- First Name
- Chris
- Joined
- Jul 3, 2021
- Threads
- 11
- Messages
- 4,378
- Reaction score
- 9,209
- Location
- Tucson, AZ
- Vehicle(s)
- 15 Breakout, 21 Road King Special, 22 Maverick XLT
- Engine
- 2.5L Hybrid
I'm curious so I have to ask. When figuring out frontal area drag for towing would you combine the area of the Maverick and your trailer for the total? I would think that because the Maverick is already pushing air with it's frontal area that frontal area being added by the trailer would dramatically less than the actual area of the trailer. Does that make sense? I would think the actual area of the trailer contributing to the overall drag would less because the Maverick is already "blocking" 20 Sq ft of it.There is. Frontal area is one of the primary contributors to aerodynamic drag, through Pascals Law:
Force = area x pressure, specifically.
Drag Force = area x Cd x (air density x velocity squared)/2
If I were Ford and had no idea what Cd your trailer might be, I'd assume the worst - a flat plate - and go from there. The Cd of a flat plate is 1.28. A sphere is 0.48.
It should be obvious that the sphere has to be 2.667x larger to have the same drag force. If your trailer is more sphere than plate, you can likely pull a larger trailer without issue.
Sponsored