Quote from: jl222 on May 07, 2009, 01:34:17 PM
Panic
It seems a lot of racers have forgotten Jim Hall, the Chaparral racers and all their inventions for downforce.
Or they may of never heard of him as this happend before some were born.
Their adjustable spoiler design can still be used and the so can the sucker [on streamliners[ might get clogged fast though tongue
This is why I post articles about WW11 supercharging and water injection because it can be forgotten or never realized information
is out there.
The two absolutely awesome car aerodynamic inventions of the past half century (wings are older) are moveable aero and powered aero. Both were outlawed and both are good ideas that belong in modern vehicle design.
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I moved this to a new thread because I believe powered downforce deserves its own discussion. FYI, "powered aero" is called "active circulation control" in the industry. "Circulation" refers to the circulation of of the vector change in airflow around an airfoil or car body.
IM<HO, all LSR cars at speed have enough downforce to balance the traction vs. power required based on their inherent design. Downforce increases with speed, so downforce-limited vehicles really should have more alpha or wing to hit their top speed.
I believe there is a benefit to adding powered downforce to improve traction during acceleration and get up to speed sooner. Any power used for the downforce should come from the "prime mover" engine that is regulated by the class rules. In this manner, we could avoid all of those pesky "2nd engine/stored-power" issues. Any electrically powered accessory should be proven to run off of the alternator power, not battery.
Of course, electric vehicles run only off of battery and would be likewise prohibited from having little combustion engines for "accessory" loads.