WIND EFFECTS ON CAR STABILITY

BEHAVIOR of a single automobile traveling on the road in windy weather provided the data analyzed in this paper. This quantitative analysis was intended to define the effects of sidewinds and gusts on the stability of cars. Highway tests were made with a car in which the body functioned as a separate unit, so that forces transmitted from body to chassis could be measured.

One study was made of the transient effects of a gust striking a moving automobile. The other study was concerned solely with the reaction of the test car to sidewinds. The authors conclude that body design is the key to aerodynamic stability.