Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
The Lotus 79 was the first F1 car to take full advantage of ground effect aerodynamics. Over the span of its lifetime, the Lotus 79 took 7 wins, 10 pole positions, 121 points and won the last drivers' and constructors' world championships for Lotus. The 79 is credited with pushing Formula One into the modern aerodynamics era.
IndyCars did not use ground effect as substantially as Formula One. For example, they lacked the use of skirts to seal off the underbody of the car. IndyCars also rode higher than ground effect F1 cars and relied on wings for significant downforce as well, creating an effective balance between over the car downforce and ground effect.
A distinctive feature of the GMA T.50 is the 8.5 kW 40 cm aerodynamic fan integrated into the rear of the car, powered by a 48 volt electrical motor. Inspired by the Brabham BT46B Formula One car, it is purpose-built to significantly improve the ground effect of the T.50.
The FW07 became FW07B in 1980, and Alan Jones, now with Carlos Reutemann, developed the FW07 further, working especially on setup and suspension strengthening.The car was now so efficient in creating downforce from its ground effect design that the front wings were unnecessary.
By 1981 the ground effect cars were so efficient and so fast that the drivers were suffering from the tremendous g-forces involved in cornering and braking. The FIA banned the moveable skirts fitted to the bottom of the cars' sidepods that were vital for achieving consistent ground effect and regulated a mandatory ground clearance of 6 cm, in the interests of driver safety.
Chapman, working with Tony Rudd and Peter Wright, pioneered the first Formula One use of "ground effect", where a low pressure was created under the car by use of the Venturi effect, generating suction (downforce) which held it securely to the road whilst cornering. Early designs utilized sliding "skirts" which made contact with the ground to ...
The sliding skirts sealed the gap between the sides of the cars and the ground and prevented excessive air being sucked into the low pressure area under the car and dissipating the ground effect. Andretti described driving the 78 as if it were 'painted to the road'. [8] The Lotus 78 being tested at the Lotus test track in Hethel
He later stated that the M28 was the worst F1 car that he ever drove. [ 5 ] Coppuck had designed the car to have a very narrow monocoque constructed of aluminium and nomex honeycomb to give the car a stiff chassis with as large an underfloor area as possible for the ground effect to work, but the upshot was that the car had a large frontal area ...