I am the only one who thinks the Corrado looks stupid.......

[corradophil 3]

I like it, its part of what makes a Corrado a bit special. I have to admit when you look at it from the side it sits at a very steep angle and looks a bit odd. But it is supposed to be there to spoil the airflow reducing uplift, so its not a styling thing.

[Kevin Bacon 5]

I've a feeling the whole useful/usless spoiler issue has been talked about before and the outcome was that it provides no downforce, instead it modifies the airflow over the back of the car at higher speeds to reduce drag.

 

Nah, it's there to *increase* drag which reduces the car's 'hovercraft' effect (at the rear) at high speed.

 

A 'Spoiler's' effectiveness is always debatable but a proper one would be an upside down aero wing which does create 'downforce', but they're big and ugly on a road car. Even the 911's electric 'spoiler' is just a plank shoved in the air flow but it does come up less frequently than the rado's.

 

I'm sure at 150mph the Rado's plank is probably doing something useful, but for day-to-day pottering about it's about as much use as a Viper stripe. I've never noticed a difference with it connected or not during normal cornering speeds.

 

And defo agreed with Phat, they look cr@p when erected! Gives the rear end a very untidy, unfinished look to it.

[veeDuB_Rado 0]

You all don't get it, the spoiler adds 30bhp really.

[davidwort 0]

Well mines a German import.... and even going up at 75mpg it's annoying. It just reminds you that you've broken the speed limit somewhere on your journey.....

 

:shock: wish I could get 75mpg, must reduce drag a fair bit on your motor :lol:

[rmn 0]

I think it looks kak when parked with the spolier up.

I feel it makes a difference with it not working, i drove my car withthe spolier not working and then with it working at high speed and it felt a lot more planted with it working, in near identical conditions

[veeDuB_Rado 0]

It's no more than a gimmick really, doesn't really do a lot.

[dr_mat 0]

The spoiler reduces rear end lift (which is caused by the car's shape), according to the specs provided by VW around the car's launch.

 

It's not a wing, it's a spoiler. A wing would introduce downforce, the spoiler simply spoils the laminar airflow at the rear of the car (increasing drag slightly as a side-effect) and because there's no laminar air flow any more, you reduce the lift that would otherwise make the back end light.

 

As for liking it or not, I am ambivalent towards it. I think it's a cool piece of design that it pops up and down, and it's part of the car's uniqueness, but I don't really think it's good looking.. More "functional" .. Much like the rest of the car really!!

 

If you think the Corrado's small wing is a gimmick, so what do you think happened when Audi added the "moustache" to the back end of the TT? That's even smaller, yet apparently it has the desired effect - it keeps the back end a little more stable than it would otherwise be.

[Andy T 0]

Anyone who disables their spoiler, or refuses to repair a stuck one(A lad I know, who thinks he knows better), is an idiot.

 

As other people have pointed out, the aerodynamic shape of the C has a downside, which is rear end lift caused by airflow at high speeds. The spoiler breaks up that airflow, preventing it from causing said lift. If the german models raise at 75mph, well then that is the speed at which it is required.

 

Most of us break the speed limit in our corrado's i'm sure, and if i'm going to have to brake heavily & swerve for some other idiot on the motorway/track/autobahn, I 'd rather have some grip at the back end thankyou very much.

 

I hardly think VW would put one on for a gimmick, being one of the most boring & conservative car manufacturers out there! So lets have a bit of trust in the engineers.... at least they bothered to fix the problem before they released the car, unlike Audi's TT!

[Kevin Bacon 5]

Moustache, LOL! :-)

 

The thing with the Audi though was people were losing traction mid bend at like 125mph. I can't see the moustache helping to save people from stupidity personally. Audi just added the 'tache as goodwill and to save face, but they're weren't legally bound to fix it since the 'issue' occurred at way over most country's national limits.....unlike the A class which toppled over at slow speeds and *did* need to be sorted.

[Kevin Bacon 5]

I hardly think VW would put one on for a gimmick, being one of the most boring & conservative car manufacturers out there!

 

No you're right, plastic golf ball gearknobs and tartan seats being very conservative :-)

The spoiler was a good way of 'justifying' the enormous amount extra over the Golf, which was just as capable a car. It's all marketing, always has been, always will be.

[Yandards 0]

The spoiler was a good way of 'justifying' the enormous amount extra over the Golf, which was just as capable a car. It's all marketing, always has been, always will be.

 

I think this is 6 of one and half a dozen of the other. The spoiler on a C when deployed at the correct speed does achieve a function of keeping the rear end of the car more planted than without it. No-one can argue against that without changing the laws of aerodynamics.

 

The 'moustache' on the TT does exactly the same thing but was designed to be as small as possible and to only have an effect on the car at speeds in excess of 100mph due to the accident profile with that car.

 

The C on the other hand had a spoiler designed from the word go to be effective at speeds in excess of 75mph, so that is what it will do.

 

The marketing point comes in as it makes less difference in this country as the deployment speeds are much lower than 75mph.

 

What we all have to think about is that the spoiler was designed to reduce lift on the rear of a standard Corrado, many of the mods carried out to suspension will reduce the originally intended effect of the spoiler mechanism.

 

I like the spoiler on my car, but it does pi$$ me off that it wont go down at a higher speed and it goes up too early for me as well. (47mph)

[Blair 0]

In short, "no".

...And it isn't actually useful until 75mph - hence the original cars popping their spoilers up at 75mph. VAG UK thought it might get bad press for selling a car that "encourages" the driver to exceed the national speed limit, so it (the activation speed) was lowered to 45mph.

...

 

55mph actually :wink:

 

unless my speedo is seriously overreading, I think it's the later cars that had a 45mph setting.

 

 

Also, it's probably been discussed in loads of places before, but I'm pretty sure the spoiler is intended to reduce the aerofoil effect of the car body shape at speed, which will make the car feel light and unstable, admittedly you'll need to be doing well over the UK speed limit to get that effect, but the C was intended for the autobahn and not British roads, and don't forget what happened to the spoiler-less TT's when they first came out.

 

David.

 

Yours is set to 55mph? Mine was definitely 45mph, and I'm pretty sure my mate's older G60 was the same. It can be changed though, maybe a previous owner changed the activation speed?

 

And yes, I remember reading exactly the same about the downforce when the car was launched.

[Dutch24V 0]

Mine goes up at 90 kp/h and it definately makes the rear-end feel more planted.

 

Dutch

[davidwort 0]

Mine goes up at 90 kp/h and it definately makes the rear-end feel more planted.

 

Dutch

 

I wouldn't recommend holding the button in the down position to keep it retracted to see how unstable it feels at high speed, perhaps it's best to let someone else reach over and hold it :oops:

[Jim 2]

You can't anyway can you? The spoiler system overrides the button controls once it hits activation speed..

[davidwort 0]

You can't anyway can you? The spoiler system overrides the button controls once it hits activation speed..

 

:? not on mine, it will go down, but pops back up if you let go of the switch, perhaps a trait of the early control modules???

[veeDuB_Rado 0]

Spose I could do a test...cars going in the garage on Wednesday for fixing, and my spoiler only goes by switch not speed. I'll see if theres any difference

[Blair 0]

Fritz: Helmut, we have the results from the wind tunnel.

 

Helmut: Thank you Fritz, let me have a look...

Scheisse! All that time, all that money invested, and it does nothing, absolutely nothing!

 

Fritz: Don't worry Helmut, don't worry. We have anticipated this very circumstance. Our marketing department will adjust the image using Photoshop, nobody will ever know. After all, it is purely marketing. Who cares if it works?

 

Helmut: But Fritz - it's 1987, and Photoshop hasn't yet been invented?

 

Fritz: Good point Helmut - and another circumstance we have anticipated. We will adjust the image once Photoshop is invented. Then we have an excuse to try the patented MemoryController installed in every Corrado - they will simply think they saw the image many years before. They will think it looks something like this:

 

Helmut: Brilliant! Absolutely brilliant! They will never know! Hahahahahahahaaaa!

[veeDuB_Rado 0]

:lol: :hitler:

[Andy T 0]

I hardly think VW would put one on for a gimmick, being one of the most boring & conservative car manufacturers out there!

 

No you're right, plastic golf ball gearknobs and tartan seats being very conservative :-)

The spoiler was a good way of 'justifying' the enormous amount extra over the Golf, which was just as capable a car. It's all marketing, always has been, always will be.

 

Hmm, tartan & golf balls aren't exactly what i'd call outrageous styling? I think the guys who design the interior work in a slightly different department than the Aerodynamic Engineers, no? They are also very cheap items in comparison, compared to other manufacturers, yes VW are conservative.

 

If VW had been less conservative about the spoiler, I think they would of made it a fixed plastic item, rather than the one that 'hides away' when the car is stationary. Why would they spend a huge amount of money designing & developing a 'retractable' spoiler, if it was not to make it unnoticeable most of the time(in keeping with the conservative look) The Corrado project was horrendously expensive enough, I can't see they would have justified an expensive spoiler if it was purely for show.

 

Blair, where are those pics from? I'm sure i've seen some better ones that that....

 

Yandards, why exactly would lowering the corrado reduce the effect of the spoiler?

 

Maybe we need some hard facts, perhaps a few laps around a fast track, spoiler up, then spoiler down, to see what the lap time difference would be? or which C sustained the most tyre wall damage? :lol:

[Blair 0]

Andy, I just photochopped the one posted at the top of page 2, not sure exactly where the original is from though :)

[Kevin Bacon 5]

I think the guys who design the interior work in a slightly different department than the Aerodynamic Engineers, no?

 

No, you think? The same people that went to the trouble of making an aerodynamic shell, smooth mirrors, retractable spoiler and few obstructive appendages, and then finished it off with brick like door handles, a roof aerial, wipers in the airstream, 4x4 ride height and squishy rear axle bushes? The spoiler is just peacemeal.

The slippery and more powerful 350Z seems OK without a retractable spoiler. Someone needs to contact Nissan and inform them they're making a huge mistake.

 

Yandards, why exactly would lowering the corrado reduce the effect of the spoiler?

 

Because reduced ground clearance reduces the underfloor drag and vortexes created by air flowing over and around blunt objects, which can cause lift. Tis why some Ferraris are completely flat underneath. Wheel arch air pressure can cause lift too, which is why some supercars have slats in the front wings.

 

Maybe we need some hard facts, perhaps a few laps around a fast track, spoiler up, then spoiler down, to see what the lap time difference would be? or which C sustained the most tyre wall damage? :lol:

 

Good idea. I'd wager top speed would be greater with the spoiler down too, as a seperate experiment.

[Yandards 0]

Yandards, why exactly would lowering the corrado reduce the effect of the spoiler?

 

Added to Kev's explaination would be that the original suspension set up on the C is a compromise weighted towards comfort as oppossed to handling. By fitting 'sportier' suspension you are already firming up the back end through corners and thus negating some of spoilers intended effect.

 

As for the camp in this interesting conversation that continue to insist that spoiler does nothing useful :wink: and is purely a marketing gimick - you don't need a big change in airflow to have a massive impact on the affect of the airflow on the rear of the car.

 

I would also expect the top end speed to be higher with the spoiler down as it induces drag, but the same experiment would produce a slower car through high speed corners.

[Blair 0]

No, you think? The same people that went to the trouble of making an aerodynamic shell, smooth mirrors, retractable spoiler and few obstructive appendages, and then finished it off with brick like door handles, a roof aerial, wipers in the airstream, 4x4 ride height and squishy rear axle bushes? The spoiler is just peacemeal.

The slippery and more powerful 350Z seems OK without a retractable spoiler. Someone needs to contact Nissan and inform them they're making a huge mistake.

 

Sadly, the people responsible for the aerodynamic tuning probably didn't get much say in the decision to use, for example, Passat door handles or exposed wipers. Ultimately unless you're paying a lot of money for a car (or buying a specialist vehicle) pragmatism cuts in at some point and ideals are compromised.

 

You might be surprised at what works and what doesn't, aerodynamically speaking. I had a tour around an aerodynamic test facility and had a look at some clay bucks, and there were some existing cars that had been modified to improve their cd. You could never put them into production like that though, because some of the improvements weren't (as you might expect) to make the car smoother, but to break up the airflow around the angular parts of the car. Great big ugly angular lumps stuck on the car that were aerodynamically excellent, but aesthetically bloody awful.

 

The 350Z might look slippery, but it doesn't mean it is. The Corrado doesn't look at all slippery, but it is. You can't tell just by looking at a car.

 

There is of course the exception - with the Calibra, you can tell exactly what it is. Crap.

[Blair 0]

^^^ and what Yan said :)