honda indycar aero kit configurations maximize aerodynamic performance

honda indycar aero kit configurations maximize aerodynamic performance
image courtesy of honda

announced ahead of the season opener on march 29th at the firestone grand prix in st petersburg, florida, the 2015 honda ‘indycar aero kit’ provides teams with the ability to tune and maximize their performance. it is produced by honda performance development (HPD) and includes around 200 individual pieces that can fitted to the company’s existing dallara indycar chassis. with the different components, drivers and engineers can use a significant range of configurations to adjust the cars to their desired characteristics.

aerodynamic safety was a primary consideration for the design

‘we’re excited to reveal our aero kits as honda welcomes this era of enhanced competition in the verizon indycar series,’ said art st. cyr, president of HPD and vice president, auto operations, for american honda.  ‘coupled to our proven honda indy V6 engines, these aero kits are the products of literally thousands of hours of research, development and testing, as we seek to give our drivers and teams the tools they need to win races, the indianapolis 500 and the indycar series championship.’

‘we’ve been encouraged by the performance of the new honda aero kits in testing, but of course the end goal is to win races, the indy 500 and the championship,’ said st. cyr. ‘we believe we have a superior aerodynamic and engine package.  we’re looking forward to the start of the 2015 season on the streets of st. petersburg, and taking on the battle for the manufacturers’ championship.’

rear 3/4 view of the race car

these parts which are developed using the latest computer-aided design and computational fluid dynamics technology, are tested in a full-scale wind tunnel in order to confirm its aerodynamic performance. the final proof-of-concept experiments were then involved in a series of on-track tests, totaling six days at various circuits. the honda’ indycar aero kits’ will make their public debut at the verizon indycar series ‘open test’ on march 16th and 17th, at the barber motorsports park in alabama.

side view