Front wing - WOW

Desert Sasqwatch

Desert Sasqwatch

Goblin Guru
Gtstorey said:
I am trying to figure out a way to install a Gurney flap but I'm not sure how I can fasten anything to the trailing edge.
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Aluminum angle mounted to the trailing edge of the wing, drill holes and rivet in place seems like the most straightforward way to accomplish this - if the aluminum wing form is hollow. Wouldn't recommend this for a carbonfiber wing. I'm looking at using 1/2X1X1/16 inch aluminum angle to mount as a Gurney flap on my top mount wing - giving a 1/2 inch flap. The 90 degree angle will be opened up to something like 120 degrees to get the flap close to vertical when the wing cord line is angled at the 20-25 degrees when mounted. :cool:
 
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Gtstorey

Goblin Guru
The trailing edge top and bottom surfaces are pretty close together making it hard to get rivets into it.
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I’m considering epoxying something on, maybe a strip of abs plastic or bent aluminum.
 
jcdman

jcdman

Active Member
This is by no means an accurate analysis, but I believe that your front wing is making downforce. I did my best to replicate your airfoil, but lots of assumptions on how its mounted, wing size, flap deflection/size, etc

Assuming you're driving around 45mph in nice sunny weather with clean air, I'd say you're making about ~100 lbs of downforce. The slim body with flap profile also lends itself to having very low drag.
 

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Gtstorey

Goblin Guru
jcdman said:
This is by no means an accurate analysis, but I believe that your front wing is making downforce. I did my best to replicate your airfoil, but lots of assumptions on how its mounted, wing size, flap deflection/size, etc

Assuming you're driving around 45mph in nice sunny weather with clean air, I'd say you're making about ~100 lbs of downforce. The slim body with flap profile also lends itself to having very low drag.
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I may try and see if I can can it the actual shape put into a program somewhere along the way. It would be interesting to see what minor changes to the shape would make. I would be happy with half of your calculated amount and even then I might have to add preload to the front end. What did you assume the wing dimensions are? It's actually 42"x10"
 
95Blitz

95Blitz

Well-Known Member
send the rivets through both the top and bottom of the skin if it's close enough the the trailing edge.
 
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Rttoys

Rttoys

Goblin Guru
Is that about a ‘87 corvette back there? Bonus points if it has the 4+3 in it and still functional.
 
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Gtstorey

Goblin Guru
A little more digging on the Gurney flap has me doubting the usefulness on a front wing. At least some of the theories behind how it works are vortices behind the wing. I doubt the air is clean enough between the wing and car to allow them to develop.

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Desert Sasqwatch

Desert Sasqwatch

Goblin Guru
With loctite on those binding post I would presume? There are some really good bonding materials out there for attaching aluminum to aluminum. The Lotus Excege has an aluminum monocoque frame that bonded, not welded. Pretty sure it would make a clean installation for Gurney flaps. :D
 
95Blitz

95Blitz

Well-Known Member
I like those bonding post.. DS is right, there are some great bonding compounds out there that will work. If you don't go with the 90* you could make new endplates and add a second wing on top of that one, but only half the cord of the lower wing.
 
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Gtstorey

Goblin Guru
Desert Sasqwatch said:
With loctite on those binding post I would presume? There are some really good bonding materials out there for attaching aluminum to aluminum. The Lotus Excege has an aluminum monocoque frame that bonded, not welded. Pretty sure it would make a clean installation for Gurney flaps. :D
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Yes loctite if I go that route. I also have some pretty strong 2 part epoxy I might use.
 
Waterdriver

Waterdriver

Goblin Guru
Gtstorey said:
A little more digging on the Gurney flap has me doubting the usefulness on a front wing. At least some of the theories behind how it works are vortices behind the wing. I doubt the air is clean enough between the wing and car to allow them to develop.

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Gurney flaps would work well on your front wing, just not in front of the radiator opening. If you run them from about where the wing doesn't have bodywork behind it, out to the endplate it should do well.
But it might not do anything but create additional drag if the angle isn't smoothed out under the wing. With that sharp angle, there's going to be boundary layer separation beyond that point. Causing turbulent air which wont be able to take advantage of the gurney flap and creating additional drag. If you can somehow round that corner, it would help.
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You could try taping some yarn strands to the underside of the wing, so the length would extend back to the trailing edge of the wing. Mount a video recording device to view that area and take a drive. See if that yarn strand is sucked up to the trailing edge while driving. It may help determine what your next steps will be with the wing.
 
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Brocker

Member
Indy Lonnie said:
I finally got my front wing mounted up from Nine Lives Racing. What a difference. The car is so much more stable and solid at speed. There is a noticeable difference at any speed above 30. The steering is much heavier, which is a great thing because of the electric steering. At the 55 - 70 it only takes a few fingers on the steering wheel to guide it. Before at highway speeds I would always have both hands on the steering wheel. The twitchiness is gone. I let go of the steering wheel at 60 for about a half mile and it tracked straight. Wow... the car really feels planted now. Bonus - my IATs are down at speed. They are now within 11* degrees of each other.

I spoke with Justin Reed last fall about his wing and decided to follow his lead. I ordered the Wang from Nine Lives Racing to match my rear Wang. It is 48” long with 16 1/2” spacing. I got the front Wang end plates as well with a 1/2” gurney flap. I mounted it at 10* to get the most downforce. I bought 2” x 1/8” aluminum angle from Home Depot. I used 2 - 24” sticks for the mount. I had to notch around both radiator hoses and notch a generous hole for the dzus fasteners with room to get the hood on and off. I also left a gap between the Wang and the nose to easily slide the hood on and off. The Wang needed a little trimming and some extra holes drilled to mount it up. I also had to notch the bodywork a smidge to allow the mount to pass through. The Wang is solidly mounted enough I can stand on it ( I’m 275 lbs). There is a little flex which I’m going to fix by swapping the mounts out to 3/16” thick aluminum. The ground clearance is 3 3/4”. I have a curb et the bottom of my driveway which I was worried about. No issue with scraping getting in and out.

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I know you said you mounted the splitter at 10 degrees. I'm assuming that is Angle of Attack. It doesn't look like 10 degrees to me. Since I'm new at all of this, maybe I'm measuring wrong. I place a straight edge over the wing from front edge to back and measure that angle. Is that how it's done?
 
Indy Lonnie

Indy Lonnie

Well-Known Member
Brocker said:
I place a straight edge over the wing from front edge to back and measure that angle. Is that how it's done?
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I doubted it myself so I called 9lives racing. He said that is exactly how you do it. I went to harbor freight and got their cheap digital angle finder. It looks like a 2x2x1” aluminum box with a digital readout and magnets. Works great. Zero it out on the ground. Did my alignment with it too.
 
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