Have been thinking of adding a front spoiler to my GS for a while now. Pardon my ignorance but is there any advantage of using a front spoiler at the track ? Any small differences in ets? Better high speed stability ? Or is it pretty much just more of a cosmetic thing ? Advantages , disadvantages. Thx, John B.
Over 100mph they start to work if baffled correctly, some guys have reported .1 and 1mph , it could stand to be further out for maximum efficiency
Air dams do help prevent front end aerodynamic lift (lifting body/aerodynamics. Anywhere from about 200 lbs to a 1000 depending on speed and body contour, the lift is enough that some cars will rotate at 100+ MPH.) (lifting body/aerodynamics) But they have to be engineered, or they are just aesthetic.
Depending on how/where they're mounted, they'll improve radiator efficiency. This is why typical OEM air dams are mounted directly under the radiator support--they promote higher pressure in front of the radiator, and lower pressure behind. This tends to increase the amount of air going through the radiator.
I bought a Poston repop that had air scoops in it, then ran hose up towards the carb. It picked up .2 when I was running in the 12s. It's still on my car but not hosed up anymore because the hoses were always in my way.......but clearly it grabs a lot of air
I broke mine off at the track (don't ask) and immediately noticed front end higher on next pass and almost 1 mph loss on high 12 GSX.
I made 3 spacer blocks to force the center of the spoiler closer to the road (mounts to the fenders normally). The front center looked too high /close to the bumper for me. Looks more aggressive now, and I can still use the air baffle.
The 3 spacers are 1" thick. Spacer positioning. If I measure from the front bottom of the spoiler straight up to the bumper, I get about 5". Ground clearance is about 7".
The Parts Place. It's abs plastic and is very nice, I sand them with 180 grit with adhesion promoter then use the DupliColor spray bomb bedliner looks really nice and durable
I'm sure when Buick engineers designed the front spoiler there was as much or more emphasis put into the design as they did for the rear spoiler. Dennis Manner went through the WHOLE explanation on the function of the rear spoiler at a BPG event back in the day in Ohio. IT WAS NOT JUST FOR LOOKS!!!!
