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Old 12-05-2009, 05:47 PM   #61 (permalink)
JackMcCornack
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Honest to gosh, is there something about this topic header that lights people up?

And speaking of lighting people up, one way I discourage tailgaters is I took the back body panel off MAX--it has a clear fuel tank, so anybody behind me can see the fuel sloshing around. My fuel is cooking oil, but it looks as scary as gasoline.

Quote:
Originally Posted by MadisonMPG View Post
... lift causes drag. Drag is our enemy. If we start producing a lot of lift...
I'm in full agreement re 'a lot of lift', but insufficient lift causes drag too. As long as our cars stay on the top side of the asphalt, zero lift will have more aerodynamic drag than some lift. That's my opinion but it seems a common opinion in the trade, and at extreme speeds (which I never drive) car designers are willing to accept the disadvantages of some lift, in exchange for the benefits of low drag. Case in Point: the Veyron, which won't even hit 250 mph unless you take it out of Handling Mode and put it in Speed Mode--the difference is the spoiler retracts in speed mode. The spoiler goes up in Handling Mode to reduce lift, but it sure doesn't reduce drag.

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