Komotec Wing Announced - Option One

[Jack]

51 minutes ago, 550superfast said:

36 + 44 don't add up to 100 ???

 My bad…… 44 should have been 64, as stated in KT's Blog.  

[NW76]

Still interesting that the Cup R is that much different ... what is that?

 

[The Pits]

Lotus claim the 380 Race is good for 240kg of downforce in total, both front and rear combined, at 170mph. This compares to the highest downforce Lotus road car the Elise 220/250 Cup with 155kg at 150mph (311 may be more? Haven't seen any figures for it). 250 Cup makes the same downforce at 100mph as the Evora Sport 410 does at 190mph (63kg)! The regular Exige makes about 40kg at 100mph, the Race 380 about 3x as much.

260kg from just a rear wing is some claim. That's at vmax presumably (KT460 vmax too I would imagine)?

[NW76]

I am not sure what exactly they consider VMax ... most of their test cars have the short ratio gearbox that will max out at 280 km/h ... they didnt know how fast the EX460 will go exactly with the regular ratio , and only estimated "above" 300 km/h ... so not really sure what speed they used ...

[Arun_D]

The speed for the 260kg Race wing result is in the test report:

"In the subsequent trial of the “Race” Aero package, the maximum result on the rear axle with the “Race” wing in the 14 ° position and a 5 mm Gurney at 250 km / h achieved a downforce of 260 kg"

[NW76]

Wich is 155 mp/h ... makes the 260 kg even more impressive ... not surprised that this requires significant change to the front spitter etc to balance out ...

[ramjet]

I think it would look better if the end plates were on a lean to follow the body line as it comes over the mudguard. Square as it is, it looks a bit odd.

[alias23]

@The Pits have you been able to compare the figures given by KT for the track wing vs the Exige 380?

It would be good to understand if better, worse, or equal... too many numbers being quoted for my little head to work it out

[The Pits]

The KT is obviously making way more downforce as the 240kg figure is for the new Race 380 which has the old CupR wing on the back.

Lotus claim 140kg of downforce for the Sport 380 at 178mph. Sport 350 has 88kg at its maximum speed. Impressively though, the Sport 380 is generating 60% more downforce without any increase in drag so it's really about aero efficiency, not just outright downforce.

If the KT wing is really making 260kg of downforce it must surely be with a drag penalty too?

 

[alias23]

So if im reading this right and my thinking is orientated on the Komotec Track version of the wing and not the Race version. 

KT Track Wing

"The forces on front and rear axles increase with the square of the speed. Thus, the downforce on the rear axle is already 122 kg at a speed of 250 km/h."

Lotus Exige 380

"Lotus claim 140kg of downforce for the Sport 380 at 178mph"

Lotus Elise 220/250 Cup

"Highest downforce Lotus road car the Elise 220/250 Cup with 155kg at 150mph"

So in my simple head im interpreting that the Komotec track wing is producing 122kg downforce at 155mph which is 25kg less than that produced by the Elise Cup, but given the difference in recorded mph between the 380 and track wing measurements of 178mph and 155mph the difference in quoted downforce 140kg and 122kg balances out.... so again in my simple head the Komotec track wing will help folks upgrade to the same downforce capabilities of the new Exige 380 but not as good as the Elise Cup.

Is that a fair assessment?

 

[The Pits]

The Lotus figures are for total downforce, front and rear combined.

The KT figure appears to be just downforce from the rear wing itself.

So you need to add whatever KT have done to the front of the car to get a comparative figure. No doubt it's much like dyno figures and full of controversy.

If the wing is making a lot of downforce the next question is how it's transmitting that downforce into the chassis. The biggest cost of the Lotus CupR aero kit is the cutting and fitting needed to bolt the rear wing directly on to the chassis (as opposed to the boot lid). Then you have to have a suspension set up that works with increasing load at higher speeds. That's not a simple thing to get right. Anyone can bolt a wing on the back like Lambo did to the Countach, but getting it working properly is another matter. As already mentioned the impressive thing about the Sport 380 is that you get more downforce without any increase in drag. Imagine how hard that must be to achieve?

 

[alias23]

Then theres this HUGE wing!

[Hangar 111]

41 minutes ago, alias23 said:

Then theres this HUGE wing!

That photo exaggerates it somewhat, but it is a big wing.  It is fitted through the clam down to the chassis, but not in the same way as the Lotus offering. Can line up plenty of beers on it

Thread drift but the 460 ran like a dream all day at Silverstone GP yesterday - super cool inlet temps after 40 mins on track

Dave

[NW76]

@Hangar 111 Dave: is that the track or the race wing? and what Divusor do you have on the car?

[Hangar 111]

1 minute ago, NW76 said:

@Hangar 111 Dave: is that the track or the race wing? and what Divusor do you have on the car?

It is not a KT wing - wing and diffuser are from Reverie.

Dave

[Jack]

Yes, that photo does exaggerate the wing size -- optical illusion.  I think the Reverie wing is the same size as the factory wing on the CupR, no?

 

[alias23]

From memory CupR wing is 1600mm, I think the Reverie is 1700mm but can be ordered shorter.

Unsure of the chord on the CupR but the Reverie is 310mm which is quite wide!

[550superfast]

Cup R wing is 160cm x 30cm

[TBD]

So how do they balance the rear downforce?

[Steve Banks]

Looks quite good!

[Steve Banks]

I'm really interested in everyones thoughts on the komotec wing above. do you think it's a good upgrade? It looks quite good to me, a bit 'meaner' than the stock wing... 

[TBD]

3 hours ago, Steve Banks said:

I'm really interested in everyones thoughts on the komotec wing above. do you think it's a good upgrade? It looks quite good to me, a bit 'meaner' than the stock wing... 

I'm more than happy with the wing. Also high usability as a bar table when you're talking with your buddies. 

If you do get it also get the Motorsport front splitter to balance the downforce.

[Steve Banks]

43 minutes ago, TBD said:

I'm more than happy with the wing. Also high usability as a bar table when you're talking with your buddies. 

If you do get it also get the Motorsport front splitter to balance the downforce.

Hmmm, so there's my problem. I can't get the motorsport front splitter as I will not be able to clear my driveway, I have to be very careful and angle the car quite sharply with the standard splitter. I was thinking of adding the front canards and maybe side skirt/splitters instead? 

I'm guessing that if I stay under 130kph that shouldn't be a problem anyway? 

Edited March 6, 2017 by Steve Banks

[NW76]

Steve: the aero really kicks in at higher Speeds and if you want a balanced car you cant do that KT wing w/o the front splitter. The car will just get way to light at the front. And that could even be dangerous at very high speeds.

If you are not going that fast anyway and just want the design - go for it. But I would not do the wing w/o the fron splitter, personally on my car...

[alias23]

I must admit there is something about the straighter wing profile of the Reverie wing (boot mounted or chassis) which aesthetically appeals more to me than the Komotec. 

A chassis mounted wing does sound great but in reality it's a big undertaking, not only cutting the clam but removing it, necessitating a change to the rear hatch plus a change of the battery location. It's a big task...

For someone maybe doing 8/10 track days a year (non competing) is a chassis mounted version worth it?

PS. All this really makes me realise how awesome a buy @550superfast made with his Cup.