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- At high speeds, aerodynamics
has an enormous impact on the car's cornering and braking potential.
Yet, from the standpoint of a race engineer, it is one of the
simplest factors to deal with. Given a set of wings, we must
simply find the optimum angle for each wing. As a basic principle,
we want to run the lowest wing angle possible while still getting
good cornering. Less wing means less drag, which translates into
faster straightaway speeds.
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- However, less wing also
means less grip. If we crank both wings all the way back to minimum
angle, we’ll be really fast at the end of the straight,
but we'll have to corner more slowly, so our entry onto the straight
will be slower. We need to find the optimum angle, so we have
a high cornering speed without too much drag. The stopwatch will
tell the story: the best setup is the one that produces the fastest
lap time.
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- During the sorting-out
process, we can use the tachometer or, if we've got one, the
speedometer, to check our exit speeds from the corners, and the
speeds at the end of the straights. We'll try to find a wing
angle that gives good corner exit speeds without sacrificing
too much top speed. The longest straightaway is probably the
place to concentrate on here.
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- Aerodynamic
Balance
Just as roll stiffness, tire pressures, and other factors can
affect the car's balance by increasing grip available at one
end of the car or the other, the wings can affect the car's balance.
Mechanical factors tend to impact the balance more in slow corners,
while aerodynamics tend to impact the balance more at high speeds.
Get the mechanical balance right first - go for a fairly neutral
mechanical balance, so you can get around slow corners without
too much pushin'.
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- Once the mechanical
balance is right, tweak the wing angles so the car is stable
in faster corners. If it's loose or unstable in fast corners
- oversteering - then first try taking out some front wing. Add
rear wing only if you really must, since the rear wing tends
to generate more drag. If it's pushing - understeering - too
much, take out a bit of rear wing, again to try to minimize drag.
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- Generally a setup that
is neutral in slow corners and a bit tight - understeering -
in faster corners is best, since the car will be nimble in the
hairpins but stable and predictable in the sweepers.
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