How Effective is Your Aero? - Wind Tunnel Testing a Nissan 350Z

Curious to see how changes to aerodynamic devices like a front splitter and rear wing affect downforce on a stock bodied Nissan 350Z race car? Thanks to the University of Ontario Institute of Technology and their Automotive Centre of Excellence, we were able to see how OnPoint Dyno's 350Z performed in this world-class climatic wind tunnel. The results were quite surprising!
For a complete overview and more details of the 350Z please visit: speed.academy/f...
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[@Danu01c]

Man, these guys are living my dream. I wish I could work as an engineer doing these things. Making parts to improve performance, taking a car to a wind tunnel to improve aerodynamics. These are the projects I did while making my bachelor's degree

[@lewis9902]

I know it been 5 years back heyy if your till there ik you can believe In yojr

[@lewis9902]

Yourself *

[@-Cristian_12]

The Z is a nice platform to start a little bit heavy but really good car and the VQ is a reliable engine maybe you guys can build one in the future. Nice channel

[@speedacademy]

+Cristian Guerra WE've thought about it. Maybe if we ever sell the 240SX

[@bartvanriel6767]

+Speed Academy please do one!

[@greenespirit4973]

Cristian Guerra not that heavy really 3200k pounds is pretty good imo

[@calvinlee5289]

looks like your wish came true! they did build one

[@locostacks8243]

Just start gutting the car lol. I lost like 300lbs

[@stickiefinger5571]

These guys look like they've been wind tunnel testing for a while. Their hair is completely gone!

[@Phillykappa215]

+motorpeople8 thee funniest comment!

[@loveforpetrol]

you sir deserve an award.

[@ashtonb6535]

motorpeople8 it's more aerodynamic to have no hair

[@beowolf9991]

Ashton B hahahah :D so hairs make drag

[@chefgiovanni]

Maybe, but I would rather have some hair and enjoy the breeze than be bald and get a chill.

[@EmbraceMaking]

Fantastic video! I went to school there and have seen the wind tunnel in person. Incredible facility! This is also where I built my active aero wing 🙂

[@israelogunmola1113]

:)

[@UndergroundTrev]

That's really cool. Amazing to see how much effect the rear wing can have on front down force.

[@TheInspiringKhan]

I goto to school here. I myself never been inside. Awesome to be part of something special. Ridge Back for life

[@PeterTarach]

yogu khan You need to figure out a way to go and watch some of the testing. It's beyond cool!!

[@hirasingh4725]

Alvaro Lopez I think he means inside this car aerodynamics testing facility not the school itself

[@behindthen0thing]

It's it still for life

[@FairladyS130]

Forgot to say a big thankyou for making this very useful video, my previous criticism may have been relevant but the big point is that without videos like this we would miss valuable info. Like how important it is to pay attention to front downforce on a Z33.

[@nacostacos]

I don't know if anyone touched on this yet, but why did he cover up the hood vents too? They are an aerodynamic piece as much as the splitter and canards are. If he wanted to ONLY test downforce from the Lip/Canards/Wing then you would have to tape up the front end entirely. The hood will actually DECREASE lift in the front when air is flowing through it so that might have changed the results of this test for higher speed testing.

[@TheDefensivemaniac]

Ayyy On point dyno.....Sasha is a guru when it comes to vq35's!!!

[@rrascon8]

I've been subscribed to Sasha for a few years now. Awesome!

[@speedacademy]

+rrascon8 WE love Sasha too! :)

[@Biffsteki]

A little late maybe, but i do find Aero videos super interesting! Not knowing whats allowed in this racing class, a longer splitter with some propper triangular endplated to block off the escaping flow to the sides, this will generate a much bigger positive pressure area ontop of the splitter and against the front of the car and will significantly increase the front downforce. making the splitter point upwards, to catch air underneath the car and making the front axle the lowest part of the car accellerating the air and just using a 2 degree rake should also make significant negative lift underneath the entire car.

[@shoegum7362]

The answer is ... more duct tape.

[@Mormielo]

As usual...

[@sotiriospapastergiopoulos8582]

Exactly

[@dappergenesis822]

I like how every aerodynamic video I watch is always testing or drawings of a 350z

[@mondomoleno.3404]

I love the tech you guys do! It reminds me of the old Sport Compact Car magazine's articles. But you're in Canada, so it's pronounced Zed.

[@DanielTojcic]

I agree...ive commented on that before, great channel guys this is stuff that the avg car channel doesn't expose. Looking forward to more

[@JamesBalazs]

It's pronounced Zed everywhere. Just Americans that want to change the English language...

[@dumkopf]

+Scott Ryman I've heard mixed reports about Zee vs Zed from Canadians. It doesn't really matter though.

[@dumkopf]

+TheRebel3000 Yeah about 200 years ago is when we tchanged the english language.

[@icy7153]

I imagine a ricer linking to this video to make his cardboard spoiler valid :I *edit* yo wth i just stumbled upon this video and saw my 2yr old COMMENT WAS TOP COMMENT LMAO

[@collingreene7024]

Lol

[@4x4forlyfe]

lol

[@joshuafreeman7045]

lol

[@crackedemerald4930]

cardoard: eco-friendly+light=

[@crackedemerald4930]

+Pedro Rocha MOAR POWAAAAHHH

[@HarvesterUT2]

"We had too much wing." *looks at car* "You don't say!"

[@MRMIKE276]

The 350z is pretty nose heavy, like really nose heavy, so having a 300lbs or more in the rear would probably balance it out.

[@pietrosanfilippo9606]

First of all the windows open do a lot of damage aerodynamically speaking, also the wheels are not moving, and when they do they generate lift. Opening air vents on top of the front wheels would help.I would try to generate more downforce using a diffuser rather than a huge wing which also generates a lot of drag.Finally the air scopes on the hood going upwards also generate downforce but for some reason they are covered in the video.

[@speedacademy]

Pietro Sanfilippo First of all, windows are not allowed in race cars for safety reasons. And ideally, of course you'd like to have the wheels spinning but for a test of this nature it wasn't possible. There were time constraints, hence why the guys adjusted and taped up items instead of modifying them (like extending the splitter which is a great idea). Still the data gathered was invaluable for helping with aero.

[@pietrosanfilippo9606]

Speed Academy My bad usually racecars use panels where the windows would be ( I don't know the regulations for your races.) anyway adjustng the aerodynamics taping stuff its normal on wind tunnel tests, i would have uncovered the bonnet air vents anyway. Opening holes above the front wheel arch should increase the downforce at the front(remove lift actually). Nice car anyway, keep the awesome work. PS: balanced downforce is better than a lot of downforce.

[@robertsmok7232]

+Pietro Sanfilippo : Good points except: they race with windows open so it's ok to get data that way. They talked about the the shortcomings of stationary wind tunnel. Chip Ganassi did a lot of dynamic aero testing in a tunnel (as in driving fast in a dark place) where a lot of environmental variables were constant. I'm surprised that here they were changing in several variables at the same time instead testing one change at a time. Perhaps at $2K an hour you need to compromise a little. Also $2k an hour is cheap enough for a semi-pro or even well funded amateur. Great video.

[@speedacademy]

@zach shainline (zachary) You can find all the details here: speed.academy/fast-nissan-350z-race-car-vq-power-itb/

[@Bournefort]

Very nice facility. I am stuck using miniature models at my school's wind tunnels.

[@mikeg5172]

this seems like a very inaccurate tunnel. The tunnel should be on a 5 belt system. One that runs under the car that can simulate the ground moving and one under each wheel spinning them at speed. That front downforce number is probably way off. Entire thing is probably inaccurate.

[@kcube2548]

Mike G exactly what I pretend to have thought

[@ChefofWar33]

Thats an F1 wind tunnel. The best of the very best.

[@jasonpooltable7099]

The thing about aero is tricky, notice how they get better results when they cover certain areas of the car. In the track this wouldn't be practical because you need certain vents open or else the car would over heat. Air creates drag in openings and holes throughout the car so covering them up obviously wield better results.

[@crxdelsolsir]

Goes to show a Ricer looking wing actually works. So next time you see a big wing, it may not suit YOUR taste (definition of RICE to many) it doesn't mean it doesn't function. To those that say it needs to have lots of power before it becomes relevant, the last time I say an active or powered rear spoiler/wing (eg Porsche and Bugatti etc) they start to operate at speeds of just 100kmh. Therefore any normal car would benefit from a spoiler.

[@davisharr]

Love the high tech video, very interesting! and the fact that you guys are up here in Ontario is awesome! Where you guys just here for the video? Or do you live here in Canada?

[@speedacademy]

***** we both live in southern Ontario, although Peter did try the SoCal life for a while. Couldn't hack the good weather.

[@JasonDFD3S]

Fantastic video and very useful. Appreciate you helping us by posting a solid video.

[@FroztiProductions]

4:18 looks like matt fara.

[@WarShrike]

Did they test it with the hood vents uncovered at all? That in itself can bring about lift since that will push air up under the hood with nowhere to go. Awesome video coverage, subscribed now!

[@TheVideoGuy247]

i go to school here!!!

[@Hieb]

But do you go to the Speed.Academy? Fast cars. But right. Est. 2014

[@fraserdavidson6900]

BrenScott Lol, sup partner

[@TheVideoGuy247]

Fraser Davidson lol fancy meeting you here

[@ninjawarrriorr3062]

We wish

[@kedaotuning]

im just soo glad im part of this generation,just think about weather changer conditions inside of a chamber is mind blowing. aerodynamic tuning lol

[@Genthar]

Interesting, wonder if they have enough cooling to compensate for closing the nose and cowl vents.

[@MrDannyd9]

coolest video yet

[@Devilsgreedybelly]

That is a centre for excellence 😲

[@salmanalaalinew]

2:34 great job.. i want to as, what is the hight of the plywood at the rear tyre?

[@grantprice2328]

Lifting up the rear of the car will make the front lip spoiler create more of a scoop for the air

[@GordonGekko98]

I had a choice of this school or another for mechanical engineering, this is making me reconsider my choice

[@GTFour]

Really interesting. How many hours of wind tunnel time did this setup take?

[@gremotorsports]

it was a little obvious, that the front had no downforce, the splitter was almost completely flat with the ground, especially with the massive rear spoiler making the rear squat. Nice 350z, cool test!!!

[@KindOfyeah]

Isn't that the point of a splitter to split the air it shouldn't have angle

[@ibizalover2000]

Do you think adding front wheel arch vents will help a lot too, to increase front down force? do you have any experiments showing this importance of front wheel arch venting on force v/s downforce?

[@PeloMR2]

Wool tuft testing is something you can DIY easily, spend a day driving around with cameras and a car covered in confetti and the results can be very useful! Autospeed wrote about this years ago www.autospeed.com/cms/article.html?&title=Aero-Testing-Part-1&A=108656

[@dillonrcarp]

Great video! Who would I contact to be able to use this video for an interactive wind tunnel exhibit in a museum? Thanks!

[@owensaniga5974]

Haha love seeing a channel from my hometown area.. I'm in automotive engineering at uoit and on the sae Motorsports team. hopefully I'll be able to bring my supra to the tunnel soon

[@speedacademy]

+owen saniga Very cool! Hope to see you around at the track.

[@scadieee]

Sasha is genius

[@guillermovasquez4639]

What’s the name of the background song??? Can’t find it in the KZbin library :(

[@FentonDaniel]

Another great video!

[@Sparkplugsteve]

i wish we could have seen the numbers better. that was a vital part of the vid for me missed

[@speedacademy]

007tlawed Sorry! We tried shooting the screens but they we flicker combined with how small the actual data screen was made it super difficult to get any decent footage.

[@Sparkplugsteve]

ok thanks for reply

[@bumbawhoopski]

Hey I go to school there!

[@ArmstrongRacing]

great video guys, very informative. thank you

[@tdawg719]

Why was the air ducts being taped up considered a good option? Isn’t that airflow important for cooling?

[@dagonfirechimera]

It does make sense that most of the downloaded is on the rear. The rear wing is huge.

[@GoPlayNTraffic]

So is it a good ideal to get a wing or it’s Pointless?

[@vanisshen4467]

"Engineering 101 on steroids." More like Engineering 599.

[@psutherla]

I came here looking for videos in which you actually get to see cars getting tested in a wind tunnel. I got a full 15 seconds of footage (6:36 - 6:51) and you can't even see the smoke unless you squint. A more fitting title for this video would be "Talking About Wind Tunnel Testing a Nissan 350Z"

[@mitchellman32]

Dude.. I'm applying to the University you filmed this at

[@_entrxpy]

does the wind tunnel measure the drag value too?

[@hiddenkard3101]

Should I put an adjustable GT wing on my G35 pv35 skyline or a lip trunk spoiler?? I had some rear lift at high speed. I had reverse rake (because my car is lowered about 2 inches) and probably in need for an alignment. I felt the rear lifting around 100mph/160kmh. Since then I've lowered the front now i have positive rake. 1 finger gap in the front, 2 fingers in the back. I don't like how it looks but its feels super stable at 100mph/160mph. Also since lowering the car cuts throw air with ease doing 100 feels like 40. No wind noise, body roll, or nose dive or squat. The only thing was slight rear lift because of my reverse rake. I haven't had It passed 160kmh since adjusting ride height but I could use more downforce. Now i worry at too much downforce might create front lift and drag. So should I get a trunk lip spoiler to improve drag or a wing/airfoil to improve downforce? I like pushing my car but like feeling it stability even at high speed. I like the being sucked into the ground and control wings give you at high speed but also I like the way a low drag car cuts through air like a hot knife through butter. My car does that but I wish It had more downforce without the effect of creating more drag like big wings produce.

[@2Phast4Rocket]

I have to wonder what is the cost difference if you hire a CFD guy to model your car versus testing in the wind tunnel like this

[@cccEngineer]

Wow he calls it a wing because he knows the difference. Hope more people watch this video and find out the difference between a wing and a spoiler

[@leslie7872]

I would love to bring my 3000gt with active aero to see how it works :) too bad i dont have money... :( but good to know this is near toronto

[@chevyhs]

Leslie H. My active aero still works after all these years. If you watch the promo video on KZbin you can see how aerodynamic the car is

[@leslie7872]

yea.. um i dont even have my g1 yet.. i dont actually own a 3000gt .. :( lol but ill check out your video anyway :)

[@bradleytaylor7907]

It would probably blow apart given enough wind.

[@montana1636]

Without rolling tires and the car traveling over pavement at the same rate it passes through the ambient air, the wind generated by the tunnel fans is only a substitute and not an accurate application of atmospheric effects, the car must move the and the wheels must be spinning to create ground effect, Magnus effect, all that tunnel does is test Bernouli's principle and not the full scope just a better idea than none at all

[@andrewfox96]

I really like to see how bad the aerodynamics on the mullet mustang is. Lol. I know the hood likes to move around at highway speeds

[@rene9ade559]

All Honda, mugen, spoon all wind tunnel tested great for circuit

[@aurimassimanavicius350]

God that 350z is beautiful.

[@christopherbrewington1813]

THE ULTIMATE TUNEEEEEEEEE

[@gkp76]

So, are they going to tape up all their vents when they race?

[@mastertweeker]

Why does closing the front bumper inlets and especially the cowl area increased the downforce on the front?

[@speedacademy]

+Stefan B Because Because it increases lift that is caused by air being forced through the engine bay of the car where when its blocked it has a smooth path around.

[@mastertweeker]

Speed Academy ah makes sense. But can this be done during track times due to engine cooling?

[@mario350zhr3]

Wonder what the drag coefficient is now?

[@Moon___man]

hell yeah getting his own race car in a wind tunnel, thats the dopest shit ever for a personal car

[@Toycoma]

Is that the Sasha guy who had the fully built na motor?

[@johnsantana6943]

Add canards and check if that would help the front stay grounded.

[@kalet196]

Are they testing with the windows open?

[@waitwuttt]

basically its better to have more rake than lift. dont over do the downforce on the rear

[@stevochang]

Love this!!!

[@qet]

driver window? why it's not closed during testing? doesn't it influence aerodynamics?

[@evanmcmillan6699]

Игорь Потапов race cars don't need headlights because the track is always lit

[@evanmcmillan6699]

race cars don't need windows as in a fire the driver can get out faster

[@qet]

what? look at GT Open or any other series - they all have polycarbonate windows

[@qet]

I didn't say anything about headlights and they didn't touch them - I was talking about front bumper inlets - they are for brake cooling or additional air intake for engine

[@ThugNugget_.45]

Игорь Потапов it's a cars joke you mong

[@Mormielo]

Anybody can help me with what the guy is saying at 5:12, when he says "...it doesn't make sense to have a front... ??? downforce ???"

[@blackjin21]

so what program is this under?????

[@FairladyS130]

Can't understand the testing procedure here, why wouldn't you do all the aero add on's first before testing? Then adjust the front/rear balance as indicated by the test results.

[@No-limits-]

Does anybody know what wing that is on that car

[@tookback7958]

looks like the rpf1 wheels are top notch

[@vq37vhr12]

was this before he went widebody?

[@MrPikachu53]

wish there was some white smoke so we could actually "see" the wind

[@speedacademy]

We thought the same thing but apparently that is next level baller

[@RockyJayyy]

Speed Academy It's not like you guys don't have the "baller" money for it.

[@Primev2]

I go to this school and didn't even know this existed lol

[@charleswatson-diaz2165]

what kinda wing how many inches ? cms???

[@NielsHeusinkveld]

When the car is kept on the brakes to stop it rolling back, you get 'errors' (or at least you need to be aware of things) explained here kzbin.info/www/bejne/b5nWpZacmcxje6c I know this post is 6 years after the fact... :-)

[@benh4222]

i bet those wheels kick up some nasty turbulence when they're spinning.

[@sithi96]

Is it possible to go "too slow" and crash cause of the low speed when using big wings. is it just a legend they tell everywhere? for example you slip off the track entering a corner 100kph but going 130kph you make it through.. someone please tell me

[@CarbonPhoenix96]

RandomErkki in extreme circumstances sure. take formula 1 for example

[@sithi96]

it just sounds so unbelievable :D

[@nissanskyline7937]

some one please answer. i have a 350z and i put a wing about 2 to 3 inches from the edge is that bad? or should i have put it more up?

[@mikeyg8133]

Nissan Skyline as long as its secured properly i doubt youd have a problem bc there are wings secured to the rear bumper not even on the hatch. If its a really heavy wing id recommend investing in upgrading the hatch struts

[@TheGnarTube]

This kind of analysis can be extremely misleading due to the lack of moving tires. The tires throw out massive channels of air as the speed increases and can destroy your design paradigm

[@xBEEZYilySMOOKYx]

Why are the windows not rolled up?

[@speedacademy]

Because race cars don't have windows.

[@superhotshot345]

Speed Academy yes they do, not glass windows but some kind of special plastic,i don't the exact name.

[@alexp8106]

plexi

[@johnss2k434]

Very cool!

[@qet]

saying nothing about the drag - really? and wouldn't closing braking ducts in front cause problems with cooling?

[@etiliko81]

Why they are closing the hood vents to increase the front downforce??? I think that doing so they have the contrary effect.

[@tommyle6716]

Yeah, i think they made a mistake covering the vents for the car. The engine needs air flow because its modified so it will heat up in the engine bay. They needed downforce in the rear and front, the spliter and some rake gives it a large percentage of front downforce and the wing also brings the rear down. All they really needed to to was find ways to bring the percentage of downforce to the front without covering the vents, those are important for not over heating the engine, tires, brakes, etc.

[@moistenedeel4791]

Andrea AUTECH its to reduce drag and focus on the key parts marked with red wool

[@JamesBalazs]

It's not to reduce drag. Removing the hood vents in favour of a flat bonnet will drastically increase the surface area of the bonnet, so more air hits the front of the car and pushes it down.

[@danytetu606]

+TheRebel3000 Gotta keep the flow laminar. All those vents will create disturbances and increase drag.

[@vin605]

I'm not a expert but should the windows be up ?

[@TheNewKimito500454]

That weld in the into doesn't look too good :/ too fast a travel speed for the volts and wire speed settings it looks like.

[@asherrose4114]

classic track people.........first mod................biggest wing you can find and off course way too much downforce, glad they sorted it tho

[@miata.austin]

What about the tires spinning?

[@rodasrojo]

what wind speeds are they testoing at?

[@Razeranton]

would be interesting if they tested an F1 car in there :D

[@speedacademy]

+Razeranton As would we!

[@aldoyosbel1728397263]

Why don't u Tell me how to fix the 3 gear shift

[@233kosta]

Sounds like CFD would be a LOT cheaper once you get past validation

[@wilburvanblommestein8842]

Perhaps roll up the windows.?

[@speedacademy]

Wilbur van Blommestein There are now windows. It's a race car. :)

[@fuentesj34]

***** Most full-purpose race cars dont have windows.

[@Ghaemi350z]

[@Ghaemi350z]

Speed Academy why don't racecars have windows? Doesn't the air coming in through where the windows should be slow it down because of drag or something?

[@woofer2121]

EstupedMexicanz so you can get out quickly if you have to

[@toddsupraman7609]

I live 10 minutes away from this building

[@CovaBreh]

is that freshkicks dahh?!