Wings and Spoilers: Rear

Last updated: September 19, 2002

The choices for wings are almost endless. I have added some of the more popular ones here, and tried to limit these to ones that are specific to the RX-7. i.e.- I didn't add any of the universal ones that will bolt onto any car.

email me with photos of any more or if you have beeter photos of the ones I have listed here.

Stock R1/R2

This is still a great looking wing, and is subtle compared to many of the big ones that really stand off the rear deck by a foot or more.

______________

Date: Sat, 24 May 97 18:02:00 EST
From: "Houseman, Carl W. x1323"
Subject: (rx7) [3] Product review: Wings West OE style rear spoiler

I got my spoiler back from the paint shop today, and mounting the thing to the hatch turned out to be a 1/2 day job. Here's my report.

Product:	Wings West OE style rear spoiler
Source:		Nopi (www.nopi.com)
Purchase price:	$200 (price given on the phone; advertised price 
		on web site: $220)
Weight:		10 lbs (painted)

The spoiler arrived NOT primed, with 1 page of instructions for mounting and painting. Some sanding had been done, to remove mold flash, but there was a slight ridge on the left side inner pylon that had not been sanded smooth and round as on the right side (my paint shop took care of that). The spoiler has 8 mounting points, 2 on each "pylon", with a stud in front and a recessed nut in the rear. Of those, 6 were easy to reach from inside, apparently matching the factory spoiler mounting positions. It came with all necessary hardware, adhesive backed foam gaskets for each pylon, plus 5 (only 5?) mastic washers, and 5 (?) drill guides.

The drill guides were useful in locating the rear holes, but getting the holes for the front studs located was a challenge. All this time I was wondering, after the holes are drilled, would the thing mate to the hatch surface?

The answer: NO. The rear part of the inside pylons were almost 1/4" above the surface when all other points were at the surface. That meant the provided screws weren't long enough to reach the recessed nuts - I had to get longer ones, and once having pulled everything into position by tightening all screws, it's certain that the spoiler is under some stress and the hatch sheetmetal is slightly deformed. Fortunately the deformation of the surface is hard to detect, and the final result looks completely stock.

Other minor gripe... one of the pylon gaskets didn't have the hole for the stud in the right place.

Overall rating - 3 out of 5 stars. I'd have rather paid a little more and gotten something which matched up with the hatch surface better.

The hatch struts (on this 80 degree day) aren't raising the hatch now... without the spoiler they were working pretty well.

Now, who wants to sell me their OE chin spoiler from an R1/2?!!! I think the Racing beat chin spoiler looks goofy when painted body color; has anybody ever used one of those but painted it flat black? Pictures?

______________

Date: Fri, 12 Sep 1997 16:07:30 +0000
From: "Trey Cobb" (slider@rx-7.com)

Here's some data for everyone on the 3rd gen. This data is out of 'Race Car Aerodynamics' by Joseph Katz on page 18.

Aerodynamic Coefficients of (1993-)1995 Mazda RX-7

                        Baseline RX-7           RX-7 R2(R1)
Cd, drag coeff.         0.29                    0.31
Clf, lift coeff FRONT   0.16                    0.10
Clf, lift coeff REAR    0.08                    0.08

Also interesting is the Aerodynamic Coefficients of a newer BMW M3

                        Baseline M3             1994 FIA 
                                                Supertouring M3
Cd, drag coeff.         0.31                    0.30
Clf, lift coeff. FRONT  0.214                   0.099
Clf, lift coeff REAR    0.126                   0.006

I gave both tables of data to demostrate that just because you induce LESS lift (but not negative) doesn't mean you have to create more drag. The stock rear spoiler on the RX-7 is actually mainly for looks. It is possible that it helps lower drag as someone mentioned but you would have to wind tunnel the car with just the front lip to see if the Cd is higher than 0.31. From looking at the wind tunnel tests I have of the FD, the rear spoiler looks basically non-functional to me but then again, I'm not an aerodynamist so I wouldn't know.

Another interesting car to look at is the Ferrari F355. It has no trick Whale Tail, Supra Style, Banzai attack ninja spoilers yet it acheives an estimated coefficient of lift of -0.24 or 170kg at 290km/hr (374.8lb @ 176.6mph). The underbody they use helps that much. Alot of people don't ever look at underbody dynamics, then again I doubt many people would actually pay the money it would cost for underbody panels considering how much it would cost for proper development.

Stock 1996 - 98

Don writes regarding the new rear spoiler on the '96 - 98 RX-7s (the 3rd gen is still sold in Japan). The new spoiler has only two uprights instead of the four found on the R1/R2 spoiler. --Steve

Date: Wed, 18 Mar 1998 01:44:01 EST
From: ArtDrectr Don M.

The Efini (Mazda of Japan) wing, rear lights, side marker lights, and other updates are available here in the states from only a few vendors, but be sitting when you get their prices. They come painted in stock colors, with a paper template to guide drilling holes in the hatch and mounting. I have the rear wing and rear lights on my '93 Touring, got them from Peter at Elite Motorsports (Tel: (714) 551-3294), who has been great to deal with.

Stock 1999

1999 wing

1999 wing

1999 wing

Shiv Pathak's car

Mazdaspeed GTC

Mazdaspeed GTC wing

Mazdaspeed GTC wing

Mazdaspeed GTC wing

Mazdaspeed 15th Anniversary

Mazdaspeed 5th Ann. wing

RE Amemiya GT II Wing

RE Amemiya GT II wing

RE Amemiya GT II wing

C-West Wing

C-West wing

C-West wing

C-West wing

C-West wing

C-West wing

C-West Hammer Shark Wing

C-West Hammer Shark wing

KnightSports Wing

KnightSports wing

KnightSports wing

KnightSports wing

KnightSports wing

KnightSports wing

KnightSports wing

Racing Beat Type 1 Wing

Racing Beat Type 1 wing

Racing Beat Type 2 Wing

Racing Beat Type 2 wing

Veilside C1 Wing

Veilside C1 wing

Veilside C2 Wing

Veilside C2 wing

Abflug Wing

Abflug wing

Abflug wing

Feed GT Wing

This Feed wing looks a little generic - it is probably not designed specifically for the RX-7.

Feed wing

Feed wing

Feed wing

Feed Type II Wing

Feed wing

GT-2 Style

mazdarx7@ziplink.net (John Levy)
August 11, 1998

John responds to my request for info on a GT2-style wing (an actual rear wing), with end-plates, adjustability, etc. Like on the Vipers running GT-2. --Steve

...Derrick Hansen of Desch Motorsports. I have had one on order for three or four months now. Phone # 905-738-9622. Derrick is a terrific fellow. The wing is designed by him and used on all sorts of race machines.

________________

David Ieroncig (Rx7@Rocketship.com) was kind enough to send me the following photo of the wing that John Levy and someone (I forgot who, but the photo is labelled "J Eppley") have:

J Eppley's wing

Miscellaneous Info

From: Stephen J Lee
Jan 7, 1999

Here a couple companies that specialize in racecar bodywork ancilliaries (e.g., rear wings, front splitters). I only have the phone numbers.

Aero Design     619-594-2399
Aerodine Comp     317-271-1207
Compositech     510-233-4928
Composite Design Inc     813-539-0605
Mason Engineering     805-527-6624
Patrick McCulloch     714-651-8857
Pennon Composites     315-498-4401
SMR Components     708-949-9100

If these guys can't get it for you, drop me a line. If anybody else needs to find somebody who can make a six speed sequential tranny, redo your whole suspension, or pretty much make a racecar for you, I've got thousands of numbers.

[ Mail me ] [ To Lightning Home ] [ To my home page ] [ Copyright Notice ]