Converted my 79 SA to a drag car. The nose is lifting around 160mph and the steering becomes a little sketchy and "light" towards the end fo the 1/4 mile.

I looked around briefly and found several bumper/body kits that appear to be for "looks only". I was looking for a cheap/easy solution for some type of functional air dam up front. (I know cheap and easy don't usually go together). Just wondering if anyone has a made or found some sort of aftermarket "chin spoiler" that fits the SA bumper decently.

Similar to this...

 

A good airdam will fix this like the classic Kamei spooler that used to be sold. You may be able to
get one used in good shape if you shop around.

 

Scott (trochoid) in St Joe has one for sale. 816-294-2539. He's a forum member but does not own a computer so you have to call him. I'm sure he would sell the airdam but it's self.

Kaminari body kit for 1st gen RX7

 

I'm not sure anybody else here in the 1st Gen section is having that kind of problem of nose lift at 160mph!

Seriously, though - I had 2 Kamei air dams and would be VERY surprised if they held up to 160mph wind velocity. The nose of the car has a significant lift coefficient due to the ramps which trap air under the front, and the Kamei helped at highway speeds and above, but was flimsy. The Fiberglass Reinforced Plastic (FRP) would bow and flex easily in the center section, and after about 10-15k miles of driving, the flutter at speed fatigued the edges enough to cause cracks that eventually let go. This leaves both 'sides' of the airdam in place, but no center section. I wouldn't buy another one, based on that - and I had 2 of them over the years - and rarely got up above 100mph. Looked like this;


Since then, I've gone full Mariah fiberglass and it's rock solid - again at highway speeds. Now looksl like this:


Good luck,

 

True enough! I was hoping some "tuners" may have retrofitted a chin spoiler of some sort from another vehicle. It would defiantly have to be semi-structural. I'm not sure if FPR stuff would hold up either. Something similar to the above pic I posted. Carbon fiber with support bars maybe...

like so...






Seems like the vettes would be rated to go at least 160 and they don't have massive supports or anything.



This thing looks promising...doubt it would hold up

 

Have a look at this and then compare it to what you're trying to overcome with pressure (sorry for French, unsure where this came from):

 

This works pretty well on my car, the splitter is made of 6mm alumalite and lines up with the stock belly pan, the air dam is 1/8 inch racers plastic that you can get from a circle track supplier. As a bonus the rear spoiler was made out of left over Lexan from the rear windows.

 

Something to keep in mind is that it has actually been found that the best setups functionally are actually parallel to the ground (splitters) and not at an angle.

 

Mark,

You are a genius. That just slotted in as my next fab work for the ITA 7.

 

I can send you the models for the tow hook/splitter brackets, I had them laser cut by a shop here in NC. It’s pretty nice, 2 dzus, and 2 pins and it slips right off for loading on the trailer. Make sure you use some sheet metal panels to keep any air that comes through the grill opening from going out the sides instead of through the oil cooler and radiator.

 

those are nice brackets. they bolt onto the frame rail i'm assuming?