Spoiler = Performance?
 

I want to get a spoiler for asthetic reasons, but I also plan on racing my 8 on a track later this year. I realize the 8 is not a Porsche 911 Turbo, but does a spoiler actually affect performance? If yes, what spoiler would you recommend? Or are spoilers strictly for good looks on the 8? Opinions please? Facts?

I'm sure there are wings for the 8 which are functional. I have dealth with Crawford Composites with great satisfaction (http://www.crawfordcomposites.com/) That would be a wing like they run in Speed World Challenge. Not so pretty.

Other wings, generally, have limited functionality. Basically, I would pick the one you like the looks of best, you're not going to see significant performance unless you spend 1000+ on something like the crawford wing, and then you're not getting something very pretty.

From the reports I have read, all a spoiler really does is keep the car grounded when going extremely fast since it might try and get airborn at those speeds

First if you are interested in racing don't spend a dime on the car until you get a rules book and fully understand what preperation is allowed in the class you intend to compete in.

Spoilers and three purposes have three purposes. Drag reduction, downforce, and of course looks(poser). Drag reduction is the hardest one and usually ends up with unsual seeming spoilers. Remember the older saabs with the spoiler at the base of the rear window. The key us reducing turbulent airflow. Downforce generally (read virtually always) costs drag. You need to get a benefit back, like in higher cornering speeds, to make up for the drag you get from spoilers and wings. Remember the benefits (and costs) increase geometricly with speed. Driving on the street they are essentially useless (except for impressing your less knowledgable friends and teenagers). Wings are rarely useful. Essentially never for a street car. Wings are used when you need lots and lots of downforce to go faster through the turns. The cost is lots and lots of drag. Drag is bad, bad, bad. The reasons they are used for race cars is that the downforce allows higher corner speeds meaning you go onto the all important straight. However the downside is you will have a lower terminal speed at the end of the straight. It is a balancing act on a race car to get the fastest lap time. For example at a steady 70 mph a wing is likely to chew up 5-50 hp. depending on it size and CD (coeficient of drag).

If you're interested in drag racing don't even think about it. Unless you are having trouble with wheelspin under acceleration above 80mph.

I just laugh at the posers with the huge wing on the back of their cars driving around town. I hope it impresses the girls with looks.

I read somewhere that the euro lip spoiler dropped the CF by .01 :D:

its .1 i think dan:)

I doubt it's 0.1. A car's coefficient of drag is usally around 0.3.

I'm with BlueEyes and dannobre on this one, Charlie. I just bought one of these second hand on ebay. Gotta paint it though....it's silver.

Actually spoiler also helps with braking, extra downforce on the rear so better braking at the rear as well. That's what was mentioned in BMI regarding the MPS Bodykit Spolier. The freedom to adjust different angles is also a big plus for track use unless you wanna go hardcore.

go look at feed spoiler on there car and lot of people from japan run this they r funtional around 75 but its a high in the air cf one it about level with the roof but its for the more hardcore guy im be getting 1 but there like 2 gs for it

spoiled!
 

Well thanks for the replys, but I'm still confused. I'm not convinced that any spoiler makes a difference on a 238 hp car, so I'm going purely on asthetics.

That big wing on the WRX's generates 200 lbs of downforce at 80 mph. The MS package of the wing, front bumper and undertray supposedly generates around 100 lbs of downforce at a similar speed.

Those numbers might not sound like much, but remember that most cars generate LIFT at those speeds. There was a guy on the Miata list who built a huge undertray and NASCAR style spoiler on this car, and everyone laughed at him, until he proved that the aero worked with his lap times.

I have an MS wing, but I got it for the looks, to be a little bit different than the other 8's out there. I haven't done any actual testing on it, but it didn't fly off at 125 mph on the back straight at Mid-Ohio, so its staying on my car.

I'm of the opinion that spoilers don't help nearly as much as air dams do. Air Dams direct the air moving over the car instead under. The top of the car is smooth, while the the underneath is rough. This creates turbulance and lift. Like everything, there is too much of a good thing. If you went all the way to the ground. You would increase drag too much and slow you down.

If you think airodynamic changes don't help at highway speeds, just look at the changes in cars over the last 35 years. Those changes were to reduce drag and improve gas milage.

I would think you could spend the money better to set yourself up for racing (new suspension, lighter racing rims/tires, better brakes, etc).