3 ms·
Spoilers reduce drag and provide down force and high speeds.
by lasc4r 10y ago
Spoilers reduce drag and provide down force and high speeds.
- coredog64 10y agoAerospace engineer here: Producing lift in either the up (airplane) or down (spoiler) direction generates induced drag. The amount depends on your design, in that a large real or effective AR can reduce it, but it's going to be there.
- ScottBurson 10y agoI think what happens in automotive designs, which are not always penned with the same attention to aerodynamics as aerospace designs, is that they often have unintentional lift at the rear. Adding a small spoiler, then, doesn't add actual downforce, it just reduces lift -- and therefore reduces drag into the bargain.