CSULB Automotive Engineering Class
Circa 1977. Two of my classmates, Wing P and Bob K are shown with a scale model Ford Pinto that was used to model drag forces generated at speed. Using applicable mathematical formulae and known characteristics of fluids, they can calculate drag forces that would be generated on a real car based on data collected on a scale model such as this.
A Pinto was used as the test subject because there were both a real car (a classmate’s) and a plastic scale model of one available to us for experimentation.
One other experiment that members of our class performed to measure drag forces was to drive that real Pinto on a long stretch of straight empty road numerous times in order to record coastdown times. The car would be driven to reach a certain highway speed and then timed with a stopwatch to measure elapsed time to certain interval speeds as the car decelerated due to air drag and rolling resistance. That stretch of road was Westminster Boulevard between Seal Beach Boulevard and Bolsa Chica Road which was relatively untraveled compared to today.
CSULB Automotive Engineering Class
Circa 1977. Two of my classmates, Wing P and Bob K are shown with a scale model Ford Pinto that was used to model drag forces generated at speed. Using applicable mathematical formulae and known characteristics of fluids, they can calculate drag forces that would be generated on a real car based on data collected on a scale model such as this.
A Pinto was used as the test subject because there were both a real car (a classmate’s) and a plastic scale model of one available to us for experimentation.
One other experiment that members of our class performed to measure drag forces was to drive that real Pinto on a long stretch of straight empty road numerous times in order to record coastdown times. The car would be driven to reach a certain highway speed and then timed with a stopwatch to measure elapsed time to certain interval speeds as the car decelerated due to air drag and rolling resistance. That stretch of road was Westminster Boulevard between Seal Beach Boulevard and Bolsa Chica Road which was relatively untraveled compared to today.