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Canards / dive planes

What do canards (dive planes) do on a race car? · Standard part · basis: Design rules and figures from the cited sources; example geometry by Xem Studio

Also called: canards, dive planes, dive plane, bumper canards, front canards, canard angle, canard downforce, winglets front bumper, rc car canards, touring car dive planes

Exact dimensions. True size, with no printing tolerance added.

sizes
4 in table

Notes

  • Canards are small winglets on the front bumper corners used to fine-tune front aero balance. They sit in the splitter's upwash and their tip vortex keeps flow attached at high angles (HPA).
  • Unlike a splitter they get no ground effect, so they make less load per area and more drag, but they are much less ride-height sensitive (HPA).
  • More canard load generally hurts the rear: the upwash feeds dirty, low-energy air to the rear wing and reduces its effective angle (HPA).
  • The file is a reference example built by Xem Studio from the numbers above (18.4 deg = atan(100/300) from HPA's rise ratio; width illustrative.). Sizes the sources do not fix are illustrative; scale the example to your own vehicle.

Canards / dive planes size chart

parametervalue or rangesource
Leading-edge alignmentabout 5 deg nose-down (to meet splitter upwash)HPA canards
Profile rise (ballpark)~100 mm rise per 300 mm lengthHPA canards
Starting height~250 mm above splitter at lowest pointHPA canards
Outer flick / endplate~20 mm tall, top surface onlyHPA canards

Where the files are

Other publishers' files are linked, not hosted. "verify" = check the license at the link before commercial use.

High Performance AcademyAerodynamic performance devices for club level cars: front canardswebPublisher's page; dimensions are facts

Free files

★ Free files 1 parts. Xem Studio design: free to use, print and sell things from; not to be republished as files. Xem Studio Design License. index.json

canards-dive-planes-dive-planeCanard / dive plane 300 × 150 mm at 18.4°STEP · STL
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Plain text: sheet.txt · JSON: /api/geometry?object=canards-dive-planes

Canards / dive planes, isometric render of a generated part
Render of canards-dive-planes-dive-plane from the free STEP; not to scale.

Fits with

Single-element rear wing (race car), isometric render of a generated part
Single-element rear wing (race car)7 sizes★ 1 file
Dual-element (two-element) rear wing, isometric render of a generated part
Dual-element (two-element) rear wing9 sizes★ 1 file
Swan-neck rear wing mount, isometric render of a generated part
Swan-neck rear wing mount5 sizes★ 1 file
Gurney flap / wickerbill, isometric render of a generated part
Gurney flap / wickerbill7 sizes★ 1 file
Wing endplates / side dams, isometric render of a generated part
Wing endplates / side dams6 sizes★ 1 file
Front splitter, isometric render of a generated part
Front splitter8 sizes★ 1 file

Questions

Do canards replace a splitter?

HPA says most front load should come from the splitter; canards are a balance adjustment unless rules force reliance on them.