Is the “Moving Belt Ground Plane” Really Necessary for Automobile Testing in the Wind Tunnel?

Aerodynamic lift and drag coefficients of various racing and passenger cars were experimentally investigated both with a moving belt ground plane (MBG) and stationary ground plane.

The testing program was carried out in the Dallara wind tunnel on scale models of open wheel (Formula car), racing prototypes (Endurance group “C”) and passenger G.T. car configurations.

The results obtained show that depending on the type of vehicle and the ground clearance the moving belt is either an essential or an optional device, its use being mainly dedicated to low ground clearance and underbody superflow conditions.