Turbo Up/Down rear wing aero benefit?
#18
#21
If the hydraulic fluid (Pentosin) can leak out (into your engine bay or down your back bumper), the individual ram will fail down due to a VERY STRONG spring inside. Then the wing is cocked and not straight. Ask me how I know...
#22
That is what has happened, but no fluid leak at all. You can push the side that did not go down with a little force.
#23
For one thing the spoiler wouldn't go up right, it wouldn't go up evenly. For another thing with the spoiler up the spoiler hydraulic system is under considerable pressure which would just continue to force fluid out. The Pentosin fluid used in the spoiler is not nice fluid to have leaking out.
So I rinsed the spoiler hardware and engine compartment to remove any leaked fluid then pulled the fuse that controls the spoiler operation.
At speed the spoiler would not deploy, But if I did reach deployment speed a warning light and message would appear.
Also, the fuse also was for the engine compartment latch so with the fuse removed I was unable to open the engine compartment.
I drove the car this way for a while, a few weeks, then booked the car in to have the spoiler system replaced when I decided this was for me the best way to go compared to the other options.
#24
996 Turbo wing - spoiler effect
9 kg doesn't tell the whole story. It's really about how much gross downforce is generated. That is how much lift is cancelled + the 9 kg. I wouldn't be surprised if without the raised wing, there'd be something like 100 kg of lift at the rear @ 150mph.
It would sure be nice to have some real numbers though to understand better.
It would sure be nice to have some real numbers though to understand better.
Even when up, our low mounted wing is actually dual acting and is probably best described as a wing-spoiler. The first aero component is the downforce of the wing itself with its angle of attack (it looks shallow but air is dropping at an angle off the rear screen). The second is its interaction with the rear of the car and how much it helps air break away cleanly (the spoiler effect).
FWIW, I noticed the handling difference once at 70 MPH when I raced the car with the wing removed (hydraulics problem, since repaired). Wasn't subtle either - a 100 yard 4 wheel drift through a long fast sweeper, followed by a 420 degree spin . I'm pretty certain that going in too fast by the best part of 10 MPH had a lot more to do with it (was distracted by a following Cup car), but I almost saved it and still can't help wondering if a working wing would have helped me pull it off...
If anyone does know how much the pure wing component of the downforce is (or has done a before and after total downforce reading while adding a gurney flap), please do let me know.