So with Nascar starting the car of tommorow thing this weekend it peaked my interest in Aerodynamics and the use of particularly splitters and carbon fiber

Over the years I've seen alot of tuners with these carbon fiber front splitters and the canards which in most cases is totally for looks and those cars have never seen an auto x or road course and likely never will.



Basically what im wanting to do is add front downforce by constructing my own bolt in pieces from either fiberglass or carbon fiber, I plan on doing some auto x and an actual road course later in the year

Also Im thinking about constructing a rear diffuser, I read about some of these things in the October 06 sport compact car but alot of it I wasnt quite understanding, Also does anyone know someplace where I can perhaps get some expert estimates on how much downforce any of these things will add or where they should be placed to get the most effective results.

Short of engineers that make more an hour than I do in a week that work in a wind tunnel im not really sure, Im not looking to get huge gains just something that I might be able to whip up on my own and pick up a few seconds on lap times



1989 Turbo Trans Am #82, 2007 Cobalt SS G85

seems like a cool idea


Go Premium, it builds character!

at the very least im going to construct a new front air dam with z06 style brake ducts



1989 Turbo Trans Am #82, 2007 Cobalt SS G85

For downforce to be effective, you must be going fast. In an auto-x event you will never get to speeds fast enough to ever need downforce. Downforce is most useful in fast speed turns and long high speed straights when the downforce stabilizes the vehicle by adding grip. In an auto-x event corner speeds are usually less that 25mph, barely putting a breeze on the splitter. Now, if you road coarse race then it may help you.

jpo96sungt wrote:For downforce to be effective, you must be going fast. In an auto-x event you will never get to speeds fast enough to ever need downforce. Downforce is most useful in fast speed turns and long high speed straights when the downforce stabilizes the vehicle by adding grip. In an auto-x event corner speeds are usually less that 25mph, barely putting a breeze on the splitter. Now, if you road coarse race then it may help you.

X2


- 93 mph in the 1/8 mile
Member of J-Body Of Michigan.

i understand that it wont do much in auto x its mainly to reduce lift at high speed on a road course that i want it for



1989 Turbo Trans Am #82, 2007 Cobalt SS G85

Waste of time and effort. Adding downforce to the front of the car by using some kind of skirt will be the LEAST of your worries when road racing a cavalier. Look at the cars in Shane's video.

After seeing the new prototype a thought struck me...I wonder how many more cars we'll be seeing on the road now with wings and aerodynamic modifications that aren't needed. (typical redneck) If Nascar uses it it must be cool and respectable!! [/rant]

ps..... "the car of tomarrow" looks like hell.

I think if they wanted to change nascar they should ditch the 390 Carbrated for something else.

yea matt aerodynamics dont play a hugh role in auto-x, but suspension does!
get yourself some strut bars, sway bar better springs....you know the drill.
and lemme know when/where you plan on goin to a road course cuz the Tuscani would be fun as hell on one of those!

nascar hasnt used 390 for over 25 years the max displacement of a nascar engine is 358 cubic inches



1989 Turbo Trans Am #82, 2007 Cobalt SS G85

Your not going to get any benefit unless you do wind tunnel testing and could actually decrease your performance. when messing with diffusers and front canards and splitters.

Suspension is king, look at the GM time attack cobalt, front air damn to keep the air from getting under the car and big ole wing on the back to keep the back from getting to loose.

Don't worry about air splitters price for performance is marginal at best. Unless your going over 200mph you really shouldn't be worrying about it unless someone is paying you to put it on your car or you like how it looks.

Also consider that those are usually affixed to the FLEXIBLE front urethane bumper so any effect will be eliminated if it actually picks up wind.


-Chris

Rodimus Prime wrote:nascar hasnt used 390 for over 25 years the max displacement of a nascar engine is 358 cubic inches

good call, i haven't watched in quite awhile

looks like your neck is a little redder than mine

i still hate country music, beer, guns, and trucks

so i have a long way to go



1989 Turbo Trans Am #82, 2007 Cobalt SS G85