What is the "Coefficient of Drag" of the MX-3

Thunderstorm · Post by **Thunderstorm** » April 8th, 2005, 3:42 pm

I have just been staring out of the window at the slippery, wind cheating, "Manta Ray" like shape of my MX-3 RS (Codename: Blackbird) when the quesstion suddenly hit me in the face like a cold wet cod, fresh out of the sea; and I ask:

What is the "Coefficient of Drag" of the MX-3 Coupe body shape?
Does it differ between the RS and the GS with its additional body spoilers?

Tunes67 · Post by **Tunes67** » April 8th, 2005, 3:51 pm

I actually stumbled across this statistic when I first bought my car.. I dont know the reference table or what this statistic is measured against. But the Drag Coefficient of the MX-3 is .32

At the time I found this statistic.. they didnt differentiate between the GS or RS model. Hope this helps.

Tunes67

Thunderstorm · Post by **Thunderstorm** » April 8th, 2005, 3:58 pm

Tunes67 wrote:I actually stumbled across this statistic when I first bought my car.. I dont know the reference table or what this statistic is measured against. But the Drag Coefficient of the MX-3 is .32

At the time I found this statistic.. they didnt differentiate between the GS or RS model. Hope this helps.

Tunes67

Thanks Tune67,

A 0.32 coefficient of drag seems pretty good, but the question though is......is it really?
What other cars could this be measured against?
Where do our MX-3s stand in the "Coefficient of Drag" stakes with other similar cars?

Tunes67 · Post by **Tunes67** » April 8th, 2005, 4:00 pm

I have one other car to measure it against.. a 1985 Subaru XT.. which at the time of its release was touted as having the lowest drag coefficient of any production car. Its drag coefficient is 0.28.

Tunes67

Thunderstorm · Post by **Thunderstorm** » April 8th, 2005, 4:20 pm

Hmmmmm!!! Thanks Tunes67

The 1985 Subaru XT!

Nice car!

Used to dream of owning one of those, purely on the exceptionally futuristic design of the car.
One of the few cars I actually wanted.
Rare this side of the pond, I never did see one in the flesh.
Not surprised it has 0.28 Cd.

Wonder how we stand against the Porsche 914 / 944 series, the RX-7, The Honda Civic (1994), Nissan 1600 NX and its ilk, and other coupes like Hyundai's, Celica's and similar.

Thunderstorm

ovendenk · Post by **ovendenk** » April 8th, 2005, 4:35 pm

found this thread interesting and fell upon this site.

http://www.teknett.com/pwp/drmayf/tbls.htm

gs and rs are both 0.34 apparently. btw, a porshe 911 from 94 was only 0.31.

Tunes67 · Post by **Tunes67** » April 8th, 2005, 4:38 pm

Trust me.. as a owner of a 85 Subaru XT.. I can honestly say that while its been relatively reliable.. its the only car I have ever regretted buying. Its ONLY saving grace was its gas mileage. But then I also have the model without the turbo and its just the FWD version.

Tunes67

Tunes67 · Post by **Tunes67** » April 8th, 2005, 4:45 pm

Oddly enough.. on the home page (under brochures) here at http://www.mx-3.com.. they have the DC listed as 0.32 for the RS and 0.31 for the GS. And in searching around.. I found that the Subaru XT is listed as 0.29. Couple of really cool sites out there with this info..

Tunes67

Thunderstorm · Post by **Thunderstorm** » April 8th, 2005, 6:04 pm

Duh!

Silly me - should have checked the Ultimate Internet Resource on MX-3's.
Of course it says 0.32 for the RS and 0.31 for the GS.
And that's the truth.
My handbook says 0.32 and so do all reputable websites giving reviews on the MX-3.

Found a web site where someone was trying to "calculate" Cd's using a formula. Not accurate methinks since this is the one place where the figure 0.34 has popped up.

I think mx-3.com got it absolutely right of course.
The GS will have 0.31 because of its extra spoilers.
And nice to know the 1994 Porsche 911 has a similar Cd too!

Flashpoint2 · Post by **Flashpoint2** » April 8th, 2005, 11:52 pm

.32 is pretty good. a Z06 vette is .28 i'm quite sure.

Hoodzy · Post by **Hoodzy** » April 20th, 2005, 6:59 pm

u guys should find out cars that we would actually race lol
civic??
sunfire?
cavalier?

fry_81 · Post by **fry_81** » April 20th, 2005, 7:08 pm

look on that site, they have them...
'95 Sunfire GT
0.320
'92 Civic CX
0.360
'86 Cavalier Z24
0.380
not upto date i know, but its an idea.

corbanbrook · Post by **corbanbrook** » March 13th, 2006, 5:37 pm

so the mx-3 is 0.32 Cd and the VW Beetle is 0.38..

http://www.max-mpg.com/html/tech/main.htm

This guy reduced the Cd of his VW Beetle to 0.28 with a custom made spoiler to improve the aerodynamics surely we could improve upon the sleak and stylish MX-3 if the ugly a-- beetle can get that low.

Are there any recommend spoilers that claim to reduce the drag coefficient and have numbers to back it up instead of Feels-Like factor?

Gro Harlem · Post by **Gro Harlem** » March 13th, 2006, 5:42 pm

whats the co of drag on a brick wall? Is that what its measured against?

i'd guess a brick wall would be 1.0 or something.

corbanbrook · Post by **corbanbrook** » March 14th, 2006, 11:17 am

Some notable examples:

* 2.1 - a smooth brick
* 0.9 - a typical bicycle plus cyclist
* 0.7 to 1.1 - typical values for a Formula 1 car (wing settings change for each circuit)
* 0.7 - Caterham Seven
* at least 0.6 - a typical truck
* 0.57 - Hummer H2, 2003
* 0.51 - Citroën 2CV
* 0.42 - Lamborghini Countach, 1974
* 0.42 - Triumph Spitfire Mk IV, 1971-1980
* 0.39 - Dodge Durango, 2004
* 0.39 - Triumph Spitfire, 1964-1970
* 0.38 - Volkswagen Beetle
* 0.38 - Mazda Miata, 1989
* 0.372 - Ferrari F50, 1996
* 0.36 - Citroën DS, 1955
* 0.36 - Ferrari Testarossa, 1986
* 0.36 - Opel GT, 1969
* 0.36 - Citroën CX, 1974 (the car was named after the term for drag coefficient)
* 0.355 - NSU Ro 80, 1967
* 0.34 - Ford Sierra, 1982
* 0.34 - Ferrari F40, 1987
* 0.34 - Chevrolet Caprice, 1994-1996
* 0.34 - Chevrolet Corvette Z06, 2006
* 0.338 - Chevrolet Camaro, 1995
* 0.33 - Dodge Charger, 2006
* 0.33 - Audi A3, 2006
* 0.33 - Subaru Impreza WRX STi, 2004
* 0.33 - Mazda RX-7 FC3C, 1987-91
* 0.33 - Citroen SM, 1970
* 0.32064 - Volkswagen GTI Mk V, 2006 (0.3216 with ground effects)
* 0.32 - Toyota Celica,1995-2005
* 0.31 - Citroën GS, 1970
* 0.31 - Citroën AX, 1986
* 0.31 - Mazda RX-7 FC3S, 1986-91
* 0.30 - Saab 92, 1947
* 0.30 - Audi 100, 1983
* 0.30 - Porsche 996, 1997
* 0.29 - Dodge Charger Daytona, 1971
* 0.29 - Honda CRX HF 1988
* 0.29 - Subaru XT, 1985
* 0.29 - BMW 8-Series, 1989
* 0.29 - Porsche Boxster, 2005
* 0.29 - Chevrolet Corvette, 2005
* 0.29 - Mazda RX-7 FC3S Aero Package, 1986-91
* 0.29 - Lancia Dedra, 1990-1998
* 0.29 - Honda Accord Hybrid, 2005
* 0.29 - Lotus Elite, 1958
* 0.29 - Mercedes-Benz W203 C-Class Coupe, 2001 - 2007
* 0.28 - Toyota Camry and sister model Lexus ES, 2005
* 0.28 - Porsche 997, 2004
* 0.28 - Saab 9-3, 2003
* 0.27 - Infiniti G35, 2002 (0.26 with "aero package")
* 0.27 - Mercedes-Benz W203 C-Class Sedan, 2001 - 2007
* 0.27 - Rumpler, 1921
* 0.27 - Toyota Camry Hybrid, 2007
* 0.26 - Alfa Romeo Disco Volante, 1952
* 0.26 - Hotchkiss Gregoire, 1951
* 0.26 - Toyota Prius, 2004
* 0.26 - Vauxhall Calibra, 1989
* 0.25 - Dymaxion, 1933
* 0.25 - Honda Insight, 1999
* 0.24 - Audi A2 1.2 TDI, 2001
* 0.212 - Tatra T77a, 1935
* 0.20 - Loremo Concept, 2006
* 0.20 - Opel Eco Speedster Concept, 2003
* 0.195 - General Motors EV1, 1996
* 0.19 - Alfa Romeo BAT Concept, 1953
* 0.19 - Dodge Intrepid ESX Concept , 1995
* 0.19 - Mercedes-Benz "Bionic Car" Concept, 2005 [1] (based on the boxfish)
* 0.16 - Daihatsu UFEIII Concept, 2005
* 0.16 - General Motors Precept Concept, 2000
* 0.14 - Fiat Turbina Concept, 1954
* 0.137 - Ford Probe V prototype, 1985

Excerp from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drag_coefficient