It seems like nobody takes it as a factor that impacts performace. Im sure it does. But how much does it? Its great to know that are cars have an insanely low drag coefficient, but does it matter? Any proof of how much it would affect 1/4 miles and 0-60?

Im sure many of us have asked the same question.

Thanks to anyone that clarifies this out to me.

 

The CF of drag becomes more significant at speeds above 60mph and especially above 100mph. I imagine it plays a very small roll in the 1/4 mile performance as compared to someone like a Viper that has a .55 CFD (G35 sedan with wing .26 CFD). The most significant part of the reduced CFD and also the zero lift engineering, is highway stability, wind noise, and MPGs.

 

Not very much at the speeds we see on a daily basis. For every doubling of speed, drag increases 4x, from what I remember of physics class.

 

Dam a viper has a .55 cd. it sure looks sleek. The G sedan has the best CD of any car i've seen reported. I remember when .35 was about as good as it seemed to get.

 

Remember that higher Cd can also = increased downforce. In a car like that Viper that doesn't handle particularly well it can become quite unstable if it were to "get some air underneath it". Depending on how you look at it, the higher drag coeficient in the Viper is actually a safety feature.

 

I don't know about these new vipers, but the last generation that had 400hp would get walked on by stock C5 corvettes (350hp) at 120+mph because of Cd.

 

You must MULTIPLY the Cd by the total frontal area and correct for slopes and angles to get the drag.

My 90Q45 has a Cd of 0.28 but obviously more frontal area than the G35

A 94SS Impala has a Cd of 0.34 but a 25.9 sq foot area = 8.8 drag coefficient
My Q..............................0.28 .......23.9.................. = 6.7
ViperGTS.........................0.35........20.5. ................. = 7.2
03 Corvette Z06...............0.31........19.3................ .. = 5.983


On my Q the difference between 0.29 and 0.28 at 160 mph is 7 rear wheel hp required or about 1 mph in top speed...........did some experiments with lowering 1" Eibach's years ago.
http://www.bgsoflex.com/auto.html look on left Aero calculator

 

What's the practical difference? Lower Cd equates to more bugs splattered/streaked further back (as well as stones).