So anyway it was time to get to work. COTA is one of my favorite tracks It is a big open fast track and the garages are awesome. You can just roll out into the hot pits just like European tracks.
The Evasive Tesla Model 3 awaits. The car has had quite a few aerodynamic refinements. The sealing of the splitter was improved, the styling vents were sealed off with clear Lexan, and spats were fabricated to cover the exposed parts of the front wheels. These changes probably increase the effectiveness of the splitter by over 30 percent and reduce drag. The wing supports were modified with a bracket so the wing could be moved around quite a bit. Our goal was to figure out the best aero configuration and to understand what the wing adjustments would do. We also wanted to change the chassis configuration to reduce body pitch and roll.
Having air jacks really helps make things a lot easier, especially when the car has a flat bottom.
The air exit for the rear heat exchanger bay over the read diffuser was enlarged by about 50%. This exit air fills the low-pressure wake area, reducing drag. It also helps activate the rear diffuser.
5 comments
I saw you there on Saturday, Mike. Like you said in one of the pics, you didn’t look happy, though, so I left you alone. Congrats on finding the time on the Tesla. I was so confused on why I never saw the Tesla out on track more, but now I know!
It’s hard doing 4 cars!
Not sure about that splitter on the Tesla. AFAIK, the Tesla has a completely flat bottom, which is perfect for ground effect. The middle section of the splitter should be turned up and radiused to enhance airflow to the underbody. As it is now, it’s effectively reducing airflow to the underbody, especially on corner entry (when all that weight transfers forward) and you are losing downforce when you need it most.
Also, by adding side skirts you can move the CoP rearward and make a ton more downforce with very little drag penalty (the most efficient solution.) These are super low buck modifications, so they should be simple to do. It won’t look great, but you can use fiberglass lawn edging from Home Depot to make very effective side skirts. Don’t ask me how I know. 😉
I helped design the aero and it works just fine. There is more to it than meets the eye including suspension tricks. Also a lot depends on what the owner is willing to do the car cosmetically and spend and how sophisticated of a shape that we can create with our homemade molds and bucks. We are actually trying to reduce drag as we have more than enough downforce. Our aero is currently pretty slippery. With 440 hp we are only a few mph slower than the stock car at this slightly uphill straight.
Great article! Thanks for all your hard work.