Front aero ??

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walterclark
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Front aero ??

Post by walterclark »

Can anyone explain the end plate design on this PPIC Peugeot?

Image

I get how end plates work. What I cant conceive is how having the end plate merge with the front fascia is efficient. ??

I also found a less extreme example:

Image

Part of a series here: http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=101577

At least this one has some context including testing info where they claim a 15.8% increase in overall drag but a 60% decrease in lift (compared to the splitter and a diffuser alone).
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sdwarf36
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Re: Front aero ??

Post by sdwarf36 »

My guess is is the air would stall pretty serious. Although it might be the camera angle-but it looks like the end plates do exit up over the front wheel arches. At least there will be plenty of airflow thru the grill area.
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Re: Front aero ??

Post by DaveEstey »

I imagine keeping cool air, which cools less efficiently as it thins with altitude, going through the radiator and intercooler was on their mind as much as downforce was.
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Re: Front aero ??

Post by jkale »

I would think they would have something in those two narrow channels to guide the air upwards instead allowing it to get packed into the back of a pocket..

Maybe there are small ports we cant see for the brakes?
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walterclark
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Re: Front aero ??

Post by walterclark »

jkale wrote:I would think they would have something in those two narrow channels to guide the air upwards instead allowing it to get packed into the back of a pocket..
You would think...I dont see anything, or a way out for the air except up.

Maybe some sort of high pressure air bubble forms in there and that deflects the air up.

Also, maybe they dont care so much about sleek aero as something like Dave mentioned - cooling. They can use a giant turbo to overcome the thin air effect on power but thin air kills cooling too, so maybe this is a sort of trick to force more air thru the radiator while increasing downforce.
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walterclark
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Re: Front aero ??

Post by walterclark »

The reason I brought this up is that I am looking at adding something to the front end, mostly to deflect air around 4" or so of front tire on each side that is exposed down toward the splitter due to the inward taper of the front fascia and the fact that I am running tires that are wider than stock, wheels that are wider and with lower offsets. I thought about replacing the existing splitter and everything below the "bumper" part of the front fascia to get it wider and more vertical but decided that was too involved.

The first thing that came to mind was a version of dive planes. Here is a crude example that more or less mimics what I was thinking...

Image

Mine would be a bit smaller since my tire is behind the bodywork by the time it reaches the top edge of the bumper and I would not plan the have it stick out further than the tire, which looks to be the case in the above picture.

I think this would add a bit of downforce and probably be close to a net zero drag change because it would offset the drag of the exposed tire by shielding it.

Anyway, in addition to dive planes, I have seen various end plates for splitters, then whatever those things are in my first post. I would love to know the aerodynamic explanation and properties (lift, drag, etc.) induced by them compared to say...the version of dive plane I am considering.
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Re: Front aero ??

Post by Chief Geek »

The splitter end plates may be there, not for front downforce, but for rear.

Perhaps those large end plates are functioning as "dive planes" (the steeply raked elements that bracket the headlights on sports prototypes). Their main job is to improve the efficiency of the rear wing by modifying the vortex rolling along the side of the car. Being that Loeb's car is, basically, a prototype (with a diffuser and all) they may be using the same principals.

I bet those end plates also help cooling, although, if Peugeot were really cooling limited, they seem to be a blunt-instrument.

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