WIND-TUNNEL TESTING

Press, Volume CVI, Issue 31332, 31 March 1967, Page 9

WIND-TUNNEL TESTING

'THE efforts many car manu- ' facturers now make to ensure their cars have good aerodynamics are demonstrated by the story of how the new Chevrolet Camaro, the General Motors challenge to the Ford Mustang, was tested. An experimental scale model of the car was shipped from Detroit to an aircraft wind tunnel in Texas early in

1965—nearly two years before the car was eventually announced. For 78 hours during the next 11 days experts put the clay model through aerodynamics tests. Several changes in the design were ordered as a result of the tests. One involved the redesigning of the front valance panel (the panel under the front bumper) to improve

the car’s drag and stability. The front fender shape was altered to improve air-flow. The wind tunnel, normally used to test jet aircraft components, was chosen for the car tests because of the wide range of equipment available. A special base constructed on an existing turntable allowed the researchers to vary the angle of the car to the airstream during the tests. Information gathered from the tests was fed into a computer and translated into working data for a full-sized car. From the readings, the experts were able to determine power consumption, lift caused by wind, cross-wind sensitivity and air-flow in and out of the car.