That actually looks like a lot of fun. Quick question if the top speed is below a Clubman Gokart. Why put all the different aero parts on it. Wouldn't it be smarter to focus on mechanical grip as at those speeds aero parts aren't going to add all that much grip an will likely make it harder to service an heavier. I see a lot of these SAE cars with gigantic wings but they are only reaching between 40 - 100km/h so shouldn't the focus be on maximising lower weight an better grip at slow speed.
Well the reason why so many teams put these huge wings on their cars is simple: Much more performance. There are a few airfoils specifically designed for low speeds and the sheer size makes for a lot of downforce. Some cars achieve much higher C_L's than F1! Average speeds are around 50-60kph and a lot of aero-packages reach around 60-120kgs of downforce at that speed. Also: weight is always a focus and quite often below 200 or even 170kgs. Therefore, many teams could theoretically drive upside down at speeds below 80kph! Finally, many EV teams have AWD, meaning they can use torque vectoring to corner faster, especially at low speeds. Don't underestimate these vehicles. They are seriously sophisticated!
That actually looks like a lot of fun.
Quick question if the top speed is below a Clubman Gokart. Why put all the different aero parts on it. Wouldn't it be smarter to focus on mechanical grip as at those speeds aero parts aren't going to add all that much grip an will likely make it harder to service an heavier. I see a lot of these SAE cars with gigantic wings but they are only reaching between 40 - 100km/h so shouldn't the focus be on maximising lower weight an better grip at slow speed.
Well the reason why so many teams put these huge wings on their cars is simple: Much more performance. There are a few airfoils specifically designed for low speeds and the sheer size makes for a lot of downforce. Some cars achieve much higher C_L's than F1! Average speeds are around 50-60kph and a lot of aero-packages reach around 60-120kgs of downforce at that speed. Also: weight is always a focus and quite often below 200 or even 170kgs. Therefore, many teams could theoretically drive upside down at speeds below 80kph! Finally, many EV teams have AWD, meaning they can use torque vectoring to corner faster, especially at low speeds. Don't underestimate these vehicles. They are seriously sophisticated!