1st Generation Specific (1979-1985) 1979-1985 Discussion including performance modifications and technical support sections

Wing on a Street Car?

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Old 02-06-05 | 10:17 AM
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Wing on a Street Car?

After watching the Rolex Daytona 24 I'm wondering if should have gotten a wing for my wide body... not. Ever see a wing that looks right on a street 7? Others?
Old 02-06-05 | 10:36 AM
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The one on your avatar looks good.
Old 02-06-05 | 11:01 AM
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How could I argue with a professional artist ? You're so right. What was I thinking... a tail on a street 7... silly me !!! I am ripping my **** off right now with one hand while I type with the other. This is the first time I've ever experienced a case of "only certain tails are better than no tail at all".

Lets me and you drop the art crap as if it were a substantiator of personal opinion. See, I build very large houses that I design and draw the custom plans for. One of my printers is a Designjet 430 for D scale prints. ( Yeah, I don't need color for blueprints) I refuse to draw or build the same house twice. I'm half owner in an interiors store, too. Use planit millenium software ( 5000 plus annual updates ) for kitchen design with colors and light, etc. Do I preach scale this and contrast that and "texture this while you're at it" ? It's each to his/her/its own.

I've seen my share of degreed design people that know what they see but still have bad taste and judgement. Most people on this forum and in life fall into one of two catagories: 1) They know what they like and choose it. 2) They don't know and can't tell, so they ask others or guess and ask for approval.

You and I fall into the first catagory, so no matter what we say to each other, you will not like my flying whale tail and I will detest your mini blinds.. I mean louvers. I don't want you to copy me and I won't copy you. Whoever said "Imitation is the most sincere form of flattery" was a mindless twit. See, I like your car for you. I like mine for me. Neat how that works, huh ?
Old 02-06-05 | 03:44 PM
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well said David~~
Old 02-06-05 | 05:37 PM
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HAHAHA I love that david nice spend of words I feel the exact same way I want 16 inch wheels and spoilers and ground effects and nice engins and all the cool stuff but I want it to be totaly different from everyone else.
Old 02-06-05 | 08:38 PM
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Well if you do put a wing on a street 7,you might as well use one that is authentic.None of that universal crap.
My GTO wing might be considered gaudy or overblown,but it is an RX-7 specific wing,made for the car by Mariah back in the 80s.It may not serve much purpose below 100mph,but I wanted something to cap off my widebody project,yet I didnt want what everyone else had....




Old 02-06-05 | 09:25 PM
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Personally, the stock IMSA spoiler or a nice porsche style whale tail are the only wings that look right on a FB to me...

All the rest are blah and don't fit the lines IMNSHO

--matt
Old 02-06-05 | 10:55 PM
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Someone once said that beauty is in the eye of the beholder....but what happens if he's blind.

BTW, nice...

Old 02-07-05 | 01:30 AM
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Then the beholder starts feeling you up to detemine if your fugly or not!

Thanks!
Old 02-07-05 | 01:18 PM
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heh the red rx7 is extremely hot...
Old 02-07-05 | 01:46 PM
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I agree, its your car so do what you want. Steves looks real nice. Remember they are for looks until you hit around 100mph. The they become functional. I personally like the ones made just for the car, all of them are lower in profile and look good. Those 4 ft tall three storied ones look like ***.
Just my 2 cents.
Old 02-07-05 | 03:34 PM
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Yeah, I don't need color for blueprints
Don't you need blue?

Wing = heavy rear end = oversteer = crash
Old 02-07-05 | 03:49 PM
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I think they were talking about wings like the ones you find on FIA GT cars...like the porsche 996 GT3 RSR (see picture)

I think it would look good if!

1) the uprights were far apart as possible
2) the wing has to have a wide back to front area...none of this 3 inches BS...it has to be atleast 8-10 inches wide to look ok on our cars...otherwise they look puny and useless
3) the winglets on the side have to extend downward a bit...

Im thinknking about doing this to mine.

From my experience the back end tends to lift at about 180 km/h which is about 105 MPH
Attached Thumbnails Wing on a Street Car?-lm04-90.jpg  
Old 02-07-05 | 04:08 PM
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something like this (although i in no way support the rest of the crap this guy did to his FC
Attached Thumbnails Wing on a Street Car?-ryousitusya-img600x450-1106136310dscf0003%5B1%5D.jpg  
Old 02-07-05 | 04:17 PM
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go for it man , it will look good, best of luck
Old 02-07-05 | 04:57 PM
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I have yet to install my wing on the mazda. It's a whale tail but I want to get a lip kit and everything else first before I go putting the wing on. I'd a silver car w/ black doors and a black whale tail.
Old 02-07-05 | 06:34 PM
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You are right Leif, I was speaking of a "wing" not a spoiler. And Steve, I would have gone w/ your spoiler (my favorite!) had it still been available - like the ones on many of the IMSA 7s of the 80s.
David, you deserve a new paragraph. If I had the funds, I would try my hand at designing a wing for my 7. Something way up on 2 pedestals & that flows w/ the lines of the car. I doubt I could have it tested in a wind tunnel but whatever. Give me a day or 2 & I’ll whip something up. I don’t have 3D CAD software but depict medical equipment & body parts for publication pretty well in CDR. I’ve only recently gotten back into my RX-7 (after almost 10 years) & have no idea what is out there other than what the mainstay dealers have had forever. BTW: I haven’t put the louvers back on since the wide body – but was thinking about it…
Old 02-07-05 | 06:52 PM
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'Strutted' wings are for high downforce at the expense of induced drag - this is bad for top speed, but good for cornering. There's no way to increase downforce without also increasing drag, this is a tradeoff that everyone must make for appearance.

For me, I'm willing to make the trade for looks. I don't drive faster than 100mph on very many occasions, so I prefer the sleek looks of a blended spoiler that helps to keep air separated at the rear of the car.

Some may choose wings, and more power to them,
Old 02-07-05 | 07:12 PM
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I just found my wicked spoiler photos on wide body race FB 7s. I'll scan & post them tomorrow.
Still looking for a few good wings. Gave up on fuction & just want it to not look "stuck on".

Last edited by Snapshot; 02-07-05 at 07:17 PM.
Old 02-07-05 | 08:12 PM
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i choose a wing... you can get the 'basic' aluminum wing off ebay for like 40 shipped and make custom side plates for them to conform to your tastes... and it looks unique
Old 02-07-05 | 08:19 PM
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the e-bay wing is too narrow in the fron rear axis...it makes the car look huge...which spoils the sporting looks...

there are some on eribuni i think look nice...even one that looks like a rip from a C5R

and wings also allow you to go faster...you may not hit the theoretical top end of your car...however you can increase the realistic top end...

i.e. as i already said...my car tends to lift at about 180km/h but this is not my cars theoretical top end...(i think i have read that some have seen closer to 212km/h)
but due to aero restrictions i cant reach this...but with a wing at a low angle of incidence i may indeed be able to see 205-210...again...lowwer than the theoretical...but higher than my realistic
Old 02-07-05 | 08:39 PM
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Originally Posted by Feds
Don't you need blue?

Wing = heavy rear end = oversteer = crash
Umm... Wing (if done right) = kickass grip (hopefully you have a front airdam or some sort of downforce up front)

Oversteer = fun

Heavy rear end??? Uh, no not really. You see, it does effectively add weight to the car, but the weight is always pushing down, not attached to the car in any way shape or form. Heavy rear cars do indeed have trouble controlling oversteer (at least moreso than front biased cars, in most situations); however, when you go into a slide or drift with lots of downforce, the force is still only pushing DOWN. Not left, not right, and the force of the air caused by the wing will never follow the car and any other way but down. When you go into a slide, the weight of the car moves. The more weight the car has (over the wheels without traction), the harder it will be to control that slide because those wheels will be succumb to more inertia. Downforce doesn't cause this effect at all. All it does is push down, which is good. Why do you think all the formula one cars, rail cars, rally cars, hell, even NASCAR has them? Because they create high speed stability, which you give up some aerodynamic drag to; but, those cars have so much power, that the loss of the top speed is worth the stability.
Old 02-07-05 | 09:12 PM
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Snapshot,you should have called Mariah and brown-nosed a little,heh,heh!
I only got that wing from them a year ago.It took a little convincing from me that I didnt want their other wings which are "similar" to use their terms.They ended up having an outside guy make the wing from their old molds,apparantly no one there had made one and they were unsure if they could do it.
Old 02-08-05 | 12:32 AM
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Originally Posted by Feds
Don't you need blue?

Nope. I print however many sheets with black ink on 24"x36" ( D scale ) 20# cadbond rolled paper. Then I take a complete set to a blueprint shop. They give me back the bluish paper with blue lines all sorted and stapled and end bound for 40-100 bucks for 4-10 sets.

Completed, published plans go for .30 to .40 per square foot, so the plans for a custom 5000 square foot home may bring 2000 dollars or more. 40-100 bucks is not too much overhead for professional presentation. I ain't got time to play printer, too. Not cost-effective.
Old 02-08-05 | 01:11 AM
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I didn't want to post any pics yet, still want to do a write-up on the widebody install, so here is sneak peek with the Mariah pedistal whaletail.

This pic was taken during the test fit, before the install began.
Attached Thumbnails Wing on a Street Car?-pc040016.jpg  



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