Quote:
Originally Posted by SSDiv6
The drag created by any car body in motion, is proportional to the square of velocity, so it is important at any speed. The force will increase as the speed increases.
Drag starts to have a noticeable effect at 10 MPH and downforce, depending on the frontal shape of the car, as early as 40 MPH.
This is not taking into consideration the rake of the body as it accelerates down the track.
Like the adage says, looks can be deceiving. Although a car may look or appear to be fast just by its looks, it does not mean it is aerodynamically efficient.
The 1998 thru 2002 Camaro are one of the most aerodynamic cars ever built. Below are the body specs:
Wheelbase
Track Width (Front)
Track Width (Rear)
Length
Width
Height
Ground clearance
Cd
Below are the body specs for the Corvette:
Wheelbase
Track Width (Front)
Track Width (Rear)
Length
Width
Height
Ground clearance
Cd
The Camaro has a shorter wheelbase and narrower body than the Corvette.
The Corvette has a lower roof height and shorter length than the Camaro.
The difference in both cars drag coefficient is only .02 which in the case of a drag car, is technically irrelevant.
So in a nutshell, the Corvette does not have an advantage over the Camaro as regards to body size or aerodynamics.
As a matter of fact, I believe that more detailed analysis will show the longer body and rear shape of the Camaro is an advantage at higher speeds and weight transfer when compared to the blunt, short rear of the Corvette. |
The Corvette is significantly better aerodynamically as the frontal area on the Corvette is much smaller. Here's some info that I found a while back for 4th gen Camaro/Firebirds/C5 Corvettes:
1993-2002 Camaro/Firebird: Cd = 0.34, A = 22.0, CdA = 7.48
C5 Corvette: Cd = 0.29, A = 21.3, CdA = 6.18 (note the Z06 is higher)
A C5 is actually better than a Cobalt, and a third gen is actually better than a 4th gen. Obviously this is at stock ride height with stock wheels/tires, etc, so it would change some for a drag car. That being said, if you do the math, it's only a few hundredths difference.