WhY FWD cARS DO nEEd WiNGs!

FWD Cars DO STILL NEED WINGS! It's a Huge misconception to think FWD cars aren't affected by Aero, I mean just look at them...they're still shaped like cars. Air doesn't magically choose which car shaped object to ignore because of it's drivetrain, it will still hit the FWD car and flow around it accordingly. Yes, for straight line racing, FWD setup doesn't need a wing, as they make enough grip on launch without needing a wing. However, for corners? Again, the air doesn't care about car Drivetrain and take a vacation if it sees a FWD car coming by the turn, it still hits it...and thus the FWD car needs downforce to grip it!

[jeremiahsacks]

I actually walk exclusively on my front limbs because it means I become magically exempt from the laws of aerodynamics. If you apply this to cars, front wheel drive cars should also be magically exempt from aerodynamics. This means your statement is false.

[Detrash_real]

Guy:fWd CaRs dOnT nEeD wInGs
Guy:*well there we go another off track at the 90° corner*

[terrorbird]

Rear aero is critical for FWD cars in track, in order to maximize the cornering potential of a FWD car they are tuned to have an oversteer bias which gives great turn in at lower speeds but can make things a little sketchy in high speed corners and having a wing or spoiler makes a big difference in the cars drivability ay high speeds

[goracks]

I still remember an episode of best motoring, where they had a late 90’s civic hatchback doing laps around a track in Japan. They thought they could get a better time by taking off the rear wing, but the civic kept spinning out in the corners. So they had to put the rear wing on again, leaving them with the same predictable results they were getting before they took the wing off.

[OutrunRewind]

it's really as simple as staying on the grey blur and not hitting the green blur

[bunsenn]

By the logic of the people saying “FWD cars don’t need rear wings”, rear-wheel-drive cars don’t need front splitters.

[kylemilford]

Anyone with an unlimited class FWD will know the wing is possibly the most important part. Stopping from 160mph+ the rear tires can come competely off the ground without the downforce

[maggiepie]

FWD cars are a lot lighter in the rear, due to having everything in the front (engine+the entire drive train+transmission). That means that their rears can absolutely do things which they ideally shouldn't be doing in corners.

[Infernos]

90% of cars have wings cause they look cool not cause they need them

[eddiehimself]

Thank you for this. I did my mechanical engineering degree dissertation on racing car aerodynamics and it's infuriating when people think that downforce is somehow just there for linear traction lol.

[duanebailey]

It came from ricers in the 90s with a stock civic needing all the areo. Most cars are setup to understeer stock especially fwd. Its very easy to set them up to oversteer. Now this gets sketchy with fwd when you lift of throttle it makes the rear will step out and you need to throttle to save it. Vs rwd you lift to save it.

[johnny]

Additional downforce when cornering is good and all, but it's not just about additional traction. The main purpose of a rear wing or spoiler is to prevent lift. The extra downforce is just a side effect. Cars are essentially shaped just like the cross section of an airfoil (airplane wing), which causes a low pressure differential above the vehicle, especially in the rear. I've heard stories of the backs of cars lifting off the ground at high speed, even in a straight line.

[runit]

I love how he did the perfect Patrick voice.

[bigdillan]

Motorsport engineering student and semi-professional racing driver here. A FWD car doesn't need a rear wing for downforce IF it has no downforce at the front already to balance it out. As this would cause the front to become too light under acceleration out of corners.

[Hath.]

Wings on any street vehicle is only cosmetic. No matter if its front, rear or all wheel drive. Wings actually create drag, have no performance benefit under 70mph. That's why most production vehicles have spoilers, rather than wings.

[ericgordon]

Honda once spent 2 million to figure out traction in the rear of FF in the wet, while turning was more important than the Front and yes, in the dry, it's also super crucial to have downforce in the rear of FF.

[Cle_M]

Aero balance is also important, just throwing on a rear wing in general on the track is gonna mess up your handling characteristics. Without properly dialing in your aero of attack, not to mention a front wing/splitter.

[stevenwilliams]

I suspect the reason people say this is because of the ridiculously large aftermarket wings some people put on their Civics and Altimas.

[smilypenguin]

I think we all need to appreciate the inclusiveness of track racing for the fact that it ensures all fwd, rwd and awd cars need wings

[abhinavgoswami]

Give this guy a million likes... We're close on 97k, leguuuu...well deserved and great explanation 💯