How Spoilers can affect Aerodynamics of your car

If you remember, a while back the US Government changed all the highway speed limit from 65 to 55 mph to save fuel consumption. Now, if you kept the speed limit at 65 mph and changed the aerodynamic properties of a vehicle so that the air resistance is less, the vehicle will slice through the air using less fuel to maintain its speed.

Spoilers are one of the exterior accessories use to control...

• Air flow
• Wind drag and
• Down force

The above not only affects the performance of a vehicle but the fuel efficiency as well.

What is down force... basically, it is a measure of the amount of pressure placed on the horizontal surfaces of your car as it travels down the road. In layman's terms, it's a measure of how well your car stays adhered to the road while it moves. Too much down force can result in lowered performance for your vehicle, while insufficient down force will result in a loss of traction and reduced speed not to mention reduced safety.  Spoilers are designed to control the down force.

Air flow and wind drag can be easily explained with a roof rack. Everyone knows the more items piled onto a cars roof rack makes a noticeable difference in fuel consumption. The higher the items are, the more air flow resistance the car will encounter resulting in more fuel needed to be use to maintain the speed.

Spoilers were initially used in sports cars and other high performance vehicles to cut down the lift and the drag. Well designed spoilers can increase the performance of your vehicle which would result in a higher top speed with less fuel.

What are Spoilers made of

Common materials used in manufacturing spoilers are...

• Fiberglass spoilers
• Urethane spoilers

However, the really interesting trends of new cars coming on the market today and in the near future is the use of lightweight materials like carbon fiber parts such as carbon fiber spoilers.

Check out the Spoilers we have at www.bodykitsextreme.com