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Wings and splitters: Are there any that are more than merely cosmetic?

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#1
I definitely like the way these aero bits look on our cars, but I prefer not to spend my hard-earned money on things that are purely cosmetic. Have any of the various companies done any wind tunnel testing? Will any of the wings and splitters on the market actually make a measurable difference on a winding canyon road? Or are we simply not moving fast enough for them to have an effect on handling?
 


D1JL

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#2
I am sure that for such a low production market as ours, they are mostly cosmetic.
I am also sure that the small companies that make these parts for our cars have the resources for wind tunnel testing.
That being said the shapes and designs come from racing programs where wind tunnel testing is used.
So yes, I am sure that there is some amount of functionality there.
You are probably also correct that we are just not going fast enough to make much difference.



Dave
 


RAAMaudio

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#3
Unfortunately the majority of "aero" products made for street cars are a performance reducer in one or more ways. I fully understand wanting to cosmetically modify a car as I have close to 5 decades of doing so but always do my best to make my cars better, not worse when it comes to performance. I also like a clean look that does not get to much attention by those that might want to write me a ticket or those that might want to steal my stuff. I still get plenty of attention and respect from those that understand real performance and a clean lower key look;)
 


RAAMaudio

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#5
One could build an incredible FiST for the price of just the front wing on that car!

Of course there are some generic aspects to making a wing, splitter/diffuser and other parts that are well known to make improvements but cannot be fully optimized unless a wind tunnel is used to be very precise though computational fluid dynamics is a great tool to get a good idea of the part in general and more direct if the car info is accurately included. Another tool for the masses is using yarn taped to the right places and a video taken at different speeds then tweaks made and tested again until the best results are gained.
 


meFiSTo

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#6
In general, I think the wings (like the R5 and other similar rally-derived wings) are more functional than the commercially available splitters and diffusers (if there are any, not sure). The splitters are mostly just attractive lips. At best, they act a little like dams (which is not all bad). If the wings are the right shape (upside down air foil) and at a suitable angle (like maybe 11 degrees or so), then they can provide some actual downforce at speed.
 


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