Aerodynamics

[Steve_D]

I’m looking at the current LM P1 cars running today at Le Mans.
They have huge bulbous headlight housings in the front of the wings. How is that aerodynamic?

Steve

[Stig]

It may be regulatory for safety (more light at night?) Steve rather than for aero - but who knows? They do seem to have become part of the silhouette of the cars these days.

Edited by Stig on Sunday 14th June 07:52

[UltimaCH]

They look horrible but with time I seem to like them more than before. I concur with Steve's comment that front aerodynamics could be better.

[deadscoob]

Perhaps you should give the guys at Audi, Porsche and Toyota a call and tell them it could be better

[845ste]

photos pleae?

[F.C.]

Steve_D said:

I’m looking at the current LM P1 cars running today at Le Mans.
They have huge bulbous headlight housings in the front of the wings. How is that aerodynamic?

Steve

A shot in the dark but I'd guess extensive wind tunnel modelling?

[macgtech]

Steve_D said:

I’m looking at the current LM P1 cars running today at Le Mans.
They have huge bulbous headlight housings in the front of the wings. How is that aerodynamic?

Steve

Reducing drag is more about how the car leaves the air rather than how it hits it (within reason)

[Steve_D]

845ste said:

photos pleae?

Wind tunnel aside it just seems too large a lump to be streamline.

Steve

[leem5]

Think I read last week (Audi) during the build up for the race that the lights had to be certain height of the ground and the front end was redesigned for this?

[anonymous-user]

What you care about is, broadly speaking 4 things:

1) Total frontal area (generally fixed by the regulations)
2) Maintaining a suitable area rule along the longitudinal axis of the vehicle
3) Getting the highest pressure recovery at the rear of the vehicle
4) Making your downforce elements have the highest downforce to drag ratio possible


In general, with aerodynamics, what it looks like is pretty irrelevant! (Hence why you need a full scale moving road wind tunnel to really get it right (although 3d fluid dynamics simulation has made big inroads into getting initial layouts pretty close to optimum)

[gt5594]

Believe there are two other important issues missed:

1. Recover a level of under wheel arch downforce previously generated until WEC introduced mandatory "holes" above all four wheels.
2. Improved platform for even bigger/better headlights - those headlights really turn the 8 hrs of night into day and improved visibility allowed the Porsche to lap faster in continuous traffic during the cool of the night.

Only my guess...

[Storer]

In real life they are not as ugly as they look in pictures. The lights are very impressive in the dark on both the Porsche and Audi. I suspect the regs have raised the height to improve the distance they light up down the Mullsane. Cars in the museum have lights down by the splitter.

Paul

[Storer]

In real life they are not as ugly as they look in pictures. The lights are very impressive in the dark on both the Porsche and Audi. I suspect the regs have raised the height to improve the distance they light up down the Mullsane. Cars in the museum have lights down by the splitter.

Paul

[AER]

airflow doesn't just operate in two dimensions. The side profile is irrelevant if the entire form is suitably shaped. Even a wing looks like a bluff body when viewed in planform...