Do Scalextric cars get affected by aerodynamics like a real car??
as in will a car have less grip if the spoiler gets smashed off??
as in will a car have less grip if the spoiler gets smashed off??
Ianweir87
In theory there should be some (measurable) effect from a wing or the shape of the body, but it won't be noticeable at this scale. Roadholding of a slotcar is all about chassis, tires, weight and/or magnets.
Also groundeffect from diffusers or shaped floors will not work due to the slot and the disturbed airflow as a result (but correct me if I'm wrong..).
Cheers
![Image]()
René
Also groundeffect from diffusers or shaped floors will not work due to the slot and the disturbed airflow as a result (but correct me if I'm wrong..).
Cheers
René
You are correct. I doubt any spoilers are actually shaped to create downforce - they may very well have the opposite effect - except the effect is so little it is probably impossible to measure.
The only slot cars that have any form of down force that I know of are Wing cars - a branch of "thingies" that race at insane speeds with weirdly shaped bodies to generate down force and sponge tyres steeped in glue
![Image]()
The only slot cars that have any form of down force that I know of are Wing cars - a branch of "thingies" that race at insane speeds with weirdly shaped bodies to generate down force and sponge tyres steeped in glue
In BSCRA 1/32 & 1/24 sports classes the body does have a significant downforce contribution. The rear sides and spoilers are considerably raised to achieve this. Yes I know a lot of you consider them to be blobs but they are designed specifically to do this together with a much streamlined nose.
Tony
Tony
I fundamentally disagree that at 1/32 no downforce can be / is generated.
If the thingies do it measurably why wouldn't a normal car be doing it ever so slightly.
My own fan car was faster with the fan than without despite the weight and friction penalty.
Since slot cars don't travel at scale speeds over scale distances its clear the difference would be tiny but if I make .001 seconds a lap and run a race of 200 laps I'll win by .2 seconds which is certainly measurable.
The point is that aerodynamics are DIFFERENT at this size but they absolutely exist. Especially ground effects I would believe.
Show me someone with a sloted rolling road wind tunnel then tell me it doesn't work at all.....
If the thingies do it measurably why wouldn't a normal car be doing it ever so slightly.
My own fan car was faster with the fan than without despite the weight and friction penalty.
Since slot cars don't travel at scale speeds over scale distances its clear the difference would be tiny but if I make .001 seconds a lap and run a race of 200 laps I'll win by .2 seconds which is certainly measurable.
The point is that aerodynamics are DIFFERENT at this size but they absolutely exist. Especially ground effects I would believe.
Show me someone with a sloted rolling road wind tunnel then tell me it doesn't work at all.....
One can accept that the downforce effects by volume are reduced by 32 cubed, but then the cars are 80gm rather than 600 kilos. Just as likely an explanation for ineffective aerodynamics is that spoilers/wings/front winglets, etc., aren't shaped or angled accurately enough to actually exert any downforce. Also 1:1 aerodynamics have been appallingly wrong as with original Ford Gt 40s, Porsche 917s and that Mercedes (Peter Dumbreck?) that went airborne a few years ago.
Sorry, forgot to add that actually too much effect from a rear wing would actually lift the front of the car and therefore would not be beneficial!
And another thing....
I recently bought for my son a small radio controlled helicopter. This thing is no bigger than a slot car and cost just 18 quid in modelzone.
Its for indoor use as it uses infrared which is easily confused by sunlight (not to mention wind)...
Anyhow if aerodynamics aren't effective at this scale why does this helicopter fly? Its blades rotate probably quicker than a real helicopters and the blades are shorter but wider but this thing flies just grea which it wouldn't in my view if it were indeed 1000 times lessaerodynamic than the real thing. In my view that math theory isn't quite right given there are other effects at hand how does a bee fly for example? There are other rules at this scale which in my view have not yet been explored....
I recently bought for my son a small radio controlled helicopter. This thing is no bigger than a slot car and cost just 18 quid in modelzone.
Its for indoor use as it uses infrared which is easily confused by sunlight (not to mention wind)...
Anyhow if aerodynamics aren't effective at this scale why does this helicopter fly? Its blades rotate probably quicker than a real helicopters and the blades are shorter but wider but this thing flies just grea which it wouldn't in my view if it were indeed 1000 times lessaerodynamic than the real thing. In my view that math theory isn't quite right given there are other effects at hand how does a bee fly for example? There are other rules at this scale which in my view have not yet been explored....
the helicopter's weight & it's motors' power have a lot to do w/ it, that & the Bernoulli Effect as it applies to movement of air.
I have only anecdotal evidence; during the 1st Ninco World Cup qualifiers we ran on a Carrera track w/ a 40' straight, one car was midway down the straight when it's rear wing fell off- it immediately "got loose" & he couldn't control it into the turn.
Also, on a fully landscaped track, there is a row of trees alongside an uphill straight. Once, I noticed something hanging from one shaking as my car went past. We ran multitudes of different types of cars past it & in different lanes & saw expectedly different responses from the hanging bit. The F1 cars shook it violently, but for a very short duration, a Ninco NSX created a longer, less violent shaking.
Can you expect appreciably noticeable & useful downforce in an 1/32 RTR car? As has been stated, probably not enough to begin building your cars around it. If you use magnets, no way, they are far more of an effect than a wing could be.
We have enough to do managing mechanical grip to have to worry about the aero package on these babies, if you want that, you have to go to the Wing cars; which rely on a ton of glue as well.
I have only anecdotal evidence; during the 1st Ninco World Cup qualifiers we ran on a Carrera track w/ a 40' straight, one car was midway down the straight when it's rear wing fell off- it immediately "got loose" & he couldn't control it into the turn.
Also, on a fully landscaped track, there is a row of trees alongside an uphill straight. Once, I noticed something hanging from one shaking as my car went past. We ran multitudes of different types of cars past it & in different lanes & saw expectedly different responses from the hanging bit. The F1 cars shook it violently, but for a very short duration, a Ninco NSX created a longer, less violent shaking.
Can you expect appreciably noticeable & useful downforce in an 1/32 RTR car? As has been stated, probably not enough to begin building your cars around it. If you use magnets, no way, they are far more of an effect than a wing could be.
We have enough to do managing mechanical grip to have to worry about the aero package on these babies, if you want that, you have to go to the Wing cars; which rely on a ton of glue as well.
I hope wings don't effect performance that much, I'm hard pressed to find a car that get's raced and still has them in my collection. We race with mags, fast and hard going on the cars
I'll tell you what, my slot.it Chapparal is a helluva great performing car. Quick and agile... though it's probably as much to do with the small amount of weight up high (the wing) that gives it more outside grip in the turns, than the aerodynamic effect of the wing itself. In any case, it drives fantastically.
Bigtone is of course right about BSCRA type cars which is why one or two body types dominate. I wasn't convinced until I tried a prettier but low downforce body on "only" a 1/24 Falcon production car. I had to brake earlier and corner slower than when using the (legal) high downforce body; low nose, high tail, but certainly no 4 inch sides like a Wing car.
Concurring with martini917k's post; a similar effect is noticed when marshalling at the first corner after a long straight. You feel the wind from the car on the lane nearest you.
Richard
Luton SCC.
Concurring with martini917k's post; a similar effect is noticed when marshalling at the first corner after a long straight. You feel the wind from the car on the lane nearest you.
Richard
Luton SCC.
Playing the devils' advocate here, but guys, has this not more to do with weight distribution? Of course there is a difference between a saloon body and an LMP body on the same chassis, the LMP is lower and has therefore a lower center of gravity and probably a bit less weight so it will feel different and be a bit faster... but this is not aero...
Cheers
![Image]()
René
Cheers
René
Follow post 7, this topic comes up regularly.
As a profession I am an Aeronautical Engineer, I would simply point you too the "wing cars" from the 70's-80's. If you built a 1:1 car like that it would struggle to get to 30MPH. Aero does scale but you need a pressurised wind tunnel to make it work. In normal air with the density down by 32 cubed, drag and downforce is negligiable for a normal car.
As a profession I am an Aeronautical Engineer, I would simply point you too the "wing cars" from the 70's-80's. If you built a 1:1 car like that it would struggle to get to 30MPH. Aero does scale but you need a pressurised wind tunnel to make it work. In normal air with the density down by 32 cubed, drag and downforce is negligiable for a normal car.
You get low and high downforce bodies in HO, and despite usually being fitted to the cars with the strongest traction magnets (ergo mechanical downforce), I can assure you one can feel the difference.
The original question was "Do Scalextric cars get affected by aerodynamics.."
I think all agree that aerodynamics are negligible for that sort of car.
As has been also mentioned, aerodynamics are significant in the faster 1/32 cars, the lap times difference is measurable and large enough to be important in competition. The key reason is the higher speed of these cars, aerodynamics depend very much on airspeed (I'll resist the temptation to get mathematical about that).
Other simple examples I have seen are "soft body" 1/32 cars with the body seriously damaged in a crash, while the rest of the car was OK. Occasionally the body is damaged in such a way that it upsets the aerodynamics so much that the car deslots on the fastest straight, but would never deslot on the straight once a replacement body is fitted.
These are all examples from 1/32 cars which are much slower than modern "wing cars", where aerodynamics has an even larger impact on lap times.
I think all agree that aerodynamics are negligible for that sort of car.
As has been also mentioned, aerodynamics are significant in the faster 1/32 cars, the lap times difference is measurable and large enough to be important in competition. The key reason is the higher speed of these cars, aerodynamics depend very much on airspeed (I'll resist the temptation to get mathematical about that).
Other simple examples I have seen are "soft body" 1/32 cars with the body seriously damaged in a crash, while the rest of the car was OK. Occasionally the body is damaged in such a way that it upsets the aerodynamics so much that the car deslots on the fastest straight, but would never deslot on the straight once a replacement body is fitted.
These are all examples from 1/32 cars which are much slower than modern "wing cars", where aerodynamics has an even larger impact on lap times.
On a 1/32 slot car, the normal scale sized wing will do F-all. Dont believe me. Go down to your local slot track and place the car on the drag strip if they have one. Do 5 runs with the wing fitted. Remove the wing and replace with the equivalent weight (mount this internally so that there is no supposed drag influence) and repeat the 5 drag runs. The variation in any one run will far outweigh the difference between the two sets of 5 runs with and without the wing. Youre looking at the last decimal place changing in lap times 0.001.
cheers
rick1776
PS In 1/24th winged or even areo styled bodies, yes it will make a difference as I use to race them. But then those cars dont resemble real cars.
cheers
rick1776
PS In 1/24th winged or even areo styled bodies, yes it will make a difference as I use to race them. But then those cars dont resemble real cars.
Nicely brought back on topic rick1776.
The original question was whether the wing on a Scalextric car makes a difference.
The answer is no.
The original question was whether the wing on a Scalextric car makes a difference.
The answer is no.
QUOTE (rick1776 @ 25 Jul 2013, 02:39) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>On a 1/32 slot car, the normal scale sized wing will do F-all. Dont believe me. Go down to your local slot track and place the car on the drag strip if they have one. Do 5 runs with the wing fitted. Remove the wing and replace with the equivalent weight (mount this internally so that there is no supposed drag influence) and repeat the 5 drag runs. The variation in any one run will far outweigh the difference between the two sets of 5 runs with and without the wing. Youre looking at the last decimal place changing in lap times 0.001.
cheers
rick1776
PS In 1/24th winged or even areo styled bodies, yes it will make a difference as I use to race them. But then those cars dont resemble real cars.
But rick1776, surely downforce on the straight is not that interesting, its the corners where you need it. Consequently a drag strip is not going to provide much useful data in that regard surely? Or did I miss something?
cheers
rick1776
PS In 1/24th winged or even areo styled bodies, yes it will make a difference as I use to race them. But then those cars dont resemble real cars.
But rick1776, surely downforce on the straight is not that interesting, its the corners where you need it. Consequently a drag strip is not going to provide much useful data in that regard surely? Or did I miss something?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
