Functional bodykits

[Speedy Emira]

I thought I would start a thread on the differences between aesthetic and functional body kits.

After doing a bit of research on sites leaning more towards track driving I found the following:

An effective wing on a street car doesn't push the car into the ground, it reduces the amount of lift the car experiences as the speeds increase. A well made wing will keep the net lift as close to zero as possible.. that way the car will handle the same whether it's in a 50mph corner or a 120mph corner.
Rear wings need to be carefully designed to provide the optimum level of downforce to combat lift without under or over compensating for lift. A poorly designed rear wing can cause turbulence, instability and damage at the mounting points. It is not simply enough to copy the design of a race car and assume it will work safely and provide positive driving experience.
There is similar information about the front splitters and side skirts, which made me decide to look at the alternative and get some feedback that could assist owners with their choices.

JUBU - https://www.jubu-performance.com/en/shop/lotus-carbon__aero-451
I have spoken with Martin a few times over aero parts and I am assured they have correctly designed their parts to work on track and be robust. They started with tried and tested designs and tweaked them after countless track days to provide real life data. I have no doubt that they are quality parts but as we all know quality comes at a price (over €8,000.00 for the swan neck wing and splitter). However you can see why it is the most expensive front splitter on the market and certainly look robust.

FORZA - https://forzaaa.com/collections/body-kits-for-lotus-emira
I was quite confident from the pictures of the GT4 kit that the front splitter would be robust enough for track use. I emailed them and was told none of their products are designed for functional racing and is for looks only.

Aerie Performance - https://aerieperformance.com/products/emira-carbon-fiber-front-spitter-by-aerie-performance
I have messaged them but I expect they are designed for looks.

CT Carbon - https://www.ctcarbon.co/products/lo...tGVFX0sIXGQn7ZkNjBjg144tmTRWsTRQaAj_eEALw_wcB
Again probably for looks only but pretty impressive price for a full kit.

Komo Tec - https://www.komo-tec.com/en/Lotus-E.../Carbon-Spoiler-KT-Track-for-Emira-adjustable
Their rear wing at €3,590.00certainly appears to be track ready after reading the information. They do not sell a matching front splitter so I have messaged them to ask their views on using a rear wing without a front splitter.

I would be interested to know if anyone else has thoughts on this subject or knows of any other products.

 

[kitkat]

For a functional kit jubu is basically the only real name in the game followed by komo. These are the only two doing actual r&d on track.

Not everyone needs a functional aero setup though. From an aesthetic point of view, everything on the market looks far too gaudy for me right now.

 

[Tomwa]

That said. I understand why Jubu is doing what they are, but I don't love the splitter because of the split construction. Not sure what the very vertical lattice bits are for other than maybe provide mounting points for side Canards/dive-planes/what have you.

 

[allenyao09]

Emira already has pretty good aero from factory. It has 55kg downforce at 200km/h while 718 Cayman has 42kg of lift.

 

[Time2Fly]

I like the look of the JUBU one but damn that's a lot of dough.

 

[Speedy Emira]

For a functional kit jubu is basically the only real name in the game followed by komo. These are the only two doing actual r&d on track.

Not everyone needs a functional aero setup though. From an aesthetic point of view, everything on the market looks far too gaudy for me right now.

I agree a lot doesn’t match and especially the side skirt. Some go as far as just being wind traps.
I just wish Lotus would hurry up and give us some factory options.

Regarding aero working I read someone with a JUBU front splitter and wing saint at 70mph+ they do feel the difference of long sweeping bends.

I have to say the Emira feels light in such roads compared to my RS3 but I’m getting used to it.

 

[Speedy Emira]

This is the reply from Komo Tec:

From a performance perspective on the race track, it makes absolute sense to install a front splitter, as the balance of the car is then still perfect.

Unfortunately, we do not have a front splitter in our range.

Our carbon rear wing is currently requested by customers more for aesthetic reasons, none of the customers drive their Emira on the race track.

I am surprised they do not make a splitter if they believe having just a rear wing will unbalance the car and as there site states:


Our first test drives with this car on road, and track showed that a proper rear wing would suit the Emira not only visually but also technically. We have therefore started to determine a suitable wing profile after extensive development with CAD/CFD and have also completed the driving tests successfully.

 

[GasperV]

@Speedy Emira very good thread.

This is the company from Italy that has performance parts:

Componenti auto sportive in carbonio | Eltech Italia

Componenti auto sportive in carbonio, vetroresina, metallo. Personalizzazioni in carbonio per auto sportive, auto da corsa, auto da stranda.

www.eltech-italia.com

They have data we are looking for, but I don't know if they have parts for Emira:

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[MickOpalak]

An effective wing on a street car doesn't push the car into the ground, it reduces the amount of lift the car experiences as the speeds increase.

The factory aero on the Elise/Exige does produce actual downforce, it doesn't just reduce lift. 9lbs of downforce for the Elise and 90lbs for the Exige.

 

[T6061]

The factory aero on the Elise/Exige does produce actual downforce, it doesn't just reduce lift. 9lbs of downforce for the Elise and 90lbs for the Exige.

Didn't Lotus quote 55 kg (121 lbs) of downforce for the Emira? They also mentioned the speed at which said downforce was produced (100 mph?) but I can't seem to find it...I do remember them stating the "Voldemort" vents were more effective than the previous Elise/Exige/Evora solutions.

 

[Speedy Emira]

@Speedy Emira very good thread.

Thanks, hopefully I will have some more information back soon.

The factory aero on the Elise/Exige does produce actual downforce, it doesn't just reduce lift. 9lbs of downforce for the Elise and 90lbs for the Exige.

I found this information that further explain downforce compared to reducing lift:

• Downforce
  Created when high pressure pushes down on an object from above, and low pressure is below. Downforce is a combination of air resistance and gravity that increases a vehicle's stability. As a car goes faster, its ride height decreases when it develops downforce.
  
  
  
• Reducing lift
  A technique that decreases the amount of lift a car experiences. For example, a front splitter is a device that attaches to a car's front bumper and diverts airflow around and over the car, reducing lift at the front. Tilting a wing downward also decreases lift

 

[Tomwa]

Fundamentally I don't see how you can separate the two.

Regionally you might have a car that has lift (like at the front end), but if the car has an overall net of 'increased downforce' you wouldn't describe it as having both lift and downforce, you'd just perhaps talk about places where it is not being efficient at generating downforce.

Marketing material that says the car has reduced lift or XYZ. Effectively means that they are generating downforce but only so much as to not either overcome the total lift, or enough to be worth making a claim of "15 lbs of downforce at 100mph" or whatever the minimal "anti-lift" effect is.

The new ZR1 Corvette claims to make 1200lbs of downforce at *some* speed. But i do wonder if they are putting a heave spring in the car, I certainly wouldn't want to drive around in a car that is stiff enough that with an extra 1200lbs pushing down on it that it doesn't bottom out against the pavement.

 

[Speedy Emira]

Fundamentally I don't see how you can separate the two.

Regionally you might have a car that has lift (like at the front end), but if the car has an overall net of 'increased downforce' you wouldn't describe it as having both lift and downforce, you'd just perhaps talk about places where it is not being efficient at generating downforce.

Marketing material that says the car has reduced lift or XYZ. Effectively means that they are generating downforce but only so much as to not either overcome the total lift, or enough to be worth making a claim of "15 lbs of downforce at 100mph" or whatever the minimal "anti-lift" effect is.

The new ZR1 Corvette claims to make 1200lbs of downforce at *some* speed. But i do wonder if they are putting a heave spring in the car, I certainly wouldn't want to drive around in a car that is stiff enough that with an extra 1200lbs pushing down on it that it doesn't bottom out against the pavement.

Some good points and especially on the useless information used for marketing.
The thing that is sill a grey area is if you create high downforce at the rear will the front end feel lighter and unbalanced?
I remember old Rover 3500 SDIs in the UK where owners were putting a concrete slab in the boot and swearing it made them handle better. Mind you no comparison on car design compared to modern cars.

 

[Speedy Emira]

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This is the eBay seller that sells the Vorsteiner looking front splitter and rear wing on eBay.

BUYERS BEWARE

I have been in contact with the seller to ask more questions in case it was something that could be recommended regardless of whether it is functional or not.
The seller stated the splitter downforce was calculated at the design stage to match the rear wing and provide balance. They then said it is perfectly safe to use the wing on its own. In one reply they explained how the splitter is balanced with the rear fender which I’m pretty sure you US owners consider this a wing.
When asked they admitted it is a copy of the Vorsteiner kit and will be able to make all products.
This was the picture of the Emira if you go to further information:




I checked out their feedback due to only showing 90% positive and it has loads of terrible ones stating wrong parts, parts don’t fit, returns go to Chine even if purchased in the US etc.

I can’t stand owners getting ripped off and sadly at the time eBay was stating one buying had added it to their basket which I believe is their live data feed and correct.

 

[GasperV]

Good quality.

 

[virtualmacho]

Downforce!