Will a car in a 40 MPH headwind operate at a higher RPM then if there was no wind?

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Im sure the cars aerodynamics play a part in it how much idk. I think a l/u would be better simply bc it drops the rpms but idk how much 40mph makes a diff..
 
Im sure the cars aerodynamics play a part in it how much idk. I think a l/u would be better simply bc it drops the rpms but idk how much 40mph makes a diff..


The MPH of the wind and how much difference it makes isn't really what I was after. I was just more curious if a head wind effects RPM at a certain MPH. I would think that a l/u would hold a constant RPM for a given gear/MPH. Not sure about a NLU though.
 
I think what you want to ask is, to keep a constant speed at 55 would a car run more RPM in a 40 MPH wind than with no wind. The answer would be yes, and a NL converter will also make it run slightly more because there's no lock used.
 
The rpm may stay the same on the lock up but the load would increase

Posted from the TurboBuick.Com mobile app
 
If the torque converter is locked there is nothing to slip, so RPM is straight math- tire size/ diff ratio/ trans gearing. Wind makes no difference.
 
Ok.
What non contacting forces are acting on the car?
What is touching the car?
Draw a FBD
Im just kidding.
I would think that DC would play a small part on the RPM of the Torque converter.
 
Ok.
What non contacting forces are acting on the car?
What is touching the car?
Draw a FBD
Im just kidding.
I would think that DC would play a small part on the RPM of the Torque converter.


Now I'm going to have nightmares about being in High School again. I hope you're happy with yourself. :p
 
Hmm...we have answers saying two different things now.

There will always be some slippage due to the fact that it's an automatic. With the lock up it should be below 1% and on a non lock it will be higher because there's no direct lock up in the converter but a fluid coupling going on.
 
Also keep in mind that the new cars have converters that do more than simply lock and unlock. They can adjust the slippage now depending on load.
 
The MPH of the wind and how much difference it makes isn't really what I was after. I was just more curious if a head wind effects RPM at a certain MPH. I would think that a l/u would hold a constant RPM for a given gear/MPH. Not sure about a NLU though.

LU would hold constant if you adjust the throttle for the heavier load.
Kind of like going up a hill on LU you have to increase the throttle to compensate for the heavier load on the car.
 
My mind wants to say that the rpm and mph will stay the same but you will be in the throttle more to maintain it because of the increase in load. If the converter isn't locked then the rpms will increase as an effect of the greater load inducing more slip.


Posted from the TurboBuick.Com mobile app
 
as someone already pointed out, there is no such thing as a torque converter that is 100% locked up... there will always be some slippage- even if it is 1% or lower... the extra wind resistance would cause you to give it more throttle to maintain speed, which means more torque being used to move the car, which means more tc slippage...
so, yes, you would have a little bit more rpm for a given speed with a strong headwind than without..
 
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