scootz
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| posted on 26/2/13 at 10:05 PM |
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Front Wings on a Reverse Trike?
Worthwhile? Or just for show?
I have a set of wings to go with the Dallara tub I'm using, but I'm not sure if I'm going to fit them.
I know that reverse trikes have a tendency to lift one of the front wheels when accelerating hard in a corner (particularly from standstill), but
would a high-downforce pair of wings cause enough downward pressure to combat some of this?
I know nothing about aero, so could do with a steer. FWIW, my understanding is that the wings would only really be useful at high-speed, on sweeping
bends.
Educate me please! 
It's Evolution Baby!
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v8kid
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| posted on 27/2/13 at 08:47 AM |
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How interesting - thinking it through.....
Wing won't have any effect much below 50ish unless it is very big and at a steep angle so won't help from standstill.
At high speed will add load to both front wheels so you will be able to corner harder before the inside wheel lifts
But......
The weight balance will shift toward e the front so the rear will become loose and you may leave the road backwards 
On the other hand you mat find that the car is under-steering and the front wing sorts it -
You really need to get this car on the road and try it out - to many changes of mind lead to stagnation.
Cheers!
You'd be surprised how quickly the sales people at B&Q try and assist you after ignoring you for the past 15 minutes when you try and start a
chainsaw
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russbost
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| posted on 27/2/13 at 09:14 AM |
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I'm no expert on aero, so this is more seat of the pants & gut feel stuff, but I think unless you're planning on doing REALLY high
speed cornering, I mean in excess of 100mph I doubt it's going to make a lot of difference, at anything over the ton I think the aero could make
a big difference, but impossible to say which way it would go as it depends a lot on what the back end is doing & how the weight transfer is
going.
This is what I think would happen - I emphasise all IMHO! Increasing downforce unilatteraly across the front of the car is going to give you more
grip, so the front of the car will presumably roll more due to the increased grip, as it rolls the front inside wing will lift & generate less
downforce (wings work better the closer to the floor they are - ground effects), this could result in things getting very lively as you reach a
tipping point (no pun intended!) & could result in the front inside wheel getting airborne (or worse!). However as the car rolls unless you have
something very clever going on at the back end (or a bike tyre, which would probably work well at high speed but rubbish to put the power down) your
rear tyre contact patch will reduce (you are effectively adding positive camber - a bad thing) leading to the back end breaking away, in doing so you
would EXPECT that this would reduce the front roll, putting the wing back in action on the side that had lifted & things would stabilise.
Obviously adding/reducing power during the above could change things dramatically, to say nothing of bumps/potholes etc.
As I said I don't think you'll generate enough downforce (unless it's a very big wing/high attack angle/very close to the floor) at
anything much under the ton, so adding the wing for that scenario would be largely cosmetic - I don't think there has much work been done with
trikes, particularly monoshock trikes, at high speed as it's not generally what they are intended for. I do remember quite a few years back
someone built an experimental reverse trike based on a single seater formula car with monoshock front end, wings etc. It was VERY stable & quick
generally, but there was some footage of it at a race circuit, (may have been Snetterton?) where it all went horribly wrong & it lifted the whole
inside of the car off the ground!!! IIRC it didn't result in any major accident & I don't recall it rolling, but pretty sure that was
why they gave up on the project.
If you're driving at road legal speeds I'd think you'd be fine, trackdays however could be another issue, particularly anywhere with
very high speed corners. From what I recall of your project I'd expect it to have a top speed (if geared that way) in excess of 150mph - all I
can say at that point is rather you than me!!!
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scootz
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| posted on 28/2/13 at 06:05 AM |
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Thanks for the replies guys. I'm nightshift just now, but will get back go the thread properly soon.
It's Evolution Baby!
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