car question about spoilers

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iwannadie · #1 Unread post by **iwannadie** » Mon May 16, 2005 7:29 am

ok i have a question about spoilers, i searchd and cant find any Real decided answers on.

does a spoiler help a FWD car? if so in what ways?

to me the spoiler wouldnt help a fwd drive car at all in 99% of the cases. only with really light cars that need all the help they can get to have any traction. but if your car has such problems at speed you probally shouldnt be taking it that fast...

ive seen some people claim they help with braking. but spoilers only cause enough downforce at Very high speeds right, as soon as you get on the brakes you loose those speeds and the force from the spoiler almost instantly? ive seen people say it helps with corners, again a slow speed turn is helped by a spoiler?

could the spoiler also cause lose of traction in the front by putting too much force on the back making the front wheels light loosing grip when putting power to them?

keysman · #2 Unread post by **keysman** » Mon May 16, 2005 7:56 am

How fast is your car? If it tops out at less than lets say about 120 MPH, you don't really need a wing. You also have to ask yourself are you going to be driving at speeds that are going to require the extra downforce? If your obeying the speed limits then no. I think basicly what you were saying is pretty much true. You probably don't need one for performance reasons, only for looks.

BuzZz · #3 Unread post by **BuzZz** » Mon May 16, 2005 8:10 am

Unless your car is on a racetrack and being driven like a racecar at race speeds, a wing is just a fashion accessory. Those punk kid racer-wannabe posers can come up with any reason they like to justify a wing.... truth is, it is of no practical use on a road car...... might drop the fuel milage a bit if it's big enough.... if that's a good thing...

polarelf2003 · Mon May 16, 2005 8:18 am

There really isnt any air back there for the spoiler to make a difference (unless you're driving really really fast), it's all about looks. The air goes over your car and there is a "void" back there. If you've even ridden in the back of the truck, you can feel it when you sit right near the cab. A truck, however, is has more real estate behind the cab than a car, so back by the tailgate the wind hits the tailgate - which is why it's cheaper on gas to drive with the tailgate down. I dont reccomend testing that position while in the back of a truck, though

Note that for an airplane the "void" behind/above the wing translates to low pressure, giving it lift.

iwannadie · #5 Unread post by **iwannadie** » Mon May 16, 2005 9:03 am

its not for my car (i have a RWD supra). just talking about it with some people that have their minds made up that a spoiler on a FWD (eclipse) is the best thing ever and improves speed/handling/turning/braking on their car on the street not the track. i just wanted some better info before trying to argue other wise

keysman wrote:How fast is your car? If it tops out at less than lets say about 120 MPH, you don't really need a wing. You also have to ask yourself are you going to be driving at speeds that are going to require the extra downforce? If your obeying the speed limits then no. I think basicly what you were saying is pretty much true. You probably don't need one for performance reasons, only for looks.

MASHBY · #6 Unread post by **MASHBY** » Mon May 16, 2005 12:16 pm

Spoliers are designed to increase downforce and in turn that should increase grip.Spoilers were origanly designed for rear wheel drive cars as they is not that much weight back there so the high performance cars needed some help getting the power down.Where as most the Rice patrol are front wheel drive so while it is creating a small amount of downforce it is not actauly helping the car because it is not rear wheel drive.The huge spoilers you see on exotic cars of the late 70's and early 80's where infact a huge nessacity due to the fact our understanding of aerodynamics was not as it is today and so the cars where so streamlined they acting like and aircraft wing and around 80mph they started to take off.Well not literaly but the front end became very very light and the car was difficult to control.

Gadjet · #7 Unread post by **Gadjet** » Mon May 16, 2005 1:18 pm

spoilers really don't do any good on a FWD car. You want maximum traction on your drive wheels, and on a FWD car, the rear wheels are only really there to help hold the body and trunk off the road. If your car were streamlined enough, and the wing was big enough to actually create some downforce, it might actually be detrimental to the handling of the car, as the downforce created by the wing would push the back of the car down while at the same time lightening the front end, reducing traction.

iwannadie · #8 Unread post by **iwannadie** » Mon May 16, 2005 1:25 pm

thanks for all the replys. im glad i was right with what i was saying(so it seems). i just feel better now that alot of people agree with me on on this one so i can have more fuel for my spoiler argument.

i want to add a spoiler to my supra just for looks, but im so sick of people calling it a rice burner as it is(as if the massive straight 6 engine is comparable to their little honda 4 bangers). i was thinking of doing the supra up to look like an old muscle car complete with starsky and hutch strip on the side ehe.

blair · #9 Unread post by **blair** » Mon May 16, 2005 4:55 pm

A good wing will give you additional downward force at all speeds, and significant assist over about 45 mph. Any extra downward force is a good thing for acceleration, cornering, or braking, no matter where the drive wheels are. An FWD car just doesn't need much help from a rear wing when accelerating. Something to provide ground-effect aerodynamics for the front would be better than a front-mounted wing, though.

However, the wings on some cars are ill-designed for providing downforce, may be designed only to provide a drag reduction (hence the "spoiling"), or are just for show.