Does spoilers help make a car faster?

Question

Does spoilers help make a car faster?

Answer 1

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spoiler_(automotive)



Quite a good read.



Myself had a large car with a large spoiler and must admit handling did improve a lot with it on.

Answer 2

All interesting answers,but none have quite hit the nail on the head. With the complete package,air dam,skirts spoiler and slats it is possible to make a car go faster. Here is the trick though,these must be tunnel tested parts or you will probably hinder rather than help your performance. With the addition of a properly designed air dam speed can be greatly increased but you will need to have skirts in place also. As far as spoilers,rear deck wings etc,most are cosmetic rather than functional,thats not to say they don't function. Again proper design and location are paramount to speed and stability. Slats will help prevent air from "bleeding" into undesired areas allowing the rest of the package to do it's job. One note on the speed which spoilers work,just above 45 mph there is a noticeable effect. The front air dam will usually buffet until about 60 mph when the air stops rolling and starts producing a laminar flow over and around the body. The overall CD,(coefficient of drag), should drop with proper design due to proper channeling of air. Keeping the air flow from under the car will far more than offset the drag produced by the rear spoiler. So, in a nutshell, yes you can go faster with proper design and proper testing.

Answer 3

Big Spoilers For Cars

Answer 4

What spoilers are really for is to stop a racing car from becoming airborne at very high speeds.



Putting them on cars that are restricted to highway speeds is rather pointless, except for styling, as it implies that the car can go fast enough to require them.



A spoiler actually causes extra wind resistance or "drag", in order to generate a downward force thus keeping the tires in contact with the road when aerodynamic lift causes the car body to act a bit like an airplane's wing.



So a spoiler will slow your car down and give you worse gas mileage.

Answer 5

wilson h has the correct answer.



remember the superbird of the late 60's early 70's...it had a 4' tall wing in the back...did nothing at 25mph but at over 200 king richard won many a race as it helped with downforce at higher speeds 2 keep traction, but it worked in conjunction with all the other spoilers/air dams the total package had.



on many cars today spoilers r just a 'looks' package...ooh, my car has a spoiler, wow...i had an '04 beetle with a spoiler (if ya could call it that) that raised automatically at 45mph...did nothing 4 the car except make the others on the road look at it laughlingly when it 'popped up' and annoyed me in city traffic...up/down/up/down.



good luck and GOD bless.

Answer 6

The "No" answers are all correct. Spoilers create drag, and would actually slow the car down. They help the car stick to the track. They are used in cases where you could go faster without them, but you can't stay on the track, so it doesn't do you any good.

Answer 7

The objective of spoilers is to provide downforce and thus increase traction and cornering ability. The tradeoff is increased aero drag, reducing speed (and gas mileage) somewhat.



A spoiler on the rear deck increases down force on the rear wheels. If your car is front wheel drive, this makes it totally pointless. Except as a convenient carrying handle for King Kong.

Answer 8

no, if anything it makes them slower. There are very few cars on the road that actually benefit from a spoiler. Even those cars have very little benefit. On some cars like the porche 911, chrysler crosfire, viper, or corvette. They MAY provide a LITTLE downforce at high speeds ( over70mph ). This downforce creates more drag and slows the cars acceleration slightly. mostly they are all just there for looks.

Answer 9

who doesnt like to see some old piece of crap beater car that someone has put a aftermarket spoiler on. Ussually got a set of rims on it worth twice what the cars worth. Makes me chuckle every time i see one!!!

Answer 10

No, they are to help keep the rear of the car pushed down at high speeds. As far as I know you have to be going well over 120 before they even begin to do anything at all.

Answer 11

People have many different answers in here I guess the best way is to ask it on the Internet in a Search Engine, or call a supplier. If not you will never know ppl have 2 many diff answers.

Answer 12

NO...they are made to help with the "handling" aspects of the car

Answer 13

merely cosmectic,they provide down ward force on rear of vehicle in excess of 175 to 200 mph(porches and lamborghines, have them because in germany on the audobon they do travel at those speeds.

Answer 14

no, helps keep the wind force down on a vehicle, might be wrong don't trust me on this one, haven't woke up yet soory peeps

Answer 15

nope...just there for looks...