This is topic Aero in forum Road Racing, Auto X & Drifting at Northern California Ford Owners  .


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Posted by Black 02 SS (Member # 5939) on :
 
http://www.maierracing.com/new_99-04_wide_body_kit.html

For the purpose of track days/HPDE, are the front splitter & rear wing listed above beneficial? Also, would that limit the class you can run in if you decide to get into competition racing?
 
Posted by SF Coupe (Member # 1810) on :
 
Aero definitely helps on faster tracks like Thunderhill. I have a Maier splitter and another companys' rear wing, which provides more downforce than a spoiler. I picked up 2 seconds at Thunderhill and I was on slower tires than my previous best. I would bet aero is worth 3 seconds a lap at Thunderhill all else being equal. I'm almost at the point where I don't have to lift in turn 8, I wouldn't even think of doing that without aero. At a slower track like Infineon it doesn't help as much but it does help. The thing with aero is you have to be going fast enough to use it, and you have to tune it with your suspension which complicates things.
 
Posted by DEVERO2 (Member # 6155) on :
 
I like the rear wing and the front splitter.
 
Posted by 1Sicgt (Member # 714) on :
 
They can help with the aero of the car, big benefit is that you can run wider front tires with this complete set-up. Downside, you can't run in NASA CMC, or American Iron with it. You would have to run with American Iron Xtreme. Nice looking kit still.
 
Posted by 9cobra7 (Member # 2812) on :
 
Looks like a nice kit, and functional for road courses
 
Posted by SF Coupe (Member # 1810) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by 1Sicgt:
They can help with the aero of the car, big benefit is that you can run wider front tires with this complete set-up. Downside, you can't run in NASA CMC, or American Iron with it. You would have to run with American Iron Xtreme. Nice looking kit still.
You can run AI with that kit, splitters and wings and fender flares are allowed. New track width this year is 74.5" for 79-04 cars which forces you to use composite fenders or flares.
 
Posted by SydeWaySix (Member # 3596) on :
 
I've seen this Maier car in person and its a nice piece for sure...built mainly for auto-x'ing though.

How do rear spoilers (ie: G-stream) compare to rear wings (ie: the Grigg's or Maier)?
 
Posted by 1Sicgt (Member # 714) on :
 
As far as wings go, I have run a Steeda wing forever, (same as the Grand Sport mustangs run), and frmo my experiences, you will notice it at speed. It offers good balance between downforce and drag. On our '03 Cobra we have a '00 R wing, it actually produces too much drag. You notice a huge difference with that wing.

I've wanted to run a G-stream or something similar that way it could be tuned. The Griggs/Maier spoilers look cool, I'm just not a big fan of NASCAR anymore.

I've always wanted to set up a fox or SN95 like the old IMSA cars. Love the look, and function.
 
Posted by 1Sicgt (Member # 714) on :
 
I've always been a huge fan of Tiger Racing's parts. Very clean functional uses.
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Posted by SF Coupe (Member # 1810) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by SydeWaySix:
I've seen this Maier car in person and its a nice piece for sure...built mainly for auto-x'ing though.

How do rear spoilers (ie: G-stream) compare to rear wings (ie: the Grigg's or Maier)?
Just for clarification wings are what you see G-stream making, spoilers is what is on the Maier car.

The advantage of a wing over a spoiler is less drag for an equal amount of downforce. The disadvantage of the wing is cost. Both can be made adjustable. Neither should be installed without front aero mods. It's easy to make rear down force, front down force not so much and that is where we need it most.
 
Posted by SydeWaySix (Member # 3596) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by SF Coupe:
quote:
Originally posted by SydeWaySix:
I've seen this Maier car in person and its a nice piece for sure...built mainly for auto-x'ing though.

How do rear spoilers (ie: G-stream) compare to rear wings (ie: the Grigg's or Maier)?
Just for clarification wings are what you see G-stream making, spoilers is what is on the Maier car.

The advantage of a wing over a spoiler is less drag for an equal amount of downforce. The disadvantage of the wing is cost. Both can be made adjustable. Neither should be installed without front aero mods. It's easy to make rear down force, front down force not so much and that is where we need it most.
Thanks for the clarification Tim!

How would one go about adjusting a wing or spoiler properly? Without a wind tunnel, is it adjusted by how the car "feels" while driving it or is there a nominal angle that it should be set at? Is front and rear aero equally important for
uphill, downhill, and flat sections of a track, or does aero work better in certain situations?

I'm not fast, so i dont really "feel" these kinds of changes...I'm just trying to educate myself [Big Grin]
 
Posted by 1Sicgt (Member # 714) on :
 
Ok, without any "real" testing (I.E. Wind tunnel) you will notice it on your bigger tracks where you get 100+ sections. The car situates itself different with it. Example, going flat out on straight, too much rear downforce will make the steering feel light, almost too sensitive. The rear will feel solid, not like it wants to slip or wash out. If the front has too much downforce coming out of corners the rear will feel light and want to washout easily. It's really a game of fine tuning both to your driving and car needs.

Tracks that it makes a big difference on:
Reno-Fernely
Thunderhill
California
Laguna-Seca
 
Posted by SF Coupe (Member # 1810) on :
 
You adjust by trial and error unless you're a multimillion dollar race team. Generally a slower track like Infineon will require a larger wing angle of attack, AOA, and a faster track like Thunderhill will require a lower AOA. The first time at a track is an educated guess, by the end of the day the wing should be dialed in for that track.

Uphill, downhill doesn't matter. It's the speed of the car through the air that matters. You will feel it more on flat or off camber corners.
 




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