[darnall]

Many of the supers have a wing system that flattens the wing out to decrease drag on the strightaways and stands the wing up tall in the corners to create huge downforce....

My question is.....HOW DO THEY WORK? How do they operate? Does the driver have a hydraulic lever that he has to manipulate 4 times per lap, is the wing synced up with the throttle or brake pedal to stand up under deceleration? Is it synced up with the power steering pump to stand up when the wheel gets turned? Or is it just mounted in such a way that more speed causes more pressure to push it down and less speed lets it stand up? And if that's the case, do they tune the shocks that control the wing based on how fast a track they are on?

I have wondered about this for quite a long time....somebody please answer so I can sleep at night...hahahahaha

[Bostonian]

Those who run with ISMA have adjustable air pressure, shock style systems. I remember checking the gauge at the track and adding or subtracting as needed. I believe some allow the driver to move the unit forward or back, but I could be wrong. It's been a few years now since I was working with them. Nothing like seeing them going full speed on a big track. You really see the wing do it's thing. Can you say "down force"

[TQ29m]

Man, this is a "strain", and it was long ago. Probably some of you will remember the night they showed up at IRP, and put on an "exibition", during the Kroger Sprint races. As I recall. other than being "super" fast, the wing was most interesting, I think what I saw, was a sliding deal, as they entered a turn, the wing slid back, and up, then on the straights, it slid forward, and down, to get it out of the air, and allow more speed, first time they really got into it, I really thought they were going to fall off, almost like they were on a rocker, or off their rocker, which ever you prefer, I just assumed it was driver controlled, and hydraulic operated, didn't get to the pits that night to look, had some folks more interested in getting sleep, than learning anything. Bob!

[#1jackhewittfan]

Hydraulic or air shocks that are attached to the rear suspension the faster they go the flatter the wing gets.

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[stoney]

The front of the wing is mounted on the cage , rear mounted to bird cage thru a air shock. as chassis tourqes up & down front of wing raises & lowers also rear of wing drops as airshock compresses

[Piedmont Push Trucks]

Ok, here is your definitive answer to your wing question.

On a Supermodified, the articulating wings are controlled by nothing more than air pressure. The rear wing struts are air over hydraulic cylinders. Some are mounted to the rear suspension but not all. Wing sliders like the sprint cars run are not allowed. The explanation as to why they work in layman's terms is as follows:

Due to the inverted position of the center section (the opposite of an airplane wing which creates lift, a racing wing causes the air to push down and create downforce) the air pressure (downforce) is applied to the wing surface and through it to the struts which compress when the downforce pressure exceeds the pressure inside the struts. When the car slows in the turn the downforce pressure decreases and the compressed hydraulic fluid pushes the wing back up just like a shock absorber compresses and extends with suspension travel.

It is possible to run too little pressure in the struts which causes the wing to rotate past center and actually lift the front edge or too much pressure which does not allow the wing to move at all. These conditions are why the strut pressure has to be adjusted to suit differing track conditions. The East coast cars normally run the moveable wings while the West coast cars normally run a fixed wing which is not adjustable in any way during race conditions, only in the pits when needed.

Brent Seelman

[Mud Packer]

This is something that also interested me as well. After seen a number of races with the supers, I just had to know how they worked. We were in Sandusky for one of the races there and the announcer invited everyone down to the pits to see the cars and stars of ISMA.

We went to the pits after the races and I was extremely impressed with all of the drivers and crews. They were working hard to get some work done before they loaded up to head back east. I was standing by one of the cars watching them work on the wing when the car owner walked over and asked if I had any questions. I proceded to ask how the wing worked and he took the time to have the crew show me exactly how it worked.

Truly facinating cars and I guess that I am hooked for life. I mentioned before that these are mostly one of a kind, hand built cars and the pride in workmanship of these owners is remarkable. If you get a chance, go to a supermodified race and visit the pits afterwards. It will be time well spent I guarantee it.