New Uprights for an Old Car's Wing

[Jack Olsen]

I've got a home-made wing that I bolt onto the decklid of my 911 on track days. It's not pretty at all. It's pretty rudimentary in its construction, because, well, the guy who made it isn't a fabricator.





But I haven't let my limited skills get in my way when it comes to trying to improve the thing. I tried a thinner gauge of aluminum a few months back, and saw the wing collapse on its first lap (no damage to anything other than my ego).



These things always look a little goofy, even on newer 911s. And just about every shape has been tried to get the wing up and behind the car.







So the new plan was to add a curve to the design, and also take a little bit of weight off the old design. I started by making a model out of paper, then traced it onto wood, and cut that out with a jig saw. Then I cut two rough approximations of the wood shape out of aluminum -- about 1/8" larger (in every direction) than the final shape was going to be.

For the record, Bosch makes an awesome jig saw. But the limitation is always going to be the operator. So I learned about an easier way to get consistent and clean shapes with aluminum.



The slightly-oversized aluminum version is taped directly to the piece of wood with the cleaner shape.



Then I use a router to match the shape of the wood to the aluminum with more precision than I'd be able to manage with the jig saw.



A little more work, and some paint, and I had a new set of uprights. The whole wing assembly is not easy on the eyes -- even with these new pieces. But it's lighter, and it will do the job.

[Jack Olsen]

Here are the two new uprights set next to the wood model and also one of the old, heavier, uprights.









There's no way to make this pretty. But remember, it only bolts onto the car when I'm actually at the track. And the advantage it provides on my local track (one of the faster road courses in the country, if not the fastest) is considerable.

[5:04]

The fact that you fabricated such a functional wing blows me away. On Big Willow aero is a HUGE advantage. It not only reduces lap times, but the confidence through some of the faster corners alone makes it worth it. I don't need to tell you that though haha.

How wide is it? I'll be switching to a Kognition piece of a similar width soon since I don't have your gnarly fab skills haha.

I need to get to an OTR event. My friend Derick Dicker has been telling me to come out.

[Paulporsche]

Looks great! Nice work.

[Flieger]

Originally Posted by 5:04

The fact that you fabricated such a functional wing blows me away. On Big Willow aero is a HUGE advantage. It not only reduces lap times, but the confidence through some of the faster corners alone makes it worth it. I don't need to tell you that though haha.

How wide is it? I'll be switching to a Kognition piece of a similar width soon since I don't have your gnarly fab skills haha.

I need to get to an OTR event. My friend Derick Dicker has been telling me to come out.

Good choice. One of the guys on my FSAE team interned there (Kognition) this summer. They dontated some carbon fiber which I plan to use for some suspension links.

[piggdekk]

Jack,
I'ma big fun of DIY too, but for probably 50 dollars (including the material) you can have the uprights laser cutted with far less hassle and greater precision.
Besides, it only takes a few minutes in autocad to modify a bit the design should it fail again.
Since I've discovered a place nearby where I live that does laser cutting I've given up my jig saw!
luca