2021 Italian Grand Prix - Monza, Sep 10 - 12

[Just_a_fan]

Thats not right. More drag = less top speed for a given power output. More power = more top speed at given drag.

Also more drag = less acceleration, more power = greater acceleration.

In short, drag reduces the resultant force acting on the car at any given speed, and thus static equilibrium is reached at a lower speed.

For a given level of aero effeciency, drag and downforce are proportional, partly because of viscous drag and partly because of the horizontal component of the pressure on the wings and diffuser. To say that drag and downforce are not the same thing is fundamentally unsound because the horizontal component of the resultant pressure force always exists even if you assume viscosity is zero.

So basically put, downforce and drag are the vertical and horizontal components of the same force.

But not all drag is associated with downforce, of course. Indeed, a fair percentage of a car's drag is just stuff like the wheels/tyres, suspension arms, etc.

I'd almost say more than half of the form drag comes just from the tyres...

Yes, most likely. But of the total drag, the tyres are a smaller percentage - downforce associated drag being a fair chunk of a car's total drag at high speed.

[dans79]

But not all drag is associated with downforce, of course. Indeed, a fair percentage of a car's drag is just stuff like the wheels/tyres, suspension arms, etc.

I'd almost say more than half of the form drag comes just from the tyres...

Yes, most likely. But of the total drag, the tyres are a smaller percentage - downforce associated drag being a fair chunk of a car's total drag at high speed.

Yep, Scarabs has said many times that the rear wind generates ~30% of a cars total drag.

[Gillian]

That makes sense if you take into account the purpose of the rear wing and it being positioned relatively high. Still a lot 30% damn.

[Just_a_fan]

I'd almost say more than half of the form drag comes just from the tyres...

Yes, most likely. But of the total drag, the tyres are a smaller percentage - downforce associated drag being a fair chunk of a car's total drag at high speed.

Yep, Scarabs has said many times that the rear wind generates ~30% of a cars total drag.

I've seen similar around the place. Here's one from t'web, for example:

[El Scorchio]

Yes, most likely. But of the total drag, the tyres are a smaller percentage - downforce associated drag being a fair chunk of a car's total drag at high speed.

Yep, Scarabs has said many times that the rear wind generates ~30% of a cars total drag.

I've seen similar around the place. Here's one from t'web, for example:

https://cdn.substack.com/image/fetch/w_ ... 20x705.png

Really illustrates how powerful and key the floor and diffuser are. You can see why trimming the floor caused a bunch of the teams so many issues.

[Gillian]

Yes, most likely. But of the total drag, the tyres are a smaller percentage - downforce associated drag being a fair chunk of a car's total drag at high speed.

Yep, Scarabs has said many times that the rear wind generates ~30% of a cars total drag.

I've seen similar around the place. Here's one from t'web, for example:

https://cdn.substack.com/image/fetch/w_ ... 20x705.png

Thank you, very nice illustration.

[FW17]

I would have thought the front wing some times called the front diffuser woul have low drag just like the floor diffuser

[Just_a_fan]

I would have thought the front wing some times called the front diffuser woul have low drag just like the floor diffuser

The front wing does more stuff than the diffuser - the vortices that the teams make use of all make drag, for example.

[PlatinumZealot]

I would have thought the front wing some times called the front diffuser woul have low drag just like the floor diffuser

A front wing and front diffuser are two very different things with different jobs. The front diffuser will still work without clean air in front of the car, the front wing will not. Front diffuser normally has an air splitter in front of it, just like the floor/rear diffuser of the car (This is the "Tea tray" part that you see on F1 cars). A front diffuser is sometimes conjoined to the inboard part of an LMP car front wing blurring the lines, but look on a website like "Mulssanne's corner" to see LMP cars analyzed and you will see what the original front diffusers look like. It's sorta stretching it to say F1 cars have front diffusers, the closest thing would be the "Capes" but these are more like vanes for conditioning the air.