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I was going to say I don't like non functional wings and spoilers, but I do like spoilers on some cars, the little wing on say a late model Alero sedan is pointless. Such as Foxbody hatch wings and spoilers, some of them look good, yet none of them are functional as they aren't tall enough. Normally for a wing or spoiler to work properly, they need to be at or above roofline, depending on the car.
Do you know how the boundary layer works, and why spoilers/wings low on the trunk work to keep it attached all the way to the back of the car? No, apparently you don't.
A lot of you don't think a spoiler/wing does anything simply because it doesn't look like it does, without any actual science behind your beliefs.
It is weird how some of you think that aerodynamics and physics just *kick in* at a certain speed... (That just happens above legal speeds)
Every car I have ever owned has had a spoiler/wing on the trunk. (Usually stock.) Yes, even the FWD ones. They are a performance enhancing product, and they look good as well. Probably cause you can tell the car is at least a *little bit* more performance orientated when a spoiler is present.
When I see performance cars without a wing it seems odd, like people are intentionally handicapping their cars.
I like that spoiler too. The low-key spoilers that aid with wind resistance are a nice touch. I hate the spoilers that turn cars into shopping carts though.
Few spoilers are functional, and I think they actually break up the appearance of the car. They were more popular on boxy Japanese cars from the 1980s and 1990s. Try are making better looking cars these days. Skip the add-ons.
I love how you guys still continue to ignore aerodynamics completely despite the fact that they have been explained in great detail over and over.
I guess the pits on a golf ball are "barely functional" too... You guys have obviously no clue what you are talking about, or what the boundary layer is.
Seriously, look it up, you guys are laughably wrong.
I love how you guys still continue to ignore aerodynamics completely despite the fact that they have been explained in great detail over and over.
I guess the pits on a golf ball are "barely functional" too... You guys have obviously no clue what you are talking about, or what the boundary layer is.
Seriously, look it up, you guys are laughably wrong.
Please post/link the conclusive evidence. As far as I can tell, the debate never gets settled - - though most agree that your standard passenger car spoiler is for looks only.
Please post/link the conclusive evidence. As far as I can tell, the debate never gets settled - - though most agree that your standard passenger car spoiler is for looks only.
Ugh, just because many people refuse to acknowledge the existence of the boundary layer and the effect it has on aerodynamics does not mean that it is "inconclusive". It means the doubters do not understand aerodynamic engineering, or their understanding is very loose.
The goal of many spoilers used in passenger vehicles is to reduce drag and increase fuel efficiency. This is because many vehicles have a fairly steep downward angle going from the rear edge of the roof down to the trunk or tail of the car which may cause air flow separation. The flow of air becomes turbulent and a low-pressure zone is created, increasing drag and instability (Bernoulli effect). Adding a rear spoiler could be considered to make the air "see" a longer, gentler slope from the roof to the spoiler, which helps to delay flow separation and the higher pressure in front of the spoiler can help reduce the lift on the car by creating downforce. This may reduce drag in certain instances and will generally increase high speed stability due to the reduced rear lift.
You see, it is about downforce, but not downforce alone. The standard argument used to debunk spoiler's usefulness is "You don't go fast enough to create downforce", which is wrong, it causes downforce at all speeds albiet minimal at minimal speeds. Some highways have speed limits as high as 85 MPH which is plenty fast to create noticeable downforce and therefore reduced rear lift. This makes the vehicle more stable. (And some of us like to take our cars to road courses for "track days" in which case we routinely reach speeds of 100+ MPH.)
.... BUT, it is not all about downforce. Even at low speeds, a spoiler acts to counter the Bernoulli effect, which reduces drag and increases stability.
The high speed sedan car with a spoiler shows a drag
reduction of 1.7%, which would result in fuel saving. Also, it
increases the negative force which generates the following
advantages:
1. Increases tires capability to produce cornering force;
2. Stabilizes vehicles at high speed
3. Improves braking performance;
4. Gives better traction and increases the fuel efficiency.
(And no, "high speed" does not mean race car speeds in this study.)
If you are looking for something that proves to those who do not study aerodynamics, and do not even understand the terms involved, that spoilers work, you won't find it. It is an advanced subject. The people that are saying passenger cars never reach high enough speeds for a spoiler to have an effect have such a lack of knowledge in the science of aerodynamics that you can not find anything that conclusively proves it to them, it is simply above their heads.
"Spoiler Alert" - - if you have not read Xander-Crews' post above, and at least perused the links, the argument is pretty thorough (....though I will be the first to admit some of it is over my head...)
A spoiler can provide advantages even at lower speeds. However it is a fairly small advantage and it must be engineered and tested. Some are engineered and tested, some are simply tacked on by the aesthetics designers and can actually provide a disadvantage if improperly configured. Cheap after market tack on spoilers almost uniformly degrade performance. There are custom design spoilers engineered for specific vehicles that are excellent, but they are quite pricey.
(Per our fleet manager, a former GM and Ford design engineer).
He gave me an incomprehensible lesson about spoilers and wings and the differences and how they work and do not work an I understood almost none of it.
It would be fun to try out various spoilers in our driving training program, but we only use vehicles that do not attract attention, so there is no point in learning with something you will not have. We use a lot of vans, Suburbans and large sedans. All of them would look a bit still with some sort of wing attached to them and definitely attract unwanted attention.
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You guys have obviously no clue what you are talking about, or what the boundary layer is.
