Wings

What effect do wings have on 4WD/quattro cars :confused:

Same as on all other cars - create downforce. That is, as long as we're talking about well designed and attached wings.

Best I can tell you about wings on a quattro anything is that they usually aren't necessary. Audi came up with a good setup from the factory that uses up all of the available traction that could be put underneath the car. The quattro system doesn't afford much slippage, a small wing might add a bit of grip, but it won't add much to the car. Besides, it screws with your cd (drag coefficient). which drops your tope end number.

Yeah, modern Quattro uses a viscous coupling system, they're pretty grippy.

The only time you need downforce on a street car is at really really high speeds, like 120mph through a corner. With good tires on an Audi quattro, you shouldn't have to worry about traction.

quattro is great, and the posts all make sense, but if you don't have anything pushing down on the wheels... like some downforce... big loss...


a big mod i've seen on the a4 is a bmw m5 trunk wing (the itty bitty one) it increases downforce, making the car more stable...

and yes, i know it's at higher speeds, but it makes a difference at highway speeds too...

everyone is right, but the quattro system will work better with more downforce to keep your arse planted... it can't do much if the car is sliding around...

I know you're asking about wings, but on a related subject, a well designed whole-body setup can and will improve your car's downforce WHILE at the same time lessening your drag co-efficient. A good example is the full-body kit from Mugen for the RSX. At over 4-thousand dollars for a kit, it is not cheap. There is a reason why. The kit is actually designed with wind-tunnel testing, which costs a LOT. Because of this, the kit...with wings front and back...actually increases the RSX's downforce, while at the same time reducing its drag co-efficient about .4...from .32 to .28.

What you need is to calculate how much top-speed you want sacrifice for better road grip...on a car with excellent road-holding already. If you are not quite a top-speed racer, it shouldn't really matter. Just know that downforce starts becoming a factor anytime after 40MPH, which CAN slow down your top-gear acceleration. Of course the faster you go, the more it becomes a factor.

With good tires, grip should not really be an issue... Not unless he's doing 100mph on a twisty mountain road.

If you get RS4 body panels, you'll have all the downforce you'll ever need.

Unfortunately, the RS4 is only available as a station wagon right now, so you'd have a hard time finding 1/4 panels. The air dam and front fenders would be no problem though.

http://www.jotus.com/audi-rs4-fa.jpg

http://automanie.wz.cz/Audi/Rs4/1.jpg

It's the same body kit, fender flares, side skirts, rear bumper cap, but it's a station wagon...