Quote Originally Posted by Canadian818 View Post
I remember Vettel loosing an end plate back in his red bull days and lap times were unaffected, the commentator kept going on about it. This is why they still do on track aero testing with those funny looking tube arm setups. Not sure if they still use the flo-vis paint stuff, but that's neat, I wonder if there's a good DIY version.

I believe the 818 rocket pieces added some lift but lowered drag on their tests. Definitely not a definitive test, but imo they're very different than the skirts pictured above as they don't protrude down at all.
The funny tubes are kiel probes. Similar, but just different enough from a pitot tube to earn it's own special name.
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Flow-viz is still used, almost exclusively on open wheel cars and only as a last ditch effort to understand why something isn't working the way it should. The problem is that it doesn't provide any quantifiable data, and if you can see it, so can the team next to you. It is very handy though for finding high and low pressure areas of a car should you ever need/want to add a scoop or duct to your AAIC, Oil Cooler or anything else. I prefer to use a combination of road dirt, brake dust and a quiet street that has just been rained on - though more technical and pricey solutions do certainly exist.