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Originally Posted by Reed
does a diffuser create a low pressure area below itself to provide downforce or does it diffuse the air coming from under the car so that the air that is already under the car is allowed to exit faster, thus creating a lower pressure under the car itself.
so basically, does it cause the air to pull down on the diffuser itself or does it help create a lower pressure beneath the car, or both.
i ask cause i think im going to try to make one out of sheet aluminum but if there is going to be a lot of force on the diffuser it will just break off cause i dont think i want to fasten it all that securely (welding and cutting body panels)
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The rear diffuser doesn’t create a low pressure area under the car it actually creates a
higher pressure. On a non-ground-effect vehicle it servers to reduce form drag and lowers the overall vehicle coefficient of drag. On a ground-effect vehicle it not only does the above, but it also improves the efficiency of the ground-effect system.
The diffuser has an increasing (from front to rear) cross-sectional area and as the air flow travels through the diffuser its velocity is slowed. The slower the air travels across a surface the more pressure it exerts on the surface and vice versa. So the slower air flow in the diffuser cross-section has a higher pressure than it would if the velocity had not been reduced.