bjhines Posted November 8, 2006 Share Posted November 8, 2006 If anyone wants to test vortex generators... I would suggest you mount them on a thin sheet of aluminum or plastic and fit them to your car in such a way that they can be easily removed as a unit... then ship them(insured) to me to get them fitted on the test car... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMortensen Posted November 8, 2006 Share Posted November 8, 2006 I'd like to see a whale tail in there too, and you didn't mention the vortex generators. Pretty damn cool project though. I think the tough thing is going to be getting everything switched out quickly. Maybe swap the entire hatch out to change the rear spoilers. The front is going to be the interesting part. If you have time, and you might not, I'd like to see what exactly the difference is between having the huge hole in front of the airdam vs having it sealed up with aluminum like the car in your sig pic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bjhines Posted November 8, 2006 Share Posted November 8, 2006 well.... there are some of these ideas that won't get tested... drip rails are tough... The airdams are going to be sealed and installed like any serious race car fabricator would do it... I don't see any real need to test an improperly installed airdam left with gaping holes and flopping in the breeze... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMortensen Posted November 8, 2006 Share Posted November 8, 2006 The airdams are going to be sealed and installed like any serious race car fabricator would do it... I don't see any real need to test an improperly installed airdam left with gaping holes and flopping in the breeze... I wanted to make the point about installing it the right way, but I suppose you're right. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DCZ Posted November 8, 2006 Share Posted November 8, 2006 John, I have a fiberglass BRE spook that can be used if interested. I would also love to be there/help out if needed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OlderThanMe Posted November 8, 2006 Share Posted November 8, 2006 How about the home depot lip? Y'all going to do a video of the testing? How about a piece of aluminum going from the rad support to the top of a standard airdam? (oops, I typed this looking at page 8...) What is the ride height going to be of this rusty Z? It would be cool if you could see what differences ride height could make in aero... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bjhines Posted November 8, 2006 Share Posted November 8, 2006 We can set ride height anywhere we want... We figured we would test ground clearance from stock height to zero... I also planned on mocking up a stock valance to get some stock baseline numbers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justin260z Posted November 15, 2006 Share Posted November 15, 2006 The Z on the left, Where that peson, get those wheels?? I have to know, those look gorgeous. go whale tail!!!!!! ive got a 280ZXR replica on mine.. not as big as the whale tail but i like it!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikelly Posted November 16, 2006 Share Posted November 16, 2006 We can set ride height anywhere we want... We figured we would test ground clearance from stock height to zero... I also planned on mocking up a stock valance to get some stock baseline numbers. BJ, When are you planning to do this and do you need help with turning wrenches? If I'm not actually at the track event driving, I'd be happy to come down and hole up in a hotel and assist with the swaps and data collection... Let me know... Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1 tuff z Posted November 16, 2006 Share Posted November 16, 2006 bj [& all], as i've followed this interesting thread i can't help but think that once completed, we'll all benefit from the results. so, here's my idea. it appears that there is a cost [aside from labor] to run this 'test mule' through the paces to determine aerodynamic advantages for our beloved z cars. what if all interested pony up a small fee to help offset the expenses to create an economy of scale test? it could be as little as $20, sent via paypal. ideas, thoughts, feedback? this is, of course only if you're not filthy rich. if that's the case, then ignore my idea and bankroll the entire project, lol! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bjhines Posted November 17, 2006 Share Posted November 17, 2006 I will get the details ironed out soon... It looks like this is going to be a project for early 2007... I have to get through the end of this year to find any more time... The facility appears to be booked fairly solid until then as well... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikelly Posted November 17, 2006 Share Posted November 17, 2006 Thanks BJ! I finally went back and caught up on the thread and read you guys are doing windtunnel testing... I'm still in if you need another set of hands... I'll drive down for it. Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KEO240 Posted November 17, 2006 Share Posted November 17, 2006 I realize of course that the main purpose for this wonderful experiment if to determine the aerodynamic factors of aftermarket as well as stock pieces. However, since most airdams have openings in the front and most people will keep them that way, wouldn't it make sense to test the bumpers in a way that would benefit the people who are using these parts? As in just as they are? And from there you can test how airflow inside of the engine compartment affects velocity and your coefficient of drag? Of course I could be confused by your meaning of sealing the front air dam. Hopefully you can clarify this for me. Josh Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1 tuff z Posted November 17, 2006 Share Posted November 17, 2006 bj, another thought-how about testing with and without headlight covers? if you did a baseline run-stock 240z, ride height, front valence, no spoilers, wipers, belly pan, driv side mirror...you get the idea. then run individual 'upgrades' from there. i know there are many more variations to potentially be tested once the baseline is established but figure you'll focus on the current most used, otherwise it would be prohibitively expensive! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bjhines Posted November 17, 2006 Share Posted November 17, 2006 ... well... we already know that the 240Z is terrible at plowing through the wind... we were going to focus on achieving ~some~ downforce... 3 hours is not a lot of time to go around switching all those stock parts AND testing other modifications... We are hoping that we can reduce drag along with adding downforce... or at least impacting drag as little as possible... I is looking like a G-nose is going to be out of the question... for one... because no-one I know is using a g-nose... or owns a g-nose to test... If someone has one to offer up... then I will contact you when we are ready for the parts... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
veritech-z Posted November 18, 2006 Share Posted November 18, 2006 Of course I could be confused by your meaning of sealing the front air dam. Hopefully you can clarify this for me. Josh I believe they are talking about putting a plate from the top of the air dam to the lower radiator support, so that the air won't go over the lower front of the valence to the bottom of the car. here is a pic of Bjhine's front end (sorry BJ, I took it from post you did on a thread about doing this mod, hope you don't mind) to show what I'm pretty sure we are talking about: from this thread:http://forums.hybridz.org/showthread.php?t=110222&highlight=front+air+dam Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KEO240 Posted November 18, 2006 Share Posted November 18, 2006 Oh ok. Thanks for clarifying that for me. I thought for some reason they were talking about covering up all of the holes in the front bumper. I understand what you're talking about now though. Josh Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bjhines Posted November 18, 2006 Share Posted November 18, 2006 I talked to the operators of the wind tunnel... Here is their website... http://www.aerodynwindtunnel.com/ they have 2 of these facilities operating now... The first available dates are after Jan 20th... I spoke at length about how to get the most out of our little experiment... It looks like 8 hours is what it will take to get the info we need... that is a steal at $3500 for all day... breakdown... 5 hours on the plate with a mock up vehicle... and switching parts and changing angles and such... 3 hours with another completed 240 Z race car... I am thinking that Redbird owned by Mayolives here would be the one to test... I only considered Redbird240Z because it is more or less a stock z car body with an interesting underpan and rear end diffuser... It really looks to me like Redbird will get some unique results with the well thought out rear diffuser... $3500 is a LOT of money... and there are a lot of parts to procure... there is a lot of work to prepare for the test (mocking up parts and such)... any of you who are will ing to help please chime in... funding this project is going to be a little more expensive than I thought.. I can also get a professional videographer from Discovery channel to film the event for us... who knows where that will lead... Here are some pics of the facilities... they are small wind tunnels designed for race cars not airplanes... Here are some pics of the New facility... .... as you can see... some brackets have to be made to attach the cars to the force plate... coilovers are a must because the tires are only put under light pressure to roll on the rollers during testing... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OlderThanMe Posted November 18, 2006 Share Posted November 18, 2006 I would soo want to be there and help out but the 20th is the day I have to be back at college for next semester... Oh well. what if you setup a threaded rod and motor to each suspension member so that you could remotely change the ride height? That way you could change ride height sitting in a control room and playing with a controller. Just a random idea I had... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bjhines Posted November 18, 2006 Share Posted November 18, 2006 Take a look at the pictures I just added in the above post... The car is attached to those posts... the wheels are very weakly sprung to roll against the rollers... the ride height and angle of attack are changed via hydraulics in the chassis mounting rods... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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