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How to Make a Race Car Aerodynamic

February 28th, 2010 by Mohan

Follow your league’s rules about race car design to the letter as you try to make your car more aerodynamic. The trend in professional racing is toward a limited number of templates that make sure racing skills remain more important than technology.
Lower the riding height of your race car to increase aerodynamics. A race car with a low profile allows wind to pass easily over the hood instead of traveling underneath the body.
Install an elongated air dam to your race car’s front fender as an aerodynamic measure. An air dam is a curved piece of plastic that serves a dual purpose: first, it blocks air passage beneath your car, and second, it creates a natural air flow over your hood.
Smooth out your fenders as a step toward a more aerodynamic race car. Your fenders should wrap tightly around the front and rear sides of your car, without excess material off the side, to cut down on wind resistance.
Play around with the size and shape of your car’s tire wells to find an aerodynamic design. A well-designed car has most of the open space in a tire well on the front side of the tire for maximum air passage.
Press down the pillars that form the borders of your car’s doors and windows to decrease drag. These pillars can be reshaped by a mechanic to have a smooth rather than angled appearance without much work.
Adjust the settings of your race car’s suspension system, carburator and other parts as you make aerodynamic changes. Young drivers and mechanics make the mistake of changing the car body without thinking about strain on mechanical performance.
Run a few laps in your race car to test out changes in aerodynamic design. Use a stop watch to measure improvements in lap speed as motivation for additional changes.