Huge Wings

I just want to know if everybody feels like i do about these huge aftermarket wings people put on cars. i always see some stupid front wheel drive car like a civic or something with this huge wing on the back of it. not only do these things cost $200-$300, but they actually hurt the performance of these cars. 1) they add weight. 2) the weight is on the rear of the car so it takes away traction from the front wheels. 3) they cause drag. and 4) they look ridiculus. the Corvette is rear wheel drive and it doesnt even have a spoiler. hell, the Ferrari Enzo doesn't have a spoiler! I just wanted to see what you guys think. im all for customizing your car, but i dont see why anyone would want to pay money to hurt the performance of their car.

they dont care about peformance...

it should all come together now

they dont care about peformance...

it should all come together now


yeah, but ive seen people who have put a lot of work into their engine, and i mean real work like having it bored and they still put a wing on it

yes, i too feel your pain, i see it all the time. no i dont get it and i have a rwd car and have vowed never to put a wing on it.

But somebody who knows nothing about cars looks at it and goes "wow look at that thing on the back, that guy is a real racer alright!"...and thats the look they are going for, to satifsy the morons

All the ricers care about is what they could add to their rides next....then thay wonder why they are always getting bitch slapped on the road. It's just amazing what you see ...

my idea of gay ricers is what im forced to see every day on my way to work: automatic cavaliers with tireflys, body kits, and 5 inch can mufflers....it makes me chainsmoke

i know someone who had purchesed a massive spoiler on a WRX. this guy had no idea what it dose, he only got it because of looks. it turns out a few months down the track it has deformed the boot of the car. it oviesly was doing what it was ment to do but this guy had no clu on what a spoiler can do to your car. it just goes to show to reserch on what things do to the peformance or damage to your car on the long run

yeah, but ive seen people who have put a lot of work into their engine, and i mean real work like having it bored and they still put a wing on it

well if the person put a lot of work into their engine and went through the trouble of boring it, them i was assume that he would have a high quality spoiler which then becomes functional and therefore adding performance/handling

well if the person put a lot of work into their engine and went through the trouble of boring it, them i was assume that he would have a high quality spoiler which then becomes functional and therefore adding performance/handling


Im talking about a HUGE wing, as in about 3 feet tall and its on a front wheel drive car, spoilers are used for stability for RWD cars at high speed, because the RWD makes the back of the car want to come around because the rear wheels are "pushing" the car. with a FWD car, the wheels are "pulling" it so the back of the car is much more stable, therefore they dont need a wing. and if a corvette doesnt need a wing, neither does a honda civic

ive heard something like: the bigger the wing the smaller the d***!

ive heard something like: the bigger the wing the smaller the d***!


Well somethings got to explain these things. lol

well if that statement were true then i suppose f1 cars would have a 1 inch spoiler in the rear.... obviously its not true... the ammount of dounforce is dependent on the shape of the spoiler, (like a plane wing, there is more distance on the top then on bottom therefore air moves more quickly on top creating lift on the wing... spoilers are made like this upsidedown and infact the whole car causing df...) the size of the spoiler (the bigger the more df), and the angle (obviously a spoiler at 0 degrees wouldnt help much)...

tell me if this has a small spoiler... obviously if you are adveraging arround 240 on a track you want a good ammount of downforce...
http://sports.yahoo.co.jp/f1/images/2003/fer.jpg

yes but honda civics arent doing 240 around a track.

Hey, if people think it looks good, then let them do it, it doesn't harm you in any way, so let it go.

The big issues is that you absolutelly must never do "eyeball" aerodynamics. The dynamics of air flow are far to unpredictable. And for any aerodynamic change you do to the car you must use an air tunnel. Otherwise you risk creating more lift at hight speeds and killing yourself.

Point in case, I've posted a poll in street racing, and despite all scientific air tunnel evidence people still do not belive that leaving the tailgate up on a pick-up truck is better than putting it down.


Just because it looks aerodynamic does not mean it is. And this goes double for modded cars that can go very fast: don't change the aerodynamic profile or risk being flipped over like a pankacke at high speeds.

Bottom line, it would not even bother me if the wings are functional, but the fact that people mess with something that it took engineers months to set up, its anoying the crap out of me.

In general, I agree, eyeball aerodynamics are usually a bad thing.

That having been said, I have worked on cars and done exactly that (and been successful), but you have to know EXACTLY what you are trying to accomplish, and I have a strong theoretical background to back it up.

The biggest issues with most rear wings you see on FWD street cars are:
1. You get more rear grip, thus increasing the already prevalent understeer.
2. You create more drag, thus hurting acceleration, top speed and fuel milage.

Again, there are exceptions to everything, but for FWD street cars rear wings are almost always a bad idea.

Setting up a wing is very tricky. I will never understand why someone will blow $400 on the looks on a car they intend to race rather than something useful. As an engineer myself I would guess that 0.001% of the winged cars out there are actually set up. I thought about putting a (functional) wing on my fiero but I would rather avoid all those fluid dynamics for something I would barely use. Also, on a race car, the wing is mounted to something structural. Transaxle, frame, etc. People are attaching them to the sheetmetal trunk lid? Better yet, I love going on ebay, find the riced cars (supras are best bet on these) you see a enormous wing on the back, folgers can muffler and some bolt on engine mods, then you look at the description "Never ragged or raced, always adult driven". usually followed by a "pulls great or great acceleration, handles like a charm"

yes but honda civics arent doing 240 around a track.

i was explaining why jmrevs statement was completely false... dont be a fucktard

Im talking about a HUGE wing, as in about 3 feet tall and its on a front wheel drive car, spoilers are used for stability for RWD cars at high speed, because the RWD makes the back of the car want to come around because the rear wheels are "pushing" the car. with a FWD car, the wheels are "pulling" it so the back of the car is much more stable, therefore they dont need a wing. and if a corvette doesnt need a wing, neither does a honda civic

No, wings are not built exclusively for RWD cars. I will agree with you that pretty much every person with a FWD car has no use for one and that it will only hurt their performance based on the fact that it will most likely hurt their aerodynamics since they don't have a front spoiler and even if they did they most likely don't have either set up correctly. However, if you have a car that you race, even if it is front wheel drive, you can benefit from a functional spoiler that is set up correctly. You would also need a front spoiler so you could provide ample down force on all four corners.

Just because the front wheels are pulling the car doesn't mean it can't oversteer.

In the end, who cares? It is their money, time, and car. If they want to waste those things, let them.

i was explaining why jmrevs statement was completely false... dont be a fucktard


Dude, calm down

i am calm... you were just being a complete idoit at the time u posted... so i just told u not to be, maybe not in the most polite way...

i am calm... you were just being a complete idoit at the time u posted... so i just told u not to be, maybe not in the most polite way...


We dont need to be calling each other idiots. thats not what this forum is for.