Quote:
Originally Posted by Big time
They don't make THAT much downforce. At least not compared to all out racecars.
Are high Cd figures from cooling drag?
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But compared to mainstream sports cars, let alone family cars, they
do make a lot of downforce. A 2008-2010 Gen 4 Viper, for example, made a claimed 100 lbs downforce at 150mph, while the same car with ACR package (splitter, canards, and rear wing) made a claimed 1000 lbs at the same speed. It also lost 18mph on the top end, 202 mph for the regular coupe vs. 184 mph for the ACR.
The Veyron makes a claimed 733 lbs downforce in handling mode (up to 233 mph). The Venom GT makes a claimed 1050 lbs at 150 mph.
Quote:
Originally Posted by aerohead
At these velocities,directional stability and safety are paramount to the manufacturers.They want their customers to live to buy another car.
They may do detail optimization to trim drag as long as it does not impact stability/safety.
Plan-views of these cars reveal drag-unfriendly profiles.
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I think this gets at the real issue behind the higher drag numbers for exotic cars. Take a look at the plan views of various low-drag cars and their hypercar counterparts (especially the back halves):
Tesla Model S - Cd .24
Gen I Honda Insight - Cd .25
Gen III Toyota Prius - Cd .25
Chevrolet Volt - Cd .28
2014 Hyundai Sonata - Cd .25
VW XL1 - Cd .19
Bugatti Veyron - Cd .41/.36
Hennessey Venom GT - Cd .43
Koenigsegg Agera - Cd .37/.33
Ferrari Laferrari - Cd .31
McLaren P1 - Cd .34
