ive been thinking of trying to improve the aerodynamics of my mk and ive come up with a few ideas and wonder if anyone had any opinions on them.
1) difuser to go under the diff and rear wishbones to let the air flow smoother under car.
2) extending the front wheel archs around further to cover more of the tread on the wheels.
3) mounting the number plate very low at the front and maybe on an angle to restrict air flow under the car.
4) putting a wing in the nose cone. By this i mean basically ducting all the air thru the rad and out of a hole in the front of bonnet. This
should give some downforce.
ive atached this pic of some of these on a 7
Westfield already do a similar thing with one of their nosecones and it works well for them. Looks good to.
Funny this should come up, just last night I was reading "Lotus Seven Super Profile" which appeared to be written by someone who had worked
for Lotus.
Two things struck me:
a) the seven was only built to keep money coming in during the racing off season (and development was basically only done when previous donors ran out
of production)
and b) one of the design pragmas appeared to be that it was built light with a not very powerful engine so aerodynamics wouldn't be an issue.
This was at a time when others were putting lots of effort into Aerodynamics and adding weight to the car with it.
- Greg H
carnut
1) A properly designed rear diffuser produces a small improvement
2) Extending the front arches produces a small improvement, so does closing the gap between the arch and tyre.
3) This doesn't do much. The number plate stops air going under the car and getting messed up.
4) This does nothing at all.
You could try:
Half tonneau over passenger space
Full panelling under car
and the bigest improvement - remove screen!
Instead of removing the screen altogether, how abut a small "spoiler" screen as is fitted to the Radical track car?
Interesting topic on the MK Indy.
i also have been looking for ways to improve the dynamics. Have a look at attached images . Can anyone advise on how or who can make the boot
cover?
Steve
Rescued attachment 114-1408_IMG.jpg
I don't wish to disillusion you, but if aerodynamics is an issue with you you should not have built a seven style car.
The modifications mentioned above may give small improvements, but if you want to increase speed or stability with aerodynamics you will need a fully
enclosed body, much like a Lotus eleven or Le Mans style car.
Smoothing the airflow around the car is the only way to get significant improvements.
Steps off soap box:
To answer your points;
1. May help, but will depend on airflow under car. How disturbed the airflow is can make this useless.
2.Might help if you can cover up about 3/4 of tyre tread circumference.
3.Would only redirect air around number plate and create more drag. Body needs side skirts to benefit from an air dam other wise air tumbles in from
sides.
4.Utilising the dammed air at front for cooling the engine is good, but as the airflow is slowed and heated by the radiator it will do nothing for
downforce and could even create more turbulence.
Sorry to seem so negative!
Terry
According to wind tunnel tests conducted on a racing Caterham at Mira the biggest improvement found pound for pound was fitting a streamlined cover to
the roll over hoop.
Ferrari 645 F1 car had a diffuser angle of around 17 degrees if that helps the diffuser design at all. If its too big an angle it'll stall the
air and give no downforce, also you'll need to use a side fendes that come as close to the floor as possible to stop the air spilling out of the
diffuser.
Kind regards,
Darren
Hi,
As i got a few interested requests for the pic i posted, here is the other i saved. unfortunately i didn't save the url as i was just browsing
through.
Sorry guys.
Rescued attachment lotus31small.jpg
That's one godamn ugly nosecone!
MikeRJ,
I think the 'looks' (or lack of) has been previously discussed for this car!
Ned.
Does anyone know where to get those front cycle wings that go all the way round the wheel (except underneath of course)? I've seen them on a car
at a race meeting recently - like the ones on carnuts picture above, but they cover even more of the wheel. I'm thinking "I gotta get me
some o' these!!"
if you really really want em, make em. its a hassle, but not impossible.
see my web shyte.
quote:
Does anyone know where to get those front cycle wings that go all the way round the wheel (except underneath of course)? I've seen them on a car at a race meeting recently - like the ones on carnuts picture above, but they cover even more of the wheel. I'm thinking "I gotta get me some o' these!!"
The nice chaps at YKC offer a wing covering about 170 degrees of the wheel - are there any wings out there with more than 170 degrees of wheel coverage?
Rescued attachment Donk_02small.jpg
That's not too bad at all. Not sure if I really prefer it over the original shape, but it's not in the fugly category
I like the screen mounts/surround
any idea where/who this is from ?
We are making cycle wings that cover the tyre fully at the moment. Should be ready in a few weeks.
Kind regards,
Darren
www.gtstuning.co.uk
sounds like that would have a nasty adverse effect on traction.. arf arf..
Has anyone seen this!!!
Rescued attachment 01J0A455008967B.jpg
Oz the home of mad max shows too
Shug.
Caterham have apparently spent a lot of time looking at aerodynamics recently - the magazine articles about the new version they plan to race during
2004 have included a lot of information about what they are doing.
Basically it seems despite lots of time in the wind tunnel they haven't come up with any conclusions about the best way to go for aerodynamic
effect and stability.
Shave your head, have your ears pinned back, keep your gob shut tight, your elbows in and wear some wrap around specs. If you want to go faster press
the pedal harder.
yours, Pete.
build a fully encolsed body and drop it on a 7 chassis?
just a thought...
ned.
Hugh - It's a Donkervoort.....it's Dutch.
Eddy, thought it was the French that built Exocet but there u go
Shug.