Project Summary
At the beginning of the semester, a friend approached me to design and produce a wing for his project race car. To this effect, I have designed and (as of 18.04.24), am in the process of fabricating a dual element wing for a 1997 Honda Civic. The wing is designed to be used in a "Time Attack" application on a mid speed racetrack, specifically Sydney Motorsport Park.
As a bit of a disclaimer, I could not investigate every aspect of aerodynamic design. The more research I did, the more questions I had. Perfection is the enemy of progress and I decided that getting a finished product with reasonable performance spec in a reasonable time frame was more important than finding the solution that absolutely maximised performance. At the end of the day, there were too many variables to consider when designing aero parts, especially by myself whilst also juggling uni and work. However, I do hope the finished product still maintains an acceptable level of performance.
The Car
As seen on the left, the car is a 1997 Honda Civic. In its current form, it's running a H22A4 motor from an early 2000's Honda Prelude making approximately 150KW. Chassis-wise, almost every suspension component has been replaced alongside chassis bracing for added stiffness.
Design Considerations:
1. High Lift to Drag Ratio
Despite extensive modification, the car only makes about 150KW. Due to the limited power, high drag airfoils can massively impact straight-line performance.
2. 1800mmx400mm
To keep the car road-legal, the wing has to be removable and transportable in a standard SUV
3. Affordable
Unfortunately, I'm a student on a budget
