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GT350R Carbon Fiber Wing

Mustang_Owner

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Hi all,

I noticed that at 'high' speeds the rear wheels love to slide around turns, especially in wet conditions. Although I have tried to find very good tires that work in both wet and dry conditions, perhaps adding a rear wing that pushes the car down in the back will keep the rear tires sticking better around 'slight' turns at 60+ MPH. Of course, adding a large wing will create drag and slow my car down at high speeds. Still, I would think that the 'right' size (and angle) wing for my driving style adds safety since the rear of the car won't want to slide as much with more weight pushing down on the rear tires.

I found lots of comments saying the GT350R functional (and stylish) wing increases downforce (and drag), but nobody said by how much (in pounds) versus speed (in MPH). Without any data, I hate spending $$ to take chances on something that might improve (or hurt) performance. I just purchased the below GT350R replica carbon fiber wing.

If anybody knows the actual downforce and drag values for the GT350R wing, please let me know. I suppose after installation, I could test it myself by adding some type of weight sensor on the trunk latch (with the trunk slightly open) and log the weight in lbs as I drive at increasing intervals of 10 MPH faster and provide my own graph. Once I cut the holes on the trunk lid, there's no going back! Even if it slows me down, at least it looks cool in my opinion (although I heard it blocks your rear view mirror somewhat).

I also found this generic table for some adjustable wings as an example (the GT350R wing is not adjustable, so hoping the Mustang engineers got it right and the carbon fiber wing copiers copied it right). From the table below, if I am reading it right, the new GT350R wing might have an Angle of Attack somewhere from 0 to 14 degrees (probably somewhere in the middle). I lose 0 HP at 45 MPH, 2 to 10 HP at 100 MPH, and up to 41 HP at 160 MPH. Still, I gain the traction from the 'extra' weight pushing down on my rear wheels, but is the drag HP loss accounting for this extra weight? At 'high' speeds (150+), could the wing make too much downforce and cause the front end of my car to lift/flip as it launches into the air? Also, checking how much better my car sticks during 100+ MPH turns with the new wing will be quite challenging. Note 20 meters/sec = 45 MPH, 40 meters/sec = 89.5 MPH, 55 meters/sec = 123 MPH. From the two tables, downforce (in lbs) increases at a factor of four for two times the speed.
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Eritas

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Can't draw ANYTHING from looking at the tables of a different wing. Especially a Nascar COT wing.

Apples : pumpkins

What tires are you running? How many track days do you do? Look at the Michelin PSS, PS4S, or Conti ExtremeContact Sport.
 

F0J

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I'm in for thorough discussion about aero. I'd expect the turn key racers to have it "figured out" but buying the aero front-end off a GT4 from Kohr is big bucks and the adjustable wing isn't available (or rather even more $$$).

Considering the cost of renting a tunnel (which I would gladly chip in for a well sorted and cost effective way to improve aero on a stock S550), I think the best we'll get is butt dynos. Have you driven your new wing? Did you observe an improvement in lap times?
 

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Mustang_Owner

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I ordered my new wing on Sunday, but the manufacturer still has not shipped it out yet. I might not get it for about a month. After I get it, I need to wait until the first weekend daylight so I can install it. Then, finding a place to make 'fast' turns to compare how the car holds versus how it didn't hold for the same speed and turn is REALLY a challenge since pushing the car to hold better in turns at speed is VERY risky. I need a huge empty lot or airfield to experiment on lateral grip with/without the wing to make turns at speed, but I have not found one yet.

I have MPSS 295/30/R19 in front and 325/30/R19 in the rear.
 

OKC S550

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Can't draw ANYTHING from looking at the tables of a different wing. Especially a Nascar COT wing.

Apples : pumpkins

What tires are you running? How many track days do you do? Look at the Michelin PSS, PS4S, or Conti ExtremeContact Sport.
This. I have made turns at 80+ (humble brag) on track and the rear never felt loose. You may need to address suspension/tires before looking at adding aero.
 

Eritas

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I don't think there's any issue with adding the wing. It'll surely make the car more stable and faster on track.
 

Competition Orange

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I'm curious just how fast these folks that add "aero" truly are. I am lapping Mid Ohio pretty decently for being a newb and in no way do I think "aero" is the next thing the car, or myself needs.
 
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To determine the actual impact of drag with this wing, I just had to search for GT350 acceleration times vs. GT350R (with the wing I just ordered) acceleration times. The weight is slightly less on the GT350R vs GT350. The tires are slightly bigger on the GT350R than GT350. Still, the overall top speed is about the same between them (6 MPH difference at 170 MPH). Up to 100MPH, the wing doesn't seem like it has any affect on acceleration time. I believe a car similar to my car has a top speed close to 200 MPH, so I fear if I ever pushed the car to such speeds the wing will drop top speed down between 185 to 190 as well as possibly break off or push down too much and cause front lift.
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OKC S550

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I dont think the drag at speeds close to 200 MPH will matter much. What track are you even able to hit those speeds? I think its obvious there will be some benefit to the R wing but it may not be the best solution to your rear tires sliding around turns.
 
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I don't want to void my car's warranty by taking it to the track, but if I did, I would go to palm beach international or homestead speedway. At anywhere close to top speed, the downforce might be ~1000 lbs, so hoping the carbon fiber is very strong and doesn't cause me trouble. I still think the wing is better than not having it, just worry about the 'worst case' on everything. Although I know it will be fun/exciting to verify it's improvement, I just have to take it slowly and try to pull a slightly higher G force on the same turns at slightly higher speed each time until I feel slippage. I want my car to stick to the road as best as possible around turns. The wing finally shipped today, so it's probably still about a month before it will end up on my car. Here's a pic of my car without the wing:
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from what I gather you're trying to justify buying the wing with numbers that don't add up. At the speed you'll be traveling at the R wing wont do much much for down force. My guess would be maybe 30lbs at around 100mph....if that. Think of an airplane and how big the wings are and the speeds that it has to travel to fly. Now apply those #'s to your car
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