Aerodynamic lift- A real problem

[gone-ot]

...back in the day, there was a Sports Car Graphics article about the 1970½ AAR 'Cuda 340/6BBL that showed the rear deck spoiler actually produced a measurable and useful down-force at speeds over about 100 mph.

...similar chin and rear deck spoilers were also used on the Dodge T/A-Challenger 349/6BBL.

[Christ]

But we're talking still about speeds much higher than are legal in the US.

[Nerys]

well legal and REALITY almost never jive. while I won't go that fast I also DO NOT do the speed limit mid day on I95. the SL is 55mph but your a fraking dead man if you do 55. Someone is going to come up your ass so fast they won't be able to stop so its 60-65 or your screwed. at least at 60-65 when they blow by you at 80-90 they can AVOID you :-) hehe

Out in Kansas or was it nebraska? I was doing 90mph in my van (was unwilling to go any faster) it was 8 hours of absolutely NOTHING.

people kept wizzing by me EASILY doing over 100mph so I inched my speed up to avoid an incident (though in reality I MIGHT see 2 cars every 10 minutes tops :-)

I saw some cops ahead in the shoulder I was ready to let off the gas when ZOOM a porsche blows by me doing AT LEAST 120mph does not even slow down as he passes the troopers. They look up watch him pass and continue their conversation.

I find out at my next fuel stop this is NORMAL out their. its so damned empty so damned boring so damned monotonus at times you can go HOURS without seeing another car. That so long as your not being dangerous or reckless you can pretty much go as fast as you want and the cops won't even give you a second look.

no this does not really have an impact on what we are discussing but it was somewhat related and a good story so why not :-) hehe

that was a LONG fraking drive. from extreme eastern PA to penrose Colorado. 31+ hours of driving.

[MadisonMPG]

Yeah, but no one would commute on that road. *by the sounds of how bare it is*

Good story none the less.


I have already said this, lift causes drag. Drag is our enemy. If we start producing a lot of lift when we drive, our gas mileage will suffer, and we will remove the lift inducing part.

[Christ]

I must say that I have to disagree with your opinion on I95. As of 2 years ago, I had driven on I95 as part of a daily commute for approximately 7 months, through a broad range of weather and at different times of the day, and never felt as though I was in danger from doing the speed limit on that road. Traveling from PA to DC on a daily basis in a work van that won't exceed 60MPH, and struggles to get there, via I95, was never any more interesting than I chose to make it.

Alternatively, I've taken my Civic and my Turbo'd Escort at speeds well in excess of 100MPH for extended periods on I95, and when in the proper section of the highway, found no drama there, either.

[Nerys]

alas what I stated was not an opinion but an observed fact :-) not trying to be too argumentative but had to make that correction.

on my section of 95 going into philly I won't do 55 in moderate to heavy traffic conditions. its suicide. I lost count of how many times someone almost nailed me from behind in the extreme right lane while doing 55mph.

Its one of the very few times I violate my rule of I DO NOT SPEED. not because its the law (which is really irrelevant to me) but because it wastes gas and really saves ZERO time. Once I finally followed my dad to work and he saw that his zooming only got him their 4 minutes and 18 seconds faster than me he finally woke up to the silliness of it and raised his fuel econ from 16mpg to 21-22 mpg and is now thoroughly enjoying the extra CASH in his pocket. (our commute is 54miles one way 1 hours 20 minutes ride)

but on 95 well I just don't risk it. now if the traffic is light or at night and the road empty. I do 50mph.

GRRRRRRRRRRRRR I am sick of this. Does anyone else have a problem with swapping NOT AND NOW ?

I keep doing it over and over again. swapping the W and T which has the pesky side effect of COMPLETELY reversing the meaning of my messages. Grrrr :-)

[Christ]

Must be a matter of perception, then, because what you consider observed fact, to me, is nothing more than conjecture. I've been on the same highway, at the same times, doing the same speeds, and never found that I was in any sort of danger, at least moreso than what I would normally be in from inattentive drivers who feel that I95 is the speed limit rather than the highway's numerical nomenclature.

[Nerys]

well seeing as how I have to live with the consequences of my decisions YOU DON'T (you only have to live with YOUR decisions) .....

at 60+mph (65 or so) I have far fewer "close calls" with people passing me than I do at 55mph. Observed Fact. I am sorry but there is simply no logical basis with which you can argue this.

what do you drive? now when I drive my CLUB WAGON I can do 50mph without an issue. Then again its freaking HUGE and pretty hard to miss :-)

[Christ]

I'm not going to argue the point(less) with you. What you're calling an observed fact is still unable to be proven in reality, as it's a matter of point of view and perception.

[Nerys]

Are we speaking the same language? The reason its called an observed fact is that its a fact because you LITERALLY saw it happen. Observed Fact.

It can not BE an opinion since that would be a guess would be an estimate conjecture. That like me looking up at a blue sky and saying HEY the sky is blue. an observed fact and you claim its an Opinion ???

Proven in reality? again language barrier seems to be going up here man. OBSERVED FACTS ARE REALITY by their very definition.

you OBSERVE THEM "in" REALITY. ahh duh?

I do not PERCIEVE people blowing by me while I am doing 55mph like I am standing STILL and STILL blowing by me while I am doing 60-65 many times.

that is an observed fact. Not a perception.

Maybe you just don't like the words I am using? well sorry man thats just tough. Neither you nor I coined these words so NO you may not alter their meanings and continue to claim you are holding a conversation in the english language.

Reality does not really care if you "like" the words and their meanings or not.

Now its ENTIRELY possible to observe something and NOT understand what it is your observing and come to an incorrect conclusion.

Somehow the reading on my speedometer and the rate at which people blow by me does NOT seem to cross me as something ambiguous hard to interpret or in the slightest bit open for "false interpretation"

its a pretty simple thing. the little round dial has numbers on it. The needle points to a number this is my speed.

People pass me close enough to concern me and fast enough to "shake" my car from their WAKE as they pass.

Does not take a genius to realize the "other cars" are going quite a bit faster than I am.

I go faster and this problem largely alleviates itself. Problem solved.