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Author: Subject: Locost Aerodynamics... or lack thereof
tom_loughlin

posted on 11/1/07 at 06:26 PM Reply With Quote
I did my 60k word dissertation o this very topic - i found the biggest factor was the outboard wheels - by enclosing them, you can cut Cd by approx 25%. other mods, diffusers, spoilers, aeroscreens, flat bottoms, rear end breakaway, wakes atc...were looked at too....pretty interesting stuff if you're a geek like me!



Tom

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chriscook

posted on 11/1/07 at 06:35 PM Reply With Quote
Rob - Thought you were busy working to make someone else's race car better...

[Edited on 11/1/07 by chriscook]

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Rob Palin

posted on 11/1/07 at 06:40 PM Reply With Quote
Yes, i am, but currently the computer's doing all the hard work and i'm just waiting for it to finish. Tick tock, tick tock...
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Volvorsport

posted on 11/1/07 at 07:00 PM Reply With Quote
dont forget skin friction , all ferraris are painted red because the paint is smoother

the body is so bluff that to do it right would involve a full body, thats why im doing it - i need to reach 200mph.





www.dbsmotorsport.co.uk
getting dirty under a bus

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jack trolley

posted on 11/1/07 at 07:20 PM Reply With Quote
Is the 'MK inboard' top wishbone bent or "pre-failed" as The Blessed Colin
would say?

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JoelP

posted on 11/1/07 at 09:23 PM Reply With Quote
bent but no a big deal IMHO, it doesnt see as much force as the lower one, mainly braking etc. Plus theres always the argument that you want the bones to bend before the chassis!
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procomp

posted on 11/1/07 at 10:23 PM Reply With Quote
Hi having built the first westfield with the full body kit on i can tell you for definate it take 10 mph of your top end at 135 mph .


[img]http://www.locostbuilder.co.uk [/img]


cheers matt

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Middy Tim

posted on 11/1/07 at 11:07 PM Reply With Quote
quote:
Originally posted by DarrenW
Wouldnt it be easier to compensate for the poor aerodynamics with a bit more power?


I wouldn't worry about more power. A 225+ bhp SR20 is in the plans... and that's the stock engine.

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Rob Palin

posted on 12/1/07 at 09:22 AM Reply With Quote
Worth pointing out though that the power requirement for a given (high) speed increases by the cube of the speed.

If you want to go 10% faster you need 33% more power, then 33% more cooling which means even more drag and probably a reduction in that 10%benefit...

OR you could just reduce your drag in the first place.

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DarrenW

posted on 12/1/07 at 09:30 AM Reply With Quote
If i was after good aerodynamics i wouldnt have even given a sevenesque a second glance. For me thats not what these cars are about. i can see why someone might want a few % edge on the next man on a track but for most people its just down to the look you want and adding a little driver comfort.

At the end of the day they are what they are - a quirky fun 60's styled sports car. Discussing how to make them aerodynamic is a bit like discussing how to make a Pinto weigh 50Kg less - a waste of time.






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iank

posted on 12/1/07 at 09:53 AM Reply With Quote
quote:
Originally posted by DarrenW
... discussing how to make a Pinto weigh 50Kg less


Cast a new block and head in aluminium? But it wouldn't be a pinto any more and still not as good as many more modern engine, which kind of agrees with you point.

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macnab

posted on 12/1/07 at 10:23 AM Reply With Quote
quote:
Originally posted by DarrenW
If i was after good aerodynamics i wouldnt have even given a sevenesque a second glance. For me thats not what these cars are about. i can see why someone might want a few % edge on the next man on a track but for most people its just down to the look you want and adding a little driver comfort.

At the end of the day they are what they are - a quirky fun 60's styled sports car. Discussing how to make them aerodynamic is a bit like discussing how to make a Pinto weigh 50Kg less - a waste of time.



quite right.






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Rob Palin

posted on 12/1/07 at 10:52 AM Reply With Quote
I take your point, but also people spend a lot of time & effort making the cars lighter to improve handling and performance - both of which are also improved by aerodynamics.

Is it any coincidence that Colin Chapman's motto was "add lightness" but he was also one of the great aerodynamic innovators in F1?

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Volvorsport

posted on 12/1/07 at 10:00 PM Reply With Quote
aerodynamic forces increase by the square of the speed - indicated by the term V squared in the equation for drag force .





www.dbsmotorsport.co.uk
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chriscook

posted on 13/1/07 at 10:20 AM Reply With Quote
If you are referring to Rob's: "Worth pointing out though that the power requirement for a given (high) speed increases by the cube of the speed."

Notice he says power not force. Cue power vs torque debate

quote:
Originally posted by Volvorsport
aerodynamic forces increase by the square of the speed - indicated by the term V squared in the equation for drag force .

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Volvorsport

posted on 13/1/07 at 11:50 AM Reply With Quote
if the aerodynamic force raises by the square of the speed then so does the power requirement to overcome them .

im sure if you did the maths you would realise that most cars would need quite a large amount of power just to get to 100mph .





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Rob Palin

posted on 13/1/07 at 11:55 AM Reply With Quote
Ta for the help Chris.

Volvosport - Aerodynamics is my day job so i do actually do that maths on a regular basis. Well, kind of, a while back i wrote a little macro for Excel to do it for me.

Power = force x speed

and the drag force = 1/2 x density x speed squared x drag coefficient x frontal area

So Power ~ speed^3

Solving a cubic equation isn't that simple and an iterative approach is the easiest way, hence the macro. It takes in engine power, CD, frontal area, mass, and drivetrain efficiency and allows you to calculate an estimate of your top speed OR to put in a target speed and then work backwards to calculate either the CD or power required to achieve that, whichever one you don't already know.






[Edited on 13/1/07 by Rob Palin]

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chriscook

posted on 13/1/07 at 12:14 PM Reply With Quote
quote:
Originally posted by Rob Palin
Ta for the help Chris.
[Edited on 13/1/07 by Rob Palin]


I know you don't need it but thought it might be a while before you were back!

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Rob Palin

posted on 13/1/07 at 12:47 PM Reply With Quote
Yeah, am back into work shortly. Would have been there already but the garden fence has blown over and i've been sorting that out.

With the work thing i have to report my progress back to TD at the autosport show tomorrow. Late one tonight then...

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Volvorsport

posted on 13/1/07 at 06:57 PM Reply With Quote
yes and perhaps i should stop talking nutsack . i should know better having studied it properly too .

its always easy to say somert without thinking . im sure theres a thread somewhere where i agreed in the first place .





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westcost1

posted on 31/1/07 at 11:22 AM Reply With Quote
this one cool Rescued attachment e2_1.jpg
Rescued attachment e2_1.jpg

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westcost1

posted on 31/1/07 at 11:23 AM Reply With Quote
and the back with wide arches Rescued attachment e3_1.jpg
Rescued attachment e3_1.jpg

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procomp

posted on 31/1/07 at 03:24 PM Reply With Quote
Hi from actual testing i will confirm that that rear wing dose nothing but take top speed of the car.

At 130 mph it reduced the mph by as much as 5 mph using 200 bhp to drive the car.

cheers matt

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jack trolley

posted on 31/1/07 at 05:52 PM Reply With Quote
Interesting...


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gazza285

posted on 1/2/07 at 06:35 AM Reply With Quote
Ugly stick.





DO NOT PUT ON KNOB OR BOLLOCKS!

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