Miata Mailing List: March 1995, Message #102
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   From: mjb@vince.arl.mil (Matthew J. Bennett)
Subject: Re: Miata aerodynamics
   Date: Thu, 2 Mar 1995 09:04:18 -0500

> Do you folks with R packages, aftermarket kits with air dams, or
> the Mazda front air dam experience front end lift and high speed instabilty?
> The car seems to be farely stable up until that point which leads me to
> believe it is aerodynamic.
> 						-Mac.
> 					'95 Montego Blue - Leather

I was always under the impression that air dams and the like were just
for show, not for go.  If you look at F1 and NASCARs the clearance
between the skirt and the ground is really small, which is kind of
impractical for street use, unless you live in an area with perfectly
smooth roads and no driveways to go into.

Also, look at the profile of the miata.  Kinda smooth on the bottom 
(ok, humor me) Rounded on top...  Remind you of any other shape?
Kinda bears a striking resemblance to an airfoil.  Maybe this has some
bearing on the instability at high speeds.

As far as cars go, the areodynamics of the miata are not wonderful, but
small frontal area has its advantages.  I remember seen on the list a while
ago numbers for top up and top down drag coefficient. Anybody?

Matt & Annoying Little Red Car

P.S. I've been getting my driving fun lately with a vehicle with a .75 mph
top speed with the drivers postion variable, up to 150 feet high. 8)