Zero2Turbo
    Facebook Twitter Instagram
    Facebook Twitter Instagram RSS
    Zero2Turbo
    • Home
    • Contact
    • Videos
      Featured

      Tesla Model S Plaid Takes EV Nurburgring Lap Record Back From Porsche

      By Zero2TurboJune 5, 2023
      Recent

      Tesla Model S Plaid Takes EV Nurburgring Lap Record Back From Porsche

      June 5, 2023

      Bugatti Bolide Goes Extreme Track Testing

      June 1, 2023

      New Range Rover Sport SV Revealed Packing 626 HP (467 kW) V8

      May 31, 2023
    • South Africa
    • Zero2Turbo Telegram
    Zero2Turbo
    Home»Zero2Turbo»Understanding Ground Effects
    Zero2Turbo

    Understanding Ground Effects

    By Zero2TurboOctober 11, 2018Updated:November 2, 2018No Comments
    Facebook Email Twitter LinkedIn Telegram WhatsApp
    Share
    Facebook Email Twitter LinkedIn WhatsApp Telegram

    The term “Ground Effect” gets thrown around a lot among car enthusiasts but the actual principles involved are poorly understood. In an effort to explain how ground effects work, we will examine the term in respect to the physics involved.

    Definition

    The phrase “Ground Effect” has a specific meaning for a car designers. With some assist from the car enthusiasts at East Hills Jeep of East Hills of Greenvale, NY, we can tell you this: Ground Effects refers to a phenomena of aerodynamics where the flow of air around an aircraft or a car is influenced by the ground underneath. The concept is very important to both pilots and race car drivers.

    Aircraft ground effects

    Aircraft can get increased lift and therefore better efficiency by flying close to the ground. Unfortunately aircraft cannot fly close to the ground for obvious reasons. Helicopters, on the other hand, can benefit from ground effect by hovering near the ground. A helicopter that hovers near the ground is more efficient than when hovering higher up.

    Ground effect in cars

    In the 1970s, racecar designers placed “wings,” or inverted airfoils on their cars to allow the air rushing over the car to push the vehicle downward. This downward force increased traction and helped handling to some degree. However, this did not involve the physics of ground effect.

    However, substantial further downforce is available by using the ground to be part of the car’s aerodynamic system. The basic idea is to create a volume of low pressure underneath the car, which sucks the car to the road. Racing car designers have achieved low pressure in two ways: first, by using a fan to suck air out of the cavity under the car; second, to design the underside of the car as an inverted wing so that large amounts of incoming air are accelerated through a narrow slot between the car and the ground, lowering pressure by Bernoulli’s principle.

    In 1961, Jim Hall was the first car aerodynamicist to harness downforce. His Chapparrel racecars used dramatic high wings to generate downforce. This downforce provided superior traction and handling but it did not utilize the physics of ground force.

    His Chapparal 2J “sucker car” of 1970 did, though. It had two fans at the rear of the car driven by a dedicated two-stroke engine; it also had “skirts”, which left only a minimal gap between car and ground, so as to seal the cavity from the atmosphere. Although it did not win any races, the competition realized its enormous potential  and lobbied for its ban, which came into place at the end of that year.

    Formula 1

    Formula 1 in the late 1970s was the next setting for the use of ground effect in racing cars. In 1977, lotus premiered their “Wing Car”, the Lotus 78. Its sidepods, bulky constructions between front and rear wheels, were shaped as inverted aerofoils and sealed with flexible “skirts” to the ground. The team won 5 races that year, and 2 in 1978 while they developed the much improved Lotus 79.

    The most notable contender in 1978 was the Brabham BT46B “fan car.” It’s suction fan, spinning on a horizontal, longitudinal axis at the back of the car, took its power from the main gearbox. It raced just once, with Niki Lauda winning at the Swedish Grand Prix.

    Banning ground effects

    The advantage of using ground effects is that they allowed racecars to generate huge amounts of downforce and thus corner at very high speeds. The problem is that if the seal is broken – for example, if the skirts are damaged, the car went over an uneven portion of the road, the car was nudged by another car, et cetera – then a large portion of that downforce would be almost instantly lost, potentially causing the car to hurtle off the track. If we are to use the suction cup analogy, think of how a suction cup pops off a wall pretty quickly once the seal is broken. This is why ground effect technology is banned by all major racing organizations.

    Share. Facebook Email Twitter LinkedIn WhatsApp Telegram
    Previous ArticleBMW M2 CS Will Be Limited With Production To Start In March 2020
    Next Article #ExoticSpotSA Week 41 2018

    Related Posts

    Incredible Red Bull Racing RB18 Scale Model Can Be Yours For R770k

    June 6, 2023

    Alpha-N Ramp Up BMW M2 Styling With Wild Packages

    June 6, 2023

    Report: South African Formula 1 Abandoned Due To Political Barriers

    June 6, 2023

    Tesla Model S Plaid Takes EV Nurburgring Lap Record Back From Porsche

    June 5, 2023

    Audi Driving Experience Returns To South Africa

    June 5, 2023

    R1.6 Million VW Golf R 333 Sells Out In Eight Minutes

    June 5, 2023

    Leave A Reply Cancel Reply

    Popular Posts
    • Incredible Red Bull Racing RB18 Scale Model Can Be Yours For R770k
    • Alpha-N Ramp Up BMW M2 Styling With Wild Packages
    • Report: South African Formula 1 Abandoned Due To Political Barriers
    • Tesla Model S Plaid Takes EV Nurburgring Lap Record Back From Porsche
    • Audi Driving Experience Returns To South Africa

    Latest Instagram Photos
    • Looks like the new Mercedes-AMG S 63 E PERFORMANCE was spotted testing in South Africa 🇿🇦

That start-up sounds pretty damn promising!

This thing packs a whopping 791 hp (590 kW) and 1,430 Nm of torque.

📌 Graskop, Mpumalanga

🎥 @guylin_
    • Look what’s arrived in South Africa 🇿🇦 

Nothing confirmed by Toyota SA as of yet but here is the 224 kW GR Corolla!

Image source: @average_midship 

#ExoticSpotSA #Zero2Turbo #SouthAfrica #Toyota #GRCorolla
    • We waited a fair bit for the Tiguan R to arrive but that means it has been given enough thought and executed with the sort of German precision that makes us happy to have waited.

As fast SUVs go it’s a cracker, and with a price tag starting from R1,014,900 it is actually decent value in the segment.

It’s fun, aggressive when you want it to be and remarkably civilised when you don’t. Cars like this rarely make sense, but the Tiguan R is one case where that argument starts to change one's mind.

We cannot wait to drive the matching Golf next week!

#ExoticSpotSA #Zero2Turbo #SouthAfrica #Z2TDriven #VolkswagenTiguanR #TiguanR #VWTiguanR
    • The very first SA-spec BMW M2 snapped at BMW HQ in Midrand.

Zandvoort Blue would not be our choice but the looks have certainly grown on us. What about all of you?

Shots via @projectthart 

#ExoticSpotSA #Zero2Turbo #SouthAfrica #BMWM2 #NewM2 #ZandvoortBlue
    • If you’re expecting a faster, angrier and more focused version of the original 86, you’re going to be happy with this car.

Toyota finally gave the 86 more power. It’s not take-your-breath-away power, but again, it’s not made to win drag races. If you want more power, get a Supra.

Sure it is a bit more pricey this time around but it is a no-regrets kind of car that you will enjoy just as much today as 10 years from now.

Long live the manual transmission, especially when it’s packaged within something as fun as the Toyota GR86.

#ExoticSpotSA #Zero2Turbo #SouthAfrica #Z2TDriven #ToyotaGR86 #GR86 #Anime #InitialD
    • Stunning Jaguar F-Type Project 7 spotted in sunny Cape Town yesterday by @ryan_6r 😎

Just 5 of these made their way into SA making this quite a rare sighting!

#ExoticSpotSA #Zero2Turbo #SouthAfrica #Jaguar #FTypeProject7 #Project7 #JaguarFType #CapeTown

    Follow Us

    Facebook Twitter Instagram YouTube RSS
    Designed by Zero2Turbo.

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.