Front splitters and spoilers
Discussion
I'm probably wrong, but by my understanding of the term, there is no such thing as a front spoiler because you don't want to spoil the airflow over the front of the car. You can have a front splitter and a front wing, but I wouldn't have thought a front spoiler would serve any purpose.
kambites said:
freenote said:
I'm pretty sure there are front spoilers on sale, but I may be wrong.
I don't deny that people sell things that they call front spoilers. I'm suggesting that they're probably wrong. 
All this can be found on Wiki..
Wiki said:
Front Splitter - As the front of the car slows down the air without a diffuser, this is the ideal place for an inlet. A splitter is commonly used here, serving to increase the amount of downforce at the front of the car. The airstream is brought to stagnation above the splitter by an air dam, causing an area of high pressure. Below the splitter, the air is redirected away from the stagnation zone and is accelerated, causing the pressure to drop. This, combined with the high pressure over the splitter creates downforce. The larger the area of the splitter, the more downforce is generated. In most closed-wheel race cars, the underside of the splitter smoothly integrates with the undertray, creating one large flat plane that is driven by the rear diffuser.
Wiki said:
Front Spoiler - Front spoilers, found beneath the bumper, are mainly used to direct air flow away from the tires to the underbody where the drag coefficient is less. Rear spoilers, which modify the transition in shape between the roof and the rear and the trunk and the rear, act to minimize the turbulence at the rear of the vehicle.
I'm sure Wiki isn't 100% correct, but provides a fairly good description of what each does.Splitter, spoiler, air dam it's all the same thing as far as I'm aware, unless you've specific examples?
Might not be technically correct but in marketing terms, if you want to sell something then you may as well go with what people recognise which in this case spoiler means spoiler=splitter=air dam.
Similar to wing mirrors not being wing mirrors anymore but door mirrors. The message gets across.
ETA turns out I'm wrong. Quelle surprise..
Might not be technically correct but in marketing terms, if you want to sell something then you may as well go with what people recognise which in this case spoiler means spoiler=splitter=air dam.
Similar to wing mirrors not being wing mirrors anymore but door mirrors. The message gets across.
ETA turns out I'm wrong. Quelle surprise..
Edited by DrTre on Friday 10th September 15:32
I think a splitters job is to split the airflow so that that going under the car travels in a nice smooth uninterrupted fashion under the splitter and that the air going over the splitter hits the front of the car, generating a high pressure zone over the splitter pushing it down into the road.
A wing is an inverted aerofoil that generates downforce in clean air rather than using the pressure built up by another surface.
A spoiler is an edge designed to sheer the airflow away from a smooth surface cleanly, rather than letting the airflow "stick" to the surface. You only want to sheer the airflow if the surface is falling so the air sticking to it would generate a low pressure region over it. At the front of the car, surfaces tend to be rising so a spoiler wouldn't do anything.
A wing is an inverted aerofoil that generates downforce in clean air rather than using the pressure built up by another surface.
A spoiler is an edge designed to sheer the airflow away from a smooth surface cleanly, rather than letting the airflow "stick" to the surface. You only want to sheer the airflow if the surface is falling so the air sticking to it would generate a low pressure region over it. At the front of the car, surfaces tend to be rising so a spoiler wouldn't do anything.
kambites said:
I think a splitters job is to split the airflow so that that going under the car travels in a nice smooth uninterrupted fashion under the splitter and that the air going over the splitter hits the front of the car, generating a high pressure zone over the splitter pushing it down into the road.
A wing is an inverted aerofoil that generates downforce in clean air rather than using the pressure built up by another surface.
A spoiler is an edge designed to sheer the airflow away from a smooth surface cleanly, rather than letting the airflow "stick" to the surface. You only want to sheer the airflow if the surface is falling so the air sticking to it would generate a low pressure region over it. At the front of the car, surfaces tend to be rising so a spoiler wouldn't do anything.
Do you have a dog named Bingo? A wing is an inverted aerofoil that generates downforce in clean air rather than using the pressure built up by another surface.
A spoiler is an edge designed to sheer the airflow away from a smooth surface cleanly, rather than letting the airflow "stick" to the surface. You only want to sheer the airflow if the surface is falling so the air sticking to it would generate a low pressure region over it. At the front of the car, surfaces tend to be rising so a spoiler wouldn't do anything.
Look at a group B rally car (eg Metro 6R4) or F1 car for examples of a front spoiler/wing. They activley produce downforce.
Look at a DTM car or the Gumpert Apollo for good examples of front splitters. They reduce front end lift by separating (splitting) the high pressure wave at the front of the car so reducing the build up of high pressure under the car which results in lift.
Look at a DTM car or the Gumpert Apollo for good examples of front splitters. They reduce front end lift by separating (splitting) the high pressure wave at the front of the car so reducing the build up of high pressure under the car which results in lift.
dvs_dave said:
Look at a group B rally car (eg Metro 6R4) or F1 car for examples of a front spoiler/wing. They activley produce downforce.
Look at a DTM car or the Gumpert Apollo for good examples of front splitters. They reduce front end lift by separating (splitting) the high pressure wave at the front of the car so reducing the build up of high pressure under the car which results in lift.
So that would suggest I've got it the wrong way round :sLook at a DTM car or the Gumpert Apollo for good examples of front splitters. They reduce front end lift by separating (splitting) the high pressure wave at the front of the car so reducing the build up of high pressure under the car which results in lift.
dibbers006 said:
kambites said:
dibbers006 said:
Front Spoiler
No, that's a front wing, albeit a rather odd one. 
Irelephantly, was it not for Pedestrian Safety anyways or is that an Urban Myth?
Anyone would think it was produced in Italy/The EU
oh, wait....
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