A question for those that have fitted an aftermarket spoiler

Why do you think that a big spoiler is needed? I can see the point in a factory fitted one, it's been in a wind tunnel & produces that much needed () downforce, and was on the car when you bought it But to those that bought an after market/replica one...

i) Do you really need the downforce? Especially those who use the car as an every day car & maybe a run at the weekend. Or is it more for styling purposes?

ii) Do you choose the one that produces most downforce? or the one that looks best?

iii) Couldn't the money be better spent on a trackday or tuition day? That way you would be a much better driver & not need the downforce

Iv) Just buy an Evo

Lets say the average power is 240-250 bhp. It isn't that much really. And on the bendy roads, it is unlikely that you will be doing enough speed to generate enough downforce to justify a big spoiler.

I can understand people wanting their car to look like a rally car & all that, but why buy a spoiler without giving priority to it's functionality?

I prefer points 3 & 4. but I would like to know if it's all about downforce or looks for you?

Crush

 

all the sti, 22b, p1 spoilers were desighed by subaru (or prodrive) so i'm sure they would have taken the downforce into account...


carl...

 

Er, bought my spoiler for styling purposes as do most people, would have thought that was obvious...it's not a F1 car, down force isnt essential!

Bit of a cr4p thread!

 

Yep, that's why I said

 

Crush

I remember someone from Prodrive saying that the spoilers don't so much produce rear downforce, but ensure the car is aerodnymically neutral as in a road situation downforce in one area may cause instability in others. So, if I remember correctly the idea of the spoiler is to make the care more stable, improve airflow than provide outright grip.

If I recall the P1 Spoilers and aero package made the car use 7Bhp less at 100mph

I was also told, that not many spoilers are actually wind tunnel tested and may even provide a small negative handling aspect.

 

Thanks Neil, that's a good answer

 

If you read an article that Peter Stevens wrote once, he said that downforce on a road car is not desirable because you will need harder springs and suspension settings to compensate to hold it up, and also drag gives you problems with fuel etc... The rear wing on a P1 for instance gives no lift or downforce but a neutral setting. But what wings do give is stability at high speeds, and also look cool.

My 2p's worth

Robin

 

Spoilers on most road cars generally do nothing except serve as a styling item.
Those that have been aerodynamically designed (rather than styled) will generally not produce downforce, but rather reduce the lift that most road cars suffer from at high speed. With this reduction in lift comes the increase in stablility that people are talking about.

 

As several have correctly said, most spoilers are there not to produce positive downforce, but to cancel out negative lift that the majority of road cars suffer, thus giving a neutral stance at high speeds.

Was it the Lamborghini Miura that tries to take off at high speeds?

 

[Edited by bros2 - 7/3/2003 2:46:19 PM]

 

Remember the Countach? Had a gorgeous sexy rear wing, looked a bit bland without - but down the pub, those In The Know would prefer theirs WITHOUT the rear wing as it was common knowledge that it reduced the top speed by 12mph.

Like, all the way down to a pathetic 186mph






Oh, and I think I was one of them

 

The Sierra cossie whaletail helps the car produce 124N of downforce at 100mph. Take it off and the car produces 524nm of lift at the same speed.
When I was doing 160 down brunters, it felt like the car was really being pushed onto the tarmac.
astraboy.

 

... and the main reason the sierra Cosworth had a spoiler was to homologate it for motorsport.
Also the reason why the RS500 spoiler is slightly different iirc

 

It's a style thing if we're honest. Some cars look better than others. Some get away with it some don't. Personally, I've always thought the Impreza (especially the new shape versions) look better with a big spoiler. The standard low spoiler does nothing for the looks at all.

Now supposedly, the RallyTech wing I have is a copy of the 2000 WRC wing in the high downforce position - can't say it ever worried me that much - it just looked better

On the basis of this thread, why do any of us actually bother owning a performance car in this day and age?

Because we can!!

Chris

 

Fair enough

I just wanted to get into the minds of people to see why they really feel the need for a big spoiler

Now I know

 

I feel better now! The STi V 'handle' on the boot actually reduces lift at speed - it is not just a fibreglass fetish thing after all

 

Nah it's a fetish



Chris

 

She's a very elegant lady Chris! Is it an STi V fiberglush jobbie you eased on - mmmmm!

 

i don't know much/anything about this BUT...

a spoiler does NOT produce downforce AFAIK, it has something to do with stopping lift, i.e. spoils the air flow (i.e. stops it moving too fast) - hence the name spoiler.

however, a WING fitted to a car would produce downforce, i.e. formula 1 car with multiple element wing on the back.

i think people get confused with wing/spoiler.

 

Cosmetics Crush without one a scoob looks hideous (IMHO) take the skirts and spoiler off and it is one of the worst looking cars on the road. As for why paying the money for it over something else, I guess we all want our cars to look their best - for 99% of the time that is all anyone else will see (when you're driving past someone in the street they don't know if you can out-drive a WRC driver, but they can see your car).

It's not just scoobs:
At the moment my RX-7 looks OK with its little spoiler (which does nothing aerodynamically) but when I change the front bumper to improve cooling I'll have to put something more substancial on the rear to match up.

 

I think at the end of the day, styling wise, A spoiler really add's a finishing touch to an impreza's booty.

again another thing that is totally down to personal preference, some people hate them, i love em, but only the nice ones, not those jap metal ones, they are ****e.

 

Why do I want a big spoiler on my STi7 ? Easy, cos I wanted an MY02 WRX STi Prodrive Style Impreza and they were sold out by the time I got to the store. The little spoiler I have now just bugs the crap out of me. Don't get me wrong, my scoob and I have a very harmonious relationship so whilst I'm 99% happy with it, the little spoiler has to go...and hopefully by the end of the month, it shall indeed be gone

As for increased downforce, yep, that's another good reason but being honest, it's all about aesthetics - scoobs with little spoilers just don't seem "right" - well...to me anyway !

 

Obstructing your view of the un-marked police car following you.

 

If it only applied to unmarked cars, in my case it was more a problem of the Sti V5 rear wing chopping the lights off of marked cars, oops

 

Diesel

That is a RallyTech wing (spoiler?) on my car. I agree that the terms have become confused, but I really couldn't give a rats **** if it does or doesn't produce downforce (or whatever). The reason for fitting was purely cosmetic. Having the tracking / alignment sorted and fitting a set of Eibachs, helped improve the cars handling - nothing to do with fitting the wing

Chris

 

couldnt care less what it does, as long as it looks better than the "bent ironing board" they fitted to the bug eye, I'll be buying a bigger one as soon as I can.

Oh, and the wife likes big ones

 

The STI website advises use of a front splitter if you fit one of the large spoilers (and the reverse is true) to retain balance. The spoiler only really comes into effect at speeds over 70mph. It probably helps keep the car planted on motorways, but you can't really hit those sort of speeds on twisty backroads to get any help in cornering.

However, they do give the car much needed character.

Ken

 

Ken, do you have a URL for that site? Cheers!

 

chris L



why cant i see your pics in the post,all i get is a little red square?


cheers.

 

Er! how do i know my spoiler works? well Prodrive designed it to go on the rally car, so it must do something

Scott