At 09:32 PM 4/28/03 -0400, Tab Julius wrote:
>.... my MG's windshield will invariably be covered in dead bug
>smegma. Whereas the Saab's windshield is barely covered at all ....
Shucks. I thought this was a well understood law of old British cars,
where they collect bugs as surely as they drip oil, and nobody has to
ask. Check this picture:
http://chicagolandmgclub.com/photos/abingdon01/1742.jpg
Warm summer nights and grassy roadsides combine for a special treat.
The problem is in the angle of the windscreen being at a steep angle
relative to the body panel leading up to it. When the wind hits the glass
it has to change direction suddenly. Because the bugs are relatively dense
(small body with significant mass) they tend to continue in a straighter
line because of inertia. The result is rather catastrophic for the bug.
When either the leading body panel or the windscreen is more raked, the
transition angle from body to glass is less sever, and the approaching air
flow is closer to parallel with the glass. In that case the air makes a
more gradual turn up the glass with less angle and more distance available
for the change of direction, so the centrifuging force on the bug is less,
and the bug has a better chance to float along with the air flow and
possibly not contact the glass at all. When the bug does touch the glass
at a shallow angle of approach it is more likely to bounce off and avoid
the ugly spatter spot.
Considering the picture noted above, my 1987 Mazda RX7 driven under exactly
the same conditions might collect only a couple of bug spots very near the
top of the windscreen.
Something to chew on?
Barney Gaylord
1958 MGA with an attitude
http://MGAguru.com
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