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Old 06-26-2005, 07:13 AM   #9
bonzelite
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Re: extreme downforce vehicle

yes, al. it will need some front downforce. already, it has that, as the air is routed under the car at the fascia inlet, and is low to the ground. but...

the thing about front wings, is that they cannot be placed too low to the ground; they are tricky --too low a wing and it disallows for correct low pressure flow along the entire underside/ venturi "throat" of the car. too low a front wing will prematurely drive the accelerated underbody air into the ground, creating an unwanted vortex/ turbulence.

many f1 and indy cars in the 1980s had overenthusiastic front wings placed on, causing an effect called "porposing." it would create unstable handling as driving conditions ever changed around the track.

but i am developing this car gradually. i will add some exaggerated front stuff and play around with that. thanks for that comment, al.

for this project, i must conceptualize a thin/high atmospheric state, about .01 of earth's sea-level pressure. the car needs to grab as much of that thin air as possible. this is done with increased surface area of the downforce elements, as well as extremely high velocities (moving the air faster), hence the ion propulsion idea. these cars need to be nearly supersonic, around 1 Mach, at 30% earth's gravity.

here is something i just threw out suddenly:
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