I've known the frontal area and CdA since my original post. The frontal area is 21.1 ft^2. That's almost the same as the much bigger Corvette. The Solstice's CdA is 9.5. For comparison purposes, here are some CdA's followed by the pounds of force exerted on the car @ 70 and 150 MPH (assuming each car could hit 150):

Nissan 350Z: 5.8 CdA, 77 pounds @ 70 MPH, 353 pounds @ 150 MPH
C6 Corvette: 6.16 CdA, 82 pounds @ 70 MPH, 375 pounds @ 150 MPH
Porsche 911: 6.8 CdA, 90 pounds @ 70 MPH, 413 pounds @ 150 MPH
Dodge Viper: 7.7 CdA, 102 pounds @ 70 MPH, 468 pounds @ 150 MPH
Scion xB: 7.7 CdA, 102 pounds @ 70 MPH, 468 pounds @ 150 MPH
Miata: 8.01 CdA, 106 pounds @ 70 MPH, 487 pounds @ 150 MPH
Honda S2000: 9.08 CdA, 120 pounds @ 70 MPH, 552 pounds @ 150 MPH
Solstice: 9.5 CdA, 126 pounds @ 70 MPH, 578 pounds @ 150 MPH
New Beetle: 9.6 CdA, 127pounds @ 70 MPH, 584 pounds @ 150 MPH
Chrysler T&C Minivan: 10.9 CdA, 144 pounds @ 70 MPH, 663 pounds @ 150 MPH
Cadillac Escalade: 12.89 CdA, 171 pounds @ 70 MPH, 784 pounds @ 150 MPH

The Solstice is running about 5050 RPM in fifth gear at its top speed of 142 MPH. At that speed, there is 518 pounds of force pushing back against the car due to wind resistance. Factoring in the drivetrain loss, gear ratio, axle ratio, and tire size, that's about how much force the engine can deliver to the ground at that speed, so that explains the top speed on the car. If the car had a drag coefficient of .35 (which is still kinda poor by today's standards) instead of .45, I calculate it could hit about 160.

THIS BASICALLY MEANS THE 350Z HAS LESS AIR KEEPING IT FROM ACCELERATING WHEN GOING FAST.

 

yea are cars are pretty slippery i would like to see the #s for cars that are more aerodynamic though

 

I'll keep that in mind next time I'm doing 150 in my T & C minivan.

 

I'm shocked at how aerodynamic Scion Xb's are.

 

Where do you get this data? I would like to see the numbers for some other cars - STIs and Evos especially.

Edit: Ah, it seems CdA is a measure popularized by Car and Driver. For those wondering what the lowest US CdA is, its the Honda Insight at 5.1

 

s2000 would have been better if I had guessed.

 

which model Z was tested? was it the base or with the factory aero kit that came on all tracks and was an option on the others?

 

I'm also interested in where you got this data. Pretty cool.

 

i want to know how this works?

 

How they get that data? With a wind-tunnel.

 

I will try to post the info on all the cars i was just on the solstice forum and they where talking about cda on cars. The main reason is because the z pulls on the solstice once you gets to high speeds and they came to the conclusion the reason why is because of the cda rating. Their cd rating is .45 that is really bad for any car exspecially on a sports car. So the faster they go the more hp they lose to the z to the ground.

 

Tell them that if they install a 3 inch lift kit, it will allow air to pass more freely under the car and thus improve the rating.

Let us know if they go for that. With pics.

 

Interesting. Not 100% certain that I believe it but, I'd like to see where this thread goes.

 

teh215 i tell you for sure that this has to have some truth. I have a solstice gxp and a z and i ran them against each other with different drivers a couple of times. The result is that they are neck to neck until you hit about 70-80 then the solstice seems to hit a brick wall and you start pulling pretty bad.

 

There are too many factors to say for certain. The biggest one that comes to mind is gearing. Not arguing, just curious....

 

well the solstice should hit 150 but it wont because of the bad cda rating it will only hit about 140.

 

nissan s13 240sx drag coefficient is .29

boooyeow

s13 ftw

 

so is the z's cd but we are talking about cda!