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Post by Scottish Cartie Association on Feb 28, 2013 10:59:31 GMT
Aerodynamic drag is by far the largest factor affecting a carties top speed, but how big an effect is it? I've been doing some maths and have come up with some interesting typical figures. The graph below shows the proportion of the various sources of drag on a typical cartie as speeds increase. Up to about 20mph it's all about your wheels, but above that aerodynamics plays an increasingly important role. See gravityracing.org/aerodynamics+of+soapbox+racers for further details.
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Post by woody on Mar 1, 2013 6:10:35 GMT
I wish i had thought more about aerodynamics when planning and building my soapbox , i did not really take it in to account ( aero drag of a garden shed !),hence it would hit 45mph and even on a very steep very long hill would go no faster , it handled the twisty bits well though
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Post by Scottish Cartie Association on Mar 1, 2013 11:36:30 GMT
It sounds like you were reaching your terminal velocity - the speed at which all the drag forces are equal to the gravitational force. Better aerodynamics would have definately have helped to increase your top speed.
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