vB Easy Archive - racing spoilers....

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racing spoilers....
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Posted by: sunny75

ok, so one of my guy friends (one who's not a car guru) was asking me why the racing spoilers on cars are so popular...and what the origin was

i figured that back in the day it was so the car dealers/maufactuers could sell cars under some aerodynamic gimmick line...but that was just the first thing that came to mind and i know that doesn't explain why they are so popular now...

can anyone help me figure this out

(btw....i'm too lazy to actually look it up for him, so i'm hoping on of ya'll know)

Posted by: bizzy928

Just a fad is all.

Posted by: Heavy Fluid

A fad made popular in America by the Fast & Furious movies. A spoiler is helpful in creating downforce at speed, like on the highway, but that is only beneficial to RWD cars. Unfortunately, there aren't too many RWD cars still being made in America. Kids don't know the difference, and they love how the cars looked in the F&F movies, so they copy it. Only problem is, that on a FWD car, at higher speeds, the wing creates downforce on the rear of the car, creating less force on the drive wheels. Exactly the opposite of what the wing was intended for.

Posted by: badass bunny

FAST N FURIOUS ROCKS! LOL KAKAKA

Posted by: sunny75

lol....yes Fast & Furious is good....and thanks for the info everyone

Posted by: Schmohey

Quote:

Originally posted by RedSVT 03
A fad made popular in America by the Fast & Furious movies. A spoiler is helpful in creating downforce at speed, like on the highway, but that is only beneficial to RWD cars. Unfortunately, there aren't too many RWD cars still being made in America. Kids don't know the difference, and they love how the cars looked in the F&F movies, so they copy it. Only problem is, that on a FWD car, at higher speeds, the wing creates downforce on the rear of the car, creating less force on the drive wheels. Exactly the opposite of what the wing was intended for.

Yup, I see racing spoilers in DTM, and seriously, those cars looks good with a spoiler, not a civic with a wing.

Posted by: Gatorade

Quote:

Originally posted by RedSVT 03
Only problem is, that on a FWD car, at higher speeds, the wing creates downforce on the rear of the car, creating less force on the drive wheels. Exactly the opposite of what the wing was intended for.

so wouldn't that provide 'some' usefullness for fwd cars going through corners at high speeds? :O

Posted by: Killa-b

you also use a spoiler to get downforce when you hit the brakes.

so you can set it up so under heavy breaking it puts more weight over the wheels that you want to have better grip.

but 99.9% of spoilers on cars do nothing. in fact most of the cars dont even go the speed required to see a significant downforce generated..

ie: audi added the TT because at speed greater then 180km/h there were some stability problems.

anywho, sooo pointless, so silly.

Posted by: [Corporal Dan]

Quote:

Originally posted by bizzy928
Just a fad is all.

No. Back in the day, when some cars hit 140+MPH speeds, the rear would start to lift off the ground. Spoilers were used to keep the rear end down.

In nascar, the superbird/daytona twins used huge spoilers... and they worked. They also cheated by filling them with lead to add more weight over the rear tires. The cars really dominated.

Later on (mid-late 70s), at least on the GM f-twins, spoilers were still very much a necessary part of the cars' aerodynamics. 100% functional.

After that, though, spoilers, stopped being functional and started being put on just for styling purposes. Most of the time, the spoilers dont complement the styling... they hurt it, and they do nothing for aerodynamics.

Posted by: B0000rt

Braking?

Posted by: Tris1

i always thought that it could help ANY drive car with downforce not just RWD. Plus to me it IS more about styling now. I think manufacturers caught on to this since a lot of cars' tail looked horrible without one and so they could market and get more money off of it.

Posted by: The Rex

some touring cars are fwd and have massive rear spoilers

wrt most production cars, it's all cosmetic: offers minimal improvements in downforce and may actually increase drag if anything

Posted by: Schmohey

What about front spoliers?

Posted by: Tris1

same as rear and side spoilers

Posted by: Schmohey

There are side spoliers? How does it look like?

Posted by: Tris1

Well they are not spoilers per se
Think of raised side moulding.
They don't aid in downforce but in making it more streamlined.

Posted by: tekstyle

Quote:

Originally posted by Schmohey
There are side spoliers? How does it look like?

are u talking about canards? they go on the side of the front bumper... its like a front spoiler for stock car racing. dun think this answered ur question tho

Posted by: PersianSiR

Posted by: Schmohey

Quote:

Originally posted by tekstyle
are u talking about canards? they go on the side of the front bumper... its like a front spoiler for stock car racing. dun think this answered ur question tho

canards?

Posted by: [Corporal Dan]

The frong miniwings are canards. Some cars have something similar under the front bunper, in front of the wheels.

Posted by: tekstyle

Quote:

Originally posted by Schmohey
canards?

canards my friend, are these

Posted by: gq_fuzion

canards???
you mean sideskirts????

Posted by: tekstyle

Quote:

Originally posted by gq_fuzion
canards???
you mean sideskirts????

do those look like side skirts to u?!?!?!? thats the front bumper

think before you speak