So I've been looking at my car lately (a "plain" 78), and while it looks Awesome how it is... The look of the Pace car and the end years of the C3's with the extra aero stuff on it is pretty sweet too.

I know the rear spoiler and front air dam on the other late C3's improves the D.C. by some, 15% get's thrown around alot from what I see online, but does anyone have actual numbers I can see?

This is just for my own informational amusement, I might end up with some mods down the long road- like 5 years or so... Plus I don't plan on speeding along at 120+mph too often, and aero mods don't do too much at regular highway speeds. But it's something for me to think about.

Oh- before I forget, Has anyone seen a 78 or later style C3 with one of those tall, (around 10 in. tall) race style spoilers that are common on modern road course corvettes? I know many purists will probably either faint, or head for the gun rack because I even asked, but I'm always looking for something different, not just "another 78 corvette" and a little extra downforce never hurt anyone... Right?

Thanks for looking, and don't hold back guys!

 

Here is some info from an earlier thread:

Year / Drag Coefficient / Frontal Area square feet
1968 / 0.36 /19.50
1980 / 0.35 / 19.20
C4 / 0.34 / 19.28
C5 / 0.29 /19.30
C6 / 0.28 / ?

Not sure how much an aftermarket kit is going to help, purely a matter of personal taste and style.

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/drag...efficient.html

 

Thanks for the post, And yes, I've seen that thread, great general info, But I'm looking for the 1978 SA's DC to be exact.

The 80's came with a spoiler and air dam like the 78 pace car the majority of the time I believe,(correct me if I'm wrong) And I'm looking for the DC for a "1st year of the fastback window, stock body form of the 1978 vette". The non spoiler rear looks more sleek bodyline wise, but of course a spoiler helps with downforce and in a way- aerodynamics. But how much does the extra aero package help the Drag Coefficient?

Put it this way- My girlfriend's dad has an 81 with the extra aero's on it, My 78 doesn't have any of that stuff... Say we had the exact same drivetrain, same hp at the wheels, same weight, everything else equal except the aero add-ons that his car came with- what's the data on the DC difference?--- To make things clear, his motor is stock and weak, (has the 85mph speedo too- crazy to see in any vette) and my motor is slightly soup'd up to around 350+ hp... I know I can pull away from him easy enough, and don't plan to race anyway--- I just wanted to put in in "real world" terms to clarify my question...

Thanks for any info and discussion you guys can provide.

 

Not exact, but a stock 78 would be less than the 0.36 drag coefficient of the 1968 and more that the 0.35 drag coefficient of the 1980 (less than 3% difference - how close do you need the number to be?). You are chasing style here NOT performance.

To get a dramatic decrease in DC you need to clean up the bottom of the car (C5/C6). These kits do not do that. Pick the kit if you like the style, it is your car, and you only have to please yourself.

 

Just some numbers ....http://i237.photobucket.com/albums/f...8new/aero3.jpg