The Camaro in the tunnel, as viewed from the control room. Image: Supplied
The category and homologation teams Triple Eight (Ford), Team 18 (GM) and Walkinshaw Andretti United (Toyota) spent 10 days at the high tech facility in Concord, North Carolina.
While the trip was triggered by the need to homologate the new Toyota Supra, the incumbents were also brought amid a major investment in the name of parity.
Edwards declared at the end of the test that parity has been achieved, hailing it a “minor miracle” given the fine tolerances targeted.
Supercars previously tested the Gen3 Mustang and Camaro at the wind tunnel in the 2023/24 off-season, but returned with a more detailed process.
That included a focus on matching how sensitive the cars are across a range of parameters such as ride heights.
Additionally, Supercars boss Tim Edwards explained that the category had ordered pre-test changes to the Mustang to “commonise some areas that aren’t really seen from the public under the car.”
‘We’ve got parity’: Supercars hails ‘miracle’ wind tunnel result
The Supercars website has confirmed that, while the Camaro was initially intended to simply be the datum car used for an initial benchmark run, the plan changed during the testing.
“While the Camaro was initially the baseline, additional findings found that the Mustang and the Supra were able to align more easily on front ride height sensitivity,” reads a report.
“Throughout the latest testing, the Mustang was found to have a peakier front ride height sensitivity, resulting in more front downforce at low front ride heights, and less at higher front ride heights, relative to the Camaro.
“Conversely, the Camaro also had more forward aero balance than expected, had a flatter front ride height sensitivity, with less front downforce at low front ride heights and more front downforce at higher front ride heights.
“The Camaro was re-run to meet the Mustang’s output, helping Supercars and the teams find a direction to implement changes.”
The end result was changes to both the Camaro and the Mustang.
Supercars and Triple Eight both purchased 3D printers while at the wind tunnel to produce additional aero options on the run.
“On the Camaro, a partial new design of front undertray skid blocks was agreed upon, as was a new add-on undertray infill,” advised the Supercars website.
“On the Mustang, the boot spoiler/decklid was adjusted to a new lower height, the side skirt leading edge packer was reinstalled, and the rear wing angle increased to 10 degrees.”
The story notes that “all three cars were homologated at a wing angle of 10 degrees”, suggesting wing angles are to be fixed, rather than permitted within certain ranges.
While changes to the Supra have not been detailed, it was expected the final homologation would have a number of significant variations over the initial test mule.
WAU team principal Car Faux revealed on Sunday that the Supra spent a total of 24 hours in the tunnel, with 18 for the Mustang and 12 for the Camaro.
All involved hailed a collaborative effort throughout the latest testing, for which each HT was allowed to bring five crew members.
