Wings

[BestBuyGuy263]

Ok, this has been getting to me for awhile, what the heck is with the big shagnasty wings? I have asked some people who had them and one told me "Dude, its all about the downforce." So I decided to think about this for awhile. While any wing (even a huge ricy one) will provide downforce, is it really needed? I decided to do more research, the equation for downforce is Ff = Cf x Fv. Meaning: Friction force equals the Coefficient of friction times the vertical Force. But at speeds of less than 200Mph is the vertical force that much on a car? More research was needed. I started looking into top speed records, as most of you know as far as street cars are concerned the McLaren F1 holds the record at 241MPh(371Kph), so I decided to look at the street car, no surprise it dose not have a wing, at all!!! so, I am just very confused. Why in Gods name would a Honda Civic need positive downforce at 120Mph? Would a wing really do anything. Please reply.

 

[BodyDroppedNikes]

a wing is SUPPOSED to proved downforce at high speed, but for the most part the people that have them on street cars have them just for looks.

 

[phunky.buddha]

Most wings on the road? No.

Wings that are actually designed to reduce lift are rare on the street, but they are around. Go look at the Audi TT, Porsche 911s, even the Turbo Beetle... they all have functional wings. No matter which wheels are being driven, you need traction at every corner. When you're at speed, the shape of your car's body and the air going over/under it usually cause your car to lift, reducing traction. Some of the more exotic cars like the newer Ferraris and Lamborghini Murcielago are designed with air ducts and underbody trays underneath as well as well shaped sheet metal / fiberglass up top so that they have little to no lift at speeds up to 150mph or more.

For the rest of the cars out there, wings are added. The current 911 has a wing that pops up at certain speeds to keep the rear end planted. The TT has a wing that was added after production began because the rear end would lift enough to come loose at 70mph, causing the car to spin and crash. There might have been some deaths involved, but I'm not sure. Now the TT has a wing on the back which actually keeps the rear end on the ground.

How functional is a big aluminum APR wing on a Civic? It probably does produce downforce, but not without a huge drag penalty. Most of the guys who put those on Civics aren't getting them to be functional anyway. They're building Transformers out of their Hondas. I personally have been up to and beyond 150mph on my stock body Civic, and it was perfectly stable. I didn't try to take any turns at that speed though, so I couldn't tell you how exactly much traction I lost from lift. It felt ok though.

So why would a Honda require a wing at 120+mph when the McLaren F1 does not? The entire F1 body is designed to reduce lift. The Civic's is not. It's as simple as that. If you want to reduce lift with the Civic, you're going to have to add something extra.