Spoiler activation tuning

[coolrado 0]

EDIT

DOH!! BEAT ME TO IT.

The spoiler is not meant to increase downforce it is meant to reduce end lift (according to the vw poster ad i have by 64% :lol: )

spoilers reduce lift , aerofoils increase downforce....... i think????? :? .

 

by lowering the car it would change the aerodynamic characteristics of the car anyway, and the only real way to find out if it made any difference at all would be to chuck it in a wind tunnel as i would imagine the difference would be so minimal that it would be near impossible to detect on the road.

 

I still dont really care, i still hav'nt got bored of the look on peoples faces when they see it move, and its one of the features of the corrado that sets it apart from others in its class.

[storm_warning 0]

sets it apart from others in its class.

 

There are other cars in it's class?!!

[Kevin Bacon 5]

Yeah F1 spoilers are like aero wings in reverse, so VW are barking up the wrong tree comparing their 'diffuser' to a bloomin F1 wing :lol: The two technologies are completely different.

 

As said already, the Corrado's spoiler just ruffles up the air flow a bit which alters the aerodynamic shape, and therefore creating drag. This deliberate drag is what is supposed to enhance stability and directional control blah blah....but it's horseschitt. It does nothing. It's a marketing gimmick.

 

Yes the Carrera 4 has one, as does the normal 911, Merc SLR, that Chrysler thing etc....but have you seen the size of them compared to the Corrado's? And how far up into the airstream the spoilers are raised?! The Rado's spoiler moves a thin little plank an inch into the airstream :lol:

[storm_warning 0]

All true, but how cool is it to have one there?!! 8)

[boost monkey 0]

As said already, the Corrado's spoiler just ruffles up the air flow a bit which alters the aerodynamic shape, and therefore creating drag. This deliberate drag is what is supposed to enhance stability and directional control blah blah....but it's horseschitt. It does nothing. It's a marketing gimmick.

 

Even if the difference is negligible, the active spoiler will be making a difference. You can't change the shape of an object moving through fluid (in this case, air) and say that there is no change in it's trajectory or velocity if the force that is pushing it is constant?

 

Yes the Carrera 4 has one, as does the normal 911, Merc SLR, that Chrysler thing etc....but have you seen the size of them compared to the Corrado's? And how far up into the airstream the spoilers are raised?! The Rado's spoiler moves a thin little plank an inch into the airstream :lol:

 

afaik, most of those cars are RWD (not sure about Chrysler thing!) so they will benefit from a much larger downforce over the driving wheels. I appreciate what you are saying about the distance at which the spoilers are from the chassis, but without aerodynamic charts or even wind tunnel data I can't really confirm or deny that the spoiler does what it was designed to or not. Agree with the absurdity of comparing to Porsches and F1 cars though!

 

In summary, I would think that for the majority of corrado drivers, the spoiler probably doesn't do anything noticable.

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Audi didn't think they needed to fit a boot spoiler to their TT until a bunch of drivers lost it in the corners. One small spoiler and a suspension change later and everything was fine. And for the Mk2 TT they've fitted an active spoiler a la Corrado. These active spoiler things are there for a couple of reasons - one, to give rear end stability, and two, aesthetics.

 

Car designers don't seem to like to build in spoilers to their cars if they can help it, they seem to think they have 'lost' if they have to fit one. I watched a three hour 'making of' video about the Elise where the early designs had no rear spoiler at all the car handled terribly until the they were forced to conceed in giving the rear end of the bodywork that little lip (whcih looks great, but really naff without it in my opinion). Transformed the handling.

 

What must these people who spend ages desigining their cars with little or no spoiler additions think when they see their creation being driven by a 17 year old who has welded an ironing board to the back of it?

[coolrado 0]

Well here are the wind tunnel pics for the corrado

[Kevin Bacon 5]

Interesting debate!!

 

Audi didn't think they needed to fit a boot spoiler to their TT until a bunch of drivers lost it in the corners. One small spoiler and a suspension change later and everything was fine. And for the Mk2 TT they've fitted an active spoiler a la Corrado. These active spoiler things are there for a couple of reasons - one, to give rear end stability, and two, aesthetics.

 

Much Kudos to the Corrado for being the first in the VW Audi stable to have an electric spoiler (?). Audi must have felt slightly embarrassed about using a technology on their current TT that was first used by VW in the 80s!

 

The thing with the TT though was people were losing their cars at 3 figure speeds. I'm sorry but no amount of technology will cure stupidity. I know a few people with MK1 TTs and they never encountered this weird handling issue on the 'limit'...and I emphasise that word, 'limit', because Audi have/had absolutely no obligation to fix problems relating to customers who A) break the national speed limits, and B) try and take corners at 300mph.

 

Being a massive public facing car company, they had to demonstrate they were taking some responsibilty to avoid losing sales. The clip-on spoiler I suspect was added merely as a token of goodwill and acknowledgment of a 'potential' high speed handling problem with the car.

 

I reckon the biggest improvement came from the revised damper and spring rates, It's debatable if the ickle clip-on actually does/did anything, but the electric one on the current model is definitely going to be more effective. And yes, it's another 'feature' to suck punters into!

 

Car designers don't seem to like to build in spoilers to their cars if they can help it, they seem to think they have 'lost' if they have to fit one.

 

I think Ferrari [road cars] have been the key pioneers in this area with their underfloor sculpting, proving you don't actually need aerodynamic 'aids' on top if you get the bit underneath right!

 

I watched a three hour 'making of' video about the Elise where the early designs had no rear spoiler at all the car handled terribly until the they were forced to conceed in giving the rear end of the bodywork that little lip (whcih looks great, but really naff without it in my opinion). Transformed the handling.

 

Ah, but you're talking about a featherweight car with skinny tyres that is already going to feel slightly on edge compared to the much heavier Corrado (and TT). Small changes on very light cars have a much more profound effect than they do on big, heavy cars.

 

What must these people who spend ages desigining their cars with little or no spoiler additions think when they see their creation being driven by a 17 year old who has welded an ironing board to the back of it?

 

So long as the sales targets are met and they get paid, I suspect they don't care!

 

At the end of the day, the effect of the Rado's spoiler is very minimal to most people and it being there in the first place is enough to please them :-) I don't use mine at all because I don't feel the drag at high speed contributes to anything.

 

It's the same argument with the passive rear steer bushes. People junk them in favour of solid rubber or poly bushes and report no ill effects....

Don't forget car companies try these things as experiments and use us as guinea pigs....but the only person that gets it right is the modder who has altered the car to his/her personal tastes.

[boost monkey 0]

Car designers don't seem to like to build in spoilers to their cars if they can help it, they seem to think they have 'lost' if they have to fit one.

 

I think Ferrari [road cars] have been the key pioneers in this area with their underfloor sculpting, proving you don't actually need aerodynamic 'aids' on top if you get the bit underneath right!

 

Very true. Plus you're lowering the centre of gravity if you add plating etc to the inderside. It's a win-win! :lol:

 

Awesome engineering debate :D :D :D

[G60_91 0]

would the spoiler make much difference to fuel consumption on a long journey sat at 70mph? Would be nice if you could manually overide it at any speed.

 

Would also be nice to have a 'one touch' up and down function aswell instead of holding the bleedin switch in for 3-4 seconds while driving. Its good for getting it half mast, but as stated it doesnt really go that far up in the air anyway!

[storm_warning 0]

The thing with the TT though was people were losing their cars at 3 figure speeds.

 

I was going to write something about the TT's bad drivers, but thought better of it incase there's a 'victim' reading these boards!

 

I think Ferrari [road cars] have been the key pioneers in this area with their underfloor sculpting, proving you don't actually need aerodynamic 'aids' on top if you get the bit underneath right!

 

Very true, but the amount of money spent researching and developing this for a car that costs £20K compared to a £200K car doesn't equate, so a boot spoiler suffices.

 

Ah, but you're talking about a featherweight car with skinny tyres that is already going to feel slightly on edge compared to the much heavier Corrado (and TT). Small changes on very light cars have a much more profound effect than they do on big, heavy cars.

 

Again, very true, but it still makes a difference nonetheless.

 

So long as the sales targets are met and they get paid, I suspect they don't care!

 

lol! I have a friend with a Scooby RB5 which is quite a tasteful version of the Impreza, given their leary nature. At least it was until he stuck what can only be described as unfinished sheet of metal half a foot higher than the lovely colour coded boot spoiler it came with!

 

Those pictures just posted up illustrate why the rear end of my car is constantly flecked with road crap!

[matty golf 0]

but on a down to down note we have a active rear spoiler that moves and in its day the only car that had it was a 911 which was considably more expensire the look on kids faces as they see it move and them saxo/106/glass fibre drivers who see ya tail pop up and you dissapear into the sunset its a neat little party trick sod the downforce etc etc cause of cause non of ever speed n e way lol. need a sticker under mine that says im happy cause if its down it means im stuck behind a caravan or a trator lol sorry thats not a technical expanation but hey

[paul20v 0]

hi sorry to drag up an old one but will the ecu off an old car fit a late car to make the spoiler come up quicker or are they different plug s or wire positions

cheers paul

[ToyB 0]

Would anyone hazard a guess at what the spoiler does to the drag co-efficient if it really isnt doing much to the performance. I think the Corrado is rated at 0.32 (not sure if that is with the spoiler up or down) but I was really surprised how little it takes to put this up or down when I was looking at the design of a lotus elite, a small scoop spoiler on the front reduced the lotus from 0.32 to 0.29. Does anyone know of similar tricks or mods to do to a Corrado to reduce the drag co-efficient.

[storm_warning 0]

Buy the Lotus? :wave:

[ToyB 0]

Buy the Lotus? :wave:

yeah did and its more of a pain in the bum to get in and out of then the Corrado