When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
Okay, this sucker is about to go back on. need to attach a few more thread inserts to the body. I *think* centre panel is stiff enough. Right now sitting lighter than I imagined. Started using a piece of wood to help keep the work aligned on the roller, it worked very well and saved time also!
Added 3 centre drain holes and angled them so they drain yet don't catch air. Had to notch rear so shocked don't catch on pan.
So , I've been trying not to spend money lately but a good deal on a newish HANS device from a reputable source came up so I pulled the trigger. Turns out the seller is the fellow who was running a local rally school and has 30 years experience in the rally field. He stated: learn on a 2 wheel drive. Learn on a non powerful car so that when you scrub off too much speed you curse. I presume the 2wd advice is to learn about traction control and car balance. And he said Suspension is SO IMPORTANT. But whatever you do make the car reliable.
Aerodynamically speaking I been thinking. The compromise of my car is I street drive and still want to do big track driving. I can only own one car, and although I plan(ned) on making an adjustable rear spoiler, the fact is on gravel the front "lifts" or feels light & this is the single most thing that slows me down. So why am I looking for more rear down force? At this point in time I should be looking at suspension & alignment and FRONT downforce. So the plan right now is beef up the struts & get an alignment... I think I have camber or toe problems even though the steering wheel is straight. Perhaps this is why I'm favouring LFB in the corners (to keep the front grounded). Can't tell from the tire wear if it's toe or camber thats causing the inside tire wear.
A problem with my present "flat belly" design is I realized that I have *locked in* the heat from the engine bay. As I'm sure most of you know the body bottle necks, so the bat wing engine pan will allow the radiator/hot engine air into a dead end. This would cause over-heating.
-------
Also found this piece of advice from KeithG:
"In terms of the original question concerning the airflow beneath the 944, about the best thing we can do is go back to the original configuration. By that i mean reinstall the belly pan that came with the car when it was new. So many of these have been removed and discarded as a nuisance when it comes to working on the car.
We have discussed this before in relation to aerodynamics, and basically it isnt so much just �improving the air flow as it is about directing that airflow beneficially. You need air flowing into the engine compartment over the radiator and out again as smoothly as possible. A scientifically vented belly pan does this quite well and coupled with a diffuser at the rear is probably about all the 944 really needs in terms of airflow devices on the street. Simply directing the airflow around and under the vehicle is only part of the equation. Air turbulence particularly under a vehicle, creates most of the airflow problems in as much as it creates unstable high pressure areas and therefore lift even at quite low speeds in the 120km per hour range. The air however, needs to flow as unimpeded as possible under the vehicle in order to create a lower pressure area beneath the engine bay which in turn increases the flow through the engine bay. Thats why the belly pan was installed in the first place. Porsche worked all this out before they sold the first 944. Improving on their design (within the bounds of reason) is quite difficult without a lot of money and a wind tunnel at your disposal.
You are now approaching the territory of the action of and reasons for other aero dynamic devices such as splitters, canards, side skirts and diffusers. All of these together play a part in airflow over around and under the car. None of them work as well in isolation as they do in concert.
Welcome to the aero dynamic can of worms."
Made some huge louvers (yeah they look rough) to help draw the radiator/engine heat out.
Also decided to keep a gap between the very front and the middle panel to help draw the heat out.
There is another benefit (*I think*) from keeping the front panel a bit lower than the front and the middle a bit lower than the rear & that is to help diffuse
the low air pressure.
I am "switching gears" primarily because the gravel and mud & ice is too hard on my favourite car. Years ago when I decided to turn him into a "bit of a race car", I envisioned super fresh and super clean, good looking... but the off road stuff is degrading him.
This is the video that helped me decide to change the direction of Wilson. What you are about to watch is like Wilson will be. Only this car is meaner, lower, wider, sexier, louder, faster, more expensive....
Make sure you use a lot of fasteners, every two square feet at least..if not more.
That thing needs to be secured properly to the car...i'm no expert in aero but i'd make sure it stays in the right position no matter what.
10-23-2016, 05:06 PM
