Ekona Posted November 10, 2014 Share Posted November 10, 2014 Why do some drifters put wings on their cars? Circuit racing I get, as you want the downforce. My line of thinking is that you actually want the rear to be as light as possible to get it mobile & sliding, so extra weight or downforce at that point is the opposite of what you actually need. Do the wings on drift cars serve any purpose, or is it just for show? Genuine question, promise. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grundy Posted November 10, 2014 Share Posted November 10, 2014 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AliveBoy Posted November 10, 2014 Share Posted November 10, 2014 (edited) both, they look cool. However... to drift with control and skill, you need a TON of grip, like; a lot of pro spec cars won't be set up all that differently to a circuit racing car. Maximum grip means maximum speed, angle and control. It's why there's drift specific tyres which are uber soft, to allow for all the grip that's needed Forget the carpark heroes, for drifting on track you want no camber on the rear, loads on the front and grippy sticky tyres all round Edit, funnily enough, I think I'm actually suffering from a mistake. I've taken TOO MUCH weight out from the rear, so the car is prone to spinning out really easily. Slippery back end is slow and unpredictable, grippy back end is fast and predictable Edited November 10, 2014 by AliveBoy 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ekona Posted November 10, 2014 Author Share Posted November 10, 2014 Excellent reply, thanks matey I knew there had to be more to it, I just couldn't get my head around it this early in the week! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AliveBoy Posted November 10, 2014 Share Posted November 10, 2014 The other problem is, when you're sideways, the airflow over the wing is minimal, so what do you have to do? Go bigger of course Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grundy Posted November 10, 2014 Share Posted November 10, 2014 (edited) Edited November 10, 2014 by grundy225 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AliveBoy Posted November 10, 2014 Share Posted November 10, 2014 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grundy Posted November 10, 2014 Share Posted November 10, 2014 Noooooooooo Matt I really wanted for once in my life to complete a MJ Meme chain Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StevoD Posted November 10, 2014 Share Posted November 10, 2014 (edited) both, they look cool. However... to drift with control and skill, you need a TON of grip, like; a lot of pro spec cars won't be set up all that differently to a circuit racing car. Maximum grip means maximum speed, angle and control. It's why there's drift specific tyres which are uber soft, to allow for all the grip that's needed Forget the carpark heroe Steve , for drifting on track you want no camber on the rear, loads on the front and grippy sticky tyres all round Edit, funnily enough, I think I'm actually suffering from a mistake. I've taken TOO MUCH weight out from the rear, so the car is prone to spinning out really easily. Slippery back end is slow and unpredictable, grippy back end is fast and predictable Fixed Also Bizz had to have weights put in his car to weight the rear end down as it was to light Edited November 10, 2014 by StevoD Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StevoD Posted November 10, 2014 Share Posted November 10, 2014 The other problem is, when you're sideways, the airflow over the wing is minimal, so what do you have to do? Go bigger of course Also the likes of Rhys millen used them as a safe barrier, Its more surface area on the side pushing against the wind to stop it spinning full rotation He even added on one of his cars a full on perspex sheets from the wing to car Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grahamc Posted November 20, 2014 Share Posted November 20, 2014 As above, but one of the masters talking about his cars setup:- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coldel Posted November 20, 2014 Share Posted November 20, 2014 I thought most wings have no effect until you hit speeds over 80mph or the like, drifting at 30mph, not driving in a straight line so the airflow is going across the car, I am slightly confused as to how a wing no matter how big can actually generate downforce? Also a genuine question, promise! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AliveBoy Posted November 20, 2014 Share Posted November 20, 2014 I thought most wings have no effect until you hit speeds over 80mph or the like, drifting at 30mph, not driving in a straight line so the airflow is going across the car, I am slightly confused as to how a wing no matter how big can actually generate downforce? Also a genuine question, promise! As below Also, this always confuses me, "aero doesn't work until you're going over 80mph" it's said a lot, if you go for a cycle with lycra on, you're going to get a higher top speed than if you go for a cycle with a knee length coat on. The coat catching the air is going to slow you down because it's causing drag. Drag and downforce are related and an increase of one will increase the other... to a certain extent. A wing on a drift car will be at a massively steep angle of attack, basically creating some downforce giving you grip off the line. When fully sideways, yes you'll be relying purely on mechanical grip, but you're rarely 90 degrees sideways unless something has gone wrong. Most of the time you'll be at around 45 degrees or less, meaning that you'll still feel some benefit. The other problem is, when you're sideways, the airflow over the wing is minimal, so what do you have to do? Go bigger of course Also the likes of Rhys millen used them as a safe barrier, Its more surface area on the side pushing against the wind to stop it spinning full rotation He even added on one of his cars a full on perspex sheets from the wing to car For rookies like me, it's all about mechanical grip and a big wing is just because they look cool Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StevoD Posted November 20, 2014 Share Posted November 20, 2014 (edited) Alot of the serious championships ie Formula Drift, D1GP BDC (super pro class) IDC (pro Class) do enter on most runs between 80-100mph Look into the Audi tt and why that got its little duck bill on the mk1 little wing on he boot made a big difference but wings/spoilers also create high speed stability not just down force which is handy and as above #BECUASERACECAR Edited November 20, 2014 by StevoD Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grundy Posted November 20, 2014 Share Posted November 20, 2014 I thought most wings have no effect until you hit speeds over 80mph or the like, drifting at 30mph, not driving in a straight line so the airflow is going across the car, I am slightly confused as to how a wing no matter how big can actually generate downforce? Also a genuine question, promise! I'm just happy you didn't make the usual comment from people 'whats the point in a wing, you need lots of power for one' Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zedd Posted November 20, 2014 Share Posted November 20, 2014 As below Also, this always confuses me, "aero doesn't work until you're going over 80mph" it's said a lot, if you go for a cycle with lycra on, you're going to get a higher top speed than if you go for a cycle with a knee length coat on. The coat catching the air is going to slow you down because it's causing drag. Drag and downforce are related and an increase of one will increase the other... to a certain extent. Also, stick your head out the window at 30 mph+ to get a feel of how much your actually cutting through the air.....preferably without any oncoming traffic Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coldel Posted November 20, 2014 Share Posted November 20, 2014 OK let me rephrase that, aero doesn't work to a noticeable degree until you hit a certain speed I would have thought. I get the hand example but that's with a flat hand causing direct resistance, you need to turn horizontal air flow into down force, which is a change of direction I would think which means much more impact on an angled wing to create horizontal force into downward force - there must be an optimum speed where it becomes tangible, I would imagine its much higher than 30 mph? The boxster the rear wing comes up at 75mph I believe, why would it remain out of view until this point? Watching F1, often see cars that lose downforce because they are not travelling fast enough. Just questions really - I understand wings work - I am just wondering at what point they work to a point they make a significant difference... ...off to google... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StevoD Posted November 20, 2014 Share Posted November 20, 2014 The boxster the rear wing comes up at 75mph I believe, why would it remain out of view until this point? Watching F1, often see cars that lose downforce because they are not travelling fast enough. Just questions really - I understand wings work - I am just wondering at what point they work to a point they make a significant difference... depends on the car the Wing and what your trying to do with them i guess, i dont think it works like the speed of sound where you get to a certain speed and you get a sonic boom or downforce I guess i should get to snet get someone to time a few laps wingless then put the wing on do some laps and see whats what Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coldel Posted November 20, 2014 Share Posted November 20, 2014 Or blag your way into a wind tunnel... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StevoD Posted November 20, 2014 Share Posted November 20, 2014 http://www.superstreetonline.com/how-to/paint-body/htup-1209-wings-ff-cars/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brillomaster Posted November 20, 2014 Share Posted November 20, 2014 The boxster the rear wing comes up at 75mph I believe, why would it remain out of view until this point? Watching F1, often see cars that lose downforce because they are not travelling fast enough. Just questions really - I understand wings work - I am just wondering at what point they work to a point they make a significant difference... depends on the car the Wing and what your trying to do with them i guess, i dont think it works like the speed of sound where you get to a certain speed and you get a sonic boom or downforce I guess i should get to snet get someone to time a few laps wingless then put the wing on do some laps and see whats what would also depend on your definition of a significant difference! i'm sure even the smallest wing at the lowest speed will be doing something - it might be infinitesimally small though. I imagine on the boxster example, at around 75mph the shape of the car starts to generate lift, so a little wing deploys to reduce it. remember, most things on road cars are not wings, they're spoilers - they spoil the airflow to reduce lift, rather than actually produce downforce. I strongly suspect a lot of aero appendages are 80% for aesthetics... a proper wing needs huge end plates to keep the air flowing over the wing and not round the sides - most 'wings' on road cars do not have large end plates. Even wings on GT3 cars and the like don't actually produce a lot of downforce, its only when you get to F1 and LMP cars that you start getting real downforce. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StevoD Posted November 20, 2014 Share Posted November 20, 2014 Man wings 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zedd Posted November 20, 2014 Share Posted November 20, 2014 Haha you could have a buffet on them! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StevoD Posted November 20, 2014 Share Posted November 20, 2014 this was done by this i know there TA and not drifting but if you look back at bizz threads he said he need more traction in rear so if a wing can give even 5% more traction over without its got to be worth it 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coldel Posted November 20, 2014 Share Posted November 20, 2014 ...and for the Grundy's of this world? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.