I very envious of all you guys who managed to make it to uni. Well done to you all.
My experience/knowledge is limited but I do have a little that I would like to contribute to this thread.
First: Rear wing. I did a test when towing my car to various tracks. First without the wing, then with a high downforce setting then one with a lower downforce setting. With no wing the car was not stable at all . Any wind of any type or simply cruising, the car and trailer was unstable. When driving with the higher downforce setting, I experienced some pitching at the pivot of the trailer and van due to the rear lifting. It also caused a heap of drag which was very noticable when towing. The last test was with the rear wing set to a less agressive setting where abiltiy to tow effectively was very noticable with the trailer far more balanced to the trailer.
So the wing does make a difference from 60km/h up to 110km/h.
The car is also fitted with a full undertray from the front splitter which protudes 50mm forward of the front bumper.
It is alloy with a alloy subframe bolted and pop riveted to the chassis. Its too heavy, almost 30kg which was very noticable in the track. A lighter unit will be made now we have a template. there was a difference in the way the car felt on the track but unfortunately we could not use all the power available so we could not get a clear picture of its full potential. Even so, we could carry a lot of corner speed as this didnt require a lot of throttle inputs. Out corner speed was just about as quick as the division one cars through the quicker corners on the track without any movement of the rear of the car.
We added ducting to the undertray at the engine bay which provided huge gains in engine temp management.
I believe the ducting in the frunk of the car helps remove a fair amount of air from under the car.
The canards help to clear the air exiting the side of the car. I dont run these, but will test once Im tuned into the current set up. They may not provide much downforce, but they may help in other aspects of performance.
I dont think the cars need too much rear down force but more front and a diffuser to reduce the gap between the front of the car working and the rear
I have added a video showing the car at 140kmh in wet conditions with the hope of seeing the effects of the aero fitted to my car. I believe the spray helps to see whats going on, but you be the judge. A important point being the wing was set up for high downforce and the pitch was 10mm higher at the front of the car. The driver was complaining of aquaplaning and excessive wheelspin when it would boost spike but thats another tail..
http://youtu.be/eCZGJ6jE-qs