Front Splitters: Do They Work?
Hi everyone,
My name is Mike and I'm from NYC. I hope this is the right place to post but I was wondering if anyone had any experience with front splitters. I'm really not sure if they do anything and if they're only for performance cars. I read that they can save you on MPG by reducing drag. Any thoughts? Is it worth it to put on a 10 year old Camry? |
I have one on my recently-retired Civic Wagon. While I didn't do any accurate testing, it did seem to help on the highway. My theory was that it was directing air around the smoother sides of the car instead allowing it to cause drag on the rough undercarriage. I was careful not to make it too big, that would increase downforce and drag. Mine stuck out just slightly more than the bumper. Make a cardboard prototype and see if it works on your Camry! A vertical air dam is another approach.
https://ecomodder.com/forum/attachme...p;d=1565844879 |
Thanks for that! It's that your Civic? What did you use for the splitter and side skirts?
|
splitter
The old-school research recommended the airdam.
Splitters were for the track only,and by default,induced drag,due to the downforce. The reverse canting on my pickups nose produces measurable downforce even without a splitter. |
Quote:
"aerohead" knows a lot more about aerodynamics than me, but I still like my splitter! :) |
Gasoline Fumes — Thanks for reposting that. Times past I've wasted whole minutes in Google's search function trying to find an example.
I think it's a good [possibly extreme] example of a central jet. There seems to be advantage to having most of the air under the car being sucked into the center. (Away from the wheels/tires?) The way I see to improve it would be to have the deflectors twice as tall, up to the parking light, and vented to provide an air curtain over the front wheels. As to the question at hand, they do work. They control the stagnation point if they are even with the body, and add downforce if they protrude ahead of the body. |
Quote:
|
Here is my best attempt at an air dam. At least, the last picture I saved before something corrupted the file, which I never recreated.
https://ecomodder.com/forum/member-f...23-9-48-49.png The air dam is concaved to feed air sideways to the barge boards, which admittedly might should be bigger. Based on observing OEM solutions, the outlet should be ±1 inch across the middle third of the wheel and the inlet can be any shape with a larger area to create a converging duct. |
Quote:
Splitter, barge boards (whatever). OP, it must be fun. That little Civic hits the mark. Good luck . . |
concaved
Quote:
|
I'm collecting parts for an aircurtain, but it would be closer to Gasoline Fumes' Civic:
https://ecomodder.com/forum/attachme...p;d=1565844879 https://ecomodder.com/forum/showthre...tml#post604784 The duct inlets would be 'cross-eyed'. https://ecomodder.com/forum/member-f...r-curtain1.png |
https://www.langracing.com/bmw-race-...ir-dam-design/
https://nasaspeed.news/tech/aero/air...e-whole-point/ "An air dam can be one of those magic improvements, increasing downforce and reducing drag at the same time. It can also improve engine cooling by increasing the air flow rate through the radiator. An air dam reduces drag by reducing the rate of air flow under the car, which reduces drag caused by all of the protrusions and cavities under the car. Everything that you see under the car is a drag source, so hiding that mess behind an air dam is a simple way to reduce drag." |
So, I guess the consensus is that they do work. In order to protect them would you use PPF, something like a spoiler lip guard or nothing at all?
|
thoughts on this design?
https://www.maxtondesign.co.uk/front...c-mk9-facelift https://www.maxtondesign.co.uk/image...-1000x1000.jpg Could it possibly help reduce drag on my civic? Or just bling/downforce (i don't want an increase in either!) ? |
Quote:
I've the done similar to the bottom of my conveyor belt chin spoiler with an attached rubber lip below it (see link in signature below). |
Google picks this thread for 'splitter'.
At 5:10 he mentions that at high ride heights, a square-edged plate is adequate. At a low ride height, airfoiling is necessary. Splitter CFD- Small Changes, 4x the Downforce (Almost) |
Quote:
Same for a true rear spoiler, and why it originally and always has been called a "spoiler". |
All times are GMT -4. The time now is 11:43 AM. |
Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.11
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions Inc.
Content Relevant URLs by vBSEO 3.5.2
All content copyright EcoModder.com