Marky Mark and basic aerodynamics

["K.C. Boyce" <k_boyce@xxxxxxxxx>]

Mark Kibort said (cleaned up):

>and marketing people want you to think than your
>getting RAM efffects, and that wings on the back of >firebirds give
you more traction.  com'mon.   WAKEUP.

Well...if I've read my theory correctly, wings DO have an effect on
available traction.  It comes down to the car acting as a wing (high
speeds produce lift, ergo less traction (force) at the contact patch).

Little spoilers disrupt the boundary layer, helping to prevent some of
the "wing effect".

Big wings can be angled to produce massive downforce, but result in a
lot of drag.

Now, perhaps Firebirds have useless wings (a recent R&T test (?)
showed that the Mustang's wing was useless).  But there *is* some
solid theory/physics behind aerodynamic devices such as wings and
spoilers!

    KC Boyce
    '85 325e
    E30 Eta Page: http://rikki.cc.colorado.edu/~k_boyce



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