How about this air brake? It seems to work well enough for them...

 

while the rx8 does have good brakes, and both the SLR and RX8 have the same stopping distance from 60-0, they Mclaren weighs 700lbs MORE...so the SLR does have a far better braking system, but in terms of braking performance the cars are on a close field.

 

I built an air brake system using a wing on my 86 MR2. I was actuated by an electric window motor. The wing cord would tilt almost to vertical. With a couple of limit switches and a hookup to the brake light, it worked OK. Not very sophisticated, but it certainly got attention. I've been thinking of a version for my RX8, but it's still just floating around in my head...

 

rig the hood to open instead, it will catch more air and slow you down faster ...

 

Yup, one of my dear Uncles had a Mercedes with that feature... He bought it used and checked the engine one extra time before he drove of, did not close the hood properly though... It "deployed" at 60 mph... The stopping power was a disappointment though since it just folded neatly over the windscreen and the roof...

Cheers, Niclas

 

So from what I see here in all this chatter is that the air brake does provide some help with stopping.

 

Definetly, when the cars complete braking system is setup to take full advantage of it. Simply adding an air brake to any car will not help as much as designing a braking system to work with the air brake.

On the Merc/McLaren SLR the air brake not only adds drag, slowing the car down, it also adds downforce to the rear of the car, A LOT of downforce, that helps to give more grip to the rear tiers allowing them to use a large rear brake with more force.

Normaly when you hit the brakes hard, a lot of the weight shifts to the front of the car, with little weight on the rear, the brakes out back cant be used as much. In a car with-out ABS you might even see (from a highspeed stop) the rear brakes lock up before the front brakes.

Giving more grip (weight) to the rear tires allows more braking force.

So the airbrake does help, although most of the stoping power on the 3800lb car is from the huge ceramic multi-piston disc brakes on the car.

 

Since the sunroof opens up at a sharp angle, just open it and use that as the airbrake. You could also rig the two front doors to open up as well.

 

Why the hell are you working in slugs lol. I freakin' hate them.

 

Holy 3yr old thread revival...