Aerodynamic Discussion Thread
06-25-2013, 11:12 AM
#341
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Join Date: Jun 2011
Location: Houston
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Haha! that might actually be true. Its working pretty well: We're all staring at the logo aren't we?
but seriously. Whats the rod sticking out behind the headlight? Maybe its a mounting point for an end plate that isn't mounted at the moment?
but seriously. Whats the rod sticking out behind the headlight? Maybe its a mounting point for an end plate that isn't mounted at the moment?
Last edited by Handy Man; 06-25-2013 at 11:25 AM.
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06-26-2013, 06:06 PM
#350
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Location: Charlotte, NC
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Glad to see the talk of the splitter spill plates. After running the Dragon IV hillclimb this past weekend with a COT wing and splitter, I am going to give a plywood Loeb-esque splitter a try at the August event. At the neutral setting on the wing, the car was still pushing through the sweepers. I have the ABS air dam that many folks do on here, and I think the fact that so much of the surface area of the splitter is towards the side of the air dam was limiting its effectiveness. Keep in mind, the top speed I can hit on this course is just on the other side of 100 MPH, and with 400+ HP at the crank, I'm willing to sacrifice some drag.
As far as "channeling" the air from the front to go up and over to the rear wing, does anyone here have any thoughts on running vertical fins on the roof edges? I know the NASCAR boys do it to slow the car down when they get sideways, but would there be any merit in using them to help keep the air that makes its way over the roof from spilling off the sides?
As far as "channeling" the air from the front to go up and over to the rear wing, does anyone here have any thoughts on running vertical fins on the roof edges? I know the NASCAR boys do it to slow the car down when they get sideways, but would there be any merit in using them to help keep the air that makes its way over the roof from spilling off the sides?
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06-26-2013, 06:19 PM
#351
As far as "channeling" the air from the front to go up and over to the rear wing, does anyone here have any thoughts on running vertical fins on the roof edges? I know the NASCAR boys do it to slow the car down when they get sideways, but would there be any merit in using them to help keep the air that makes its way over the roof from spilling off the sides?
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06-26-2013, 07:06 PM
#354
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I did get an opportunity to meet Jeremy (we were BS'ing quite a bit over the course of the weekend), great guy, KILLER car. He finished second overall before tearing his exhaust and splitter off towards the end. Hope he comes down for some events next year, as it's looking like there will be one old hillclimb site resurrected, and a new one looming on the horizon.
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06-27-2013, 04:06 PM
#356
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Location: Houston
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I did get an opportunity to meet Jeremy (we were BS'ing quite a bit over the course of the weekend), great guy, KILLER car. He finished second overall before tearing his exhaust and splitter off towards the end. Hope he comes down for some events next year, as it's looking like there will be one old hillclimb site resurrected, and a new one looming on the horizon.
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06-29-2013, 02:41 PM
#357
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Join Date: Oct 2011
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I wanted to add some food for thought with some nakedness. I have always wanted to know a little bit more about the Mclaren P1 and the door aero, so here are some pics I found in the latest Motortrend.
The intake right below the door window goes to the engine radiator it seams and in the door below that duct there is a intake for the rear brakes.
The intake right below the door window goes to the engine radiator it seams and in the door below that duct there is a intake for the rear brakes.
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06-30-2013, 09:42 AM
#360
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I went to the autocross at Virginia Tech yesterday and talked to the VT Formula SAE team. They were running both last year's and this year's cars. Here's last year's car.
Its hard to see, but it has a full undertray. That and other parts were transferred to this year's car with the addition of a front and rear wing. The wing's were designed with a total wind downforce of 100 lbs. with the front producing 60 lbs. and the rear producing 40lbs. These numbers were based on the cars 40/60 front/rear distribution. Next year they are setting a C/D limit and aiming to increase the combined wing downforce to 150 lbs. I asked the guy that ran the CFD why the undertrays didn't flair up in the front to be more air foil shaped. He said that they did at first, but they found that the air stagnated because it was too big of an opening, so they went with a flat opening. He also said that next year they will add some type of vent to give it more air and increase downforce. I think he meant something like a few small NACA ducts.
The cars ran a lot faster than everything else (even though they only have 58 hp to work with) except for a formula ford that showed up. The weird thing is, though, that last year's car ran about 4 seconds faster than this year's (and I'm almost positive it wasn't due to cone penalties).
Its hard to see, but it has a full undertray. That and other parts were transferred to this year's car with the addition of a front and rear wing. The wing's were designed with a total wind downforce of 100 lbs. with the front producing 60 lbs. and the rear producing 40lbs. These numbers were based on the cars 40/60 front/rear distribution. Next year they are setting a C/D limit and aiming to increase the combined wing downforce to 150 lbs. I asked the guy that ran the CFD why the undertrays didn't flair up in the front to be more air foil shaped. He said that they did at first, but they found that the air stagnated because it was too big of an opening, so they went with a flat opening. He also said that next year they will add some type of vent to give it more air and increase downforce. I think he meant something like a few small NACA ducts.
The cars ran a lot faster than everything else (even though they only have 58 hp to work with) except for a formula ford that showed up. The weird thing is, though, that last year's car ran about 4 seconds faster than this year's (and I'm almost positive it wasn't due to cone penalties).
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