Colorado, USA
Vehicles
2020 Porsche Taycan 4S, 2024 BMW X3, 2014 BMW 3 GT
Country flag
Oh that one looks bad!
It's too small & slender compared to the size & design language of the car itself, I would say.
Also, if we're honest, you need a lot of aero if you want to have substantial effects on a 2.5 tonne car, so it may need to be bigger :)

We did an automated morphing of the rear and it automatically turned into an iconic Porsche ducktail spoiler!

It's quite similar to the spoiler extending at higher speeds.
Wouter, what does your CFD model reveal about the relevance of the aerodynamic contribution of the side air curtain? There has been some debate on this forum on it because this airflow is blocked/interrupted in Taycans with the motorized charge ports since the motor mechanisms block the vents in the front wheel wells. Is it really only a trivial difference in aerodynamic efficiency or is it relevant?
 
OP
OP
First Name
Wouter
Joined
Jun 2, 2021
Threads
1
Messages
13
Reaction score
34
Location
Belgium
Vehicles
Taycan 4S
Country flag
Wouter, what does your CFD model reveal about the relevance of the aerodynamic contribution of the side air curtain? There has been some debate on this forum on it because this airflow is blocked/interrupted in Taycans with the motorized charge ports since the motor mechanisms block the vents in the front wheel wells. Is it really only a trivial difference in aerodynamic efficiency or is it relevant?
Hi @Kingske
We didn't run a back-to-back simulation with & without air curtain, so I don't have info on the real difference. But I would guess it's in the order of magnitude of 1%.

I've attached a screenshot below where you can at least see an indication that the flow through the air curtain (blue arrow) is reducing the wake/turbulent area around the lower part of the tire.

But we have to be careful with conclusions, as we don't have a car model with blocked curtains and this lower area might see reduced wake because of other reasons.


Porsche Taycan Porsche Taycan Aerodynamics Features - VIDEO 1622724324897

Nevertheless, we do see proper airflow going through the air curtains, so if it's blocked, for sure there is at least some impact!

Porsche Taycan Porsche Taycan Aerodynamics Features - VIDEO 1622725556124
 
 




Top