How do you use an aero map?

Aero maps are one of the many tools that help engineers to build a model of a racecar. These models are then used to predict the behaviour of the car to different set-up changes. Being able to investigate and quickly understand the effect of different set-up changes is essential when the driver, track and conditions change which is why modelling has become such a critical part of motorsport engineering.

So if you wanted to find how the aero balance (percentage of total downforce on the front axle), would change if you lowered the front ride height by 3mm, how would you use an aero map? Firstly, let’s look at an example of an aero map. For a range of front and rear ride heights, the amount of downforce can be visualised by different colours with red being high and blue being low. Separate aero maps can then be used to visualise front, rear and total downforce as well as drag.