lotus exige 410 aerodynamics

[Sotirios]

hello all

just wanting peoples opinion and advice. I have a 410 sport exige with the cup 430 carbon wing. now from the lotus catalogue, the rear of exige sport 410 generates 90kg downforce whereas the cup 430 generates 120kg. Would my setup with the cup 430 wing be affecting overall vehicle dynamics and balance>?  the stock 410 exige generates 60kg downforce at the front whereas the cup 430 generates 100kg downforce front which brings me to the question......would installing the front louvres from cup 430 on my exige 410 be noticeable for track events?? if i plan to do this i will use something like the komo tec carbon overlays as it prevents having to respray clamshell. what do people think?

[Paul_D]

I wouldn't worry about it too much. In real terms the difference is not significant.

The difference sounds impressive on paper, but those figures are quoted at top speed. Downforce is a square function in relation to speed.

I'm at work right now, but at home I've got some graphs showing the difference in down force at various speeds from when I was considering fitting other bits myself. 

I'll try and dig them out for you later on. 

[Paul_D]

So in terms of you worrying about affecting the balance of the car too much with a 430 wing but no increase in front aero....

This is the graph I produced when I was looking into it.

Now I would say that a 'high speed' corner in an Exige on most tracks would be something around the 100 mph mark. 

You can see at that speed, the difference in downforce is actually slightly under 10kg. Now I can only speak for myself (and there are plenty of much better drivers than me who may be able to), but I'm pretty sure I personally wouldn't be able to feel a difference of 10kg of rear downforce in terms of balance. 

[Sotirios]

thats some awesome info well done! 160kmh(100mph) corners would be few and far between also on most tracks. 

do you have graphs for the front downforce comparisons by any chance

 

[Paul_D]

Thanks. Yeah, I did a graph for the total downforce as well. Obviously if you wanted just the front numbers you subtract the rear from the total.

 

[Sotirios]

Thanks bud!