How does a spoiler in a car work ?

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How does a spoiler in a car work ?

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Anonymous 0 Comments

A spoiler is a device that spoils the flow of air. So if something would create turbulence and therefore drag you can place a spoiler in place to reduce the turbulence. Spoilers can work in different ways. One area where turbulence would normally occur is on the back of the car. In slow speeds the air will pass over your car and down behind it. However if you increase your speed the air will start separating from the surface and go straight back. This creates a zone of low pressure air behind the car sucking it backwards. So a carefully designed spoiler in this area will usually help reduce the drag on the car. It can for example push the air down behind the car or create turbulence that makes it easier for the air to go around the corners of the car. Note that you should also not confuse a spoiler with a wing. Wings are intended to create down force that helps the car around high speed corners and will actually increase the drag on the car as opposed to spoilers which will decrease the drag.

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