Project FR-S: Rocking Functional Aero from Kognition, Afterhours Automotive and Seibon
As the SEMA Show approached, we knew we had to do something a bit different. We knew that the show would probably be flooded with tons of FR-S's and BRZ's. We also knew that most of these cars would be sporting either 5-Axis or Rocket Bunny aero kits.
At MotoIQ we are not the guys that build show cars so what could we do to stand out amongst the scores of nearly identically modified cars? We figured we would stick to what we knew best and try to build something functional and not worry about the looks, hoping that by following the old adage that form follows function, we could come up with something appealing in a shot time.
Read all about our FR-S here!
Of course we had to have a rear wing. Being MotoIQ we couldn't just put some ricer shopping cart handle on our car. In time we want our FR-S to make around 400 whp so we planned accordingly with our wing. We turned to Kognition Design who built our custom rear wing for us. Kognition makes the rear wings for many of the leading Time Attack cars most notably the GST Imprezza.
Knowing our planned horsepower output Kognition sized our wing and gave us mounting recommendations while supplying us with the adjustable wing mounts. The wing generates well over 100 lbs of downforce at 100 mph while only producing about 17 lbs of drag. The wing is placed so it runs in non turbulent air and as far back as practically possible.
Kognition strongly recommended that we attach the wing directly to the chassis as your typical trunk lid cannot take the stress of a real wing. Since Project F-R-S is currently a frequently street driven car. We needed to retain a working trunk lid. Matters are further complicated by our use of a Seibon lightweight carbon fiber trunk lid. Brian Kono of Afterhours Automotive came to our rescue by reengineering the rear trunk lid.
Brian reinforced the area between the hinge mounts and wing mounts with additional layers of carbon, epoxy and honeycomb. The reinforcement is thick and super strong but didn't add much weight to the trunk.
