Corrado physics question.

[veedub 0]

Been thinking about this at work this afternoon:

 

2 Corrados parked side by side in a wind tunnel, one has been lowered, the other is at standard ride height.

 

Which is more aerodynamic :?:

 

Discuss!!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yes I am bored!!!

[Mave 0]

16v, g60, vr6?

[godskitchen 0]

This could get very technical...............but i doubt it will..........

[veedub 0]

16v, g60, vr6?

 

There's always one!

Doubt it really matters but in the interest of science we will go for a pair of late shape valvers!

[Mave 0]

Sorry I couldn't resist :lol:

[cata 0]

The one that has the spoiler up :wink:

[EDIT] It's supposed to be for better fuel efficiency so with it up it must be more aerodynamic.

[veedub 0]

The one that has the spoiler up :wink:

 

Both with spoilers down, and anyway having the spoiler up will create more drag!!

[Guest]

The lowered VR6!! :D

[Jim Bowen 1]

but wouldn't a higher one allow more air pass beneath the car?

[veedub 0]

[EDIT] It's supposed to be for better fuel efficiency so with it up it must be more aerodynamic.

 

I really doubt thats true!!

 

3corsameal, thats what Im thinking...

[steve_16v 0]

The lowered one is more aerodynamic, you don't want more air passing underneath the car because there's a lot of drag created by all the stuff under there. That's why some cars have automatic suspension that lowers itself at higher speeds.

[Guest]

The lowered one is more aerodynamic, you don't want more air passing underneath the car because there's a lot of drag created by all the stuff under there. That's why some cars have automatic suspension that lowers itself at higher speeds.

 

Disco!

[Storm Monkey 0]

A little hidden tyre may also reduce the frontal area slightly, but only by a tiny amount!

 

I read somwhere that cars with deep front air damns (e.g. touring cars) aim to reduce air flow under the car, which increases drag, but greatly reduces lift. If you think about it, a car is pretty much wing shaped (air has to trave further over the top, than underneath, so air pressure above is slightly lower than below, creating lift), then it makes sence to reduce air flow under the car. Of course, with a good air damn, a smopthed underside, and venturi flow channels under the car, you can make up for the drag, by not having a dirty great spoiler as an air brake on the back, though not really spplicable with the tiny spoiler that the C has.

 

As for the C-s spoiler, not sure how effective it is, but it may be enough to divert the air flow over the rear of the car, and prevent eddy currents ant turbulent flow behind the car, thus reducing drag. I think I have some wind tunnel images somwhere with spoiler up and down, and seem to remember it making a resonable difference.

 

Sorry..........bit technical for a Friday morning..........bloody Engineers!

 

Phil

[GIXXERUK 0]

hmm .... after hours of deliberation and in depth mathematical equations , i came to the conclusion i need to ask "what colour are these valvers" - word is the red ones are the fastest - so jim told me :lol:

 

so in conclusion - the red one ! is more aerodynamic

[corozin 0]

Volkswagen used to claim that the rear spoiler increased downforce by around 30% at 100kph when deployed. Although it's not a big spoiler, it elevates into an airstream area immediately behind the car where a "swirl" is pushing down just above the tailgate.

 

As for standard vs lowered cars, a lowered car will not suffer so severly from underbody drag so should be a slightly more aerodynamic (as air which would have gone underneath is directed over the more slippery body surfaces instead) but I doubt you'd really notice the difference until you were anywhere near the car's maximum speed.

 

John

[veedub 0]

hmm .... after hours of deliberation and in depth mathematical equations , i came to the conclusion i need to ask "what colour are these valvers" - word is the red ones are the fastest - so jim told me :lol:

 

so in conclusion - the red one ! is more aerodynamic

 

I beg to differ, Purple ones are clearly faster!!!

[craigowl 0]

RAF fighter pilots used to sand down the numerous rivet heads on their planes surfaces, thus, allegedly, gaining a good few extra mph.

 

So get out and file something down, guys!

 

 

Of course, the true answer here is that the claybarred Corrado wins hands down.

[Yandards 0]

RAF fighter pilots used to sand down the numerous rivet heads on their planes surfaces, thus, allegedly, gaining a good few extra mph.

 

So get out and file something down, guys!

 

 

Of course, the true answer here is that the claybarred Corrado wins hands down.

 

Doubt it was the aircrew.. :roll:

 

As for which is more aerodynamic then you will get decreased drag by polishing and waxing a car, and coating the windows and windscreen in rainX (smooths out imperfections and reduces turbulence - hence less drag)

 

The lower car may not neccessarily be anymore aerodynamically efficient than the standard one in a windtunnel but as previously mentioned it should perform slightly better 'on the road' with regards to lift at high speed.

 

The spoiler disrupts the airflow at the rear of the car, therefore creating turbulence which in turn reduces lift and increases drag. What it does do in terms of real World performance is reduce the lift at the rear end of car and therefore stop the car losing grip at the rear wheels.

 

It does work but I would argue that the benefits of it are not really apparent until speeds of over 70mph have been achieved. This is in fact the speed that Karmann originally intended for the spoiler to be deployed at but the speed winnies had it lowered for this country.

[craigowl 0]

Doubt it was the aircrew..

Saw a photo of pilot doing it, Yan.

Have worked at military airfields, so know what you mean, though, you old pedant.

Almost certainly ground crew did it.

[GIXXERUK 0]

Almost certainly ground crew did it.

 

 

lol ..."ground" crew

[craigowl 0]

lol ..."ground" crew

 

? - GIXXERUK

[GIXXERUK 0]

ground not air crew , just had a picture of them waving the air crew off with a "should be ok " look in their eye

 

 

didnt howard hughes have something to do with this shaving the rivets business originally ?

[GIXXERUK 0]

aye thought so ...

 

"howard hughes a natural engineer with a solid grasp of aerodynamics. He thought of, for example, countersunk rivets to reduce wind resistance on the surface of a plane. "

[Yandards 0]

ground not air crew , just had a picture of them waving the air crew off with a "should be ok " look in their eye

 

 

didnt howard hughes have something to do with this shaving the rivets business originally ?

 

Ground crew is a 'proper' term for the engineering types who fix the planes. (Lost in internet translation as to if you are taking the pee or not :oops: :wink: )

 

As for milled/flush rivets there are a myriad of different types available but I do recall the film the 'Aviator' having a line in it about 'just mill the rivet heads'

[GIXXERUK 0]

Yandards, sorry mate i'm not really very nautical :wink: