So we finally got the opportunity to get the wing on the car and test it at Auto Club Speedway this past weekend. Auto Club Speedway is probably the fastest track on the west coast as it uses 2/3 of the NASCAR oval. My 370Z was reaching speeds upwards of 140-145mph at the end of the front straight. What better place to test a wing.
Well, lets just say we learned a lot. The good news is that the wing produces MONSTER downforce. The new profile Kognition came up with is nothing short of amazing. The bad news is, this first prototype will have to be revised some in the strenght department. The wing produced so much downforce at ~120mph that it literally folded both ends of the carbon fiber wing like a straw, something I didn't even think was possible. Here we were concerned about the hatch mounts, which held up incredibly (you can probably tow the car with them), but the weak point was the carbon fiber itself.
Although it is a bummer that the wing will need some re-designing in the strength department, Kognition and myself are both as excited as we can be that the wing was far more effective than we had hoped. The wing broke at the end of my warm up lap so I didn't have too much time on the track with it, but just judging by how the car felt on the warm up lap, lets just say I can't wait until the revised version is done.
Kognition already knows what he needs to revise to keep it as light weight as possible (the one we tested was only 5 lbs.) but be strong enough to hold up to the downforce it is producing.
Anyway, here are some photos. Also the end plates will also be dry carbon fiber on production models.
Everything ready to get installed!
Wing mounts and uprights installed.
The whole shebang installed and waiting to go out on track. 68" wide, as tall as the roofline, and built to the extent of the Redline Time Attack Street Class rules!
And the area where the wing folded like a straw. It was identical on the other end as well.
Not a very flattering angle, but on track shot probably 30 seconds before melt down.
