Downforce

[P.Cummins]

OK, would someone be able to explain the term "downforce"?
And what the difference is between high or low downforce. Also, at which type of circuit would you need high/low/med downforce?
And whatever other additional information you want to add.
Sorry if I'm sounding a bit "stupid" here but when it comes to terms, I'm quite useless.
Thanks.

[johnh875]

Downforce is the force generated by the wings or other aerodynamic features of a car, which obviously presses the car “down” and adds to the grip. The difference between high and low downforce (which are relative terms only to describe different car setups for example) would be for higher downforce you could set the wings on a steeper angle or use a thicker wing section. The setup for a particular track depends on the nature of the track, as it is a trade-off – to get more downforce you are also creating more aerodynamic drag. Circuits with long straights and higher average speeds would typically be low downforce, while circuits with lower speeds and tight corners would use a high downforce setup. Hope this helps.

[P.Cummins]

Thanks John, so is it like sacrificing speed for handling and vice versa?

[greenamex2]

Yes it is, but on a circuit you would need a car that was seriously over winged for the power available to make lap times worse.

A good example of this is the wing on the back of my kit car has knocked off about 15-20 MPH off my kit cars top speed (bog standard 2 litre engine). However it has raised corning speed by 5-10MPH depending on how fast the corner is. I am going to comensate by fitting a bigger engine because there are no rules on track days (apart from noise, as I keep finding out) , if I was in a race series with regulations then I would need to work out what was more important, probably adjusting the aerodynamics to suit the circuit. Lydden or Brands, being all corners would be high downforce, Thruxton being four drag strips losely connected would be lower downforce.

Interestingly some downforce increasing/lift reducing mods can actually no effect on, or even improve top speed. Examples of the include front air dams and splitters, rear 'lips' on boots and rear venturi's. Note that this very much depends on the specific car.

I can seriously recommend the book "Competition Car Downforce" by Simon McBeath if you want to learn more. Of all the books I've read this is probably the simplest for a beginner but still covers the more complex subjects.

[Kev_205]

does the book focus on saloon or open wheeled cars???

[greenamex2]

A bit of everything. There is quite a lot on Saloons/GT's which is my area.

To be honest the only real difference is you can't (so easily) have a proper front wing on a saloon, and most saloons can't incorporate rear diffusers very easily. They also tend to have very rough bottoms, but that is another story!

[P.Cummins]

OK, thanks, I'll have a look out for that book and if I see it, I'll might get it. Often downforce comes up and I dont know what to relate to.