Shanghai Dailly reports on China’s first wind-tunnel test facility that opened yesterday near Shanghai. According to the report,
[China’s] first automobile wind tunnel was launched in Shanghai yesterday in a bid to support the Chinese automotive industry in its transition from “made in China” to “designed in China.”
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With the technology localized, businesses will be able to […]

AutoCar.Co.UK reports that BMW has opened a new aerodynamic test facility. According to the report,
The new Munich-based Aerodynamic Test Centre is spread over five floors and 25,000sq meters, took three years to construct and cost 170m Euros (£144m). Until now BMW had been using wind tunnels in five different locations around the world.
The facility […]

AutoSpeed, an Australian website, is running an article on how to measure drag and lift without a wind tunnel. The article notes:
At higher speeds, the power developed by the engine is used almost entirely to overcome aerodynamic drag. If engine power is then measured in different aerodynamic configurations, changes to drag can be seen.
An […]

The Engineer Online is running an article on the use of the use of high-speed, rolling-road wind tunnels in motorsports testing. The article, titled “Ultimate Test,” notes, “In addition to their obvious benefits these systems, which represent elaborate integrations of materials, mechanical, electronic and control technologies, are also engineering marvels in their own right.”
They’re more […]

International Truck and Engine Corporation is questioning competitor Freightliner’s recent claim that its new Cascadia is more aerodynamic than other Class 8 commercial vehicles.
“No truck that we have tested has outperformed our new ProStar™ in testing to Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) standards, which include the whole trailer as well as the tractor in […]

A newly-formed group of investors has joined together to design and construct a state-of-the-art customer wind tunnel project near Charlotte, N.C., the heart of NASCAR country, known as Wind Tunnel eXtreme. This project will help provide teams from all motorsports disciplines an “unfair advantage” (according to the company, anwyay) in aerodynamic development. The core of […]

TRW Automotive Holdings Corp. has signed an agreement with the National Center of Supervision and Inspection of Motor Vehicle Products Quality (Shanghai) to co-invest in dynamic test capabilities supporting the occupant safety system (OSS) development. Capabilities will include head impact and body block tests to correspond with legal regulations and a programmable Hydro-Brake system for […]

Pininfarina’s new Ground Effect Simulation System uses three belts in combination to simulate ground effects. Installed in the full-scale Automotive Wind Tunnel of the Pininfarina Aerodynamic Centre in Grugliasco (Turin), the new system costs 4 million euros and replaces the single-belt system installed in 1995.
The new system is part of Pininfarina’s strategy to extend the […]