What exactly is the purpose operation of the spoiler on a car and how does it work?
What is the car spoiler
To make a car look sharper and nastier, designers often use the car spoiler. This term means both the classic wing positioned in the rear area of the car and the “lip” placed in the front one.
If the car is a notchback, the spoiler will be placed on the tail, while in the case of a hatchback this will be positioned at the top of the rear window.
The function of the car spoiler is to increase the aerodynamic lift of the car by slightly compromising the overall penetration coefficient so as to ensure greater grip when cornering at high speeds.
How the car wing is made and how it works
There is no single model of car spoiler but, in most cases, this is equipped with side bulkheads whose function is to correctly direct the air flow and reduce extremity vortexes.
The car spoiler is fixed to the car by means of supports which also have the function of supporting the additional aerodynamic load that hits the component. If this is installed in the upper part of the rear window, in most cases it will have a homogeneous design with the tailgate and will be free of supports.
Universal car wing and car tuning
In the last decade, the fashion for tuning has also exploded in our country. Taking a production car and processing it, both aesthetically and mechanically, until it is completely different from a production model has fueled a parallel market that can count on numerous industries.
In this case, a key element for tuning is the universal car wing positioned in the rear area of the car which, in addition to having aerodynamic functions, helps to make the car look more aggressive and aggressive.
The car spoiler operation and legislation
A few elements are enough to make the design of a car more aggressive. The car spoiler is an accessory that, in addition to emphasizing the sporting character of a car, contributes significantly to aerodynamic efficiency. made specifically for track or road racing, have one. It is the spoiler, or wing, component of the car installed to modify the aerodynamic properties of the car.
It may happen to see the aileron even on “traditional” machines: in this case it is more an aesthetic question than a functional one. In fact, the spoiler for the characteristics that are its own performs its function only beyond certain speeds.
Despite this, some fans of automotive aesthetics mount on their car, in addition to the rear wing, also the front spoiler and the side skirts, side bands located perpendicular to the ground between the two wheels, which allow to exploit, in addition to the phenomenon of down force, also the ground effect (to increase the adhesion of the car to the road surface).
Car spoiler elements and operation
Technically speaking, the car’s spoiler consists of three parts: the airfoil, the bulkheads and the supports.
The wing profile is the element of the spoiler that generates the downward thrust: it appears as a surface roughly parallel to the ground and has an opposite purpose with respect to the wing of the aircraft. If, in one case, the function is to create lift, that is to make the aircraft fly, in the other it is exactly the opposite, to generate downforce (the aileron section is that of the rotated aircraft wing of 180 °).
The bulkheads are elements perpendicular to the ground that have a double function: the first is to reduce the formation of air vortices; the second is to direct the flow of air according to the aerodynamics of the car.
Finally, the supports have the considerable role of joining the spoiler with the vehicle and keeping it firmly in place. These are fundamental elements, if you think about the load they have to bear: they receive the downward thrust and transmit it to the car.
In order to increase stiffness and distribute the load, bulkheads and supports often merge into one.
Higher consumption on the straight
A car equipped with a spoiler increases the thrust that is exerted downwards as speed increases, which ensures greater contact between the tire and the ground.
If when cornering, where the outer wheels tend to lift off the ground, the importance of the spoiler for the car’s grip is evident, on a straight the downforce factor is directly proportional to the drag. Put simply, the car runs less and consumes more.
In addition, the down force factor increases as the airfoils and the angle they create with the ground (angle of incidence) increase. For this reason, some retractable car spoilers (on road cars) or with adjustable angle of attack have been developed.
Someone might express doubts about the lawfulness of the car spoiler and other “non-original” elements, added by the motorist at a later time than when the car left the factory.
