| The principle of race car design is similar to the one | | | | thereby increasing the speed of the car. |
| that flies the airplane. The only difference is that in | | | | Rear vacuum pressure applies to the hole that a car |
| case of airplane wing or airfoil is shaped upward | | | | leaves behind in the air while moving. The boxy |
| whereas in case of race car the wings are mounted | | | | structure of the car creates a bigger vacuum behind |
| upside down. The difference in the direction of the | | | | the car and the air molecules are not able to fill in the |
| wings is because the airplane needs a lift and a race | | | | empty space. This creates an opposite force which |
| car needs a downforce. In any case, both work on | | | | increases the force required to overcome the air |
| the principle of aerodynamics, a refined form of | | | | resistance. The inability of air molecules to fill the |
| science that studies the affect of air on a moving | | | | space is known as flow detachment which creates |
| object. | | | | turbulence. Therefore, the entire length of the car |
| Earlier aerodynamics was only restricted to race cars | | | | needs to be modified to support the aerodynamic |
| like those in F1 cars but these days’ high-end | | | | structure of the car. |
| luxury cars like BMW and Audi are also adorned with | | | | Downforce |
| aerodynamic design specifications in order to improve | | | | Downforce is the pressure caused by moving air that |
| performance and mileage. | | | | flows over the surface of the car and creates |
| The two basic principles of car aerodynamics are | | | | weight on the area. Downforce helps increase tyre |
| drag and downforce. These define the speed, | | | | grip and cornering speed. This can be simply done by |
| control, and even mileage of any car. | | | | introducing inverted wings to force the car down on |
| Drag | | | | the track. |
| Some energy is required by cars to move through | | | | Air pressure is high when it approaches the front of |
| the air. This energy is used in overcoming a force | | | | the car and then gradually air slows down, resulting in |
| known as drag. | | | | more molecules packed into a smaller space. When |
| When there is air resistance, the measurement of | | | | the molecules stagnate, it hunts for a lower pressure |
| drag helps to define complex dependencies of shape | | | | area that includes the sides, top and bottom of the |
| and inclination. This measurement is known as drag | | | | car. Further to that air loses the pressure as it travels |
| coefficient which is calculated experimentally through | | | | through the car’s hood but when it hits the |
| Cw = W/A v2* Q/2 | | | | windscreen it again increases. The air pressure |
| Where, Cw is drag coefficient, W is air resistance, A | | | | created above the hood of the car creates a |
| is cross-sectional area, V is driving speed, and Q is air | | | | downforce that puts the car stable on racing tracks |
| density. | | | | even at high speeds. Therefore, there should be less |
| In car aerodynamics, drag actually comprises of two | | | | surface area on the roof of the car. |
| forces, frontal pressure and rear vacuum. Frontal | | | | Conclusion |
| pressure is generated by the air that attempts to | | | | To have better car dynamics ideally the racing car |
| flow around the front of the car. As air moves | | | | should have sleek body structure, reclining windshield, |
| towards the front grille or bumper, the air molecules | | | | raked chassis, small grill, minimal ground clearance, |
| begin to compress and increase the air pressure at | | | | slightly raked underside, and converging tail to keep |
| the front of the car. This puts extra pressure on the | | | | the air flow attached. |
| engine to run the car, so if the front is sleek, the air | | | | These modifications will help enhance stability even at |
| pressure distributes along the sides of the car, | | | | higher speeds as well as improve fuel efficiency. |