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Wings and spoilers, Quora answer

2K views 6 replies 4 participants last post by  Swiftab 
#1 ·
#3 ·
What I got out of it is that spoilers and wings don't do much of anything in regular cars, except maybe add some drag. To be fair, drag is proportional to the square of wind speed, so there also isn't much harm at typical speeds. Even so, drag limits top speed but down-force keeps your tires on the road, so it's a wash.
 
#5 ·
I agree with what he's saying. Basically, it's wing vs. spoiler. Wings are properly shaped airfoils and generate downforce. Spoiler usually don't generate downforce. Instead, they try to negate the lift generated by the rear of the car, around the rear windshield area on sedans. Both add drag, wings more so than spoilers.

To be fair, drag is proportional to the square of wind speed, so there also isn't much harm at typical speeds. Even so, drag limits top speed but down-force keeps your tires on the road, so it's a wash.
Exactly, so on race cars, mechanics have to adjust the wing for higher top speed on the straights, or faster turning speed.
 
#6 ·
TomcatD: Pretty much. On straights, the downforce is good for countering the lift that would be there otherwise. On turns, the downforce substantially increases tire friction so that they grip. With F1's, the downforce is a few times the weight. With the Juke, I suspect there isn't much of a difference either way, although the spoiler on the Nismo's might do some good at high speeds by keeping the airflow from interacting with the rear of the car and causing tons of drag.

Swiftab: The Superbird was mentioned in one of those YT engineering videos I watched. In its defense, it was actually streamlined. But the wing was kind of over the top.

Bottom line: the wing that's available for the Juke is probably just cosmetic.
 
#7 ·
TomcatD:

Swiftab: The Superbird was mentioned in one of those YT engineering videos I watched. In its defense, it was actually streamlined. But the wing was kind of over the top.
the wing had to be that high to have an operable trunk lid. In those days the cars that raced had to be production cars. The wing and nose generated so much downforce that Good Year had to develop slicks so the rubber did not peel off the tires.

I did read further in the article. I thought it was good
 
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