GT wings on Hondas-what's the idea!!!

[morimotor34]

Ok, I'm not as technically knowledgeable as many of you guys in these threads, but the other day I thought of something that doen't appear to make sense: GT wings for Hondas.

Now, first of all I know that the wings only produce good downforce at pretty high speeds, speeds that most of us won't really reach on the freeway home from work. So, you'd actually have to have a Honda that can reach these speeds, which all of us know, doesn't happen very often in a Honda!

Ok, anyways, the whole purpose of the wings is to produce downforce to keep the car planted at high speeds, right?! Now wouldn't they only create downforce on the rear of the car, where the wing is located; or does the downforce affect the whole chassis? Reason for wondering, Civics, Integras, Accords, etc. ar all FWD cars. So, if GT wings produce downforce at the rear of the car, doesn't that defeat the whole purpose of the wing? Downforce on the rear would lift up the front and reduce traction and performance, right? I was just wondering if my logic was correct. Like I said, I'm not so technically savvy, so I might be way off!

[stanner]

I am not 100% certian on this but I have heard that depending on the angle that a spoiler is set at that it can cause the air pressure that is created by your car traveling at high speeds to push your car, instead of applying down force it is more of a backforce if that makes any sense. like I said it is only something that I was once told and I have never cared enough to research it myself. but that is the only quasi reasonable answer that I have heard to the delima which you have so elequently spelled out.

[morimotor34]

Hmmm, thanks stanner. Maybe that's it?? Still not sure. Anyone else out there care to shed a little light on this dilemma?

[TatII]

yes a rear wing does add down force to the car. but also it depends on how the whole car is shaped and how you can balance out the whole air flow. look at a car like the integra type R. that car is all business, yet it has a hugh wing. i'm not too sure if that wing is functional. but it probrably is. even on rwd cars. you can't have too much downforce in the back. you need to balance it out in the front too. that can be done in many ways however, i'm not too sure of it myself. one of the ways that i know for a fact is the overall shape of the car, and anotehr is by addiing a few wings on the front bumper.

[Jaegermeister2k]

I've read an article that sais that it IS usefull,because of stability or something like that,i dunno.If you ask me it's almost as ridiculous as the support wheels on a civic hackback at a drag race.I still can't figure out why they did that,but for some reason a civic had support wheels at the back of the car.LOL.

[Fliquer]

Large sharply angled spoilers on FWD are indeed detrimental to performance. However, reasonably sized spoilers that arent steeply angled help with high speed stability (not by increasing traction but by shaping the airflow around the car to prevent buffeting)

[flylwsi]

come on now...
how many times have we covered this?

and why are you asking in the 240 forum?

you know what kind of answers that usually brings.

So, you'd actually have to have a Honda that can reach these speeds, which all of us know, doesn't happen very often in a Honda!

asking for flames on fwd.

we're all a bit more mature than that, right?

downforce on the back of and fwd car at speed is just as important as it is on a rwd car.

it keeps the back planted, and does not lift the front, as you think.

it helps keep the rear down, which helps at high speeds.

people have driven ITR's with and without the rear wing, and it makes a difference.

big ridiculous wings are pointless, yes, but they're not completely useless.

if you saw a fwd car at the track, and it had "wheelie bars" on it, it probably made more hp than most anyone in this forum, myself included.

what these do on these extreme drag cars is keep the front end from lifting toooo much, as they are set very close to the ground, so that, when launching, the weight shifts back, and the car can't rotate back any further than the bars let it...

this means that the car "pushes" back down in the front, helping traction...

any other questions?

[Dorikin]

An FWD car doesnt need it as badly as RWD...the Integra Type-R DOES benifit from it, however I doubt a civic DX will...

[flylwsi]

understood, but there's definitely a benefit...

to test the theory, i've got an extra trunk for my prelude, which i'm going to mount an aluminum touring style wing to, for when i go road racing...

then i'll be able to know the difference, and the wing is adjustable, so i can find a happy medium...

i know that for the most part, the cars with those wings don't need them or use them correctly, but for the sake of the argument, they're helpful

WHEN USED CORRECTLY

[ghostchild316]

certain wing designs help reduce drag and increase downforce on the car therefore letting it reach high speeds a bit quicker and make it more stable/handle better.Same with (certain)bodykits.
The more decks a wing has the more downforce it'll produce.
Samethang goes for ride height.The lower the car,the less drag it will have,and lower center of gravity=better handling.Look at GT cars for
example,they are not that low just because and that enormous wing isnt there just for cosmetics,it all serves a purpose.

I think I got a little off topic,and we are talking about civics here,ahh people are stupid,I admitted,I've seen a wing on mazda 626 even on a Chevy truck.
theres sooo much crap to this aerodynamics game.
I could go on awhile about this aerodynamic stuff and put you guys to sleep, and some of the stuff is a little hard to explain,some just wont understand.
I'm not an expert on aerodynamics
but i'll put it this way

ALL ABOUT BALANCE!!!
(or go to college and study aerodynamics)
(I think I got off topic)
()