How to Calculate Downforce

By Anthony Smith, eHow Contributor Calculate Downforce

Engineers are always trying to find ways to improve the performance of cars. Downforce is a major factor to consider when doing this. Fins, spoilers and body design are all areas of the vehicle that can be modified to change the downforce the vehicle generates. The calculations involved in determining downforce are not complicated, but obtaining the values that get plugged into the equation can be. Use the steps below to calculate downforce based on a given set of values.

Instructions
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1
Obtain the total area of the car, or part of the car such as a spoiler, that is being considered in the calculation. We will call this value "A." This area is a surface area calculation and should be available from the specifications sheet provided by the manufacturer.

2
Determine for which speed(s) of the car that you want to calculate the downforce. We will call this speed value "v."

3
Obtain the air density value. We will call this value "ro." Air density primarily depends on temperature, barometric pressure and altitude. The values can typically range from 1.226 at sea level to 1.056 at an elevation of approximately 5,200 feet.

4
Obtain the aerodynamic coefficient of the car. We will call this value "coeff." This number is a standard value used by engineers in the designing any car, and it also should be available from the manufacturer spec sheet.

5
Substitute the obtained values in to the following equation: F = 0.5 * A * coeff * ro * v^2 Where v^2 is "v squared." The result is "F," the downforce generated by the car.