and now you know what they.re really for

[Greg Myers]

[Petetrucker07]

Oh, ok. I had no idea since i knew it wasnt for down force or traction. Now that makes sense!

[Dave Van]

I like the wings mounted so they are providing lift!!! front of the wing tilted up......see a lot of Sunbirds and Cavilers like that around here.

[Joe Handley]

If those are factory WRX's, the one on the white car should actually help hold the back of the car down...........and with it being AWD, turbo, ect, that probably is useful.

[Quick GMC]

They aren't providing traction? What do you think they are doing? Some cars get driven hard and do benefit from the spoiler. What about the Cobra R, what do you think that wing is for?

There are some pretty ignorant comments on this website from people that claim to be car enthusiasts.

[Petetrucker07]

I never said a word about wings on rear wheel drive. That spoiler on the trunk is useless on a front wheel drive car.

I see this thread gettin locked soon

Edited September 7, 2014 by Petetrucker07

[Lownslow]

It has plenty of use on a hopped up FWD car, are people that stupid when it concerns aerodynamics?

[Rob Hall]

WRXes are AWD, not FWD.

[Rob Hall]

It has plenty of use on a hopped up FWD car, are people that stupid when it concerns aerodynamics?

Remember, most of the people here are into 30s-60s cars....a world from before aerodynamics...

[Petetrucker07]

Hey hey, early 70s too.

You rice rocket guys sure are sensitive. You should treat yourselves to some premium rice in your go go juice.

Edited September 7, 2014 by Petetrucker07

[Quick GMC]

I prefer V8 muscle, but I can appreciate a good machine when I see one. You're making fun of cars you know nothing about. They aren't front wheel drive

[Petetrucker07]

Locked out in..3...2...1

[Harry P.]

That spoiler on the trunk is useless on a front wheel drive car.

Aerodynamics don't discriminate between front or rear-wheel drive. A correctly shaped spoiler or wing, mounted in the correct position, provides downforce at speed, regardless of which wheels are being driven. You can make the argument that a FWD car doesn't need downforce applied to the rear wheels... but if the wing or spoiler is done correctly, it will provide downforce–if the car's speed is high enough for the wing to have an effect.

Of course, street driven cars don't go fast enough for even a correctly shaped and mounted spoiler or wing to do much of anything... they're just for looks.

[Petetrucker07]

I understand aero just fine. In my opinion, on front wheel drive street cars, or any street car, the wing is useless, and looks funny. If the guys that do it dont like my opinion on it, to bad.

I really need to keep my opinion to myself. Since apparently, the wing is a prized item to own, makes people feel they need to protect it, guard it against the big bad monster.

[Harry P.]

I understand aero just fine. In my opinion, on front wheel drive street cars, or any street car, the wing is useless..

At the speeds cars are driven on the street, I agree any wing is pretty much useless. You have to be going a whole lot faster for a wing to have any effect.

[Quick GMC]

I understand aero just fine. In my opinion, on front wheel drive street cars, or any street car, the wing is useless, and looks funny. If the guys that do it dont like my opinion on it, to bad.

I really need to keep my opinion to myself. Since apparently, the wing is a prized item to own, makes people feel they need to protect it, guard it against the big bad monster.

It's not that, it's the fact that you made two very ignorant comments in attempt to make fun of something. After those were pointed out, you are now redirecting claiming people are being sensitive. It's just that you should understand the thing you are trying to belittle.

[Petetrucker07]

Fact of the matter, the pic posted is makin fun of the very thing, they are eating on a wing, that has no practical purpose. My very 1st comment was intended to be a joke, just as the pic is. But then people felt the need to get on the defense. I will and probably will forever think they look goofy.

If the rice burners want to spend their money on that, i dont care, couldnt care less. Its a genre of hot rodding, whether us V8 gear heads like it or not. I will continue to have my opinion of the "sport compact" scene, and build my V8s.

[Joe Handley]

I understand aero just fine. In my opinion, on front wheel drive street cars, or any street car, the wing is useless, and looks funny. If the guys that do it dont like my opinion on it, to bad.

I really need to keep my opinion to myself. Since apparently, the wing is a prized item to own, makes people feel they need to protect it, guard it against the big bad monster.

Tell that to the families of people killed in the early Audi TT's over in Europe, where high speed roadways are more common.

http://www.nytimes.com/2000/02/20/automobiles/audi-offers-tt-fix-after-5-deaths.html

Edited September 7, 2014 by Joe Handley

[Harry P.]

Tell that to the families of people killed in the early Audi TT's over in Europe, where high speed roadways are more common.

http://www.nytimes.com/2000/02/20/automobiles/audi-offers-tt-fix-after-5-deaths.html

From the article you cited:

"Audi said the European fatalities occurred in accidents at speeds exceeding 110 miles an hour; such speeds are not unusual on German autobahns but are extraordinary in North America."

[Joe Handley]

Fact of the matter, the pic posted is makin fun of the very thing, they are eating on a wing, that has no practical purpose. My very 1st comment was intended to be a joke, just as the pic is. But then people felt the need to get on the defense. I will and probably will forever think they look goofy.

If the rice burners want to spend their money on that, i dont care, couldnt care less. Its a genre of hot rodding, whether us V8 gear heads like it or not. I will continue to have my opinion of the "sport compact" scene, and build my V8s.

Honestly Pete, you're kinda displaying your ignorance here. Those aren't some hand me down 100hp Honda Civics from their grandmothers, the white one is a Subaru WRX STi, high HP, AWD, built to corner and do it fairly well on all surfaces, including dirt........the wing is actually more neccessary there than say the Go Wing on a vintage Mopar E-Body (which always seem to be angled for lift when I see one.......)

[Ace-Garageguy]

Remember, most of the people here are into 30s-60s cars....a world from before aerodynamics...

Before aerodynamics, really?

The P-51 first flew in 1940, had a laminar-flow wing, and the belly scoop/radiator-ducting actually made additional thrust from waste engine heat. It doesn't get much more "aerodynamic" than that.

And on the street, most wings have very limited effectiveness at legal (or sane) speeds in the typical environment populated by 35MPH mommies, chronic texters and slow-reacting old fossils.

The air-dam under the front bumper on many production cars helps reduce drag by deflecting air away from the draggy bottom of the car. Most aftermarket street wings, NOT wind-tunnel or CFD designed, make more drag than useful downforce.

The "whale-tail" wing on the 930 actually DID have a purpose. The rear of the car makes a little lift at very high speed, which the wing counters, but more importantly, the raised lip at the rear edge creates a high-pressure area ahead of it, forcing additional air through the intercooler.

Edited September 7, 2014 by Ace-Garageguy

[Joe Handley]

From the article you cited:

"Audi said the European fatalities occurred in accidents at speeds exceeding 110 miles an hour; such speeds are not unusual on German autobahns but are extraordinary in North America."

True, but those were stock, production street cars on roads where those speeds are legal, may not be here, but legal there.

[Rob Hall]

Before aerodynamics, really?

The P-51 first flew in 1940, had a laminar-flow wing, and the belly scoop/radiator-ducting actually made additional thrust from waste engine heat. It doesn't get much more "aerodynamic" than that.

I was referring to car aero...the old guys into t buckets, 32 Fords, fifties cars. Etc aren't into aerodynamics. Edited September 7, 2014 by Rob Hall

[Craig Irwin]

They are called "Spoilers"because the spoil the looks of the car.

[Petetrucker07]

Finally, someone who gets the joke