[JamesNoBrakes]

Originally Posted by Briland_1LE

I don't see why adding downforce to the rear and not the front on our cars is pointless. The weight bias of the chassis means the front is heavier by a few hundred lbs so adding downforce to the rear would bring it closer to 50/50 weight distribution.

Because the engineers have already balanced this out with the splitter and considering the power and tires/traction of the vehicle in question. Moar is going to slow you down without adding enough downforce benefit to increase track times. The new GT3 RS is a good example of all of these tradeoffs. They've taken this to the extreme. It *only* goes 184, but it goes a lot faster through turns than lesser 911 models. It has active aero so all the downforce doesn't create too much drag when it's not trying to stick to a turn.

[mRahmani]

Engineers worked on the wicker bill, too. It was an optional add on for the 5th Gen Z/28 and made a noticeable difference there. I don’t see why it would be pointless on the 6th gen.

[ATl_1LE]

I ran a few events stock at RA and installed the extended bill and compared. I lost ~1.5mph at end of the long straight but i also gained enough down force into t1 to wot earlier making up most of the difference in first section.

It for sure adds more drag then downforce but for me both are minimal enough not to stress about. If i go the route of adding a front splitter the bill is getting ripped off and proper wing installed.

[Mountain]

Originally Posted by ATl_1LE

I ran a few events stock at RA and installed the extended bill and compared. I lost ~1.5mph at end of the long straight but i also gained enough down force into t1 to wot earlier making up most of the difference in first section.

It for sure adds more drag then downforce but for me both are minimal enough not to stress about. If i go the route of adding a front splitter the bill is getting ripped off and proper wing installed.

Interesting. Any speed degradation going into other corners?

I’m curious if the ZL1 rear wing (not 1LE) does anything beneficial…

[Briland_1LE]

Originally Posted by JamesNoBrakes

Because the engineers have already balanced this out with the splitter and considering the power and tires/traction of the vehicle in question. Moar is going to slow you down without adding enough downforce benefit to increase track times. The new GT3 RS is a good example of all of these tradeoffs. They've taken this to the extreme. It *only* goes 184, but it goes a lot faster through turns than lesser 911 models. It has active aero so all the downforce doesn't create too much drag when it's not trying to stick to a turn.

I'm a mechanical engineer and I have performed CFD for the aerodynamics of race vehicles. A wickerbill is not a pointless modification it is actually well documented as being worth while for making downforce in a cheap and easy way. And using downforce to "balance" front to rear weight distribution is a common thing as well. Front heavy car & downforce at rear = more balanced front to rear. Ofc then you will have a different F/R weight balance at different speeds which needs to be considered.

[pbsinternet1le]

Originally Posted by Briland_1LE

I'm a mechanical engineer and I have performed CFD for the aerodynamics of race vehicles. A wickerbill is not a pointless modification it is actually well documented as being worth while for making downforce in a cheap and easy way. And using downforce to "balance" front to rear weight distribution is a common thing as well. Front heavy car & downforce at rear = more balanced front to rear. Ofc then you will have a different F/R weight balance at different speeds which needs to be considered.

More down force at the expense of drag does not guarantee faster laptimes..

[mRahmani]

No, it will vary from track to track. Tracks with shorter straights will almost certainly see improvements with the spoiler, while longer tracks will need data logging to compare.

[JamesNoBrakes]

Originally Posted by Briland_1LE

I'm a mechanical engineer and I have performed CFD for the aerodynamics of race vehicles. A wickerbill is not a pointless modification it is actually well documented as being worth while for making downforce in a cheap and easy way. And using downforce to "balance" front to rear weight distribution is a common thing as well. Front heavy car & downforce at rear = more balanced front to rear. Ofc then you will have a different F/R weight balance at different speeds which needs to be considered.

Then hopefully you'd know the difference between an airfoil and a spoiler. A wickerbill is a spoiler. Does it add some downforce? Inevitably, but the small spoiler on the 1LE is obviously attempting to attenuate the lifting-body of the car in a way that does not dramatically increase drag, as a bigger spoiler would. Separation drag is the highest form of drag and a wickerbill will basically give you the worst drag possible. It will basically be giving you mostly separation and not downforce. You could also use a wing, however, a wing won't spoil the lift of the lifting body, it's obviously a balance to find out what works best. Wing will add some drag and some downforce, but with the small 1LE spoiler, we aren't changing the shape all that much or adding all that much drag. I trust that the chevy engineers worked this out to be the best compromise. Sure, you might be able to find a track where another shape/size is a better compromise, but that's why these are all compromises. Even OEM, they offer a lot of crap that doesn't increase performance, as dealer-add-ons and cosmetic stuff. Yes, you can increase performance with this car, just that every thing you do has an effect and rarely are any add-ons all positive or stand-alone. My industry is aerospace.