I just bought a 2005 Celica. This car has a spoiler on it and I am
wondering whether there is much evidence that the spoiler does much for
the car's performance (at least at speeds under, say, 90mph). It
obscures my view out the rear window and I am thinking of removing the
spoiler unless there is a good reason to keep it on. Thanks.
Ted Mittelstaedt - 03 Jan 2007 11:19 GMT
> I just bought a 2005 Celica. This car has a spoiler on it and I am
> wondering whether there is much evidence that the spoiler does much for
> the car's performance (at least at speeds under, say, 90mph). It
> obscures my view out the rear window and I am thinking of removing the
> spoiler unless there is a good reason to keep it on. Thanks.
A real spoiler is designed to push down on the rear of the car, the faster
you go, the harder it pushes down. That makes it possible for the car
to negotiate circle track curves at 200Mph at the Indy 500. The fake
spoilers you see on passenger cars do absolutely nothing other than
create wind turbulance that sucks horsepower.
Nothing screams "wannabe" more than a spoiler on a passenger car.
Ted
Comboverfish - 03 Jan 2007 12:36 GMT
> I just bought a 2005 Celica. This car has a spoiler on it and I am
> wondering whether there is much evidence that the spoiler does much for
> the car's performance (at least at speeds under, say, 90mph). It
> obscures my view out the rear window and I am thinking of removing the
> spoiler unless there is a good reason to keep it on. Thanks.
One good reason would be the holes you will uncover in your trunk lid
when removing the spoiler. Another would be resale value. Trade yours
in for a base model Celica if it bothers you so much. Someone out
there might think that was a good deal.
I don't recall any non-spoiler equiped Celicas aeroplaning off of the
road; it's probably not likely.
Toyota MDT in MO
Tegger - 03 Jan 2007 13:39 GMT
Richard Catrambone <rc7@prism.gatech.edu> wrote in news:z2Jmh.6786$yx6.327
@newsread2.news.pas.earthlink.net:
> I just bought a 2005 Celica. This car has a spoiler on it and I am
> wondering whether there is much evidence that the spoiler does much for
> the car's performance (at least at speeds under, say, 90mph). It
> obscures my view out the rear window and I am thinking of removing the
> spoiler unless there is a good reason to keep it on. Thanks.
At the sort of speeds reached on North American roads, the rear spoiler
does absolutely nothing. And even then only certain bodystyles really need
one at elevated speeds. The Audi TT is one of them, the Porsche 911
another.
It's my understanding that the Audi's little lip was added after rear lift
problems were discovered at speeds over something like 150mph.
Apparently the Porsche's automatic spoiler rises up at also about 150mph in
Europe, which caused some consternation among North American owners, who
wanted to see their spoilers pop up too. Porsche then recalibrated the
spoiler to rise at something like 55mph, just to make its American owners
happy.
The best reason for leaving your spoiler on is what Comboverfish says.

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Tegger
Scott Dorsey - 03 Jan 2007 15:02 GMT
>I just bought a 2005 Celica. This car has a spoiler on it and I am
>wondering whether there is much evidence that the spoiler does much for
>the car's performance (at least at speeds under, say, 90mph). It
>obscures my view out the rear window and I am thinking of removing the
>spoiler unless there is a good reason to keep it on. Thanks.
It has zero impact on the car's performance, save for possibly degrading it
a little by adding a small amount of drag.
BUT, removing it is a pain and will require some careful bondo and paint
work.
--scott

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"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."
G-man422 - 03 Jan 2007 15:32 GMT
Most spoilers are for show. If you dont plan on going over 90mph, then
its not going to help much. especially on a FWD car.

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G-man422
http://www.automotiveforums.com
AZ Nomad - 03 Jan 2007 16:39 GMT
>Most spoilers are for show. If you dont plan on going over 90mph, then
>its not going to help much. especially on a FWD car.
Especially aftermarket dorkage bolted to a trunk lid.
Steve - 03 Jan 2007 17:26 GMT
>>Most spoilers are for show. If you dont plan on going over 90mph, then
>>its not going to help much. especially on a FWD car.
>
> Especially aftermarket dorkage bolted to a trunk lid.
And even the FACTORY dorkage bolted to the trunk lid of may cars.
Spoilers that are intended to really work and apply significant amounts
of downforce are much more structurally integrated into the car. The
braces for the wing on the Plymouth Superbird and Dodge Daytona went
through the trunk and into the rear subframe extensions, for example.
Tegger - 04 Jan 2007 01:13 GMT
>>>Most spoilers are for show. If you dont plan on going over 90mph, then
>>>its not going to help much. especially on a FWD car.
[quoted text clipped - 6 lines]
> braces for the wing on the Plymouth Superbird and Dodge Daytona went
> through the trunk and into the rear subframe extensions, for example.
At least some spoilers work simply by disrupting air flow across a surface,
not by actually applying downforce in and of themselves. In that case, they
may be quite small and still functional.
The Audi and Porsche examples I mentioned earlier are of that type. The '05
Celica's is not.

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Tegger
Richard Catrambone - 05 Jan 2007 04:42 GMT
Thanks for all the responses. It seems pretty clear the spoiler is
worthless in terms of performance. I'm going to remove it and then take
the Celica to a body shop to have the holes filled in nicely and the
paint done right. I've done my share of bondoing and pop-riveting over
the years on older cars I've owned where my mediocre bodywork did not
matter so much. I think a pro is worthwhile in this case.
John S. - 03 Jan 2007 17:26 GMT
> I just bought a 2005 Celica. This car has a spoiler on it and I am
> wondering whether there is much evidence that the spoiler does much for
> the car's performance (at least at speeds under, say, 90mph).
It does a lot for appearance and very little for keeping the rear end
down from everything I've read. They can also be used to hang beach
towels from <vbg>.
> It
> obscures my view out the rear window and I am thinking of removing the
> spoiler unless there is a good reason to keep it on. Thanks.
A body shop will have to fill the resulting holes and repaint. I would
live with it or buy a car that doesn't have one.
marks542004@yahoo.com - 04 Jan 2007 01:05 GMT
> I just bought a 2005 Celica. This car has a spoiler on it and I am
> wondering whether there is much evidence that the spoiler does much for
> the car's performance (at least at speeds under, say, 90mph). It
> obscures my view out the rear window and I am thinking of removing the
> spoiler unless there is a good reason to keep it on. Thanks.
I havent seen any for ages but there used to be some plates you could
buy with a rubber gasket and cover to seal the holes from a spoiler in
the trunk lid or panel.