I was at a track day this past Sunday and when I arrived home I told the wife we were no longer poo-pooing green energy hype anymore because the Datsun went 107 down the backstretch......................." I installed a fancy device called a tailwind"..............she gave the usual you been sniffing octane boost look.

I was actually quite shocked, about the third lap in the morning the tach swept towards 7K (104 mph) then the next lap as I turned in for the kink..........the car skated about 2ft wide of the apex...............that's when I notice the 7200 RPM's or 107mph. The wind was gusting to about 30 mph on and off all day...........I actually had to start looking at the tach just before turning in because 104 mph was the max, otherwise I'd end up offline for the next corner.

So where did the cost come from?? My tow vehicle sucked down some serious gas, the track is 60 miles from the house in the next valley...............going uphill into the wind 1/2 throttle was 43 mph, full throttle was 46 mph.

Now the fun part...............Viper and Porsche Turbos would blow past then as we'd arrive at the kink I'd cobble up 4-5 car lengths (feeds the Napolean car complex) the look in the mirror was price less. Now I know it's not a fair comparison, the run group is mix of club racers in low power cars vs moderately experienced guys in fast cars but I still couldn't help but get a minor twisted pleasure from the V8 M3, 2 911 and Infiniti G35 drivers who got the blue flag and had to wave me past.

The other interesting bit was my student; An FA22 Raptor pilot..............I'm telling a guy who flies a 100 million dollar jet "no , no don't do that it'll bite you later if you make that a habit" Fortunately he didn't see my morning genius move........I forgot to pull one of the pins on my tilt trailer and nearly dumped the car off the back before I realized what was up........errr I been studying for some professional certifications Saturdays was the last test, by Sunday morning me brain was knackered...............the fun fixed that though.

Now the down side of this "green energy"..................I'm looking at ways to improve the aerodynamics,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,I swore I was done tinkering with the car.

Tom

The MPG forums can help with efficiency but not downforce
to have both is the challenge and by following the cream
of the crop teams who pour their money into these mods is
worthwhile for us ants who aspire for local greatness :)

So this tail wind can it be harnessed by eating lots of beans????

I'm wondering how to use it at will???

hey tom,

what engine is your race car running?

cheers

The next trick is to make the tail wind follow you around!

Is that with a carrot?

$40 worth of beans = divorce and no mates :(

Unless your mexican then Tequila drowns the sounds and the smell :)

but too much tequila will have a follow through effect if you pop one off.

instead of silent but deadly, noisey and juicy!