Wing makes huge difference.

 

Really...do most people here run the APR GTC-200? It seems to be the most affordable.

 

On the east coast that seems to be the favorite choice and more than enough wing to be of great benefit. Look on the west coast and everyone is running Voltex/J's wings. I think the guys out there have a bit more money to toss around.

 

Yup.

We all pretty much either have or have had one. Get the risers to get the wing up in the airflow. Plus it looks way cooler that way.

 

Or want one.

 

Or want one.
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I will trade you one rally car for mine.

 

faster in corners (downforce = grip = higher cornering g's before starting to slide)
slower on straights (downforce = aero drag = engine cannot push it faster)

you have to adjust the wing a little at each track to get best lap times based on what time you gain in corners and lose on straights, and whether they are taken at a high enough speed that the wing even starts to take effect. At SP, t1, t5-8 it does not matter as you are going too slow anyway. 3, 9 and 10 are taken fast enough that the wing comes into play and main straight, chute and back straight are fast enough that you are getting some drag.

too much wing and not able to get around a corner any faster as a result and it WILL slow you down more on straights, so you take wing off at least until the point where your times for the corner are a little slower.

not enough wing and have a really good top speed, but need to slow down too much in corner or you slide off track means that your corner exit, which affects your top speed into braking zone of next corner, lowers to the point of negative returns on time.

once you start consistently getting best lap times, note the wing angle and set it that way as a starting point for that track each time. you will have to adjust a little depending on conditions, weather hot/cold/wet, track surface green/rubbered in, tires new/old/dot treaded/trying out slicks, etc.

 

Wow, thanks for the detailed response! I guess when you spell it out like that it is kind of common sense. So a splitter works in conjunction with a wing by smoothing airflow? How helpful is a rear diffuser on the long straights?

 

anything that creates downforce has same straight vs corner effect.

diffuser in rear has same overall effect as rear wing, think of it as a wing pushes down, the diffuser sucks you down, all about airflow, pressure differences, etc. also rear aero increases force at drive wheels (for rear wheel drive...) and reduces downforce at the front, affecting steering and drive wheel (for front wheel drive)

splitter in front is supposed to reduce lift, i.e. create downforce, so it keeps the front end planted better. same as a front wing which i have on the formula car (front wing on a sedan looks kinda funky....)

other aero packages are designed to reduce drag for top end. we see that with different max speed with top up vs top down. this is also why you see some miata folks taking off side view mirrors, replacing with smaller ones, angling them in, etc.... anything sticking out in the airflow lifts you up, pushes you down, or slows you down with drag, and is all related to speed.

stick your hand out of car at 10 mph and you feel the wind. do it at 70 with leading edge up and you have lift, your hand goes up... lift in front car goes up, less traction for steering, lift in rear, less tractions for acceleration. leading edge of hand down, you have downforce, front of car better grip in hight speed turn, rear of car better traction for acceleration. hand level, neutral condition, not worth having it there. hand up and down and it gets pushed to rear of car due to drag. the faster you go, the more pronounced each of the actions. you get to a point where the wing angle is detrimental to the purpose by causing more drag than you benefit from the downforce generated. if you cannot reduce aero footprint or increase engine power, less or smaller wing needed to get balance back.

whenever you do something to the back, think about doing something to the front to keep overall balance. sort of like do not put in TC/SC/monster NA motor without better brakes, suspension, etc. go fast it great, but sucks if stop now does not work so well.

 

Keith! I thought that was you. How you been? Thanks for the information.

So a front splitter, rear diffuser and rear wing should all balance each other out, and add downforce, right? Is that too much downforce?

Is there any consensus for what type of diffuser works best? A flat one such as:





Or one of these so called "JDM" that slope upward: