Which stock spoiler actually lowers drag coefficient?
Thread Starter
Purveyor of fine bass
Joined: Aug 2003
Posts: 1,618
Likes: 2
From: Worcester, MA
Which stock spoiler actually lowers drag coefficient?
I was reading Jack Yamaguchi's book about the RX-8 and he says that the stock spoiler actually lowers the drag coefficient from 0.31 to 0.30 and also decreases the lift to something like 0.08.
Which spoiler is he referring to?
Is it the US-style OEM rounded arch one:
or the Euro-style OEM trunk lip one:
?
Which spoiler is he referring to?
Is it the US-style OEM rounded arch one:
or the Euro-style OEM trunk lip one:
?
Kaiten Kenbu Rokuren
Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 934
Likes: 2
From: Central Valley, NY
So the U.S. spec spoiler is not only ineffective, but it hurts us? 
I guess it's so small we'd never notice, plus none of us really drive at speeds where we'd be affected. Still, it makes me wonder why they did that.
I guess it's so small we'd never notice, plus none of us really drive at speeds where we'd be affected. Still, it makes me wonder why they did that.
Guest
Posts: n/a
Why? For the look, of course. Tell me you don't love the look! 
If find the NA spoiler to be a good look and the Euro-lip to be ho-hum (no offense to those that have them - your thoughts may vary). Seriously, the european style may lower drag, but see how many posts here praise the distintive look and identity of the RX-8. I expect most owners show plenty of their spoiler (and the rest of the back of their car) to the less fortuntate in traffic.
I really would have liked a wing like in the X-Men 2 movie, though I remember looking into ordering an X-Men 2 styled RX-8 and running up a $40,000 price before closing that browser window 2 years ago.
If find the NA spoiler to be a good look and the Euro-lip to be ho-hum (no offense to those that have them - your thoughts may vary). Seriously, the european style may lower drag, but see how many posts here praise the distintive look and identity of the RX-8. I expect most owners show plenty of their spoiler (and the rest of the back of their car) to the less fortuntate in traffic.
I really would have liked a wing like in the X-Men 2 movie, though I remember looking into ordering an X-Men 2 styled RX-8 and running up a $40,000 price before closing that browser window 2 years ago.
Registered User
Joined: Sep 2004
Posts: 4,887
Likes: 2
Originally Posted by Cool-Blue-Dad
Why? For the look, of course. Tell me you don't love the look!
If find the NA spoiler to be a good look and the Euro-lip to be ho-hum (no offense to those that have them - your thoughts may vary). Seriously, the european style may lower drag, but see how many posts here praise the distintive look and identity of the RX-8. I expect most owners show plenty of their spoiler (and the rest of the back of their car) to the less fortuntate in traffic.
I really would have liked a wing like in the X-Men 2 movie, though I remember looking into ordering an X-Men 2 styled RX-8 and running up a $40,000 price before closing that browser window 2 years ago.
If find the NA spoiler to be a good look and the Euro-lip to be ho-hum (no offense to those that have them - your thoughts may vary). Seriously, the european style may lower drag, but see how many posts here praise the distintive look and identity of the RX-8. I expect most owners show plenty of their spoiler (and the rest of the back of their car) to the less fortuntate in traffic.
I really would have liked a wing like in the X-Men 2 movie, though I remember looking into ordering an X-Men 2 styled RX-8 and running up a $40,000 price before closing that browser window 2 years ago.
Riot Controller
Joined: Jan 2004
Posts: 2,142
Likes: 0
From: Orlando, FL
im actually going to doubt Yamaguchi here and say that no spoiler reduces drag coeff..F1, LeMans, Nascar, etc racing teams always have to fine tune the downforce on the vehcile so as to provide only what is needed to keep the car on the ground in the turns especially. On many high speed tracks, with few turns and many straights, you'll see teams run much less downforce in favor of top speed. They only need to overcome the lift so the car doesn't literally take flight on it's own. On curvy tracks however, they'll need more up front or in the rear, so the car has more traction in the turns..
of course, that all applies to purpose built race cars (which by design have very little lift, even without spoilers), and we drive mass produced street cars, but it's food for thought.
of course, that all applies to purpose built race cars (which by design have very little lift, even without spoilers), and we drive mass produced street cars, but it's food for thought.
1st time rotorhead
Joined: May 2005
Posts: 449
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From: Closter, NJ
i hate the euro-style one, and i love the way the stock one looks. I also dislike the fact that mazda would make a wing for the US that hurt performance, even if it was not a noticeable thing. Why not make a spoiler that improved performance but wasnt noticeable?
Registered User
Joined: Sep 2004
Posts: 4,887
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Originally Posted by epitrochoid
im actually going to doubt Yamaguchi here and say that no spoiler reduces drag coeff..F1, LeMans, Nascar, etc racing teams always have to fine tune the downforce on the vehcile so as to provide only what is needed to keep the car on the ground in the turns especially. On many high speed tracks, with few turns and many straights, you'll see teams run much less downforce in favor of top speed. They only need to overcome the lift so the car doesn't literally take flight on it's own. On curvy tracks however, they'll need more up front or in the rear, so the car has more traction in the turns..
of course, that all applies to purpose built race cars (which by design have very little lift, even without spoilers), and we drive mass produced street cars, but it's food for thought.
of course, that all applies to purpose built race cars (which by design have very little lift, even without spoilers), and we drive mass produced street cars, but it's food for thought.
Oil Injection
Joined: Feb 2005
Posts: 1,672
Likes: 2
From: Orlando, FL
Originally Posted by epitrochoid
im actually going to doubt Yamaguchi here and say that no spoiler reduces drag coeff..F1, LeMans, Nascar, etc racing teams always have to fine tune the downforce on the vehcile so as to provide only what is needed to keep the car on the ground in the turns especially. On many high speed tracks, with few turns and many straights, you'll see teams run much less downforce in favor of top speed. They only need to overcome the lift so the car doesn't literally take flight on it's own. On curvy tracks however, they'll need more up front or in the rear, so the car has more traction in the turns..
of course, that all applies to purpose built race cars (which by design have very little lift, even without spoilers), and we drive mass produced street cars, but it's food for thought.
of course, that all applies to purpose built race cars (which by design have very little lift, even without spoilers), and we drive mass produced street cars, but it's food for thought.
The Mazdaspeed wing adds downforce, while it does increas drag slightly....and its adjustable, as Epi was talking about you can tune it for topspeed/tight courses.
Originally Posted by 10kRPMS
I am tring to get rid of my stock one but I don't want holes in the trunk 
In regards to the original question...
Lip/Decklid spoilers are usually the most functional. As a generaly rule of thumb the further back it goes the better.
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