if i put a spoiler (not a wing) on the trunk lid of my del sol, do you think it would make a noticeable difference in my coefficient of drag and efficiency? it seems to me that there is a huge vortex that would form behind the rear window and would probably make a lot of turbulence. and i think if you put a spoiler behind it, it would lessen the turbulence and make my car more efficient at high speeds. i cant seem to find any information about it anywhere else...
any ideas?

 

My thoughts on spoilers is that on street cars they are just for looks.

You have to be going really fast for any aerodynamic effect to be noticeable. Even so, when spoilers first came out for passenger cars they were thought to help hold down the rear end of big 60's muscle cars which were light and bouncy on leaf spring suspensions anyway. I remember when the Dodge Super Bee (and Plymouth Road Runners) came out in the early-1970's with a spoiler; the thing was so big it looked like an actual wing.

del Sols are fun enough without superfluous do-dads 'spoiling' the clean lines of the model. When del Sols were being made during the mid-90s every car was available with spoilers. Heck, my wife even had a spoiler installed on her Camry!

If you want to put a spoiler on your del Sol, go ahead. Remember its for looks not aerodynamics.

Besides if you're going fast enough that you need a spoiler to keep your rear end on the ground, you better be in a Formula One or Indy Racing League car. At least when you crash at a high rate of speed, you will have a better chance of survival.

 

agreed u have to be going very high speeds to have any difference from a spoiler but i have to say i think the stock del sol spolier does look good im looking for one for my sol as we speak but for looks not for performance

 

A small one will. The space behind the rear windshield actually creates a type of kammback, which does produce a vortex, but as I understand it, the vortex helps diffuse turbulence behind the car. A small, low diffuser on the edge of the trunk lid may help.

I'm glad you're not getting a wing, though. As sas_man said, it will produce downforce, which you won't need in back on a FWD car.

 

well, the speed i am figuring this for would be high way speeds like 70 mph. even at 70mph i think small changes the car's shape would have a fair difference in how the air moved.
Streetsidestig- you are correct that a vortex will be more efficient, but only if it is "locked" in place. but usually what happens behind a car is that the vortex "sheds" in a shape kinda like this 0^u^u^u^ it is very inefficient, and its what i am trying to stop.

and to clear up any possible confusion, i am considering a spoiler to be a flat piece that creates no up or down force. a wing is similar, but creates some down force, and a diffuser creates a low pressure zone under/behind the car to suck the air out from under it
btw thanks for the input guys!

 

there is a huge dragging vortex thats created in that back area. but i don't see how adding a spoiler on the trunk will stop a vortex 2 feet in front of it.

maybe if you got a hatch one and modified it on to the roof.
otherwise...no.

 

the point of a spoiler is not to stop the vortex, the vortex is fine. its the turbulence that forms behind the vortex that a spoiler helps to ... spoil