VIDEO: AeroMotions downforce splitting rear spoiler in action
Click above to view video of the AeroMotrions wing in action
Earlier this week we introduced you to the AeroMotions downforce splitting rear spoiler, a wing that's split in two and uses an onboard computer to selectively adjust the pitch of each wing section to provide the maximum amount of traction for any given situation. At the time all we had was a single picture from the spoiler's debut at an autocrossing event in California, but the company has since released video of said autocrossing showing the wing in action. Watching the video after the jump, you can clearly see how this thing works. Turn left and the driver-side part of the wing flips up to increase downforce and keep the inside rear wheel planted. Turn right and the opposite happens. Floor the car in a straight line and both halves of the wing level out. The amazing thing is how fast each section of the wing reacts, as its constantly adjusting the angles in real time. Follow the jump to check it out for yourself. Thanks for the tip, Vince!
[Source: AeroMotions]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
Isuzu32 5:37PM (8/13/2008)
That is a very cool product. I'd like to see 100 laps completed, 50 with the splitting spoiler and 50 without, and compare the average times.
(With compensation for tires and brakes etc.)
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DriveCritic 6:16AM (8/14/2008)
I agree. The concept behind the spoiler is fantastic but how well it works - improvements in track times (if any) etc. - is the big question.
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Todd 5:37PM (8/13/2008)
Even though I think that "Fast and Furious" look is totally lame, I gotta admit that wing is pretty cool...
...winder if I can get it mess up red light camera's by chrome plating it. Hmmmm?
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retsel 5:40PM (8/13/2008)
what about one that has a continuous curve instead of 2 halves...
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komamura 5:50PM (8/13/2008)
It split in half so that they can adjust the downforce to the left and right on the car depending on where its needed most
komamura 5:51PM (8/13/2008)
It split in half so that they can adjust the downforce to the left and right on the car depending on where its needed most
retsel 6:08PM (8/13/2008)
to clarify i meant a variable geometry curve that would bend to adjust the down force dynamically....
Carlos 10:08PM (8/13/2008)
Because that would probably be a lot more expensive to change the arc of the curve than to adjust the angle at which the curve meets the air.
Ray 5:41PM (8/13/2008)
Cool wing! I want one now, and why can't REAL motorsports do this? This just shows how extremely lame autocrossing is. No doubt all the parking lot warriors are going to come out in force, but it's lame. Race people instead of traffic cones and a stopwatch!
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Wally 5:55PM (8/13/2008)
I'm guessing you're referring to NASCAR, Formula 1, IRL, etc as "Real" motor sports but in essence, aren't they racing a stop-watch as well? Please, share with us the "Real" Motorsport to which you reference that doesn't involve the fastest time (I can only think of drifting).
Either way - To each his own Ray, to each his own.
Ray 6:31PM (8/13/2008)
No, they aren't in essence 'the same thing'. Time in a racing series is for qualifying position for the race, or for fastest race lap and track records. Autocrossing is not racing. It's a time trial. Children do time trials.
Formula 1, NASCAR, IRL, and the like race against other people wheel to wheel not for bragging rights and pissing contest trophies in parking lots over who drove between cones the fastest. It's lame to me, but not to others. I'm not saying it doesn't take skill or that it isn't entertaining. Not at all. I just think that it would be more entertaining to watch people race one another rather than cones.
And please, drifting is not racing. It's given style points, you know kinda like gymnastics. While it's not racing in the sense that they are trying to race to a finish line, those guys sure can throw a car around with massive amounts of talent for control. I respect that, it's just not racing.
T. Munday 6:30PM (8/13/2008)
Mainly because "moveable aero devices" are banned by almost all sanctioning bodies. Yes, adjustable aero devices are legal, but not ones that move on their own or are adjustable by the driver.
Bevill 6:32PM (8/13/2008)
What? Chaparral had movable wings in the late 60's. The car was a huge step forward for aerodynamic in racing.
Ray 6:35PM (8/13/2008)
I know why moveable wings aren't allowed, it was more of a 'wtf' type question. It sure would be badass to see just how many G's an F1 car could pull through Turn 8 at Turkey!
Craig 7:29PM (8/13/2008)
Are you saying that Rallying is not a real motorsport then? They race the clock instead of other people.
I'm sure people like Carlos Sainz, Seb Loeb, Petter Solberg would beg to differ on your views there.
Have you seen what happens when you put a WRC driver in an F1, and vice versa? The WRC driver is on the pace quite quickly in the F1, but the F1 driver takes a very long time to adjust to the rally style. It has been done more than a few times and the result was always the same.
Each to their own, but I reckon you're an elitist douche.
Maxzillian 7:51PM (8/13/2008)
See, the trouble is that you base "real" racing on what is more fun to watch. I'll admit, I could care less about watching an autocross event, I'd rather (and do) run in one!
The level of entertainment doesn't determine the validity of a sport.
Get off the couch and do some racing yourself. Being the spectator sucks no matter what the sport.
Ray 8:24PM (8/13/2008)
Well Craig, you got me there. My comments would seem to suggest I think the same of rallying as I do autocrossing. I don't. Simply because in the WRC you have a very high possibility of being killed. Anyone that drives balls out at 140mph or higher in dense, snow covered forest has considerably higher skill than someone in thier BMW in a mall parking lot. I am in awe of WRC drivers, I've always stressed to everyone I watch any form of motorsport with that WRC drivers are without a doubt the most skilled and brave car racers on the face of the earth. So yeah, I was wrong to generalize it, but that doesn't mean I'm an 'elitist douche'. You're very childish thanks to the an anonymity the internet gives you. Congrats.
Max I don't base 'real' racing on entertainment. I base it on skill. Yes it takes skill to drive at high speeds through cones. I don't deny that. But to RACE other people in cars, or on bikes, around a track is much harder. You have many more factors to deal with that simply not hitting a cone or beating a time. You're right in saying that popularity doesn't determine the validity of any sport. I don't disagree, I just think that Formula 1 drivers and any other circuit drivers are better. My reasoning goes along the line that drifters make good racers. They don't and they won't. You can't generalize one skill set being able to transfer to another type fo motorsport. I'm kinda guilty of doing that, but I will maintain that autocrossing does not necessarily make a good driver, no more than a person skilled at putt-putt makes a good golfer.
And I did race karts quite a bit up until I was about 14. Like all fun things in life it requires more money than my family was able to supply.
Maxzillian 10:46AM (8/14/2008)
Ray, thanks for putting that all into clarity. I do agree with you on the skill level involved between parking lot racing and running door to door, there is no doubt about that.
WolfgangNC 5:45PM (8/13/2008)
I think it is cool; but watching the video and seeing how it works makes me wonder about the physics and if downforce really is generated?
If the wing is adjusting based on the airflow only, then the wing is doing nothing more than reacting to the flow of the air and not really doing anything with the airflow (making the airflow react to the wing), which means there is really no downforce happening. Basically if the wings of an airplane just reacted to the airflow instead of the airflow reacting to the wing then the airplane wouldn't fly. Hopefully that makes sense on my concerns.
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Taylor 6:20PM (8/13/2008)
They are driven by motors, not just moved around by wind, so yes, they are forced against the air and downforce is created. If they were passive and moved by the wind, they'd just be down all the time because no matter which way you're turning, the wind still blows backwards. The reason these do this is to minimize drag by only applying down force to the inside wheel, since the outside is already gonna be pressed into the road.
-Taylor