Optimizing a Tail for Low Drag: Part 5
Measuring Changes in Drag (NB: I conducted this testing early last summer but, due to a busy fall semester, have only got around to posting it now...). Before I construct a full tail mockup, I decided it would be worth my while to do some additional testing on the partial buck I already have: There are a few reasons I decided this. First, I want to know how much this board and side plates—effectively, a large spoiler at this point—reduce the drag of the car. Second, I want to check my process for measuring changes in aerodynamic drag on this car, which has an electronically controlled throttle that does not allow for throttle-stop testing. I’ll elaborate on that process below. As far as the first reason: not only will measuring the drag change at this point allow me to better predict the change from a full tail, but if this spoiler turns out to reduce drag as much as my design requirement, then I can stop here (if I want; I won’t, because I want to go through the process of ...