DE VELO PMENT AERODYNAMIC S
Dodge Viper ACR
© FCA US
TRACK RECORD KING
Viper owners use their vehicles in a vari-
ety of ways including drag racing, auto-
cross/gymkhana and road course track
events. Over the years, many Viper
owners who track their vehicles have
demanded increased levels of perfor-
mance from the factory.
The first Dodge Viper ACR (American
Club Racer), based on the second-genera-
tion Viper model was created for the
1999 model year to satisfy this demand.
The inaugural ACR had suspension and
engine enhancements focused on max-
imising performance in road racing and
autocross environments. Engine output
was bumped from 336 to 343 kW via a
unique air filter and smooth air intake
36
The Aerodynamics of a
Street-legal Race Car
hoses. Curb weight was reduced by more
than 22 kg by removing the audio sys-
tem and other non-essential items such
as the fog lamps. The new stiffer, adjust-
able suspension removed another 6 kg of
curb weight.
The second model of the Viper ACR
was based on the fourth-generation
Viper coupe and built during the 2008-
2010 model years. The 2008/2009 Viper
ACR maintained the standard Viper’s
447 kW and 759 Nm of torque, while
adding aerodynamic, brake and suspen-
sion upgrades. One engineering devel-
opment goal was 453 kg of downforce
at 241 km/h with optimum aero balance
– a target achieved through CFD and
wind tunnel testing. Unique coil-over
shocks allowed height changes and were
Since 1992 the Dodge Viper,
especially the ACR version –
first introduced in 1999 – has
always been focused on extreme
performance. For the new Viper
ACR, FCA combines high levels
of downforce with a 481-kW
V10 engine for extreme track
performance as shown in MTZ-
worldwide 3/2017. In this article
the engineers describe how the
aerodynamic components of the
Viper ACR have been designed.
step adjustable for compression and
rebound.
Spring and anti-roll-bar rates were
increased and the ACR was fitted with
forged aluminium wheels and track-ready
race tyres. The new wheels and tyres
combined with a new two-piece brake
rotor system shaved about 18 kg from a
base Viper. An additional 18 kg of savings
(for a total of 36) was possible when
ordering the Hard Core Package, which
removed the audio system, boot carpet
and sound insulation. The 2008 Viper
ACR proved its performance formula by
setting a new track record at the 20.8 km
Nürburgring Nordschleife circuit in Ger-
many with an elapsed time of 7:22.1 min.
For the 2010 model year, the Viper
ACR was upgraded further with a rede-
 AUTHORS
Jeff Reece
is Vehicle Integration Responsible
Dodge Viper, SRT Engineering at
FCA Fiat Chrysler Automobiles US
LLC in Auburn Hills, MI (USA).
Mike Shinedling
is Manager Advance Concepts and
Proposals, SRT Engineering at
FCA Fiat Chrysler Automobiles US
LLC in Auburn Hills, MI (USA).
Arturo Guzman-Magana
is Aerothermal Design Lead Dodge
Viper, SRT Engineering at FCA Fiat
Chrysler Automobiles US
LLC in Auburn Hills, MI (USA).
V10 engine, equipped with factory-
installed headers, forged pistons and a
low-restriction exhaust system, which
produced 477 kW (30 more than the pro-
duction model). The suspension was
tuned and upgraded for on-track usage
while the weight was reduced by 73 kg
(versus the standard production Viper) to
take on even the most challenging road
course. Additional aerodynamic upgrades
improved downforce while enhancing
stability and significantly improving grip
in high-speed cornering. The Viper ACR-X
contained factory-installed safety equip-
ment such as a factory-designed roll cage,
fuel cell and race seat.
Released for the 2016 model year, the
latest Viper ACR boosted its aerodynam-
ics to race-car levels of downforce, deliv-
ering exceptional performance at the
race track. The high levels of downforce,
combined with a 481 kW V10 engine,
specially developed Kumho tyres, and a
suspension package that includes adjusta-
ble Bilstein dampers, allowed the Viper
ACR to become the ultimate street-legal
race car by setting more track records
than any production car in the world –
a total of 13 production car lap records
across the United States, including
records that bested hypercars such as the
Porsche 918 and McLaren P1 [1], TABLE 1.
Creating a road car with such high lev-
els of downforce presented several engi-
neering challenges, including achieving
an aesthetically pleasing look without
sacrificing function, providing adequate
structure to support the aerodynamic
loads and ensuring the durability of car-
bon aerodynamic components in close
proximity to ground.
Tools used to develop the aerodynamic
package included:
– full size aero-acoustic wind tunnel
on a scale of 1:1 at FCA US in Auburn
Hills, Michigan
– computational Fluid Dynamics
– design for Six Sigma (DFSS) methodol-
ogy to optimise physical characteris-
tics of components
– instrumented race track testing.
AERODYNAMIC PACK AGE
COMPONENT OVERVIEW
The standard ACR aero package of the
2016 Dodge Viper ACR consists of the four
important components. The front splitter,
incorporating several underbody features
that create efficient front downforce, is a
large carbon fiber panel, most of which is
not visible when the car is on the ground.
The front splitter extension is intended for
track use and extends the leading edge of
the splitter forward, generating additional
front downforce. One dive plane on each
side of the fascia generates front down-
force. Finally the rear wing, 1776 mm
wide with adjustable angle of attack,
works with the front aero components
to provide a balanced setup.

ACR record
Track
lap
Track/configuration length Date
signed rear wing gurney and end plates (elapsed time
[km]
[min])
to further optimise aerodynamics and
improve rear yaw downforce. In addi- Laguna Seca; Salinas, California 3.6 1:28.65 10/28/15
tion, a shorter fifth gear ratio improved Road Atlanta; Braselton, Georgia 4.1 1:26.54 10/11/15
high-speed acceleration and produced Waterford Hills; Waterford, Michigan 2.3 1:10.89 9/30/15
higher straightaway speeds. This
Nelson Ledges; Garrettsville, Ohio 3.2 1:06.21 9/21/15
improvement was a direct result of SRT’s
Motown Mile; Detroit, Michigan 1.8 51.17 8/28/15
experience at the Nürburgring Nord-
schleife, where the team found that a GingerMan Raceway; South Haven, Mich. / Extended Length 3.4 1:31.91 8/27/15

revised gear ratio would have resulted in Pittsburgh International Race Complex; New Alexandria,
2.5 58.37 8/18/15
a higher speed capability and potentially Pennsylvania / North Track

a shorter elapsed time. In late September Grattan Raceway; Belding, Michigan 3.2 1:22.09 5/19/15
2011, Dodge returned to the famed cir- Virginia International Raceway; Alton, Virg. / Grand Course 6.8 2:40.02 4/23/15
cuit and recaptured the production car Willow Springs Raceway; Rosamond, California / Big Willow 4.0 1:21.24 4/2/15
lap record with a time of 7:12.13 min. MotorSport Ranch; Cresson, Texas 2.7 1:16.98 2/25/15
In late 2009, Dodge announced the non-
Buttonwillow Raceway Park; Buttonwillow, California 4.3 1:47.70 1/21/15
street legal Viper ACR-X, targeted at the
Inde Motorsports Ranch; Wilcox, Arizona / Configuration 4 3.5 1:33.75 11/19/14
grassroots racer. The 2010 Dodge Viper
ACR-X was powered by the venerable 8.4-l TABLE 1 Production car lap records established by 2016 Viper ACR (© FCA US)

ATZ worldwide 03|2017 37

DE VELO PMENT AERODYNAMIC S
FIGURE 1 Aerodynamic components of 2016 Viper ACR with Extreme Aero package option (© FCA US)
The optional Extreme Aero package
on the Viper ACR, FIGURE 1, adds compo-
nents like the extreme splitter extension,
which is longer than the standard front
splitter extension, generating signifi-
cantly more downforce and requiring
additional support struts. In addition,
upper dive planes have been added
above the standard ACR dive planes to
further increase front downforce, which
can be additionally improved by remov-
ing the front wheel arch vents, which are
designed as louvered panels, or the six
hood vents for track use. Further aerody-
namic measures are six curved, carbon
fiber strakes which are attached to the
standard Viper rear diffuser and diffuser
strake extensions intended for track use,
which extend the strakes closer to the
ground, generating more rear downforce,
especially in yaw. Last but not least, the
extreme rear wing creates a more effi-
cient downforce than the standard ACR
wing due to its higher, more rearward
position on the vehicle, unique gurney,
and an extra 100 mm of width.
FORM FOLLOWS FUNCTION
Performance was the driving force
behind the development of the Viper
ACR Extreme Aero package. However,
the look of the vehicle was also impor-
tant. To ensure the desired look without
sacrificing performance, it was neces-
sary to quantify the effect of various
physical characteristics for each aerody-
namic component, enabling the FCA
Product Design Office to improve appear-
ance by manipulating the characteristics
that were least critical to performance.
38
Using the wing as an example, early
development activities focused on defin-
ing major design attributes such as wing
height, fore/aft position, cross-car width
and general shape. Performance metrics
included aerodynamic efficiency and
overall downforce in yaw for a given aer-
odynamic balance. CFD and wind tunnel
results favoured a very wide wing that
was positioned high and rearward. But
the resulting look was considered too
aggressive for some potential customers,
so the decision was made to offer two
aerodynamic packages – the standard
ACR and the optional Extreme Aero
package. The addition of the Extreme
Aero package allowed further differenti-
ation through other components such as
front wheel arch vents, unique splitter
extensions, unique dive planes and dif-
fuser strakes.
In parallel with the wing location
studies, several basic wing geometries
were evaluated. These included straight,
curved, single element, dual element and
some shapes that transitioned between
single and dual element. The final design
was curved in plan view and used a
single element centre section that transi-
tioned to dual element sections on the
outboard ends. This shape provided the
best combination of overall downforce in
yaw, aerodynamic efficiency and weight,
FIGURE 2.
Once the basic shape was defined, a
Design for Six Sigma (DFSS) technique
was used to find the optimum combina-
tion of characteristics for both ultimate
performance and design robustness.
FIGURE 2 Evolution of
This technique also helped to identify the Viper ACR rear wing
the physical characteristics that had the (© FCA US)
least impact on performance, giving per-
sonnel in the FCA Product Design Office
the opportunity to manipulate those
characteristics to achieve the desired
look. These characteristics, also known
as “control factors”, included gurney
height, chord, angle of attack, gap and
offset between elements, and width of
the single element section vs. the dual
element sections. Both CFD and wind
tunnel testing were used to complete
DFSS studies. By evaluating the perfor-
mance of only 18 control factor combina-
tions it was possible to predict the per-
formance of over 13,000 combinations,
FIGURE 3 Predictive results of over 13,000 factor-driven solutions from DFSS/CAE study (© FCA US)
FIGURE 4 Front splitter components (© FCA US)
ATZ worldwide 03|2017
FIGURE 3. The insights provided by this
method were used to identify the fea-
tures that could be changed for appear-
ance and those that were “off-limits” due
to performance.
STRUCTURE
The current Viper ACR with the Extreme
Aero package option produces over
544 kg of downforce at 241 km/h,
and over 771 kg of downforce at its top
speed of 285 km/h. Such significant
loads required appropriate structural
enhancements.
One example was the carbon fiber rear
liftgate. CFD was used to determine the
maximum loads on the rear wing, and
subsequent CAE analysis determined that
additional carbon layers were required.
Validation of the final design included a
static load test on a vehicle, followed by
high speed track testing. The front splitter
extension for the Extreme Aero package
required additional support in the form
of struts attached to the frame. In addi-
tion to CFD analysis, high speed tests
with strain-gauge-equipped struts were
used to optimise strut location.
PROTECTING VULNERABLE AERO
COMPONENTS
The front splitter is a large carbon fiber
panel with minimal ground clearance at
the leading edge. In street configuration,
the leading edge is protected by a rub
strip made of high density polyethylene,
FIGURE 4. In track form, the street rub
strip is replaced with a splitter track
extension made of the same material.
Both versions of the Viper ACR have
track extensions but the Extreme Aero
extension is longer than standard ACR
extension and requires additional sup-
port struts with brackets from the
bumper beam. The extension will sur-
vive repeated contact with the ground,
which occurs regularly under braking
and over track curbing.
The rear diffuser strakes on the
Extreme Aero ACR are also vulnerable
due to their proximity to the track sur-
face. The diffuser strake extensions,
which can be installed at the track for
added performance, are made of the
same high density polyethylene material
as the front splitter extension. These
extensions protect the carbon fiber
strakes during track contact, which hap-
pens regularly in high speed turns or
other events that create significant sus-
pension compression.
WIND TUNNEL TESTING
The Chrysler Technology Center in
Auburn Hills, MI contains a full-scale,
open jet wind tunnel, where the SRT
development team clocked more than
three hundred hours of wind tunnel time
over 29 separate test sessions during
development of the Viper ACR.
With a nozzle size of 27.9 m2 and a test
section length of 14.4 m, the wind tunnel
39
DE VELO PMENT AERODYNAMIC S
is capable of testing large vehicles such
as trucks and minivans and at the same
time test high-performance vehicles due
to its maximum airflow speed of more
than 225 km/h. This wind tunnel is able
to maintain constant temperatures for
precise acoustic and aero testing. It fea-
tures a unique two-stage system to pro-
vide excellent boundary layer thickness
on the turntable:
– Stage 1: A boundary layer slot removes
the boundary layer at the nozzle exit.
– Stage 2: There is a tangential blowing
slot that re-injects some of the air from
the scoop and blows it at 1.67 times
free stream.
The circuit design was developed and
analysed using the CFD capabilities of
FCA US. It has very low flow losses mak-
FIGURE 5 Wind tunnel testing with early development wing (© FCA US)
40
ing it superior to conventionally designed
wind tunnels. The unique expanding cor-
ner slows the air by 46 % while turning it
90°, avoiding flow separation. Other fea-
tures of this tunnel include a honeycomb
flow straightener with passages 16 times
longer than the cell diameter. It is located
at the entrance of the contraction (nozzle).
Further downstream, a seamless fine-
mesh screen further refines the flow
entering the contraction. All of the turn-
ing vanes are designed to absorb fan noise
and are uniquely designed for each
corner.
Since no wind tunnel can perfectly
simulate real-world conditions, it is
important to understand the limitations
of the wind tunnel being used. The
Auburn Hills wind tunnel is a fixed floor
tunnel, so underbody treatments, espe-
cially at the rear of the vehicle, had to be
evaluated with that knowledge. Compo-
nents affected by spinning wheels also
presented challenges in the fixed floor
tunnel. In such cases, the Viper team
drew on experience from previous pro-
grams that conducted correlation tests
between the Auburn Hills tunnel and
rolling road wind tunnels. Final aero
validation testing was conducted at the
WindShear wind tunnel in Concord,
North Carolina (USA). CFD analysis was
another critical tool in understanding
the effects of such components.
Timing and cost were also considered
while conducting wind tunnel testing.
These factors limited the number of com-
plex full-size components, such as rear
wings, that could be tested. However, for
certain components, wind tunnel testing
was a quicker and more cost effective
means of testing than CFD. For example,
dive planes, bonnet openings and some
front splitter treatments were easily cre-
ated and evaluated using wood, alumin-
ium and tape. In early testing, the team
wanted to develop the front end compo-
nents but lacked a rear wing to provide
the necessary downforce for a balanced
setup. The solution was to stack two
wings, one from a previous generation
Viper ACR and one from a Viper Compe-
tition Coupe race car, to provide the tar-
get rear downforce. Affectionately called
the “Red Baron”, this setup was not
nearly as efficient as the final production
wing but did provide an effective plat-
form for developing front end treatments,
FIGURE 5.
Once CFD had been used to select a
general wing shape, a modular test wing
was created to explore the interactions of
gurney height, angle of attack of each
element and spacing between the ele-
ments, FIGURE 6. Although it could not
duplicate the intricate shapes evaluated
with CFD, it provided validation of the
CFD results prior to tooling a more pro-
duction-representative wing.
COMPUTATIONAL FLUID DYNAMICS
More than six hundred CFD simulations
were performed on the Viper ACR not
only to complement the wind tunnel
development, but also to project moving
ground conditions, investigate different
concepts and early configurations. Aero-
dynamics and airflow management are

FIGURE 6 Modular test wing (© FCA US)
critical aspects of vehicle engineering.
Deep understanding of vehicle drag,
total downforce and lift distribution have
to be balanced with cooling flows for the
engine and brake cooling and other
components.
CFD simulations aid in the development
by quickly assessing different design
changes and providing not only aero num-
bers but valuable flow visualisations in
the form of streamlines, plane cuts show-
ing velocity and pressure that help rank
the new aero parts developed for this
vehicle and fine tuning for optimum per-
formance, FIGURE 7 and FIGURE 8.
CFD simulations were performed for
different ride height changes and yaw
conditions to get the best aero perfor-
mance on conditions that represent the
real portions of the track or the road.
The main devices worked out through
CFD were the diffuser, the diffuser
strakes and their interaction with the
wing. These types of devices are
designed in order to create suction under
FIGURE 7 Front ¾ view of Extreme Aero Viper ACR showing velocity output
from CFD (© FCA US)
ATZ worldwide 03|2017
the car, commonly known as ground
effects. These ground effect devices,
since they rely on low pressure and
interact with the wake of the car, pro-
duce very transient flow structures like
vortices and flow pulsations. Transient
CFD tools helped reveal time-dependent
flow structures which were studied in
order to fine tune the angle, size and
shape for those diffuser strakes. Under-
standing these transient flows helped to
brainstorm more ideas for improvement
and reach the performance goals.
The simulation model of the Viper
ACR has production level underbody,
scanned tyres and production wheels
and powertrain details matching closely
to the vehicle tested in the wind tunnel.
Cooling grilles were kept open and the
flow through the heat exchangers was
modeled using porous media resistance
curves obtained from experimental
measurements.
When the final validation for the vehi-
cle was performed at WindShear wind
FIGURE 8 Underbody view of Extreme Aero Viper ACR showing velocity output
from CFD (© FCA US)
tunnel, further simulations were com-
pleted. In order to match the wind tunnel
setup of the vehicle, detailed photos
were used to evaluate and adjust the ride
height changes due to the moving belt
and the aero forces acting on the car.
FINAL ANALYSIS
The true test of the Dodge Viper ACR
aerodynamic package came at the hands
of vehicle dynamics engineers at the
FCA US Chelsea Proving Grounds and
multiple race tracks across the United
States. Subjective and objective feedback
from track tests usually correlated well
with expectations based on CFD and
wind tunnel results, highlighted the
importance of an aero package that
worked over the entire operating range
of the vehicle (heave, pitch, and yaw),
and was used to refine aero balance tar-
gets. The combination of CFD analysis,
wind tunnel testing, track testing and
the employment of DFSS methodologies
resulted in a vehicle that shattered track
records across the United States. Equally
important, the Viper ACR has developed
a reputation among customers as the
track day weapon of choice due to its
accessible and astonishing performance.
REFERENCE
[1] 2016 Dodge Viper ACR Is Undisputed Track
Record King. Online: https://www.scca.com/
articles/1998486-2016-dodge-viper-acr-is-undis-
puted-track-record-king, last access: 14 Dec 2016
41