Wing Options
 

Swan Neck Vs Bottom Mount -- How much of an improvement are we talking about going swan? Is this a small improvement 2% or a huge improvement 50%? I understand how there is an improvement with air not getting disturbed by the uprights and sticking to the bottom of the wing better (and maybe even more in a turn). My TOTAL GUESS is that the drag is the same on both, maybe a little more with the swan since it's a little taller, but nobody states the amount of improvement we are talking about with downforce or how much drag compared to a bottom mount. At least I couldn't find any testing on this. So it feels like a total guess if this is a worth while upgrade or not.

Ultimately, I'm trying to figure out, whats the better "buy"? If it was your money, is it worth the extra for a swan mount or better to spend the money on a bottom mount with dual element and larger end plates? (and yes there is the option of "All of It", but I'm guessing I'm getting into Moti / Passey territory here) Or am I just going over kill at this point and just get a single element wing and be happy? I prefer to buy once cry once and have something to grow into if I want more...

A little more info...

• HPDE car, but possibly time trials in the future
• Only aero is what Mazda gave her, but does have a Hard Top
• ~300 hp
• Track Car only. It's licensed for the road, but is trailered to events.

Aero Plans for this winter to go with this wing:

• 4" or 5" splitter (back to front axle) will most likely add ramps and end plates too but after the other work is done
• air dam covering the front tires
• hood and fender louvers

Thanks for the thoughts & Have a Happy Thanksgiving!

IIRC the swan-neck was barely a 2% lift(downforce) gain over the bottom mount. The drag is higher because the pylons sit higher. Both numbers are small percentages and even smaller raw numbers. What's the most important part of the swan-neck, is the lack of longevity vs bottom mount. It naturally moves and wiggles more as the pylons are taller, this leads to more movement on all associated welds, bolts, etc. It also is a tension setup instead of compression, which leads to more stress on the same associated welds, bolts, etc. In short, the swan-necks don't last as long as bottom-mount and the gain is super minimal on NA/NBs.

I have a swan-neck because Johnny told me I was getting a swan-neck to get more attention, thus the bigass 9LR logo on the car. :rofl:

If you go with a 4" front splitter along with the front ramps then you'll want to balance that out with a dual element in the rear. If you don't run the front ramps then you can simply run the 64" wing as-is adjust AOA or even add a small gurney to balance it out. Keeping in mind aero components are like tuning tools, there's not always an absolute standard setup for the given track, class, chassis, etc.

Side note, feel free to use my discount code and you'll get a free gurney flap! It also helps me out ;) code = marcussaiditwascool

@flier129 Thank you Marcus! That's exactly the info I was looking for! Swan does look cooler, but function is what I'm after. (Thanks for the discount code too!)