chip@intelca.UUCP (Chip Krauskopf) (03/01/85)
On my many ski trips, there is no uniform way to place skis on a rack. It seems to me that there must be some optimum way to orient a pair of skis to reduce air resistance and enhance car handling. After all, there are only four possibilities: 1) skis up tips forward 2) skis up tips back 3) skis down tips back 4) skis down tips forward Ofcourse some people have those wierd racks that mount skis together and sideways, and others (particullary z and porshe drivers) mount on the hatch......
rsg@cbscc.UUCP (Bob Garmise) (03/01/85)
You have hit on one of the modern mysteries of life...ski tips...up or down?!?
I don't think it makes much difference but there are a couple of things to
consider.
1) Look around the parking lot at a ski area. Copy what other people are
generally doing so that you won't be considered uncool.
2) If skis act like a fin (what the heck is the right word?) on a car point
them up in back if you have rear wheel drive, and down in back if you
have front wheel drive. If the curved part is pointed forward, who cares
unless you're planning on doing much of your driving in reverse.
3) Are you proud of your skis? Tips up so that people can read the brand.
Conversely, old and beat up skis? Brand name down...hence tips down.
Little did you know the complexity of your question.
...bob garmise...at&t bell labs, columbus...ed@mtxinu.UUCP (Ed Gould) (03/02/85)
> On my many ski trips, there is no uniform way to place skis on a > rack. It seems to me that there must be some optimum way to > orient a pair of skis to reduce air resistance and enhance > car handling. After all, there are only four possibilities: > > 1) skis up tips forward > 2) skis up tips back > 3) skis down tips back > 4) skis down tips forward > > Ofcourse some people have those wierd racks that mount skis together > and sideways, and others (particullary z and porshe drivers) mount > on the hatch...... A Swedish friend once told me that on her driver's license test the same question was asked. The correct answer was (3): tips down to the back. This is what I've always chosen intuitively as well. -- Ed Gould mt Xinu, 739 Allston Way, Berkeley, CA 94710 USA {ucbvax,decvax}!mtxinu!ed +1 415 644 0146
hyder@mako.UUCP (Paul Hyder) (03/02/85)
:-{)
The current logic is that the tips go up. This protects the
bottom surfaces (from falling rocks, ice, and other things).
Some people also have strong feelings about which end of the
car the tips should protect.
For you history buffs, back in the 60's we were told that the
tips should be down and at the front of the vehicle to provide
air flow over them that protected them and to reduce wind
resistance. My guess is that the new ski racks are less prone
to blowing off, tips down and in front did indeed reduce the
wind resistance significantly.
I finally gave up and got a truck so that I could put them inside
and ignore the people laughing at me for not knowing the current
logical method of mounting.
Paul Hyder { ...tektronix!tekecs!hyder }dennis@terak.UUCP (Dennis Kodimer) (03/04/85)
> On my many ski trips, there is no uniform way to place skis on a > rack. It seems to me that there must be some optimum way to > orient a pair of skis to reduce air resistance and enhance > car handling. After all, there are only four possibilities: > > 1) skis up tips forward > 2) skis up tips back > 3) skis down tips back > 4) skis down tips forward > Logic has always dictated that I carry skis with tips back and down. If they are forward, up or down, the `clean' (i.e. highest velocity, non-turbulent) air at the car front will tend to lift the skis and cause vibration. Also, the tips will tend to collect snow and later drip same into windshield. Also, gravel and other flying debris will have a good chance to damage your boards. Mounted rearward, the tips should not be up because then they also collect falling snow, making a mess when you take them inside. Further, toward the rear of the car the air streamlines are beginning to descend; having the tips curve down cooperates with the air (although this is minor considering how ski racks generate a lot of `dirty' air. This lead to tips back and down as my choice. Using the same arguments, I always carry poles so the buckets curve rearward - i.e. with grips to front and tips to rear. Actually, the best carriers, I think, carry the skis so the flat surfaces are vertical. This way, the waxed surfaces and edges have a minimum of loading and abrasion, hold a minimum of snow, and pack densely atop your chariot. -- Quite sincerely, ...still waiting for the electrician, Dennis Kodimer or someone like him. uucp: ...{decvax,hao,ihnp4,seismo}!noao!terak!dennis phone: 602 998 4800 us mail: Terak Corporation, 14151 N 76th street, Scottsdale, AZ 85260
hansen@utah-cs.UUCP (Chuck Hansen) (03/04/85)
I put my skis in with the tips forward and up. I use an old nylon stuff sack to protect the bindings from road crud. If I'm headed into the local bar after the slopes, I turn the skis upside down and put padlocks on the rack. I've heard tales of folks losing skis by having the bindings removed and then the skis just slip out of the 'ol racks. Chuck Hansen ...utah-cs!hansen
sabol@reed.UUCP (Bryan Sabol) (03/05/85)
In answer to the aerodynamically important question of what the most optimum wayto load your skis, the answer in most every case is:
DEFINATELY SKI TIPS FORWARD AND DOWN.
The simple deductive reasoning is the following:
1)First, if one placed the tips up and forward, thinking of a 'spoiler' or such,
the result would be a (relatively) great drag on the car. The only way the
tips would help in the 'up' position would be if they were perfectly aerody-
namic. Note the shape of an airplane wing -- there has to be a very specific
ratio of upper suface to lower suface to provide the lift (or drag); a slight
deviation from this ratio (e.g., our skis) will result in more wind disturb-
ance and take a little from the car's gas milage.
2)Tips backward and up would only deflect the wind up. This position might be
beneficial if one were driving a semi, as there was a large mass over which
the air needed to be deflected. Otherwise, no help is given here.
3)Tips backward and down do mostly nothing, save add a little bit of turbulance
by the flat ends of the skis (and the posts of the bracket assembly).
4)Tips forward and down will provide a 'smoother' path over the 'rough' posts
of the ski rack and other bulky apparatae.
Hope this is help to all those speed/gas milage-oriented skiiers!!
Bryan Sabol
(A Bio major, NOT a bloody physics major, for all it's worth!)keaton@nmtvax.UUCP (03/07/85)
I always put considerations of possible damage to the skis above
optimizing the aerodynamics of the car. Where I usually drive
(especially in winter) there is enough debris on the road for this to
be important. Therefore, I try to keep the bottoms of the skis up and
the tips pointed towards the rear (when I'm using the right kind of
rack) so the truck in front of me won't kick up rocks and ruin the ski
bottoms. Although increasing following distance behind the vehicle in
front of you is a good idea, it doesn't always help -- especially since
impatient people behind you tend to pass you and fill in the gap,
kicking up more rocks while passing. My windshield is pitted in a few
places because of situations like this, so I figure it's worth making
sure it doesn't happen to my skis since I at least have control over ski
placement.
--
David Keaton
New Mexico Tech
ucbvax!unmvax!nmtvax!keatoncower@columbia.UUCP (Rich Cower) (03/07/85)
I have tried both both tips foward, and both pointing to the rear. The best is point the left ski forward, and the right ski toward the rear. The determining factor on which ski goes in what direction depends on whether you are driving clockwise or counter clockwise around the mountain. The wind drag will push the car onw way or the other. If you put them the wrong way, it will be immediately obvious. This will allow you to have both hands free while driving to eat your ding dongs with taco sauce. When in the parking lot of your favorite resort, note how the pinheads do it. They seldom get things like this wrong.
lowell@fluke.UUCP (Lowell Skoog) (03/08/85)
In the Seattle area, the common, though by no means universal, practice is to put the tips up and back. I remember, back in the golden age of northwest skiing, that Bob Cram once recommended this on the KOMO-TV program "Ski-Nanny". (Seattle natives, do you remember that old show?) At the time, I think the recommendation was based on what was best for the skis. Does that make any sense? I leave it as an exercise for the reader. Lowell Skoog John Fluke Mfg. Co. Inc. Everett, WA
eugene@ames.UUCP (Eugene Miya) (03/10/85)
Before breaking bones, i pondered this long lasting philosphical
question. Rather than ponder long, i decided to try and experiment.
My car is a 78 VW diesel rabbit which normally get around 50 mpg.
new: the engine is rated at 48 horsepower, so air resistance
has a major effect on mileage since it has so little power.
most of my driving was normally highway since i usually biked to work.
i have an overhead roof rack
my question was whether it was worth taking the rack off while
not carrying skis. i found that driving with a rack with one person
resulted in 10% less mileage than without a rack over the same distance.
i tried to make conditions as equal as possible: driving while there
was minimal wind, and so forth.
i conclude that the resistance of the rack has a greater effect
on mileage than skis. putting a car on a wind tunnel might not
have the same measurements compared to driving the car. any such experiment
must take these factors into account.
perhaps we all should get together and publish a paper on this subject
in SKIki magazine?
--eugene miya
NASA Ames Research Center
{hplabs,ihnp4,dual,hao,vortex}!ames!aurora!eugene
emiya@ames-vmsb.ARPA
p.s. i don't use a rack if two or fewer are going in my car as was the case
on my last ski trip.vch@rruxo.UUCP (V. Hatem) (03/11/85)
Personally, I use a ski bag to protect my skiis from all that garbage on the road. Would you want that junk in YOUR bindings??? As for how to put your skiis on your rack, Most racks come with instructions. (after all, the manufacturer just makes them, right? What would they know about using the racks???) Vince rruxo!vch
paul@hpfclp.UUCP (paul) (03/12/85)
THe way I've always heard is skis up, tips back. Skis up so the bindings don't get lots of road dirt. Tips back for aerodynamics. Paul Beiser Ft. Collins CO
wagner@uw-june (Dave Wagner) (03/27/85)
With all this debate about skis up or down, no one seems to be considering
the third alternative - skis on edge. At least one cartop rack (Thule) has
ski carriers in which the skis rest on their edges, bottoms together. Any
comments about this?
Dave Wagner
University of Washington Comp Sci Department
wagner@{uw-june.arpa|washington.arpa}
{ihnp4|decvax|ucbvax}!uw-beaver!uw-june!wagner
"Oh no! I've got . . . . . HAPPY FEET!"mgh@hou5h.UUCP (Marcus Hand) (03/29/85)
I have a Barrecraft rack for my RX-7 and it hold the skis with their bottoms together and on the side. My decision is usually whether to mount the skis forward or backwards, and whether to have the upper fastenning between the two parts of the bindings or above or below... (none of this up or down rubbish) -- Marcus Hand (hou5h!mgh)
presley@mhuxj.UUCP (Joe Presley) (03/29/85)
I think a more basic question that this newsgroup should consider is: * Should you mount your bindings with the ski tips up or down? With the tips down, you don't have the problem of going too fast and becoming a hazard to other skiers. How about the aerodynamics, guys? -- Joe Presley (ihnp4!mhuxm!presley)