Quote:
Originally Posted by NHB
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.
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Good point.
I recall that about 40% of fuel power goes wasted as radiator hot air, more than the power put to the ground so these cars vent out more than 1000 HP worth of hot air.
Meredith effect radiators are a must then.