User talk:Spute/sandbox

Aerodynamics

Good stuff. Being really picky the sequence of development of aerodynamics goes:

Low drag (streamlining, but also other detail work. Btw I've got a story about Ron Tauranac and the aerodynamic benefits or otherwise of inboard suspension I've been trying to get into an article for a while now.....)
Anti-lift - trim tabs at the front of the car and other measures (just careful shaping of the nose would do it) to stop the slippery 'cigar tube' cars lifting off the ground at high speed. Even if they didn't fully lift off early 1960s cars could wander across the track alarmingly at high speed because there was little download on the front wheels).
Downforce - the realisation that cornering speed could be increased by forcing the tyres onto the tarmac.

As I understand it, the MIRA wind tunnel was being used by Brabham (hobby horse, broken record etc...) in the early 1960s for the kind of detail design work referred to above, anti-lift and low drag, so wind tunnels should perhaps be first mentioned before downforce and wings.

Ground Effect (Early ideas in late 1960s, first use in F1 on race track in 1977 by Lotus) should precede the Fan Car of 1978.

Is the recent fuss over flexible body elements worth mentioning at the end?

Hope these random thoughts are helpful. 4u1e 15:47, 27 January 2007 (UTC)[reply]