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Old 10-01-2009, 08:36 PM   #1 (permalink)
Jammer
Chevy and CB Radio Lover
 
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Location: East Kentucky
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Smile Do Rear Spoilers / Wings Help Any?

No spam meant, but on this subject I did find a great website to have spoilers purchased, maybe installed on cars:

Car Spoilers including Rear Spoilers and Car Wings - Rear Wings and truck spoilers

Ok, I have an album of pictures showing my 2009 Chevy Cobalt LS Coupe XFE on file with my profile here that shows my spoiler clearly.



I bought the car out right after getting an insurance settlement for a very bad wreck I had, due to my brakes not working and almost getting me killed around a curve. I also got about $5,000 in discounts from GM, my father a GM Retiree, and the dealer that had my car on their lot. I must admit it is a strange feeling having a brand new car with no payments. And my insurance company did not wish to raise my rates nor drop me due to the conditions of the wreck- they did not seem to fault me. (it was my only wreck in my life, and I'm 44) But I was driving a med size 4X4 Chevy Colorado pickup truck that got around 17MPG (20 EPA)- this was rated BEFORE THE EPA REVISED THEIR METHODS OF SCORING MPG ON CARS/TRUCKS. I next got a sub-compact with EPA of 37 Highway 44 possible (as read on sticker on the window). What I am now experiencing is like culture shock. I can now drive to places on a gallon of gas that used to cost me over double that. I feel as if I have been freed from the chains of High Oil because of the vast improvement in mileage.

Back to the topic on hand:

I tried my best to find a Cobalt that had only 4 important requirements:

#1) It HAD to be an XFE
#2) I wanted the color RED (Because Chevy's "Blue" was far too dark for my tastes)
#3) The car HAD to have a rear spoiler.
#4) Spare Tire ($75 for the "doughnut")

The car was no longer in production for 2009, and the team was on break. So I had to pick from the car lots near my home state because XFEs were very rare, and I had no transportation and could not afford to wait months. I was working with a sales-guy and a dealership that I fully trusted due to all of the business my father had gave them over many years. I had many bad experiences with sales people treated me rudely or making assumptions that were false about me, so I was sticking with the dealership I was at. Finally my guy found a car fitting my description, only it also had the $40 option of an ashtray which was only a large ashtray shaped like a cup for the cup holder and a lighter plug for the socket (shesh)- So the car was strip down to standard options except for the ashtray and lighter (which I did not need and gave away), spare tire and jack and the almighty rear SPOILER. It does have many standard features that impressed me, yet things one takes for granted as being standard were not. It does have an awesome stereo system in it that was standard, and that means a lot to a guy that plays music such as myself.


The rear of my car reminds my a little bit of a 1985 Pontiac Fiero GT I once owned that had a spoiler on the rear. Or even a tiny bit like the back of a Corvette. I really likes the looks of a Cobalt Coupe better with the spoiler mounted, (the 2009 Sedan is another story), but I do not expect it helps my MPG any....

So, what do our EXPERTS here think? Generally speaking, or at least with a car like mine, do these stock mounted spoilers help the fuel efficiency even a little bit, or are they just for looks? Could they maybe HURT the mileage some because they are not as high up as real sports cars often have? - And there lays my beef: It seems like on the real expensive sports car, be they street legal or otherwise, their rear wing is normally mounted much higher than on stock cars like mine being sold.

I assume the rear spoiler on my car is at best good for looks, and at worse, it might even be a drag on efficiency.

Experts? (all please weigh in)

Thanks.


Last edited by Jammer; 10-02-2009 at 10:10 PM.. Reason: Added #4: The Spare Tire Option- I forgot that one!
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