We did this experiment at Thunderhill, granted with a Mustang but the physics are all the same. For a midpack driver, the aero was a minor help. For a front line driver the car was undrivable without the aero.
I spent a fair amount of time playing with aero back in my Trans-Am days. A true race wing is an airfoil. Its shape is very precise. They also only work in a very limited attack angle. The wing we used worked from 3* to 9* Anything below did not create any downforce. And anything above just added drag and no additional downforce. You have to know what you have and then work within that box.
Wicker bills, also called Gurney lips are huge. At Mid Ohio, not a really fast track, we went from a 3/8" tall wicker (normal for us was 1/8-3/8") to a 3/4" and the car was unsafe at speed.
I built some crude front under trays with venturi tunnels. We could not get the car balanced at all, I think they may still be floating around the shop somewhere.
I have some really interesting stories about aero stuff from my T/A and IMSA days.
Dave
Dave Wheeler
Advanced Autosports, the nations most complete Spec Miata shop
Author, Spec Miata Constructors Guide, version 1 and 2.0
Building Championship winning cars since 1995
4 time Central Division Spec Miata Champion car builder 2012-2013-2014-2017
Back to Back June Sprints Spec Miata 1-2 finishes 2016 and 2017
5 time June Sprints winner in Mazda's
6 Time Northern Conference Champion Car Builder
2014 SCCA Majors National point Champion car builder
2014 SCCA Runoffs winner, T4 (Bender)
2014 Central Division Champion, ITS (Wheeler)
2013 Thunderhill 25 hour winning crew chief
2007 June Sprints winner, (GT1, Mohrhauser)
Over 200 race wins and counting.
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