dcher

I understand the stage 2 and 3 provides up to 400 percent increased downforce relative to stage 1. I am sure that will make a difference on the track and at high speeds on the freeway. I am wondering whether it really makes a difference in terms of daily driving, spirited driving, cornering etc. Besides looking good on the car does it actually improve the daily driving experience??

JoesC5

Not only does it do nothing driving around town at 30-50 MPH it does nothing driving on the freeway at 70-75 MPH. Tens on millions of plain Jane cars drive 70-75 MPH every day without the benefit of down force producing aero aids and they don't lose control due to getting airborne.

I've driven my C6 Z06 at speeds over 160 MPH while remaining rock solid and I don't have a huge front splitter, running boards or a huge rear spoiler mounted on the car.

dcher

So you are saying the downforce does not translate to a meaningful handling improvement. I was thinking that in a rear wheel drive vehicle with 650 hp and torque that improved downforce would make a difference even at modest speeds. This might be best addressed by someone with engineering experience.

racerns

No, unless you are plannig at taking off ramps at over 1.1g s.

CaryBob

For street driving it's purely for looks. If you are driving on public highways at any speed that won't land you in the hoosegow, it won't help a bit. But if you're planning to drive well north of 100 on a track, you'll see the difference.

CaryBob

Downforce increases by the square of velocity. There should be relatively little downforce differential at highway speeds. The faster you go (through a corner, let's say) the more downforce plays a role. It might add as much as 1000-1500 pounds of effective mass to the car at very high speeds. I would think for a Corvette the extra downforce of Stage 2 doesn't begin to play any practical role until you start taking corners at 90-100 and up.

Glenn Quagmire

I'd love to see a set of running boards on a C6 Z.

Stunt

So this also means that taking the stage 1 rear spoiler off won't have any negative impact for street driving, correct? I ask because I much prefer the clean lines of the base Stingray to the boy racer look that even stage 1 gives the Z06 (IMHO).

JoesC5

You like laughing at yourself?

Here is a photo of a 2013 C6 Z06 with "running boards" that were sold by GM as part of their Z07 option.

bdanyluk

Those big giant wings on the C7R generate about 1200 to 1500 lbs downforce at 150mph+.

Even the Stage 3 or whatever for the Z06 will only generate maybe a few hundred pounds...I'd say 500 lbs max.

My Katech Spoiler on my 2006 C6 generates about 200 pounds downforce max at 150mph according to postings/data shown by Katech.

Around town...you will never know it's there...at 100mph+ in a turn, you will definitely notice a difference, and the faster you go, the more difference from not having it.

racerns

Pretty sure he was laughing because you called them "running boards". Those are side skirts. Running boards are made to be stepped on.

RJ-92

Meaningful down force doesn't happen until speeds reach around 120MPH. the one affect it will have upon daily driving is a reduction in MPG due to aerodynamic drag.

GZire

If you are doing 70+ then yes.

Lower speeds generally no, but I have read some articles about student cars making downforce at speeds as low as 30 mph & it making a difference in their performance times.

dcher

With rear wheel drive and 650 HP the propensity to lose traction is pretty clear. I was thinking that any additional downforce should help with traction at least to a degree. I am not an engineer but this seems to make sense. Thoughts?

LFZ

Do you have any pics of this Joe..?? I know you do???




I kidddd...I kiddddd......

CaryBob

Downforce is independent of torque or tires -- downforce is no different from adding weight. Except that the weight varies by speed squared. Until you reach high speeds the downforce is not noticeable.

The ZR1 stock spoiler, as best I can recall, produced about 30 pounds of downforce at 125mph. That would be about 7 pounds at 60mph -- all but unnoticeable. Aftermarket spoilers generally similar to the Stage 2 spoiler claimed to produce close to 100 pounds of downforce at 125mph. Even so, that is just 23 pounds at 60 and 12 pounds at 30mph. That is insignificant at those speeds compared to the effect of tires, suspension, and driver.

The C7 spoiler is more aggressive than previous stock spoilers. We don't know yet what it does for downforce. Let's be super optimistic and say that the Z07 spoiler produces 100 pounds of downforce at 125mph. That is 36 pounds at 75mph. That might make a difference but it's a very optimistic guess. The ZR1 I'm pretty sure had to go to a wing to get over 100 pounds at that speed. And keep in mind that there doesn't seem to be much difference between Stage 1 and Stage 2 when it comes to downforce over the rear because the Stage 2/3 spoiler is just a bit more than an inch taller than the base Stage 1 spoiler. I'll bet the base car is not much different from Stage 2.

Bottom line, for normal street and highway driving, the tires, suspension, shape, and driver are are whole lot more important.

RedLS6

Adding downforce is tremendously different from adding weight. Adding 500 pounds of weight to a 3000 pound car will not increase lateral grip any, to a first order (if at all), but adding 500 pounds of downforce increases lateral grip significantly.

The difference between the two scenarios is due to the ratio of grip, to centrifugal force. In one case, both grip and centrifugal force increase.....in the other case, only grip increases.

In any event, the aero isn't going to do much good on the street at highway speeds or below.

Glenn Quagmire

What he said...

LT1xL82

They may be measured in the same units (pounds...) but they are seriously different from one another!

CaryBob

The negative lift produced by a spoiler or wing is the same thing as a (speed-variable) weight applying downward pressure on the rear. The increased lateral adhesion is produced by the increased weight on the tires. The downward force is the same regardless of what mechanism produces it.