Quote:
Originally Posted by tripp323
Ok. You say " the lift can not be enough to offset the added drag, by definition" and you are the expert. But then how does a plane take off? Obviously you can generate enought lift using a wing at higher speeds. Your point about loss of traction is well taken. But put that aside for a sec - say we are on the Bonneville Salt flats and I want to lighten my prototype high-mileage vehicle - at some speed couldn't we use lift like a plane about to take off? I may have trouble controlling this - but if I control lift so that I still have enough traction to keep moving forward? Sorry to challenge your paradigm - hope you will keep an open mind for this curious newbie question.
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What he means is that the negative effects of drag are more than the gains from having the lift.
Really i can't imagine ANY noticeable good effects from creating lift in a car. Mainly because lift doesn't create a fuel efficient vehicle, and CERTAINLY doesn't do it by reducing weight.
The reason more weight impacts fuel economy is because of energy spent to accelerate the MASS of the vehicle, now remember that when you are adding lift you are only reducing the load on the wheels not changing the MASS of the vehicle, so therefore, no matter how much lift you create (even at a stand still) you are still going to have to move the MASS of the vehicle.
Creating lift should reduce rolling resistance and thats about it, but you are creating a fair bit of drag. Also if you're talking about the bonneville salt flats and doing high speed then you SERIOUSLY don't want lift, in fact you probably want a good amount of downforce to keep you on the ground, especially if you hit a bump.