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by BRG on November 22nd, 2008

BRG

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Why the heck are all hybrid cars so close to the ground?? How would you get around in really deep snow?

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Answers. 3 helpful answers below.

  • by Mary Mary quite contrary on November 27th, 2008

    Mary Mary quite contrary

    Here's the ultimate: A series-Hybrid Hummer that gets 60MPG. And plenty of clearance.
    http://www.autobloggreen.com/2007/10/20/biodiesel-turbine-super-capacitor-series-hybrid-hummer-60/

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  • by iwnit on December 18th, 2008

    iwnit

    1) "First, avoid potholes. That is good advice for any car owner no matter what the ground clearance. I have not every bottomed out on an unexpected pothole. So, that must have been a very nasty pothole.

    Joints between parking lots and streets can be the worst if the joint wasn't graded correctly or the angle of approach is too severe. When you encounter a high angle joint between road parking lots and roads you usually have to take the approach at an angle. That will generally insure that you don't hit bottom.

    The noise you hear when you do scrape is usually the plastic dams and air deflectors under the vehicle. You are not generally actually hitting the floor pain. I did hit the floor pan on a joint between a parking lot and street which had a high angle of approach and a high angle of departure, thus creating a peak that I had to go over. I inspected the bottom of the vehicle and there was no significant damage. There was a scrape on the rubberized coating of the floor pan, but it did not go through to the steel.

    Yes, there is a ground clearance issue, and once you are aware of it you drive differently in anticipation of road surfaces which are not low clearance friendly."

    "The front spoiler is often called a "chin spoiler". It minimizes the amount of air flowing under the car and reduces lift at high speeds, which isn't really necessary for the Prius as it doesn't go much faster than 100 MPH. Reducing the amount of air under the car reduces Cd, which improves fuel economy, which is why the Prius has it.
    The parts along the sides are side spoilers or side "skirts" - they keep any air that does get under from exiting out the sides. This helps reduce drag and also helps keep the car from from "floating" - it lowers the pressure under the car, though you wouldn't think it would. It does so because the air is forced to exit out the rear, filling the hole in the air created by the cars movement though it.
    The air is encouraged to exit at the rear of the car - to fill the vacuum there. This can reduce lift of the rear of the car at higher speeds (the vacuum will pull up on the rear half of the car). If you look at a street car converted to a race car (the Corvette is a good example), you can see a "diffuser" on the rear underside of the car - it has a lot of vertical plates. It directs the air trapped under the car to exit out the rear. It provides some down force without the aerodynamic drag a wing would add. "Free downforce". The Prius might benefit a little from this (even lower Cd)."
    Source and further information:
    http://www.greenhybrid.com/discuss/f10/how-do-you-cope-ground-clearance-13141/

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  • by Mink90 on November 30th, 2008

    Mink90

    Apart from styling I assume it would help with aerodynamics and handling.
    Lower cars usually end up becoming snow plows in the Winter where I live. :P

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