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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.
I am sorry, but I study aerodynamics. These are half-truths at best.
Most wings work, period. Not a minority. They make the air "see" a gentler slope on the tail of most vehicles which reduces turbulence and decreases the low pressure zone. Not only do aftermarket spoilers achieve this, a block of triangle shaped wood would. It does not take extreme engineering and testing. ... and that is without taking downforce into account at all. Most people think wings are for downforce only, but it is only one of a few aspects in which they improve performance.
People say that the advantage provided is "fairly small", but it really isn't. A 1-2% reduction in drag and rear lift does a lot for braking, tire grip, fuel economy, etc... Yes, 1-2% IS a "fairly small" number, but it provides advantages in 4-5 different aspects.
Nobody is saying it makes as much difference as say going to forced induction or anything like that, but to say that it is "negligible" or anything similar is pretty dishonest.
I don't get this concept most people have that wings only work at speeds of like 150+ ... in that case, they wouldn't be used in racing to improve handling in corners where the cars are going anywhere from 30-80 mph. I race cars, and it is a noticeable difference in the corners between two identical cars where one doesn't have a wing and another does.
In truth, most aftermarket wings/spoilers will get the job done... you would have to buy an especially stupid design to reap no benefits from it.
For me it's just for looks. Cars like the Challenger, mustang, and Charger look better with it. But the fast and the furious look I don't like. I could care less if it works. I don't go to the track or race on the street. But if I had the three I listed, I would get the spoiler.
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.
I know how spoilers, and wings work, I don't however know what you're talking about.
I know how spoilers, and wings work, I don't however know what you're talking about.
They got this new thing out called Google that can help the ignorant become educated. Look up boundary layer as it relates to car aerodynamics and you'll get it. Or just read the stuff that Xander posted.
Oh, wow, I didn't know this Google existed, I spend most of my time on youtube, blogger, checking my gmail, and updating my crappy phone through the Playstore. That still proves some of them don't work. Best example is the foxbody mustang hatchbacks, none of the factory wings, and spoilers do anything- at all. They are out of the path of most of the air moving around the car.
Oh, wow, I didn't know this Google existed, I spend most of my time on youtube, blogger, checking my gmail, and updating my crappy phone through the Playstore. That still proves some of them don't work. Best example is the foxbody mustang hatchbacks, none of the factory wings, and spoilers do anything- at all. They are out of the path of most of the air moving around the car.
Wrong.
The wing on the back makes the air "see" a smoother transition from the roof to the back of the car than is otherwise present.
The fact that there is an area that is "out of the path of most of the air moving around the car" in itself creates an area of air flow separation. The flow of air becomes turbulent and a low-pressure zone is created, increasing drag and instability. Adding a rear spoiler makes the air "see" a longer, gentler slope from the roof to the spoiler, which helps to delay flow separation and create higher pressure in front of the spoiler.
This reduces drag and increases stability.
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