Hey, /v/ here I'm not much of a car expert but I just wanted

downforce dumbass

>>15438319
this, and the vertical surfaces fight to keep the cars pointed straight

At the speeds drift cars go they have to either not bother with aero or go whole-hog with it so they can get the downforce at relatively low speeds.
If nothing else, I'd imagine the aero helps stability.

It's all for looks.

>>15438319
>>15438321
I know wings create downforce but I thought they were only needed at high speeds?

>>15438321
So the wing helps the car go sideways?

>>15438336
They drift at pretty high speeds, and when they do they need as much down force as possible over the rear to keep the drift in control

>>15438336
>I know wings create downforce but I thought they were only needed at high speeds?
Often these drift cars go 70+ mph

>So the wing helps the car go sideways?
It helps keep the car from oversteering too much and spinning out.

>>15438310
Aerodynamics. I know it sounds counter intuitive but at the professional level those cars actually need a good deal or traction.

For one they need a good launch to get entry speed for the first turn and then need traction to keep control of the car and keep it going where they want it.

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Common misconception, drift cars need more grip/traction in the back rather than in the front.

What game?

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>>15438310
Aero starts mattering at 60 mph or so. Not much at that speed, but it can be significant at 90-100. If you ever do a track day you should expect a couple of sweeping turns at those speeds, and those are the turns in which rear lift is the most dangerous. You want the rear to stay planted. The wing gives you downforce and the diffuser reduces lift. In many cars you'll still have some net uplift (from aero effects, I mean - it won't be more than the weight over the rear wheels), but that's okay. The lower the uplift, the greater the normal force acting on the tires, the more grip they'll have.

Some wings, especially OEM ones (because it requires fluid dynamics analysis together with the body of the car), also reduce drag. Yes, the Civic Si's wing lets you go faster and get better mileage, even in a straight line, because it cuts drag by 3% by improving airflow.

The vertical parts of wings you see on rally cars are there because they stabilize the car at the speeds rally cars do while taking turns. The little "sharks teeth" on the roof of the Evo IX create turbulence that... I don't know exactly what they do, but there's an article floating around the internet discussing their effect at 110 mph. They work.

If something is functional on race cars, it becomes cool to have it on street cars. Big wheels exist to clear big brake discs, and big brake discs exist so they can cool down between frequent hard braking. (They don't do anything for braking distances or anything else you're going to do on the road unless you're an idiot riding the brakes on a long downhill.) So of course sporty cars started coming with cool big wheels. And then they needed bigger brakes so that the wheels didn't look too big. All pretty silly, until you take it to the track.