Rear wings - Cosmetic or Functional

[andylinney]

Having had a good look at my two cars (B4 and B44) I can't help but wonder just how functional the huge rear wings really are.

Sure enough, at full tilt I can imagine there's enough airflow over a car to make a measurable difference but at track cornering speeds (where I'd imagine it'd be of most use) is it more of a cosmetic piece of 'man jewellery'?

I wonder if any of these cars have ever been anywhere near a windtunnel?

[DCM]

Don't think of them as a Wing with an aerdynamic profile, think of them as a Spoiler, used to hit the air and cause a force on the rear axle, and yes they do work, not just on the track, but also whilst jumping.

[metalmickey0]

Yes you do need a rear wing, just try driving it without and you wont get very far. They do indeed press the rear end down into the track.

[andylinney]

Thanks DCM, I guess that explains the steep angle on the spoiler then.

[NeilRalph77]

Also aswell as the areo dynamic advantages of spoilers they come in handy as a marshalling handle!!!!!

[metalmickey0]

Originally Posted by NeilRalph77

advantages of spoilers they come in handy as a marshalling handle!!!!!

Yeah i know as i`ve seen people pull wings off like doing that. I try not too when i marshall

[jukeboxman]

I read somewhere that at speed the downforce acting behind the rear axle reduces front axle loads and lessens the steering effect helping to make cars less twitchy...

[Jez]

did richard weatherley of t-tech use wind tunnel testing to maximize effects of both front and rear 2 piece wings?have you ever tried driving one without a rear wing?maybe my memory isnt that good.

[JohnM]

Originally Posted by Jez

did richard weatherley of t-tech use wind tunnel testing to maximize effects of both front and rear 2 piece wings?have you ever tried driving one without a rear wing?maybe my memory isnt that good.

He did get the car into a wind tunnel, I remember him telling me how much extra downforce you'd get by having a gurney flap of a certain size.

The old plastic Pred front wings used to snap one side off, you could feel the car not wanting to turn one way as well as the other when it happened.

My current Durango seems really sensitive to wings as well, hates JConcepts wings, but loves a LMR wing

[DCM]

Another theory with wings, is how you position them on the wing mounts. If you position the wing mounts on the leading edge of the wing rather than in the middle, will have less effect on the car as, when the wing hits the airflow, it will deflect downwards and bend before it provides any necessary effect, whereas if the mounts are in the middle, you can possibly get away with a smaller wing with less drag but more downforce.

[hit5005]

The wing helps with braking has well stops the back end jumping around.and the bigger the wing will cut ur steering down try cuting ur wings diffrant sizes and see the diff in them.

[andylinney]

Thanks everyone, the thought of it being a spoiler rather than an aerodynamic wing makes far better sense given the speeds involved. I understand the marshalling handle concerns too, five or six hundred quids worth of buggy hanging from a sheet of 0.60 lexan makes me twitch a bit too.

[SHY]

Yes, in such a small scale the "aerofoil" principle (aeroplane wing, upside down F1 wing etc) does not apply. Simply because the air molecules are too large in comparison to our tiny wings. So we just "shove" the air upwards + generate drag/turbulence = more grip/downforce. Same for insects, they have flat wings and just "push" the air, there's no "lift".

On low or med grip tracks you can feel the difference between a large and small rear wing, but not so much on high grip. But as to jumping there's always a difference. Nowadays wigh high grip I tend to cut the wing until "jumping performance" is good Grip/amount of steering is easily adjusted by tyre choice/cutting of spikes.

Must admit I never really felt the difference when using a front wing or not... But it looks kinda cool

[coleman758]

If you drop a buggy from waist height it seriously wont damage much.

Just think of the punishment you put it through crashing at speed.
you could throw it on the floor and its still not as bad as a crash