SRT-10 Parachute

[Gerald]

Have you guys every seen a convertible vette, camaro, etc riding down the road? Most everytime it's looks SO utterly disgusting because the top has "POOFED" up like parachute. You can't notice it too much in the car, but seeing the car from the outside makes it look pretty bad. I know the vettes suffer from this as I see it everyday and personally I think it really makes it VERY bad. Since the RT/10 will be a true convertible, it would really stink if it will suffer the same kind of "problem".

Gerald

 

[Mike Brunton]

As I was told, there is a fiberglass member (hehe, I said "member") in the roof that gives it rigidity (hehe, I said "rigidity").

I have a mental picture of Steve standing next to the SRT pounding it and saying "wow guys, this thing really IS strong!"

 

[Steve Ferguson]

Thanks Jon for the lead in!

The new top has some kind of hardened material that does not allow for the normal "rag expansion". I know that if you pound on it with you fist, your hand will hurt before the top moves (I tried it)! If you look at the SRT/10 with the top up the portion that sloops down (across the rear window) is soft, but where it reaches the top and then over to the windshield header is completely solid. It feels like a cloth covered t-top.

The reason it was needed was to help provide the car with the appropriate down force at high speeds (you know, above 55).

 

[GTS Dean]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Mark O:

Downforce on a car is created by front & rear spoilers, either lip or wing type...I've also heard of curved belly pans being used on Indy cars to give additional downforce.

<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Flat undertrays with carefully sized inlets and rear diffuser sections can create large amounts of negative lift without the need for wings which carry induced drag penalties. The venturi tunnels under Atlantic, Champ Car and IRL chassis are probably more effective and less pitch-sensitive than those on the flat-bottom designs for F1, F3000, Indy Lights, etc.

With active suspension systems, the F1 cars used to move the suspensions to maintain pitch and roll angles relative to the ground plane. Now, they do this with no perceptible suspension travel at all. Most of the compliance appears engineered into the tire sidewall. I wonder if those guys wear kidney belts?