Professional Race Car Driver Dan Clarke Tests Various Wing Setups on an NA BRZ
 

Hey all! Just wanted to introduce myself as a new member of the group. Some of you may know me as Clay from Verus as I run sales and marketing for Verus Engineering. I also have a 2013 Subaru BRZ as my personal track car.

As a new member of the group, I wanted to share some testing results regarding 3 different wing setups in conjunction with our Street Front Splitter with Race Upgrade, Splitter Endplates, and Rear Diffuser. The below information shows the differences in lap times between a professional race car driver, Dan Clarke, and a novice driver, Justin Green. We have been doing a bunch of testing at our local track and have more to share soon!

Track Testing - Verus Engineering UCW Rear Wing vs. Verus Engineering High-Efficiency Wing vs. Competitor 250mm Rear Wing

Driver's

Dan Clarke
Professional race car driver who has driven in many racing series:

• Formula Ford
• British Formula 3 Championship
• Champ Car
• A1GP
• Indy Lights
• NASCAR
• Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge

https://i.imgur.com/L8AOvfU.jpg

Justin Green
Average track car enthusiast and owner of the test car:

• Professional Automotive Painter
• Avid track enthusiast
• Owner of two dogs
• Loves working on cars
• Gamer

https://i.imgur.com/Hsik2FC.jpg

What is Being Tested?

We tested 3 different wings on the same day, with the same vehicle, the same drivers, and on the same track.

1. Competitor wing was tested at 10 degrees AOA with Gurney Flap
2. Verus Engineering UCW Rear Wing (1 degree AOA for Dan Clarke, 6 degrees AOA for Justin Green)
3. Verus Engineering High-Efficiency Rear Wing (12 degrees AOA for both)
   

1. https://i.imgur.com/d3c8bLJ.jpg
2. https://i.imgur.com/78BSRvw.jpg
3. https://i.imgur.com/BfQ39Bm.jpg

Dan Clarke Wing Tests

Track Times

1. Competitor Wing : 1.20.543
2. UCW : 1.19.667
3. High Efficiency : 1.19.386

Peak Downforce

1. Competitor Wing : 431 lbs
2. UCW : 419 lbs
3. High Efficiency : 378 lbs

Average Lap Downforce

1. Competitor Wing : 392 lbs
2. UCW : 329 lbs
3. High Efficiency : 226 lbs

https://i.imgur.com/0X1ioRY.png

Blue – Competitor Wing, 10 Deg. AOA + Gurney Flap
Orange – Verus UCW Wing, 1 Deg. AOA
Lime – Verus High Efficiency Wing, 12 Deg. AOA

Justin Green Wing Tests

Track Times

1. Competitor Wing : 1.24.000
2. UCW : 1.22.419
3. High Efficiency : 1.23.090

Peak Downforce

1. Competitor Wing : 300 lbs
2. UCW : 244 lbs
3. High Efficiency : 182 lbs

Average Lap Downforce

1. Competitor Wing : 260 lbs
2. UCW : 170 lbs
3. High Efficiency : 139 lbs

https://i.imgur.com/Ytf5EgL.png

Blue – Competitor Wing, 10 Deg. AOA + Gurney Flap
Orange – Verus UCW Wing, 6 Deg. AOA
Lime – Verus High Efficiency Wing, 12 Deg. AOA

Conclusion

Dan Clarke Wing Tests

Track Times

1. Competitor Wing : 1.20.543
2. UCW : 1.19.667
3. High Efficiency : 1.19.386

Peak Downforce

1. Competitor Wing : 431 lbs
2. UCW : 419 lbs
3. High Efficiency : 378 lbs

Average Lap Downforce

1. Competitor Wing : 392 lbs
2. UCW : 329 lbs
3. High Efficiency : 226 lbs

Justin Green Wing Tests

Track Times

1. Competitor Wing : 1.24.000
2. UCW : 1.22.419
3. High Efficiency : 1.23.090

Peak Downforce

1. Competitor Wing : 300 lbs
2. UCW : 244 lbs
3. High Efficiency : 182 lbs

Average Lap Downforce

1. Competitor Wing : 260 lbs
2. UCW : 170 lbs
3. High Efficiency : 139 lbs

The competitor wing was at a higher angle of attack, and had more peak downforce as well as average downforce with both drivers. Dan’s laps were more consistent, which means his values are closer to reality. What the data really shows is how efficient our wings are compared to the competition. The UCW Rear Wing, which was at 1 degree AOA, was producing a small amount less downforce than the competitor wing at 10 degrees, but much faster because it is an efficient design.

The most striking conclusion is that the amateur driver was faster with a more rear-biased aero-balance than the professional driver. For Dan, the High-Efficiency Rear Wing was the fastest setup while for Justin, the UCW Rear Wing was the faster setup.

One could argue that at the 5600 mark Dan Clarke carried too much speed into a turn (I don't know what turn that exactly would be at Putnam) and thus overdrove on entry and lost some time that way with the UCW vs High Efficiency Wing.

From my own testing - UCW performs pretty well between 3-6 AOA for my needs. Depending on the track, conditions, etc etc.

Is there a baseline lap time pre-aero, even just for Justin? I'm curious what each part contributes to shaving off time as well as a full package. It is nice to see the AOA can be considerably less on the UCW wing and produce good downforce.

Looks like Dan over did the entry at ~5400 too so he'd have been a good bit quicker on the UCW wing had he gotten that right :)



Thanks for posting the actual lap data!


edit: I see someone else pointed it out too :)

Yes, Justin's best lap without aero was 1.25.997.

UCW?

Yeah, nice wing, I've looked at it before.
What does UCW mean/stand for?

It's literally a name. No designation beyond that

Sorry if I missed it but how are the downforce numbers generated?

Laser ride height sensors on the vehicle allowed us to estimate downforce produced on track.