Hello Everyone . .
This may not be the best place to ask this question as it pertains to a different form of motorsports, so for that I apologize . .
I just figured that aerodynamics are such a huge factor in what you guys do, that this would be the best place to ask. .
I drag race a Naturally aspirated, front wheel drive 1995 Honda Civic Coupe.
The class that I race in, is a highly competitive, "all motor" , 4cyl class. . Lately it seems to be going down the road of who ever has the biggest wallet wins the race. I am far from that man. So I am trying to think outside the box this year for ideas to compensate for less raw power. I have been racking my brain ( and limited resources) trying to come up with some ideas to give me a competitive edge. No one has really tried anything to increase the aerodynamics of our vehicles because it is technically a "street" chassis class ( factory unibody).
We only go about 10.2-10.7 seconds at 125-135 mph in a quarter mile. Only above 100mph for 3-4seconds so I dont know how much aerodynamics will even help. But I am willing to try anything. I have access to a fabrication shop, so building or fabricating anything is possible.
I was wondering if anyone had any websites or books they would like to recommend to me in order to open my eyes to this subject as it pertains to aerodynamics of Front wheel drive racing? A lot of the sites I have gone on , only give information about open wheel F1 cars or ways to increase downforce to the rear of the car. (not something I need with a front wheel drive car)
I have purchased Simon Mcbeath's book - Competition Car Aerodynamics and am just waiting for it to be shipped to me.
So far I have learned :
I need to seal the front of the car off. I purchased a completely sealed off fiberglass front bumper to lessen the amount of air that gets trapped into the engine bay.
I need to reduce drag on the car - So i have read to lower the car as close to 2.7inches of front ground clearance as possible. Previous ground clearance was close to 4.5 inches so I have got the front down to about 3 inches. I also have read to leave the rear of the car a little higher so that any air that does go under the car is sent out the back a little faster.
I was planning to build an underbody panel that covers the entire engine bay and ends before the firewall. This should help the air not get trapped in the engine bay as much. .
I know the most pressure build up is at the base of the windshield. I was thinking about putting the hood up on 1 inch spacers so that the hood would be angled more . My thinking was to deflect the air higher onto the windshield in an effort to prevent it from being built up at the base. Although on the flip side of that, it might allow more air to go into the engine bay and that is not good.
I could also make something that covers the wiper cowl and comes up on an angle to about 6 inches onto the base of the window. Again, in an effort to deflect the oncoming air higher onto the windshield.
I have been debating on whether or not to build a rear diffuser of sorts. Basically to cover the rear spare tire area and have it button to the bottom of the bumper. I have read that tunnels/splitters/diffusers on that rear panel will help create venturi flow- but not sure if it is worth it on my particular application.
Same goes for a complete under body panel. I was contemplating building a complete smooth underbody panel for the car but not sure if it is worth the intense amount of work accompanied by it.
I'm sorry for bouncing all over the place in this post. Sorry if this is the wrong place to ask, but I really havent found anywhere else to ask it.
Please feel free to correct anything that I have posted. Any light that anyone can shed to help me or to point me in the right direction, I would greatly appreciate it.
Thank you for your time.
- Jake