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roadhouse racecar build

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Grant 302

basic and well known psychic
ArizonaBOSS said:
You might want to take a look on Racingjunk to see if there are any used airfoils available for a reasonable price before you put in the fabrication effort. Then you would just have to come up with your own uprights, which shouldn't be too difficult.

Width you will be looking for is in the 67" (my size/WC size) to 72" (AJ Hartmann/Vorshlag size).

Excellent suggestion. I've worked with 'glass for patching bodywork and making surfboards. Also molded some scoops and other bolt on parts. Not fun IMO.

If you do build it, make to have your attachment points figured out and well reinforced.
 
roadhouse said:
...Right now I am looking at ordering a foam core that will be cut to a specific NACA or other profile, I will then fiber glass the core, and fabricate some uprights.

At the size you were thinking of, 72x12, I'd be very wary of using a foam core unless you put stringers inside of it. Larger wings -can- produce enough downforce to crush themselves against their mounts. Interior reinforcement will be necessary.
 

steveespo

Lord knows I'm a Voodoo Child
Moderator
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1,924
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Cookeville TN
modernbeat said:
At the size you were thinking of, 72x12, I'd be very wary of using a foam core unless you put stringers inside of it. Larger wings -can- produce enough downforce to crush themselves against their mounts. Interior reinforcement will be necessary.

Agree with Jason, 1/8" x 1" aluminum spars bonded into the foam core on either side of the mounting inserts running full span before outer glass shell will provide some good bending resistance. Check out some RC aircraft foam core wing techniques for tips. Embedding carbon fibre strands along the top and bottom of the airfoil span wise in high strength epoxy also will keep it rigid. 2 people have to be able to stand on the wing for it to be strong enough for the loads that will be imposed at 125 mph.
This is a great DIY project if you have the composites skills.
Steve
 
steveespo said:
...2 people have to be able to stand on the wing for it to be strong enough for the loads that will be imposed at 125 mph...

The wings we use

10256727-766188120060209-2623176244776743065-o.jpg


img-1491.jpg


The splitters we build

1_DSC1282-M.jpg

_DSC5401-M.jpg

Last week Lyfe Racing almost lost their GRT Time Attack car at the Pikes Peak Hillclimb when their substandard Alumalite splitter peeled off and went under the front wheels, at speed, in the Double-Us at the top of the mountain. It could have been bad had they skid to the right. Instead they skid to the left and only smashed up the front of the car.
 
1,281
3
Tulsa, OK
Thanks for the suggestions. Running an aluminum spar could definitely strengthen the wing and it's easy to have an RC wing company cut it into the core.
 

drano38

Wayne
1,130
318
Logan,
Sounds like an interesting project. Better than me replacing the boards on my deck last weekend. ;)

Maybe the OSU aviation department could help you with the wing. I know they have pilot training, but don't know if they have aviation engineering. Maybe someone needs a research project and can help you--or get you access to some assembly stuff.
 
1,281
3
Tulsa, OK
drano38 said:
Logan,
Sounds like an interesting project. Better than me replacing the boards on my deck last weekend. ;)

Maybe the OSU aviation department could help you with the wing. I know they have pilot training, but don't know if they have aviation engineering. Maybe someone needs a research project and can help you--or get you access to some assembly stuff.

Ha... I'm sure your deck turned out just fine! :)

Good thought bringing in an aviation engineer to help with the research. Definitely couldn't hurt things
 
1,281
3
Tulsa, OK
Backyard wing update:

So after a little research I finally decided on a wing profile and ordered a core from flyingfoam.com. I went with a S1223 (Selig) profile, 2.0# white EPS foam, 72" span, 13" chord, and no spar. $97 shipped. Here is a link to the S1223 profile data. http://airfoiltools.com/airfoil/details?airfoil=s1223-il

From what I can tell after looking at tons of racecar wing pictures, is that there is no real consensus on which design/profile is the "the best." The S1223 seems like a pretty popular profile for some for some of the DIY wings I've found, showing high lift and low Reynolds number. And I think it kind of looks like the G-stream wing profile.

One of my buddies (Centri5.0) will be helping me and building a wing for his car too at the same time, so hopefully we can keep the costs down a little and fumble through this together. We originally planned on covering the foam in fiberglass but we are now looking into using carbon fiber for additional strength. Here is my inspiration from a BMW forum http://www.bimmerforums.com/forum/showthread.php?1306900-Foam-Carbon-Fiber-Wing-DIY
 
1,281
3
Tulsa, OK
DG#56 said:
What's the tensile strength of that foam?
I assume you're gonna wrap it in CF and then gel coat it?
If you can't stand on it between two buckets it won't hold.

I'm not terribly concerned about the strength of the foam core. It's basically just providing the shape and the carbon fiber will provide all of the strength. I plan on putting a couple coats of epoxy over the carbon and then finish up with some sanding and some varnish for a nice finish.
 

302 Hi Pro

Boss 302 - Racing Legend to Modern Muscle Car
2,009
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Modernbeat:

Your first pic of the lad standing on the end of the installed rear deck lid spoiler is most impressive. This also shows the strength of the mounting system/hardware as well. Nice display of tension/compression forces there!

Good stuff,
Dave
302 Hi Pro
 

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