A closer look at the Chevrolet Impala SS

 

The Chevrolet Impala SS has debuted in the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series. And with the launch, of course, it's the unveiling of GM Racing's all-new R07 small-block V-8 racing engine that provides a glimpse of the new direction in technology that America's most popular racing series is heading towards.

One of the most powerful elements in GM Racing's toolbox is what the automaker calls CFD or Computational Fluid Dynamics, which is a mathematical simulation of the airflow around a vehicle. This new CFD technology affects the design of both racing and production cars. CFD also played an important role in GM เชฟโรเลต อิมพาลา and development of a racing version of the Impala SS, considered the new generation of NASCAR racing car to make its debut in a competition held in Bristol, Tennessee scheduled for March 25, 2007 .

The CFD technology was first developed for use in aerospace and defense, but it migrated to the civilian sector as supercomputers that became available to manipulate complex applications. "CFD software requires a supercomputer because the number of calculations is enormous. For example, our aerodynamic models typically have more than 10 million discrete data points used to calculate power. It's really rocket science," Bayless explained.

Although the price involved in this type of technology is high, but the benefits of CFD are worth it. The highly advanced software makes it possible to see the invisible movement of air over the body of the vehicle.

Aside from the Impala SS becoming the new NASCAR race car today, it will be Chevrolet's high-profile participation in the Nextel Cup competition. The CFD played an important role in strengthening the identity of Chevy's new representative on the field.

The Impala SS is quite different from the Monte Carlo SS in terms of aerodynamics, but is also similar in some ways, as both are equipped with high quality GM auto parts like high quality GM spark plugs that are responsible for converting fuel into energy, driving the vehicle. For the Impala SS, GM engineers have employed CFDs to better understand the effects of the new body shape, front parts and adjustable rear wing on aerodynamic performance. NASCAR specifications require the Impala SS to be wider and taller than the Monte Carlo SS, which it replaces so that the frontal area is larger and its aerodynamic features are about 10 percent larger. Initially, the Impala SS will have about 15 percent less downforce than Monte Carlo SS, which has been very refined over the years, switching from a spoiler to an adjustable rear wing seems to reduce turbulence in the wake of the car, so when two cars run nose to tail, the less turbulent air behind the first car should relieve some of the aerodynamic thrust that the rear car experiences, ”is further explained by Bayless.