Saturday, June 30, 2012

Racing 4 Nickels Team Heads to the Junkyard (Spoilers Ahead)

After analyzing the Road America course, we realized that with longer distances, and longer straights, there is the potential for higher speeds.  Because of this, some form of aerodynamic addition was required from the car.

We looked at a number of automobiles, ranging from a Cadillac Sedan DeVille D'Elegance, to a Dodge Shadow convertible, but finally settled on an Intrigue we spotted.



First, the spoiler fit all of our needs:  slightly raised so we could bolt it onto the contours of our vehicle, and had the proper width and length dimensions.


Most importantly, however, it came off an Oldsmobile.  There must be continuity of theme, and the joining of two Oldsmobile parts will add overall harmony and balance to vehicle. (Hm, important Japanese qualities... maybe we'll talk about that in a future post....)


Another item we are thinking about is heat.  The race is in late August, so, (as I am the self-proclaimed team science guy) just to throw out some data:

Average Weather Data for Elkhart Lake, WI:
Taken from here.

Date
Average
Low
Average
High
Record
Low
Record
High
Average
Precipitation
Average
Snow
January
25°
-29° (1982)
60° (1944)
1.4"
13.5"
February
13°
30°
-27° (1996)
64° (2000)
1.25"
12.2"
March
23°
40°
-18° (1962)
82° (1910)
2.42"
11.5"
April
34°
54°
8° (1954)
89° (1990)
3.47"
3.1"
May
45°
67°
21° (1966)
92° (1978)
3.67"
0.1"
June
55°
77°
30° (1945)
101° (2005)
3.93"
0"
July
60°
81°
39° (1968)
107° (2005)
3.94"
0"
August
59°
79°
36° (1915)
101° (1988)
4.55"
0"
September
50°
70°
25° (1926)
98° (1953)
4.02"
0"
October
39°
58°
6° (1925)
88° (1976)
2.93"
0.2"
November
28°
43°
-7° (1976)
75° (1944)
2.85"
4.9"
December
16°
30°
-20° (1983)
67° (2001)
1.87"
15.1"

Date
Average
Low
Average
High
Record
Low
Record
High
Average
Precipitation
Average
Snow
Aug 19
58°
78°
45° (1950)
95° (1955)
0.15"
NA
Aug 20
58°
78°
42° (1950)
96° (1955)
0.15"
NA
Aug 21
58°
78°
43° (2004)
97° (1955)
0.15"
NA
Aug 22
58°
77°
38° (1967)
94° (1936)
0.15"
NA
Aug 23
57°
77°
40° (1967)
97° (1947)
0.15"
NA
Aug 24
57°
77°
40° (1977)
98° (1948)
0.15"
NA

So, two things pop out at me.  First, it can get hot, highs in the upper 70s at least.  There was a record of near 100 degree temps as well, so something we need to think about.

Interestingly, August tends to be the wettest time of year as well, with a half an inch of rain higher than other months.  That may also figure into strategery.