Aerodynamics is the study of motion of gas on objects and the forces created. The same principles that let air planes fly is used in racing cars. The difference is the wing is mounted upside down to keep down force on the car instead of lift. Downforce is vertical force directed down made by airflow around an object. Down force is generated from front and rear wings and the venturi tunnels on ground effects cars. Lift is the upward reaction of a plane to the air forced over the wing. The Bernoulli Effect means if fluid (gas or liquid) flows around an object at different speeds, the slower moving fluids will exert more pressure than the ones going faster. The wing on a plane is designed so that the air moving over top the wing moves faster than the air below the wing. This is because the a
Aerodynamics is in race cars is stressed more than ever. Most teams use track testing and wind tunnels. A wind tunnel is a tube like structure where wind is produced usually by a large fan to flow over the object they are testing. The object is connected with sensors that measure and record aerodynamic forces on it. They use the wind tunnel to develop the best design. Their number one concern is on down force and drag.
A road course with low speed corners requires a car with a high down force setup. This is to maintain speeds in corners and reduce wear on the brakes. This setup includes large front and rear wings. The front wings have adjustable flaps. The rear wing has three sections to maximize down force.
The relationship between drag and down force is really importa
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