Rovers vs. Drag

[Slam_Jones]

The Ariel Nomad has a top speed of 60 m/s so it should be comparable to your rover,

Look at the streamlining on it to deal with drag http://www.arielmotor.co.uk/nomad/introduction/

I have no idea who to calculate the TWR of that thing but I bet it's high.

Yesss, that's basically the style of body I'm going after with most of my rovers. I kinda wish there were more aerodynamic cylindrical girders for better drag management, but that, I suppose, could be modded into the game.

(Edit: Also, a clear "window" part would be EPIC)

I have wondered, though, if terms like TWR and ISP even apply to internal combustion, wheel-driven vehicles, and if they do, how those numbers would be calculated.

You do realize that rover is currently doing a 111.85MPH/180.005KPH right? What else do you want? A 200 mile an hour rover jumping over terrain that no vehicle on earth in the real world would be able to maintain that speed over? Come on now...

Just because I want one part of my game to be realistic, doesn't mean the every single part has to be realistic

Yes I realize what I'm asking of the rovers (especially being off-road and all) isn't really feasible in the real world, but it sure is fun in the game.

Edited May 11, 2015 by Slam_Jones

[Armchair Rocket Scientist]

Umm 200m/s is around 720km/h or around 450 mph. Therefore I can't say I would know why a car capable of that speed looks like because I expect there are very few of them (not going to say they don't exist but i haven't seen one yet).

As for the lawn mower at 180km/h (110 mph) that seems little fast for a lawn mower too.

You're correct. There are very few of them. Here are the ones off Wikipedia's landspeed record page that used jet engines.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spirit_of_America_%28automobile%29

http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2205/1565760676_c113149347_z.jpg?zz=1

http://barthworks.com/cars/petersen/photos/65arfonsjetcarb.jpg

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_Flame_%28automobile%29

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thrust2

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ThrustSSC

They look like "airplanes minus wings," and not that different from the 200 m/s vehicle Starwhip posted a screenshot of.

As for the lawnmower, it is an extremely heavily modified mower with an engine from a sport bike and ATV wheels, but it did go 116 MPH, and aside from the roll cage it's not that much more streamlined than OP's rover.

http://www.gizmag.com/honda-mean-mower-guinness-world-fastest-lawnmower/31463/

Someone's confusing m/s with Km/h

Nope. 50 m/s = a bit over 100 mph, which is pretty fast for a rover, but should be quite possible for a vehicle like OP's. 200 m/s = over 400 MPH, which requires streamlined vehicles propelled by jet or rocket engines.