Mastering the Air - Beginners Guide to Aerodynamics
Everyone and their grandmother seems to have a giant wing on their car now. From street cars to local club level racing the trend has seemingly grown in the last few years. Generally, you will see an APR wing or equivalent paired with a front splitter. So how do aerodynamics really work?
Lift to Drag ratio
One of the most important things when it comes to aerodynamics is your lift to drag ratio. Place a wing at the rear of a car produces drag no matter which way you slice it. Generally speaking, a lower horsepower car will benefit more from a low drag setup than it will from one that yields high downforce. As power levels increase the ability to overcome drag and benefit from downforce increase. Formula Ford is a great example of how fast a low drag setup car be with minimal horsepower (~115).
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Underbody Design
Real downforce is produced by decreasing pressure underneath the car. Simply throwing a wing and splitter on isn’t the most effective way of doing things. Formula Atlantic cars at one point had de-restricted “tunnels” that ramped up gradually to produce massive amounts of force. A lot of classes don’t permit this, but it’s important to understand the concept. There is much more going on than the guy trying to sell you his $1,000 carbon fiber wing that anyone can buy off the shelf. It’s all about the underbody.
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Frontal Area
If you were to look at a car from head-on, then the frontal area would be the square footage the car takes up. One of the ways to improve a cars performance is to reduce frontal area. Formula 1 teams have even gone as far as running smaller wheels on the front of their cars on tracks like Monza. Reducing frontal area frees up horsepower and increases performance!
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More isn't always better
For a lot of guys, the idea of building a track car is simple: you buy the car and do the go fast essentials. At some point, you have to have aero to go quicker, right? All the guys in Time Attack with 1,000 horsepower have huge front splitters and massive wings so this has to be the way to build your car. Not necessarily. There is a final factor that enters the equation and it’s a bit of a paradox…
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Driver skill
Putting a rear wing on a low horsepower car will often make it feel more stable at high speed, but that doesn’t mean you’re going to go faster. Conversely, if you move to a purpose-built machine like an Indy Car, you have to have enough skill to drive fast enough so the aero will start working. Both ends of the spectrum require a specific type of car control that can be tricky to master. It’s all about the trade-off in corner speed vs. straightaways and if the driver has the skill to take it to the limit.
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Summary
In summary, remember horsepower is a major factor in aerodynamics. If you don’t have a lot of it, your best bet is reducing drag on the vehicle. If you have tons of horsepower, then you can utilize aero. However, there is always a trade-off between the type of circuit you are driving and how much downforce you need. Watch Formula 1 cars at Monza and you will often see a smaller rear wing run on the car. It is not as simple as slapping on a brand name aerodynamic device and calling it a day. There is definitely a reason why aerodynamicists make big bucks in racing!
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