Chin spoiler affects of drag??

[s8v4o]

I'm trying to (within reason) build a car that's good at the strip and still likes the turns.

Mods will be

CAI/93
UDP
ORH
Delete plates
Sydershaft
UCA (adjustable), LCA
Homemade ram air
lower car 1.5" (while adjusting pinion angle)
Adjustable shocks and struts (FRPP or eibach unless something is a better "multipurpose combo"

I will have a separate set of tire for the 1/4 so I will use bigs and littles down the strip. I guess what I'm asking is are there other twisty turny parts I can put on that will not have a negative affect in the straight line or even possible help in the 1/4.

Also what purpose does the chin spoiler do? I'm assuming that it will reduce lift on the front of the car but will that increase the drag coefficient?

I know it's hard to have your cake and eat it too but I'm not really going "extreme" either way.

Thanks guys.

 

[irishpwr46]

our cars arent that aerodynamic that you would have to worry too much about a chin spoiler on a multipurpose driver. if it was a dedicated straight line car, and every tenth counted, then maybe you could worry about nixing the chin. i dont think you will be affected too much by installing one

 

[Philostang]

...what purpose does the chin spoiler do? I'm assuming that it will reduce lift on the front of the car but will that increase the drag coefficient?

I know it's hard to have your cake and eat it too but I'm not really going "extreme" either way.

Thanks guys.

The short answer is that for the most part it's going to do squat. Put it on if you like the looks. You don't really have to worry about a chin spoiler's impact on your stated purpose.

If you're talking about the standard sorts of chin spoilers (CDC, Steeda, Cervini, etc.), they're functionally more equivalent to a front air dam, not a splitter. Dams serve to move air where you want it (around the sides of the car and up towards the radiator, etc.). Splitters serve to provide reduced lift or add downforce (by "splitting" the oncoming air into two regions, a fast moving low pressure one that goes under the car and a slower moving high pressure one going over/around the car). The thing is, to actually work a splitter has to extend well under the car (at least past the front wheels); it has to split the air into two regions and keep them split for as long as possible. To really work, they should be about as low as is feasible, be incorporated into a full belly pan, be super rigid/rigidly mounted, etc. What interests us here is that "low" part. To get it low, it usually has to sit well below the chin-line of most production bumpers. That's where the dam comes into play. It's basically an extension of the body line to meet the splitter. It serves to take the high region of air and keep it moving along in the direction you want it to go. Of course, without the splitter doing the work of speeding along the lower region of air, the dam is pretty much doing nothing by way of providing downforce. It may, however, still help you get a bit more air into your radiator.

I'm sure there is a little added downforce in all this, but nothing to write home about. With that, I'm also pretty sure there's the chance of a bit more drag, but again, the amounts we're looking at here are pretty minimal and uninteresting. Keep in mind that none of these aero-effects come into play until 80 mph, so any minor impact it might have is going to be on your top end at the strip (and it's going to be small compared to the impact your launch technique, tire compound, etc. will have on your 60' times). You get the idea. After all, you did say you were not looking to go "extreme" in your plans. I count part of that as "extreme obsession over very small things." This is likely to be one of them.

In the end, if you've ever installed one of these things (a chin spoiler), you know that doing back to back runs to compare 1/4 mile times (and test my theory) is going to be really easy to do. I'm almost willing to bet a new set of tires that it will show no difference beyond your standard deviations from run to run (again, going on the idea that everything else you're doing is going to have the noticeable impact, not this).

Hope that helps.

Best,
-j

 

[s8v4o]

Thanks for the info guys. My "ram air" gathers its air on the drivers side faux light area. It's 3" ducting up to the filter box area. I can supply photos if needed. It could make a nice budget brake duct system for some of you guys. Would the chin splitter force a little more air into the area needed?

 

[Preston951]

I believe that's how Fox body Mustangs get air into their engine compartment. They have a "chin spoiler" underneath the car that forces some air up.

So yeah, it would help push more air into your ducts/engine compartment (which would help with cooling).

 

[SoundGuyDave]

We're talking about two different things here... An air dam is an aerodynamic device used to control airflow to the bottom of the car, by denying it a path. The Fox air deflector was used to re-direct the flow that was there through the radiator, and then out the bottom of the engine bay. Two totally different things.

 

[DRock]

Oh and im pretty sur that neither the FRPP or Eibach shocks are adjustable.......why not try koni......