Front / rear splitter ????



  • I was looking at this photo of a 323 body kit and had an original idea.

    I was looking at the spoiler on the bootlid and then it hit me, a mate at work has the same 323 I measured his spoiler and it would work, use the spoiler from this model 323 and fit it to the front or rear bumper underneath and use it as a splitter, it would need the OEM V6 splitter removing to work and then some largish steel discs on the inside to bolt through to spread the weight from the original bumper to stop it splitting.

    Should I give it a go as these spoilers are about £20 all in on fleabay, is it worth a punt ?????

    or should I play it safe and just buy a universal set to go with the saxo ones I already have to fit

    http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Universal-Car-3-Piece-Front-Spoiler-Air-Splitter-A_W0QQitemZ270559900691QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_CarsParts_Vehicles_CarParts_SM?hash=item3efea07413



  • **Broadly, no.

    Spoilers do exactly what they say on the tin. They spoil airflow. The point of them isn't to generate any specific force in any direction, but rather to introduce instability in airflow, equalised in all directions. This then keeps the surface to which the spoiler is mounted stable and not prone to lateral or vertical movement at speed.

    Wings are there to generate lift. The point of them is to increase the effective weight of the vehicle at speed (unless mounted upside-down - which would be very bad).

    If the device on the car is a spoiler - and it usually is - mounting another one upside-down in the same place along the length of the vehicle will achieve nothing. If it's a wing, mounting another one upside-down in the same place along the length of the vehicle will counteract the first one, wiping out the point of having either of them on the car.

    A splitter is its own type of wing, and only on the front of a car. It doesn't really generate any kind of force, but again does exactly what it says. It splits airflow so that high-speed air which should go under the car (generating lift at speed) goes over the car instead (still generates lift, but much less of it). As an illustrator of why this is important, the EuroStar is limited to 100mph in the EuroTunnel because if it exceeds this, the air forced under the train can lift it - and that's an 815 tonne unit - clean off the tracks. A rear splitter will, as a result, be completely useless. To where is it redirecting the airflow?!

    With our FWD cars, a rear spoiler is fine. Spoils airflow and keeps the rear stable. The very most you should add is a front splitter to reduce under-car airflow (and lift) at speed, to decrease loss of traction effects from body-induced lift.

    If you fancy getting all expensive, a rear venturi tunnel will work in combination with a front splitter, but you don't want any kind of splitter, spoiler or wing on the underside at the back of the car. At best it does nothing but rape fuel economy.

    Unless it's just for looks - in which case, fill your boots. Just keep the speed down on the roads.**


 

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