Fender Design - Wheel Arch Challenge
Wheel arch area is the area on the fender which covers the wheel & should meet the different fender regulations based on the country.
The wheel should be present somewhere inside to the fender to avoid chipping on the tires & for the pedestrian safety.
Every country has its separate fender wheel arch regulations based on the road conditions & the government rules.
JAPAN REQUIREMENT:
- The distance between the wheel side & the fender wheel arch point should be greater than 5mm.
- From the front view of the fender, take 50 degrees angle line from the vertical axis on the right side of the fender & 30 degrees angle line from the vertical axis on the left side of the fender.
- Then mark the points on the fender wheel arch & project it on the top view.
- And measure the gap between the wheel arch & the tire.
- It should meet at least 5mm to meet the Japan requirement.
US REQUIREMENT:
- The distance between the wheel side & the fender wheel arch point should be greater than 5mm.
- From the front view of the fender, take 10 degrees angle line from the horizontal axis on the right side of the fender & mark every 10 degrees from -20 degrees to 180 degrees on the left side of the fender.
- Then mark the points on the fender wheel arch & project it on the top view.
- And measure the gap between the wheel arch & the tire.
- It should meet at least 5mm to meet the United States requirement.
EUROPEAN REQUIREMENT:
- The distance between the wheel side & the fender wheel arch point should be greater than 10mm.
- From the front view of the fender, marked 50 degrees angle line from the vertical axis on the right side of the fender & 30 degrees angle line from the vertical axis on the left side of the fender.
- And drawn a point on the wheel arch 150mm offset from the horizontal axis on the right side of the fender.
- By using, derived lines made a mid-line between the 50 degrees angle line & 150mm offsetted line.
- And marked all the five points.
- Then projected the points on the fender by using ‘project curve’.
- And measured the gaps between the wheel arch point & the drawn point on the tire surface.
- It should meet at least 10mm to meet the European requirement.
Values measured for European requirement:
|
POINT |
REQUIRED VALUE |
MEASURED VALUE |
PASS |
FAIL |
|
A |
10MM |
10.00MM |
PASS |
|
|
B |
10MM |
9.9490MM |
FAIL |
|
|
C |
10MM |
0.119MM |
FAIL |
|
|
D |
10MM |
2.89MM |
FAIL |
|
|
E |
10MM |
5.99MM |
FAIL |
POINT A:
POINT B:
POINT C:
POINT D:
POINT E:
Thus calculated the wheel arch gaps at the required points.
Point A only passes the test, points B, C, D & E fails.
So, styling team has to work on the styling part of the fender to meet the European requirement.