Dominik Valášek
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At a time when the automotive industry is entering the electric age, every single kilometer of range is at stake for electric cars. Car manufacturers are looking for possible and impossible ways to reduce vehicle consumption and therefore increase the range per charge. The Korean Hyundai brings something new: the retractable fenders in front of the front wheels should reduce aerodynamic resistance.
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Hyundai Active Air Skirts | Photo: Courtesy of Hyundai
The new element of active aerodynamics works in principle similarly to today’s relatively common “curtains” in the radiator grilles of internal combustion cars. The Active Air Skirt System (AAS) consists of two rubber skirts in front of the front wheels that extend at higher speeds to eliminate air turbulence from the wheels and reduce aerodynamic drag. Hyundai claims that at the same time it also increases the stability of the vehicle at higher speeds.
Hyundai has recently been active in the field of new automotive components. Think of snow chains sliding off the tire on their own.
Rubber fenders are placed only in front of the wheels and not across the entire width of the front bumper. They would not help anything in the space between the wheels, because the bottom of electric cars is completely covered due to aerodynamics.
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The AAS extends when the speed exceeds 80 km/h, and retracts again when the speed drops below 70 km/h. At 80 km/h, aerodynamic resistance begins to overcome rolling resistance. The difference between the extension and insertion speeds is such that the aprons do not constantly move back and forth at a constant speed of around 80. Furthermore, according to the press release, the aprons remain effective even at high speeds above 200 km/h their rubber structure reduces damage both due to air blows and impacts with stones and dirt.
Hyundai Active Air skirts for saleSource: Courtesy of Hyundai
The more important question, however, concerns realistic effectiveness, that is, how well the Active Air Skirt system will justify its complexity and additional costs. And the results published by Hyundai really don’t look too optimistic. When testing the system on the Genesis GV60 electric SUV (Genesis is a premium brand of the Hyundai group, which is currently not sold in our country, but cars sold in our country are based on the same E-GMP platform), a reduction in the coefficient of aerodynamic drag was measured to be 0.008 (this is a dimensionless value given without units). This represents a reduction of 2.8% compared to the standard. In terms of range, this means extending the range by 6 kilometers for a vehicle with a claimed range of around 400 kilometres.
Although this is not an achievement that would surprise those interested in an electric car and give the automaker a competitive advantage, Hyundai is still evaluating its implementation in series production. Patents are currently pending in South Korea and the United States, and after another series of tests, it will be decided whether the Active Air Skirt will appear on future production cars.
2024-01-23 16:30:22
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