What is the effect of crosswinds?

[puddleglum]

I was'nt thinking much about the crabsteering idea when I posted this link, but I think it could be a safety risk.

[gone-ot]

...head-on, the wind speed is a direct "drag"

...but, oblique wind direction will be basically a cosine function (I think), with a MAJOR increase in tire rolling resistance (Trr) as YOU keep compensating for the body's "windvane" effects by slightly cranking in steering offset.

[cfg83]

puddleglum -

Originally Posted by puddleglum

Crosswinds are almost always mor

I came across this link yesterday that illustrates crosswinds effect on mileage quite well. I'm guessing the hit would be even greater on a larger car with a worse Cd.

Such a cool picture. I tried to make a meaningful plot out of it :



The "Angle" is the ambient wind direction, in degrees.

The 90 degrees is (obviously) the point where the crosswind is orthogonal to the direction of travel. It looks like two different equations on each side of 90 degrees to me.

I wonder what sailboaters would have to say about this?

CarloSW2