bodyshell aerodynamics?
 

hi,was just wondering if any body could point me towards where i might find some info on the handling of the various 190mm touring shells?also any info on the older protoform bodies e.g nissan, g6etc.thanks for any help you can give:)

None really. There is no true wind tunnel testing done with most RC bodies.

I have never seen that kind of info anywhere. Best thing to do is just try em. I run 3 different bodies all have different benifits. No body is perfect for every track.

I would also like to know from some racers what certain bodies genarally do to the handling of a tc......like normally a MAZDA 6 Speed will give you more steering and is stronger than other bodies

a Japanese RC magazine a few years ago ran such a test but with a variety of Tamiya made RC bodies...

they compared the bodies by mounting them on a Tamya TA-03R chassis with a single suspension ang gearing setup. the only changes they made were for the body posts to accomodate the different bodies...

they also ran the cars in a simple wind tunnel just to see if there were any disruptions in airflow that would affect handling...

the results they came up with were intriguing but its considered now obsolete with the advent of the sculpted touring car bodies being de rigeur now in ISTC racing...

Well I run 3 protoform bodies...
Mazda 6 : Maximum steering but is slow left to right.
Mazda speed 6 : Good steering and response.
Dodge stratus 3 : Very quick left to right but understeers a little.

Aerodynamics
 

About 11-12 years ago Radio Control Model Cars Magazine did a bunch of articles on aerodynamics - they were written by Ben Chiu. I did a lot of testing with Ben on oval bodies - and then set a few track records at velodromes. The wind tunnel that we used is sitting in Ben's garage. It used 3 phase 220 volts to generate wind over 65 mph. It measured drag, and front and rear downforce/lift. Unfortunately, the magazine went out of business a long time ago so we only really tested bodies until around 97. Some of the old magazines had a lot of info about aerodynamics.

speed run body
 

can i get you fellow racers opinion, i'm setting up an xray fk05 touring sedan for a speed run. using 2- 8,000miah 2s lipos along with a castle creation speedo and 7700 motor. my goal is to hit 70-80mph at least. my question is which protoform body would work the best for max downforce? i race sedans with the new r9 r body. love it.

As far as Protoform, I would say the Mulsanne LMP would be a safe bet for a speed run, but I think it only comes in 200mm...If I were attempting a speed run, I would look into a body of that styling and try to get it in the 190mm range. Just my opinion ... The R9R or F shouldn't be bad bodies to attempt 70/80 mph runs either.

Ha! Just realized that there's a "mazda 6" and a "mazda speed 6".

From what you said, think i'm gonna get a Dodge Stratus :)

I think it's moot, talking about aerodynamics. Once you dent, or crack the body. It either works for you, or against you.

It makes a difference but the chassis geometry and tyres come first.

I am using a protoform mulsanne,with glued on stabilizers,and it is pretty stable at 60+++mph.Some guys use a stock car body.Think about this.You want to create the smallest hole int the air as possible.The mulsanne-as low as it sits is wide.It might have a overall larger frontal surface area than a taller,but narrower stock car body.I have had reasonable sucess with a hpi new style camaro and firebird ta.

Of all the replys to this post so far, no one mentions the body mounting. I know that the question was asked of what model of body makes more downforce, etc. But, since we are talking about aerodynamics, I thought I would add my $.02. The body alone is only part of the aero package. You can get different results from the same body by changing how you mount it. For example, moving the body forward or back a few mm can make a difference. Moving the body up the post, or slamming it down can make a difference. The rake of the body also makes a difference. Also, wing placement, forward or back, can make a difference. Just some things to keep in mind...

All valid points Rich. But realistically how much time does a car spend at speeds where aerodynamics make a significant difference in the real world? Bugger all. And here's my experimentation (willy-nilly). As my body becomes more tatterred over the season I don't see a difference in lap times, so my opinion is aerodynamics come into play when you've extracted all the potential elsewhere int he car as someone already pointed out above. That situation is probably a reality at top level racing, not at club level.