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Does anyone know if any of these spoilers actually produce down force or reduce turbulence or are they all glued on plastic ornaments like the original S spoiler?
I think this is an excellent question, I too am curious if these are all form (nice.) or if their is tangible FUNction? That would be most interesting.
All the ones i have seen so far are for looks. A true functional wing needs to be as close to the roof line as possible, but lucky for us MINI owners, we have hatchbacks which makes it very easy to get to roof line without having to have a giant godzilla wing.
IMHO a "duckbill" style wing almost exactly the same design you would find in NASCAR would work the best for a mini. A fiberglass or plexiglass wing that sticks up off the very edge of the car in about a 45 degree angle. Maybe with two aluminum rods to keep it stiff that are adjustable to control the pitch.
here is a NASCAR computer renderings that shows a "duckbill" style wing.
For sedans, you want the wing to be close to the roof line, with narrow side structures to decrease drag. If you look at all the GT touring cars racing around on road courses you will see that most of their wings are almost dead even with the roof line. This puts the wing directly into an unabstructed wind path and helps deliever the most down force.
Example of functional sedan wings.
you will notice the wings are right at the roof lines, and the supports are very thin, often centered in the middle behind the rear windsheild to help reduce drag.
Here are some craptastic drawings i did in MS paint while at work. (please excuse my cruddy pictures)
the top one is a mini with a "duckbill" style wing, the second is a mini with the stock "S" wing. The third is a sedan with a low profile wing. I did light blue line behind the rear window to show the low pressure/vacum of the area. The last one is a sedan with a roof line wing.
Almost all the factory wings/aftermarket are relitively flat and would provide very little down force, and are mostly just for looks. However, most of our MINI's are not blazing around a road course at 150+ MPH. So is a functional wing really needed? not really... so just get something that you think looks good.
Note: This is what happens when you are a car nut, and become extremely bored at work.
i will fix it as soon as i get home. the company computer will not allow me to download the image. so i cannot upload the pic to photobucket. i tried to link it from yahoo pictures but i guess it doesnt want to work. I get off work in an hour and it should be fixed then.
Although you are not missing much, the drawing is just stating the obvious, and it looks like crap. But i was bored...
I just got an 'S" wing to replace my Cooper wing, and I'd like to do it myself. I didn't see either of these questions answered here yet:
1. How, after removing the two nuts, does one get the original wing off? It's kind of hard to budge. I don't want to damage it or the car.
2. Do the bolts for the Cooper and 'S" wings take the same holes? IOW, are the holes in the Cooper and 'S" hatches in the same place?
Thanks muchly,
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www.usminiclub.com Obie: my '05 MINI Cooper - Jet Black, Premium and Sport packages, chrome side vents with white/clear repeaters, M7 STPs, K&N 57i intake, Megan Racing MINI Cooper cat-back exhaust, TSW engine damper, Alta 19mm anti-sway bar, Ian Cull anti-nanny circuit.
to answer the first question, it really should be done by a pro. if ya really want to tackle it, buy youself a heat gun to loosen the adhesive backing.
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'04 DS/B MCS [Currently Under Constrution]
www.usminiclub.com Obie: my '05 MINI Cooper - Jet Black, Premium and Sport packages, chrome side vents with white/clear repeaters, M7 STPs, K&N 57i intake, Megan Racing MINI Cooper cat-back exhaust, TSW engine damper, Alta 19mm anti-sway bar, Ian Cull anti-nanny circuit.
I have been wanting to do something for some time.
I like this ..
Quote:
Originally Posted by tom64taylor
I wish someone would develop a cool spoiler for the MINI similar to the spoiler on the new TVR Sagaris, now that would be a cool look! The fact that it is aluminum and smoke composite plexi curved would be an eye catcher!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mini Mizer
All the ones i have seen so far are for looks. A true functional wing needs to be as close to the roof line as possible, but lucky for us MINI owners, we have hatchbacks which makes it very easy to get to roof line without having to have a giant godzilla wing.
IMHO a "duckbill" style wing almost exactly the same design you would find in NASCAR would work the best for a mini. A fiberglass or plexiglass wing that sticks up off the very edge of the car in about a 45 degree angle. Maybe with two aluminum rods to keep it stiff that are adjustable to control the pitch.
here is a NASCAR computer renderings that shows a "duckbill" style wing.
For sedans, you want the wing to be close to the roof line, with narrow side structures to decrease drag. If you look at all the GT touring cars racing around on road courses you will see that most of their wings are almost dead even with the roof line. This puts the wing directly into an unabstructed wind path and helps deliever the most down force.
Here are some craptastic drawings i did in MS paint while at work. (please excuse my cruddy pictures)
the top one is a mini with a "duckbill" style wing, the second is a mini with the stock "S" wing. The third is a sedan with a low profile wing. I did light blue line behind the rear window to show the low pressure/vacum of the area. The last one is a sedan with a roof line wing.
Almost all the factory wings/aftermarket are relitively flat and would provide very little down force, and are mostly just for looks. However, most of our MINI's are not blazing around a road course at 150+ MPH. So is a functional wing really needed? not really... so just get something that you think looks good.
Note: This is what happens when you are a car nut, and become extremely bored at work.
So this is what I finished today ...
With amore photos in my gallery..
Most of the inspration was to match the M7 CF splitter
I highly recommend you have a bodyshop do the removal / installation of your spoiler.
Dave
I'm off from work this week so I finally got around to bringing my car and the S wing I got from a fellow NAMmer to my body shop of choice.
Let me just say that they were not particularly crazy about doing the job. These guys repair new cars damaged in shipment to the dealers and did a beautiful job on my Monte Carlo when it was hit. I'll have to decide whether to find another recommended local body shop, or attempt it myself as I was going to originally.
Anyone on the NYC metro/LI area know of a _good_ body shop that'll handle this seemingly simple job and do it right? TIA.
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www.usminiclub.com Obie: my '05 MINI Cooper - Jet Black, Premium and Sport packages, chrome side vents with white/clear repeaters, M7 STPs, K&N 57i intake, Megan Racing MINI Cooper cat-back exhaust, TSW engine damper, Alta 19mm anti-sway bar, Ian Cull anti-nanny circuit.
I wish someone would develop a cool spoiler for the MINI similar to the spoiler on the new TVR Sagaris, now that would be a cool look! The fact that it is aluminum and smoke composite plexi curved would be an eye catcher!
