Wing Versus Spoiler

[darwin dali]

next, can we start a thread on rims with spinners? I've always wondered how much of a performance improvement they were.

Banned on here as movable aero device.

[Hammer278]

next, can we start a thread on rims with spinners? I've always wondered how much of a performance improvement they were.

I've always felt they increase braking distance due to momentum factor.

[bigpat]

Your'e talking about a 100-200 gram carbon fibre plate that is stationary ,so there is no increase in gyroscopic effect or rotational inertia.....

The fact that it tidied up the flow around the front wheel helped the front wing efficiency. So I wouldn't be surprised if they actually helped to reduce braking distance, via maybe slightly higher, but definitely more consistent downforce.

[Hammer278]

Makes sense. Now tell me its lighter than the regular rims and I might actually look for them. My 2.0L engine already has issues carrying my car's heavy a**e.

[bigpat]

Dymag made carbon wheels for Superbikes in 1996. At first, the riders reported the bikes felt too skittish, but once used to the reduced gyoscopic effect, they refused to return to the magnesium wheels. I gather their were 2-3 tenths of laptime. I would say its benefit is greater on tracks with more sudden changes of direction, and a lot of braking.

From memory, I think that the 80Gpa material rule brought in to ban beryllium brakes put a stop to their implimentation in F1....

[Blinky McSquinty]

It's really unfair to make such comparisons. Aero components should never be considered by themselves, but as components that each contribute to the overall drag, downforce, and balance of the car.

For example, if you slapped on a spoiler for the rear, and a splitter for the nose, you would have transformed any car into an entirely different beast. Small parts can have a huge impact on the overall picture.

Thus, the rear spoiler on a NA$CAR racer serves different functions. It does provide moderate downforce with huge drag losses. And just by raising the spoiler the speed of the car can be controlled. That's why NA$CAR mandates and carefully controls what shocks go on any car at a restrictor plate race. The teams had a system where the rear shocks would pump down under racing conditions, pulling the rear end of the car down, lessening the impact of air coming off the roof and impacting the spoiler. Those who used such a system found they had a car that handled like crap, but was the fastest thing on track.

If you think NA$CAR engineers and team personnel are ignorant and uneducated farmers, someone is very ignorant of what's real.

[bigpat]

Yep, couldn't agree more...

About the shocks. Unfortunately you had cars that were on their bumpstops mid corner, and created very dangerous handling. They were right to put a stop to it in my opinion.