Blackbird Fabworx Atom Aero Package

[Blackbird Fabworx]

RE: back to back testing

I am not the owner of the vehicle and I'm not sure how much assembly and disassembly the gentleman that owns this car will want to do while at the track.. so no promises on back to back testing with and without wings on same day.
Note that from my experience performing accurate back to back testing is very hard to do at this time of the year in our region (Southern California) as it gets very hot during the course of the day.. it is not unheard of to go 1.5-2 secs slower on the second session of the day from what you did in the first session as ambient temp can rise a good 25-30 degrees (F) between the the first two sessions, changes in surface temps etc..
At any rate, the owner does have a PB around the track to try and beat on a track that he's well familiar with, so we'll definitely be able to tell how well things perform

RE: dual vs. single element wing

The kit will have 2 versions, one that utilizes single element wings (APR GT-250) and one that utilizes the dual element GT-1000 wings (which is a GT-250 with added secondary element).
Saying that single element wings create less drag than dual element wings is actually not true, good thing there's actual DATA to show, so let's take the GT-250 and GT-1000 for example.
Numbers pulled straight off APR website -


I picked the 10 degrees mark because it allows direct comparison between the two.
Take a look at the data and note that the GT-1000 makes MORE downforce while creating LESS drag.
Simply put, the dual element wing is more efficient.

[Blackbird Fabworx]

Test fitted the front mount today.
The machine shop was unable to fix the mistake they made on the first piece and had to remake it, took a couple more days but oh well, at least the new mount came out perfect

Now we're just down to getting the end plates from our water jet guys and send everything to powder coating, hopefully by Monday.

[FlyPig]

Looks good, thank you for posting.
Only the brackets looks a little bit massive, by my opinion.
But what if to put the front wing a little bit lower, I think then the whole car will look better and maybe the wing will work better, no?

[4rings]

It's probably very functional but in terms of aesthetics it probably could go under the knife again. I do like the rear wing setup however. Have you guys been able to see if any flexing, moving, etc. issues have arisen from being on the track? (specifically for the rear)

Thanks,

Chris

[Blackbird Fabworx]

Only the brackets looks a little bit massive, by my opinion.
But what if to put the front wing a little bit lower, I think then the whole car will look better and maybe the wing will work better, no?

The brackets have a job to do, they are sized to be able to do that
The wing location is a compromise between performance and real world constraints.
We bottomed the suspension on both sides and in max body roll angle and this location proved to be a safe one.
It would work and look better if it was a couple inches lower, but it would have also increased the risk of smashing the $2840 airfoil considerably, and I don't think it's worth it.
The end plates go a little lower and have a replaceable rub strip on the bottom for an occasional scuff.

[Blackbird Fabworx]

It's probably very functional but in terms of aesthetics it probably could go under the knife again. I do like the rear wing setup however. Have you guys been able to see if any flexing, moving, etc. issues have arisen from being on the track? (specifically for the rear)

Don't be too quick to judge, you're not seeing the full picture yet
Just wait until the parts are finished, mounted, end plates on etc...
Track testing will be done soon, I will update as is goes and I'm sure the owner of the car will chime in as well

[FlyPig]

It's probably very functional but in terms of aesthetics it probably could go under the knife again. I do like the rear wing setup however. Have you guys been able to see if any flexing, moving, etc. issues have arisen from being on the track? (specifically for the rear)

Thanks,

Chris

Yes the aesthetics is important, but more important is the performance of the kit , primarily it created for the track use, I suppose. If it gives the real downforce that you can feel and it gives you few seconds improvement, then definitely I choose this kit compared to the factory wings, even if the factory wings looks better. The factory wings can not cost so much if they only for look.This is my opinion.

[Blackbird Fabworx]

I have no personal experience with it, but for all I understood the factory wings are more of a show item with negligible performance benefits.
Definitely not the case with our kit, which is all about going faster around a track.

[atom ant]

I would not be so quick to dismiss the factory aero, as it is what comes on the v8 and around the top gear test track, that come second only to a Pagani with a 2 mil price tag and active aero that probably costs north of 200K. I have the factory aero, and I can see with certainty that proper attack angle dialed in, the car feels a lot more planted and stable around the track.

[MadMaxAtom]

The Ariel2 brammo installed factory wings are a thing of beauty, but their placement and limited useable surface area make them quite inefficient.I have tried for many track miles to do something with them...and there is some gain compared to a wingless Atom...but in the end..they just don't get it "all" done. Sure,you could relocate them and possibly gain a bit more,but a better solution is using a wing built solely to create downforce, and an install kit to mount them in proper air. (The later TMI Ariel3 aero/wings I don't know much about,however they don't look much different than the brammo era wings.)