Ask Phil Question # 9 – Hi Phil, I have bought a Prosport 1300 rms 215(one of the last ones?). I believe it was one of several cars sold to Mantorp park driving school in Sweden. I will drive it for the first time this year. Would it be advisable to test it with neutral wing and the front canards off to learn the cars balance with less downforce? I have never driven anything this fast, or mid engined on track before. Regards, Jonas Maurstad (@maurstad) from Norway

Dear Jonas,

Thanks for your question. 

If you have never driven slicks and wings before, it’s best to start with at least medium downforce.  The dive planes and rear wing work together as a package and should be used together.  Start with the wing set in a mid point position and once you get used to the cars handling you can experiment by making small changes to the rear wing position.  The front dive planes are just trimming balance to the front – keep them on and the side fences on them should be there as well. The dive planes only gave 17n with same small increase in drag, but numbers were doubled with addition of side fences. The main benefit is spinning a vortex down the side of car to help clean up the front wheel wake.  Can’t get enough front down force on a sports car (apart from a revolution!) because the rear wing is so dominant. 

For a newcomer biggest thing will be getting enough tyre temperature. The tyres used are F3 size so they need loading to get best performance.  That will tell you “where you are”.   Check temperatures and temperature spread, and pressures immediately after a fast lap, that will be your early guide to let you know how you are doing.  The more factual data you collect, the more picture you build, the more use us bench racers are, otherwise, it’s just unqualified opinion. 

Hope this helps,

Kind Regards 

Phil Abbott