Okay, I've got a crack in my front S4 bumper and alot of other problems, so I think it's about time I take a break from the motor and do some body mods. What I'm looking for is clean FUNCTIONAL mods. I always read in the FD forum about This wing will add this much downforce with only a .01 increase in coefficient of drag and all that. So I'm looking for a way to do that to an FC, keeping as clean and near stock looking as possible, but adding stability and a little downforce. For example I'm going S5 and will probably do the S5 OEM lip, then make a custom aluminum undertray to smooth things out going under(and some ducting work while I'm at it) Maybe the Mazdaspeed lip if anyone has some hard facts on it. Spoilers, I know my sport model one smooths things out, but it doesn't really provide any good downforce either, any spoilers out there that produce decent downforce without going RE Super-G?

 

Run Racing one looks cool....that's about all I can say.

 

Chin air splitter -
You get more downforce than you might expect.
If you don't attach it well, it will flex down almost to the road at speed.
Also if you connect the bottom front tray to it, you get a lot more air crammed through the coolers.
Even with a TMIC you get lower pressure under the engine, which gives a better hot air outlet at speed.

 

That is a sweet looking lip on there! Who makes it or which model did it come off of? There is one that looks alot like that on Ebay right now that already has a flatter aluminum undertray attached, I'd link to it but I'm at work on a 28.8 connection.

 

mazdaspeed has a lip that looks identical to that..... and i saw that lip on ebay too..... was debating on getting it!!! i heard that the oem sport wing actually produces more downforce than any other factory wing! its the ugly flat one i think

 

Just make sure you attach it good as was mentioned above! I had one that the previous owner had on the car, so for fun I put it back on. Unfortunately, the bolting points were pretty weak on the car from when the previous owner had it. It definately felt more "planted" on the freeway, and my coolant temp stayed more even (slightly cooler).

Yah, about those weak points. The thing came off and ground half the lip off before I could get stopped and get it off. So make sure it's tight!

 

FDreaming


what about putting tire spats on the bottom of the car while you put the aluminum tray & ducting in?
supposed to make a big difference in high speed handling
M

 

Watch out for the curbs though. CF would look awesome!

 

yeah, I saw one of those going on Ebay suppose to go infront of the rear tires or something like that right? Came stock on one or two models IIRC. Anyone know were to pick up a set?

Also, I'm most interested in finding a spoiler that produces some notable downforce without looking too gawdy. It's either that or get a fuel cell and make a big diffuser where the gas tank used to be, but this is a street car.

 

The Feed lip is nice to.

 

He makes them to order, which can take a few weeks.
Mine came in about 3 weeks.
www.demonspeed.com

 

Don't order anything from Demonspeed!! Check the Good Guy Bad Guy section and find out why!

Anyways, some sort of splitter coupled with a wider front air dam is highly functional. Since installing the Corksport/Border front bumper, you should see my engine temps. At idle it sits right at 1/3 on the gauge, and while driving it is even less than that, right around 1/4.

 

FDreaming- I was thinking instead of looking for something pre-fabbed for your car(for the tire spats) you could just Fabricate them. You were saying you were going to Fab an aluminum undertray, so why not just fab it where you can bend the tabs 'down' or you could weld them on and place a few gussets for strength too. It's be functional and you'd really hardly ever see them. Then when it's wet out, the other guys won't be able to figure out why you've got so much traction. HAH!

I guess they' only give you a minimal aero benifit and only at high speeds, but they're really good for ewt or dirty/dusty conditions. The air forced downward pushes the crud from underneath your tire so your tire touches more pavement more often. A lot of the Sports/Luxury car have had them for ages( the M series Bmmrs, The Amg Mercedes, Some Jags, ETC.) I think that Infinity/Nissan and Lexus/Toyota have incorporated them into thier cars.

BTW The spats are in front of the tire under the body, extending to the edge of the rocker, not the little 'mudguards' found on a lot of cars.

 

Thanks Mordachai that's some good info. I will try to put some of those together. Anyone have some pics available?