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Old 05-02-2013, 12:28 PM   #31
EarlQHan
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They don't come from the factory with this technology because:
1. Price. It's expensive to make
2. Price. It's expensive to R&D
3. Design philosophy. The BRZ/FR-S/GT86 was meant to be a simple, lightweight, sporty RWD coupe that got back to the basics of driving dynamics. Something like this would spoil that philosophy.

That being said, without going into too much detail about the aerodynamic benefits (there are many), I will point out the difficulties to manufacturing something like this:
1. Aero R&D must be done
2. How do you want the system to be activated? Porsche-type systems are easy where they only deploy above a certain speed. McLaren-type systems are also easy where it is brake-pressure dependent (I believe). Bugatti uses a combination of the Porsche and McLaren system. Pagani-type systems depend on vehicle speed, brake pressure, and vehicle accelerations, which means you need a gyro and someone to code a microprocessor to monitor and activate these systems.
3. How is your system actuated? A servo motor is most likely, but then you need to figure out the draw from the electrical system and take that into account. You need to spec a servo that is fast, strong and accurate enough to do the job. If it is highly active like the Pagani system, you also have to take heat management into account so the servos don't burn out.
4. How and where do you package the bits? All those cars have engines in the rear, so there's still a usable trunk in the front. If you did this to the BRZ/FR-S/GT86, would you be okay with losing the trunk space?
5. You have to account for all the mechanical bits and making sure they're up to the job in the environment they see with repeated usage. You have to make sure they'll work in sun, rain, snow, salt, and wind.
6. You need to design a new trunk lid to accommodate the new system. The trunk usability is sacrificed, but the seals still need to be watertight and remain that way.
7. Weight is now increased and balance shifted rearward, that needs to be taken into account to see how the dynamics are changed.
8. Aero balance is also changed. See above.
9. Cost

And that's all I can think of at the top of my head. As you can see, to develop a good, comprehensive system. A lot of careful thought and planning is required. Will there be substantial benefits? In terms of performance, I think so, as active aero affects lap times so much it's still banned in most forms of racing. However, what are you willing to give up for a system like this?
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