This really has been a neat thing to watch , love the huge dissertation on the
physics of mph , one thing I didn't hear was how the horsepower required to
accelerate a vehicle goes up at a square to road speed . At speeds over 100
mph , aerodynamic drag is the most important limiting factor in acceleration .
This becomes drag = CD x surface area in square feet x (velocity) 2 / 391 .
All this of course means is that drag horsepower increases with the first
power of both drag coefficient and frontal area but as the third power of road
speed . To gain 5% top speed you could decrease frontal area or drag by 5% or
increase engine power by 15% .
Yes my Spit does have some advantages , I should have mentioned , Chris C.
knows about what I speak . And yes Chris you want to draft Adam Malley's Civic
whenever possible , his car and mine both pick up a ton when I draft him . And
if you get a chance , make it to Daytona for a club race , it is sometimes
boring but with a draft you can run 9000 in high gear , sorta neat , it's
faster than the bottom of the late great dip at Atlanta .
So let's keep up the thread , I can't believe I go this much response . BTW I
don't have bonnett latches only pins and Dzuz fasteners , but the center of
the bonnet bows up pretty good at real speed .
Great Topic ;
Kevin and Truman
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