Aerodynamic Development of Mackie Adlem's SABAT Mustang

First Wind Tunnel Test Series

In the previous article, the collaborative project between the SABAT Mustang WesBank V8 team, PSIREC and the CSIR was discussed. Mackie Adlem's car has since spent 2 days undergoing intensive aerodynamic development work in the CSIR's 7 meter wind tunnel in Pretoria.

The objective of this first series of tests was to establish the baseline of the car's current aerodynamic performance and then improve where possible by adjusting the current set-up.

Using a combination of the car balance (an instrumented platform to measure downforce and drag), smoke flow visualisation and “tufting”, the downforce on the car has been significantly increased with only a minor penalty in drag. While the car balance allows accurate measurement of the downforce and the balance between front and rear and left and right, smoke and tufts help the aerodynamicists “see” the air flow around the car, wing and intakes and help to identify areas requiring modification.

Various nose, radiator exhaust, intake and wing configurations were evaluated and compared. Several small aerodynamic modifications have now been made to the body of the SABAT Mustang and the effectiveness of the current rear wing has been optimised. A modified nose and rear wing will soon be fitted to Mackie's car and in future wind tunnel tests, more drastic aerodynamic changes will be evaluated.

Tunnel Testing
The SABAT Mustang in the Wind Tunnel
Smoke & Tufts
Flow Visualisation on the Mustang 		The development team (consisting of SABAT Team Members Mackie Adlem and Ronnie Riet, CSIR engineers Peter Skinner and Gavin Ratner and PSIREC engineer Terence Denton), expect to see significant improvements in the car's performance, starting at the race at Phakisa on the 18th of September. With the increase in downforce and a more even downforce distribution, it is expected that the car's handling through turns will be improved. Since the drag has only marginally increased, it expected that the top speed will remain essentially unchanged. In light of the circuits for the forthcoming races, these changes should give Mackie an advantage over the previous car set-up.

Shown here are two photographs of the SABAT Mustang in the test section of the CSIR's 7m wind tunnel during the preliminary testing. In the first picture, the car balance can be seen (this measures the drag and downforce). The tufts and smoke used to visualise the flow can be seen in the second picture.

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