defdes wrote:I have no proof of this, or data to back it up, but at the track it is said that an air dam will give you approx 1 second per lap...why would all track cars run them, they're not for looks.
I wasn't discussing the lateral benefits - they definitely do add down force, but ultimately I think they add drag (which is obviously outweighed by the handling benefit - which is why they are run on track cars). The straight line guys use wings etc for down force for more traction.
In dealing purely with mileage I would think a car without an airdam would get better mileage. This may also depend on how low the car is among other things.
defdes wrote:I have no proof of this, or data to back it up, but at the track it is said that an air dam will give you approx 1 second per lap...why would all track cars run them, they're not for looks.
I wasn't discussing the lateral benefits - they definitely do add down force, but ultimately I think they add drag (which is obviously outweighed by the handling benefit - which is why they are run on track cars). The straight line guys use wings etc for down force for more traction.
In dealing purely with mileage I would think a car without an airdam would get better mileage. This may also depend on how low the car is among other things.
But...drag of the dam vs drag of the car undercarriage? I was reading another forum where guys were discussing mileage benefits and most were showing improvements with a dam, although not very much.
That makes sense - which is why on modern cars they spend a lot of effort streamlining the bottom.
Dam would have to be low enough to really eliminate the air from going underneath.
I drive about 60 miles one way to autocross. I put 8 gallons in to fill it back up when I get back. So I'm getting about 15MPG.
4.11 rearend
stock 4 speed
L16 Bored over 0.040 with flatop pistons.
weber 32/36 carb. Probably badly tuned.
I think something sub 2L with EFI and a good 5speed overdrive would hit 40MPG pretty easy.
I had a 2001 saturn SL 1.9l that could do 41MPG average on long trips. They should be pretty close in weight to 510s.
