Hi, all.
I've seen many photos of exposed rear wheels of thrust-powered cars -- such as the North American Eagle, Aussie Invader 5R,
and the Blue Flame.
It's pretty well-known that an exposed rear wheel, out in the wind and unfaired, isn't very aerodynamic; a disk brake assembly, out in the wind like that, would also create a lot of drag force.
I'm certainly not suggesting that the rear wheels should not have brakes . . . but why can't the brake disks be "inboard" (contained within the streamlined body) and attached to the axles -- which do extend pretty far from the body in order to provide a decent amount of track (width) for stability of the vehicle?
Each axle could be independently mounted in bearings and suspension (if desired), so the calipers and other associated hardware wouldn't have to be in the wind. The rear wheels could be faired, and so could the axles. Because a round axle, out in the wind, isn't all that aerodynamic, it could be surrounded by an airfoil-shaped structure that could provide not only mechanical support, but also hold an "outboard" bearing to support the axle, very close to the wheel, several feet away from the main fuselage of the car.
I'd love to see feedback about this, preferably from someone with experience on a team that has run a car like this . . . even
if it's not thrust-powered. What I'm most interested in addressing here is aerodynamics.