Quote:
Originally Posted by chillsworld
I would disagree with cooling drag, and I would say it's primarily downforce. These cars aren't designed for normal use.
Downforce is not just about keeping a car on the ground... Nor is it all about reducing the force of wind resistance. It's about being able to transfer 500-800 horsepower to the ground.
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Aerodynamic balance is real but so is cooling. When a car has about 1 MW engine power and 400 km/h top speed, it has to be able to dissipate huge amount of heat in various places. For that a supercar needs a lot air running thru cooling system. It's easy to see the effect of power. Let's check Cd-values of Mercedes CLA - one of the most aerodynamic cars available.
0,22 CLA 180 BlueEFFICIENCY Edition 90 kW (skinny tires)
0,25 CLA 180 90 kW
0,29 CLA 250 4MATIC 155 kW
0,32 CLA 45 AMG 4MATIC 265 kW
How high would the coefficient factor be if that chassis had 1 MW engine? I bet it would more that 0,4. Cooling for engine, cooling for transmission, cooling of brakes and huge tires increase drag a lot. A supercar has to be also very wide and relatively short which doesn't help.