Wing it

[War Eagle River]

As for the center of gravity aspect. If you take a wing off a slot car and it weighs 1g, would the downforce measured have to be greater than 1g for it to have any effect?

[Rleog]

Basic physics. For a correctly shaped wing, some downforce is created but the effect is small and negated by the increased instability due to altering the center of mass of the car.

A factor to consider is the actual velocity of the car, not the scale velocity. Assume that a 20,000 rpm motor turning 3:1 gears that drive a 20 mm diameter wheel/tire. Also assume no friction losses. At 20,000 rpm that car will run approximately 15 mph actual velocity on a long straight.

Even for an 80 g car, the downforce is most likely negligible. For winged ‘thingies,’ traveling much faster and with much larger wings, the downforce is significant.

[War Eagle River]

I like wings.
Big and tall.
Short and small.
Sending the car,
Into the wall.
Spicy and dicey.
Or if they’re pricey.
Downforce coherence.
Makes no difference.
About drag coefficients.
Is the premise whacked,
As we soar around the track.
But the wing on that Chappy
Sure makes me happy!

I like wings.

[Z-carfan]

[strangebrew]

..............Disclaimer....Not A physicist..............
Common sense tells me that if anything, that wing may slow you down.
Proly need a hundred foot straight to have nay kind of positive effect.
And a lot of science goes into the exact angles & placements of those things ;) .
Doubt the slot car companies pay much attention to those details.
In my opinion those wings on slots are just adding clutter to the airflow over the car.
I figure these 1:1 youngsters & their buzz bomb 4 cylinders with file cabinets bolted all over
their rear decks must be losing 2 mpg on the interstate.
If you do anything, I would eliminate the air flow UNDER your car with a front air dam. :roll:
.....Give me a V-8 American hot rod any day. :music-rockout:

[War Eagle River]

Quote “If you do anything, I would eliminate the air flow UNDER your car with a front air dam”
Ahhh...a new wrinkle...like the little spoilers and wings on the DTM’s!

[chappyman66]

If you are really interested.....go read Mulsanne's Corner. Mike Fuller writes detailed articles about airflow management for racing cars. He doesn't update the site as much now (he has a real engineering job) but it's still a great source of information on airflow management and how the design process actually works.

The "Gurney flap" and the ducktail spoiler on the Cobra GT coupes was part of the early understanding of the importance of airflow management, but it didn't matter until you hit the long Mulsanne straight at LeMans (basic physics, again). Jim Hall was into flying as well. The 2C had the adjustable flipper wing which provided downforce in corners (when down) and less drag on the straights (when trimmed flat) and this was key to efficiency. Unlike many who fixed wings to bodies and the main chassis, the Chaparrals wings were attached to the suspension and actually worked to directly force the suspension against the road. The ban against "moveable aerodynamic devices" still stands...and in fact Toyota was penalized at LeMans recently for having a rear wing that deflected just enough at high speed to provide an aero advantage (article is on Fuller's site).

Still....bottom line....it makes zero difference in the grip on a scale model slot car.

[4424ever]

[strangebrew]

...................................................

[4424ever]

HOLY CRAP Brew is that car actually leagal and what series allows spoilers that large :o

[strangebrew]

[slothead]

I like wings too, because they do have value in full scale racing and most slot cars at least try to look like replicas of those cars. All of my Chaparral 2F's and 2E's have wings because they wouldn't be realistic liveries without them. I don't have any NASCAR Superbirds, but if I did they'd have wings. Not because they 'do' anything on a slot car, but because it wouldn't be a Superbird without the wing and nosecone.

I have been to early and late season 'Run What ya Brung' shows and seen all sorts of setups. If someone shows up at dirt track in something like this that's been race tuned it often a done deal.


It's hard to beat a race proven setup with a contraption thrown together in the shop.

[War Eagle River]

[GTOking]

I was sitting and noticed a couple of dog hairs on the tile floor about 6 feet from me. So I blew a breath of air towards the hairs and they moved a couple of inches. If my puff of air moving at I guess less than 10 miles per hour can affect the hair 6 feet away then a Slot car traveling 15 mph on the track has to be affected somehow by the air. The shape of the car, with a wing or a spoiler has to play a part to some degree. How much? Who knows. All I can say is it is a difference I can feel, the car with a spoiler feels better than the same car without. Is it aero forces or personal psych? Couldn't say, but it is real to me. This debate is similar to climate change, is it real or not? Believers have their opinions as do doubters. Both can point to "science" backing their claims. The bottom line is, nobody really knows!

Please, do not turn this thread into climate change. Just an example!

Yes, I should vacuum the floors! :lol:

[mattb]

Lot of theories and guess's. Why not run your car with the wing on for 10 laps and get your average lap time. Then take the wing off and do the same thing. You should have a definitive answer and can quit guessing or comparing slot cars to t real cars. I think the timed lap is the decisive test.