nathandarby67

A friend and I are tossing around the idea of producing a new wing for the 2nd gen RX-7 and I would like some feedback to see how many people out there might be intersted in such a wing. It would be fiberglass, possibly with an aluminum horizontal section, and would utilize the stock mounting holes. However, we plan to make the angle of attack of the wing adjustable from low to high downforce positions by means of an elecrtical servo motor and pushrods through the mounting holes. The servo would be activated at a preset speed to automatically go from one position to the other, and the driver would also be able to lock it in either position full time if he wanted. We plan on making this actually areodynamically useful and NOT just cosmetic, although it will look cool as hell in any case! We want to test the wing on the car using digital strain guages, etc to measure the actual downforce it is producing to come up with the best design. We want it designed such that there would have to be no permanent alterations to the car other than possibly drilling a few mounting holes for the servo. I have an engineering degree and my friend is an all-around ingenious guy so I think we have the ability to make this a very nice, functional, finished package. We want to price it competitively with all the other non-moveable spoilers on the market, so out target price is around $250 to $300. We haven't sourced all the hardware for it yet or built a prototype, so we can't pin down the cost exactly yet, but it will be as low as possible without sacrificing quality...it has to be stable at those triple-digit speeds! So if we could offer a wing like this at about the cost of other standard aftermarket wings, how many people would be interested? Please share any questions, comments, or suggestions you may have!!

Sled Driver

iTrader: (9)

Have you ever herd of the Chaparral race car from the 60's?
It had a pivoting rear spoiler that was activated by the brake pedal. The idea was as you braked for the corner the angle of incidence would increase to create a speed brake & then level back out to limit drag for higher speed. The problem was the damn thing kept breaking free along the straights & almost killed the driver. After a season or so they outlawed active aerodynamics.
Granted 40 years should overcome most engineering downfalls, but you gotta ask. Unless you use the car on the track or drive at triple digit speeds, all it is a nice looking clothes line.
It will serve no practical purpose. As an engineer you must realize you need a wind tunnel to study aerodynamics. What happens to the front end stability when all you address is downforce to the rear of the car?
I would rate this like hydraulic suspension, it impresses people in parking lots.

josh q

Yes, I am very familiar with the Chaparral 2 series cars. It was a truley innovative car. Actually the wing was controlled independently of the brakes, with a foot pedal where the clutch would have been (the Chaparrals all had semi-automatic transmissions). And yes, it did have its problems. Damn near killed Phil Hill, and Hap Sharp got airborne once in one! One thing that would differentiate it from our design is the size of the wing on the Chapparals was almost as big as the whole car!! So if it came loose, you had an airplane sized wing LIFTING you into the air! Not a good situation! Ours is just a conventional sized spoiler, that happens to move a little. And you are right, most people would probably only be interested in it for "parking lot impression". And while I do need a wind tunnel to test the total aerodynamic package of the car as a whole, it is possible to measure vertical forces on the wing while driving by mounting it to strain guages hooked to a laptop or something similar. And we are not talking monster downforce here....keep in mind this is a conventional sized spoiler, so at the most it is producing the same amount of force that a well designed conventional spoiler would, not some insane amount of force that would decrease front end stability. I look at it like this...If I were buying a spoiler, and I had the choice between a conventional model and one that had added "parking lot appeal" as well as having a functiona, albeit small amount, of downforce that was trimmed out to suit speed, for roughly the same proce, I'd go with my design. But, hey, I guess I am a little biased!

black99

In japan they have aluminum electronically adjustable ones, but they cost about 1100.00 u.s. I believe.

nathandarby67

ooops...the thread above from josh q was actually written by me...he was using my computer and I forgot to log off and log back in as me!!