Question regarding a particular rear wing

[46MustangSteve]

Hello,

I've got a question regarding the effects of a particular rear wing on the 1999-2004 Ford Mustang body style. The wing in question is the Steeda "Race Wing."

I'm wondering what sort of effects this wing will have on the car. Will it create downforce? Will it aid in stability? At what speeds would the vehicle have to be traveling to experience any noticable effects? The list of questions goes on and on.

People who use this wing on thier Mustangs usually experience a drop of 1-3 mph in their trap speed at the end of a 1/4 mile. A friend of mine has this wing on his GT and his trap speeds dropped from 99-100mph to 97-98mph. I assume that the wing creates more drag than the factory spoiler.

If anything I suspect the wing smooths the flow of air as it travels over the rear deck. Anyone have other input?

Thanks,
Steve

 

[patprimmer]

On road cars, wings look racey, but have no benifit apart from fashion

On a race car, wings add drag and downforce. Drag consumes horsepower. downforce increases traction.

There is always a trade of of gains in traction vs losses to drag.

In my not humble enough opinion, if you don't have a high speed traction problem, a wing will decrease performance, especially in a drag race car where cornering traction is not an issue

Regards
pat

Please see FAQ731-376 for tips on how to make the best use of Eng-Tips Fora.

 

[johnd307]

I put a wing on my own race car and lost 300-400 rpm at the end of the straights. I picked up 1 full second in lap times so I considered it to be of enough benefit to leave on. My cornering speeds were higher because of the increased down force.
Be aware that an increase in rear downforce should be complimented with an increase in front end down force, or you end up with excessive push in the car. Decorative wings, which is what you have there are, of no use what so ever in my opinion. They add nothing to your speed (you dont go fast enough) and if you try to go fast enough you are going to DIE. Your car is NOT built as a race car. It truely does not have the built in capabilties to utilize a wing fully.
Please PLEASE get some high speed training if you plan to go faster than the normal road speeds.

 

[GregLocock]

I used to work for a rather well known manufacturer of fast cars. The /stylists/ decided on the shape for the rear wing, as a styling update. The lads spent two weeks in Italy optimising the thing to minimise the harm it caused.

An interesting piece of research is to look at the effective L/D from things like front wings, rear wings, and ground effect. 4 inch chord lengths are not the answer.





Cheers

Greg Locock

 

[johnd307]

The chord of the wing I used was about 14 inches with a about a 4 foot length, end plates and a 1/4 inch wickerbill.

 

[Quickmag]

If you really want to understand wings'n'things on a car, I suggest you read "Competition Car Downforce" by Simon McBeath. An excellent and relatively easy (for an Eng) to understand book. In a nut shell, rear wings on a car = bad, a rear lip spoiler = good.