New Wing to Test
12-16-2011, 11:29 AM
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New Wing to Test
So, a year or so ago I helped a friend and fellow Miata owner design an airfoil(based on Liebeck Airfoil used in Trans Am/WC) and associated uprights for high HP miatas. It was mainly for use on the car below, but we thought...what the hell, we might as well sell them.
We made a few, put one on the car above and got one to Dean Thomas ("deano" on mt.net I believe) to go on his V8 miata. The word I got from Mark was that Dean dropped a couple of seconds per lap at Thunderhill over the APR airfoil he had been using.
http://vimeo.com/16891498
We were using a local aerospace composites shop that would produce the airfoil for a pretty damn reasonable price. Unfortunately, after building a few of them, they decided to raise their prices to the point that it really wasn't worth building them.
So, here I was needing an airfoil for my latest project. Can't have one of our wings until we find someone that will build them for a reasonable cost. I didn't particularly want the APR knowing that I could do a little better with a traditional airfoil.
So, I start looking around and find that the NASCAR Car of Tomorrow (COT) airfoil is very similar ot the traditional Liebeck Trans Am wing. It's about 58" wide, with an 11" chord and the mounting plates are about 38" apart (which is perfect for a miata). It even has a slot for a wickerbill. It's also built by Crawford Composites to the tune of ~$3000. Luckilly, you can pick up a used one from a NASCAR team for about $600 on average.
WARNING There are two versions of this wing available. There is a version that was built (for a lesser price) to be used on show cars and not for cometition. It is my understainding that the show car version did not have a slot for the wickerbill along the trailing edge and the area where the endplates mount is not machined aluminum.
This is a guy that is using the airfoil on a GT1 camaro:
Needless to say, I decided that this was something I needed to try out. So, I bought one and it's on the way. I got mine for $550 shipped. I'll be designing custom uprights to get it mounted on the Miata. We have a water jet/laser cutting business right down the street that has done some great work for us.
I'll keep you guys posted as I get a little further along. I expect the upright to be less than $200, and even less if I have multiple sets made.
A few more pics (excuse the crap quality, not taken by me)
We made a few, put one on the car above and got one to Dean Thomas ("deano" on mt.net I believe) to go on his V8 miata. The word I got from Mark was that Dean dropped a couple of seconds per lap at Thunderhill over the APR airfoil he had been using.
http://vimeo.com/16891498
We were using a local aerospace composites shop that would produce the airfoil for a pretty damn reasonable price. Unfortunately, after building a few of them, they decided to raise their prices to the point that it really wasn't worth building them.
So, here I was needing an airfoil for my latest project. Can't have one of our wings until we find someone that will build them for a reasonable cost. I didn't particularly want the APR knowing that I could do a little better with a traditional airfoil.
So, I start looking around and find that the NASCAR Car of Tomorrow (COT) airfoil is very similar ot the traditional Liebeck Trans Am wing. It's about 58" wide, with an 11" chord and the mounting plates are about 38" apart (which is perfect for a miata). It even has a slot for a wickerbill. It's also built by Crawford Composites to the tune of ~$3000. Luckilly, you can pick up a used one from a NASCAR team for about $600 on average.
WARNING There are two versions of this wing available. There is a version that was built (for a lesser price) to be used on show cars and not for cometition. It is my understainding that the show car version did not have a slot for the wickerbill along the trailing edge and the area where the endplates mount is not machined aluminum.
This is a guy that is using the airfoil on a GT1 camaro:
Needless to say, I decided that this was something I needed to try out. So, I bought one and it's on the way. I got mine for $550 shipped. I'll be designing custom uprights to get it mounted on the Miata. We have a water jet/laser cutting business right down the street that has done some great work for us.
I'll keep you guys posted as I get a little further along. I expect the upright to be less than $200, and even less if I have multiple sets made.
A few more pics (excuse the crap quality, not taken by me)
Last edited by rlogan; 12-16-2011 at 12:01 PM.
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12-16-2011, 01:39 PM
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Oh, looks nice. We need a lot more rear wing on spoolin2bars car so we can further develop the front aero. Thats to bad about Perry's wing supplier, we were hoping to grab one of those from you guys. Please keep this updated. Do you have a weekend planned when you are going to be mocking it all up? We might want to stop by.
Jake
Jake
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12-16-2011, 02:46 PM
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Working on front aero myself right now (among other things). Trying to decide what size intercooler to go with and where exactly I want to mount it. Oil cooler setup arrived yesterday and that needs to be mounted as well. I picked up Johns chaser aero extractor hood so that will definitely help matters. I want to do this once and do it right.
I'll post more pics when I get the airfoil in. I can get at least one more with the same endplates as you see above and another with aluminum endplates. You lose about 3" off the length of the wing with the aluminum end plates. So that would make it about 54-55" aluminum and around 58" with CF end plates.
If I am making one set of uprights, I might as well make several...the setup fee is the worst part.
I'll post more pics when I get the airfoil in. I can get at least one more with the same endplates as you see above and another with aluminum endplates. You lose about 3" off the length of the wing with the aluminum end plates. So that would make it about 54-55" aluminum and around 58" with CF end plates.
If I am making one set of uprights, I might as well make several...the setup fee is the worst part.
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06-21-2012, 10:38 AM
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I have been busy as hell and haven't had time to get a car finished to test it on...I did however convince John(zxtex) to get one as well and he did try it at our last event. Unfortunately he also changed tires and a few other things at the same time. At first we didn't think we were getting good grip in the rear for a good part of the weekend. He switched tires late the second day and suddenly the car was perfectly balanced. There are a couple of other miata folks that I am aware of that also bought teh COT wing so hopefully we'll get some more data soon.
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06-21-2012, 12:57 PM
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What Ryan said. Developing a mount I am happy with is the only thing stopping me from using the COT wing. I have a mount that I tested at Texas World Speedway (that I fabricated with much effort) but it needs some tweaks to work properly.
If I have time to add the tweaks (I am also very busy) I may use it at my next TT event which is coming very soon. I'll report back if I do.
If I have time to add the tweaks (I am also very busy) I may use it at my next TT event which is coming very soon. I'll report back if I do.
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06-21-2012, 03:56 PM
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I hear you guys, I was just seeing if there were still people interested in evaluating this 2d wing and weighing in on its advantages/disadvantages vs the popular 3d wings. My very limited understanding of 2d wings is that it needs to be higher than the roofline, so these mounts will be quite tall.
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07-20-2012, 06:18 PM
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Is this wing section copyrighted?
My plans for the/a fastback, a wing and front splitter are slowly coming to shape. I imagine the 3d wing with the fastback is not entirely necessary, especially if this wing is available....
Which leads me to the reason for the post, Buying a used wing from ebay to ship to NZ is going to prove difficult, Is it likely anyone will offer these wings available to the aftermarket buyers.......buying from 949, FM and Goodwin is a lot eeasier than ebay for us "out of towners"...
Fabricating a mount etc is not to big a problem......
My plans for the/a fastback, a wing and front splitter are slowly coming to shape. I imagine the 3d wing with the fastback is not entirely necessary, especially if this wing is available....
Which leads me to the reason for the post, Buying a used wing from ebay to ship to NZ is going to prove difficult, Is it likely anyone will offer these wings available to the aftermarket buyers.......buying from 949, FM and Goodwin is a lot eeasier than ebay for us "out of towners"...
Fabricating a mount etc is not to big a problem......
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08-16-2012, 10:58 AM
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I'm sure one of us could get a wing to you....
Definitely interested in what you have done for a mount...I am buried for another 6-8 weeks at a minimum. I don't think I'll ever get to work on a car again at this rate.
Definitely interested in what you have done for a mount...I am buried for another 6-8 weeks at a minimum. I don't think I'll ever get to work on a car again at this rate.
Is this wing section copyrighted?
My plans for the/a fastback, a wing and front splitter are slowly coming to shape. I imagine the 3d wing with the fastback is not entirely necessary, especially if this wing is available....
Which leads me to the reason for the post, Buying a used wing from ebay to ship to NZ is going to prove difficult, Is it likely anyone will offer these wings available to the aftermarket buyers.......buying from 949, FM and Goodwin is a lot eeasier than ebay for us "out of towners"...
Fabricating a mount etc is not to big a problem......
My plans for the/a fastback, a wing and front splitter are slowly coming to shape. I imagine the 3d wing with the fastback is not entirely necessary, especially if this wing is available....
Which leads me to the reason for the post, Buying a used wing from ebay to ship to NZ is going to prove difficult, Is it likely anyone will offer these wings available to the aftermarket buyers.......buying from 949, FM and Goodwin is a lot eeasier than ebay for us "out of towners"...
Fabricating a mount etc is not to big a problem......
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