What are bumper canards?

APR Performance Front Bumper Canards help to aerodynamically fine-tune downforce balance. Formed in the autoclave at high temperatures, the APR Performance Front Bumper Canards are made from pre-preg carbon fiber materials to be strong and light weight.

What is the purpose of canards on a car?

Canards (bumper winglets) are designed to provide downforce on the front end of the car. Much like a wing on the rear of the car, canards add drag but help keep the front of the car planted when at speed. Made of plastic, carbon fiber, or fiberglass, canards are relatively inexpensive.

What are canards made out of?

Canards are usually made of plastic, carbon fiber, or sometimes even fiberglass-reinforced plastic. They’re usually pretty inexpensive ($200 to $300), however, if you’re planning to use them, do note that they can flex the paint on your car’s front bumper, which can result in stress cracks.

How do canards work?

The canard is essentially moves your horizontal tail up to your nose, and places the wing’s center of lift behind the center of gravity. To balance the natural nose down tendency, the canard generates an upward lifting force – which helps oppose weight.

Are canards worth it?

Unfortunately, canards are not very efficient, since the strong vortices and position of canards create a significant amount of drag. They are more useful for fine-tuning aerodynamic balance.

What does a front lip splitter do?

A car splitter forces the high pressure air upwards, where it builds up around the bumper and migrates up and over the car. The high speed, low pressure air passes underneath the car. Combined, this reduces vehicle lift and results in a net positive downforce. This gives the car more traction as it hugs the ground.

What is a front spoiler for?

Front spoilers reduce the amount of air going under the vehicle. At the rear, where airflow tends to be more turbulent and generate more lift, spoilers create more downforce to keep the vehicle firmly planted on the road. But spoilers are only one part of the aerodynamic picture, and they may be only a small part.

How effective are canards?

Unfortunately, canards are not very efficient, since the strong vortices and position of canards create a significant amount of drag. They are more useful for fine-tuning aerodynamic balance. This turbulent air causes drag and reduces the effectiveness of a rear wing.

What is the difference between a spoiler and a Spoileron?

What is the difference between a spoiler and a spoileron? A spoileron is a combination of an aileron and a spoiler. Instead, a single wing’s spoileron is raised, which reduces the lift on that wing, causing it to drop and the aircraft to roll in that direction.

Do front lips add downforce?

Having a bumper lip on your front bumper helps reduce airflow under the vehicle. Bumper lips can also help increase downforce, which improves handling. However, this typically only benefits vehicles that are driven on the track. The car needs to be going pretty fast to generate any noticeable downforce.

What do dive planes do on a car?

Dive planes, also known as canards, are aerodynamic devices that are placed on the front of the car, in front of the wheels. See picture below for an example. The main purpose of the dive planes is to shift aerodynamic balance forward.

Is a front splitter worth it?

A front splitter helps increase downforce when a car is being driven, causing improved traction and better performance.

What are front bumper canards made out of?

Formed in the autoclave at high temperatures, the APR Performance Front Bumper Canards are made from pre-preg carbon fiber materials to be strong and light weight. The Downforce Balance graph (shown at the left) illustrates which areas of the vehicle this product affects.

What do front bumper canards do for APR performance?

APR Performance Front Bumper Canards are molded to conform to the existing factory bumper. APR Performance Front Bumper Canards help to re-direct drag-inducing turbulent air away from the wheel wells.

How are canards used in Formula 1 cars?

What are canards? Simply put, canards, also known as “dive planes,” are small triangular wings that are attached to the front bumper of the car in order to slightly modify the aerodynamics of the car. According to the Formula 1 Dictionary, canards help to generate downforce in a couple of different ways.

Where are the canards placed on a car?

Canards should be installed with the large face at the front and aligned such that they do not protrude outside the existing outer line of the car body (so as to avoid creating a safety hazard). This ensures that the main area of wing surface is as far forward on the vehicle as possible in the clean air stream.