Mk2 S Splitters/Winglets...
Discussion
...are cosmetic only based upon my recent experience, having driven on all sorts of roads round Europe without them. This surprised me a bit as I thought they were a factor in the car feeling more stable at higher speeds.
What also 'surprised' me was one of them making a bid for freedom mid-overtake in the pouring rain in the Black Forest. Ran over it with front and rear tyres
- just grateful it didn't hit any of my friend's cars travelling behind.
What also 'surprised' me was one of them making a bid for freedom mid-overtake in the pouring rain in the Black Forest. Ran over it with front and rear tyres
- just grateful it didn't hit any of my friend's cars travelling behind.Can't talk for Mk2 Splitter, but having done proper Autobahn storming this year with my Mk 1 with the 4.3 Power rebuild S front splitter and spoiler, we achieved 172mph, the car was steady as a rock and had more to give. The other Mk1 4.3 that was with us had neither and struggled to keep it steady over 120mph.
I for one am very much in favour of both if you're going to be doing high speed runs.
I for one am very much in favour of both if you're going to be doing high speed runs.
Griffithy said:
The reason is more likley to be a tire, wheel, suspension and/or geo problem.
Even a sorted Griffith without any aero gimmicks is stable at high/top speed.
Well that's nice to know that a Griff is stable at high speed, but a Griffs aerodynamics differ hugely to those of the Tuscan and seeing as the Tuscans shape is akin to that of a wing, it naturally wants to take off at high speed. I've done runs with and without the splitter and can categorically state that the car is hugely affected by the lack of one!Even a sorted Griffith without any aero gimmicks is stable at high/top speed.
B3NNL said:
Well that's nice to know that a Griff is stable at high speed, but a Griffs aerodynamics differ hugely to those of the Tuscan and seeing as the Tuscans shape is akin to that of a wing, it naturally wants to take off at high speed. I've done runs with and without the splitter and can categorically state that the car is hugely affected by the lack of one!
I was revering to the Griffith as it is well known for its bad aerodynamics.I thought even worse than the Tuscans.
As our Tuscan is an Mk.1 S with its standard aero pieces I do not know how badly a common Tuscan handles.
I am really surprised to hear how much difference the winglets at just 120 mph make.
Even our vintage cars with no aero thoughts handle the 120 quite well.
I can not imagine that a well sorted common Tuscan can not handle the 120 properly.
Some different opinions here. Maybe my car acts differently as a few things have been reconfigured under the car (e.g. air intake, cooling), maybe my car is set up pretty well so difficult to tell the difference. Hey, maybe I'm not capable enough to feel the difference 
I'll be replacing them anyway just for completeness
I'll be replacing them anyway just for completeness
I think sometimes when I read about how these cars handle people don't take into account how susceptible they are to side winds.
Sure the front does an extremely good impression of a wing, but hopefully this will put it into some context. I recently drove down Italy in fantastic weather comfortable cruising between 85 and 100 with the odd squirt to 130 to lose the paparazzi with their camera phones. Very stable with only little corrections for camber etc. After a while dark clouds on the horizon and 10 minutes later the wind started blowing from the hills to my right, not hard but enough to turn the driving from relaxed to 2 hands gripping the wheel and a big reduction in speed. Likewise driving back through Germany lovely calm day and 146 without raising a sweat (this isn't quite true unfortunately as I was so concerned someone would pull out I bottled it and eased off, the car however was fine).
In my humble opinion a front splitter can do nothing but help front end lift. My layman's understanding is that the splitter will help stop air getting under the car and lifting it in the first place. The wing-lets will help stop the car lifting once the air is underneath. It would follow then that if used together you might create some downforce, but as someone far cleverer then me will say there will be a lot of other factors involved.
So if the handling is still a bit wayward don't be too hard on the car you could also be being affected by side winds which aren't always easy to detect, and of course the faster you go the more of an effect they will have. which unless you drop the ride height significantly there's not a lot you can do.
Sure the front does an extremely good impression of a wing, but hopefully this will put it into some context. I recently drove down Italy in fantastic weather comfortable cruising between 85 and 100 with the odd squirt to 130 to lose the paparazzi with their camera phones
. Very stable with only little corrections for camber etc. After a while dark clouds on the horizon and 10 minutes later the wind started blowing from the hills to my right, not hard but enough to turn the driving from relaxed to 2 hands gripping the wheel and a big reduction in speed. Likewise driving back through Germany lovely calm day and 146 without raising a sweat (this isn't quite true unfortunately as I was so concerned someone would pull out I bottled it and eased off, the car however was fine).In my humble opinion a front splitter can do nothing but help front end lift. My layman's understanding is that the splitter will help stop air getting under the car and lifting it in the first place. The wing-lets will help stop the car lifting once the air is underneath. It would follow then that if used together you might create some downforce, but as someone far cleverer then me will say there will be a lot of other factors involved.
So if the handling is still a bit wayward don't be too hard on the car you could also be being affected by side winds which aren't always easy to detect, and of course the faster you go the more of an effect they will have. which unless you drop the ride height significantly there's not a lot you can do.
This article explains it well. It is quite possible the winglets are doing nothing if you take the linked information into account. Additionally the front mk1 splitter could probably benefit from being wider and protruding further.
www.aprperformance.com/index.php?option=com_conten...
www.aprperformance.com/index.php?option=com_conten...
I think sometimes when I read about how these cars handle people don't take into account how susceptible they are to side winds.
Sure the front does an extremely good impression of a wing, but hopefully this will put it into some context. I recently drove down Italy in fantastic weather comfortable cruising between 85 and 100 with the odd squirt to 130 to lose the paparazzi with their camera phones. Very stable with only little corrections for camber etc. After a while dark clouds on the horizon and 10 minutes later the wind started blowing from the hills to my right, not hard but enough to turn the driving from relaxed to 2 hands gripping the wheel and a big reduction in speed. Likewise driving back through Germany lovely calm day and 146 without raising a sweat (this isn't quite true unfortunately as I was so concerned someone would pull out I bottled it and eased off, the car however was fine).
In my humble opinion a front splitter can do nothing but help front end lift. My layman's understanding is that the splitter will help stop air getting under the car and lifting it in the first place. The wing-lets will help stop the car lifting once the air is underneath. It would follow then that if used together you might create some downforce, but as someone far cleverer then me will say there will be a lot of other factors involved.
So if the handling is still a bit wayward don't be too hard on the car you could also be being affected by side winds which aren't always easy to detect, and of course the faster you go the more of an effect they will have. which unless you drop the ride height significantly there's not a lot you can do.
Sure the front does an extremely good impression of a wing, but hopefully this will put it into some context. I recently drove down Italy in fantastic weather comfortable cruising between 85 and 100 with the odd squirt to 130 to lose the paparazzi with their camera phones
. Very stable with only little corrections for camber etc. After a while dark clouds on the horizon and 10 minutes later the wind started blowing from the hills to my right, not hard but enough to turn the driving from relaxed to 2 hands gripping the wheel and a big reduction in speed. Likewise driving back through Germany lovely calm day and 146 without raising a sweat (this isn't quite true unfortunately as I was so concerned someone would pull out I bottled it and eased off, the car however was fine).In my humble opinion a front splitter can do nothing but help front end lift. My layman's understanding is that the splitter will help stop air getting under the car and lifting it in the first place. The wing-lets will help stop the car lifting once the air is underneath. It would follow then that if used together you might create some downforce, but as someone far cleverer then me will say there will be a lot of other factors involved.
So if the handling is still a bit wayward don't be too hard on the car you could also be being affected by side winds which aren't always easy to detect, and of course the faster you go the more of an effect they will have. which unless you drop the ride height significantly there's not a lot you can do.
As above, this is my experience too. My point was this was unaffected by the splitters from what I observed...
I've just recalled a conversation with a suspension specialist a few years ago who mentioned that a Tuscan should be pointing down (simplification!) for best handling, so the individual with questionable handling at high speed may want to look at that.
I've just recalled a conversation with a suspension specialist a few years ago who mentioned that a Tuscan should be pointing down (simplification!) for best handling, so the individual with questionable handling at high speed may want to look at that.
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