Quote:
Originally Posted by SuperTrooper
If drag reduction is your goal just REMOVE the spoiler and fill the holes. Even the spoiler you are thinking about has a lip that would probably add downforce, which is drag.
|
Maybe, maybe not. The good thing about the pictured spoiler is that it will cleanly break the air away from the back of the car, the bad thing being that it kicks it up rather than down. The net effect, good or bad, is very hard to determine. The amount of upward kick to the air, creating down force, looks small and that may be minor compared to the gain from recapturing the streamlines coming off the back window.
Remember the Pinto that Car and Driver modified in the 70's to gain FE? They added an aggressively upward-pitched rear spoiler that reduced drag, as it gained more from catching the streamlines than it lost in any down force generation.
I'd say the spoiler's a likely net FE gain, upward lip or not. Maybe not, though, a coastdown test would probably tell the tale.