A British Automotive Wind Tunnel Installation and Its Application

A description is given of the wind tunnel installation at M. I. R. A. comprising a full-scale wind tunnel which incorporates a 250 hp roller dynamometer, and a wind tunnel for quarter-scale models. Tests show good correlation between aerodynamic drag in the full-scale tunnel and the road, and between the roller dynamometer and the road, but correlation has not yet been established for other coefficients, or between model and full scale tunnels. Results from the full-scale tunnel show that drag coefficients are tending to rise and the need for careful design is underlined. Results from model tests indicate that drag coefficients can be markedly reduced without sacrificing styling.