Quote:
Originally Posted by RussRamz
Whether the drag is applied through downforce to the tires or front plate drag, it will likely be slower in a straight line assuming no changes were made to the power plant. On the other hand, it will probably do much better in maintaining speed through the corners where it will have the advantage in the long run on a road course. You're right about the weight reduction benefits of carbon fiber, but the pieces seem to be quite a bit larger and the weight savings may not be that much more of a benefit. Either way, I would be interested in the price of the components.  |
Sheet metal tends to be ~4x the density of carbon fiber, so there's likely significant weight savings, regardless, especially when you consider you can usually get away with slightly thinner carbon fiber vs. a comparable piece of sheet metal.
Aluminum, on the other hand, is only about 50% more dense than aluminum, and that's why carbon fiber hoods don't make sense for our cars.
To answer a few questions in this thread, it's hard to add down force without increasing drag some. For example, F1 cars will experience over 1g of drag at 180mph (I think down force is more like 3g, though). This will have a larger coefficient of drag AND a larger frontal area. Those awesome fenders in particular will really hurt.