Front spoiler aero question

[vette427sbc]

Just looking for some opinions on my new front spoiler. Does something this low really hurt high speed stability? It did lower my radiator temp by 20* (didnt have any type of lip or spoiler on it previously) so I'm thinking that its really bringing alot of air up under the nose. But is that better than letting more air under the car?
I dont really care for the pace car spoiler, and wanted something more aggressive looking than stock. Just bare glass in these pics, I painted it matte black after I took these. Notice the corner where someone backed into me :gurney: I do get a new bumper and some fresh paint though

 

[mrvette]

Nailed your bumper on the same side they did mine, about 3 years ago....

on that spoiler, I found removing the entire front tag assy greatly improved my FLORIDA cooling issues on the freeway....in town it was the same.....told me the fan was adequate....

I have since add my own version of the same spoiler you have there, your MAY be a tad lower....I have not noticed any difference in the car's performance one way or another on anything....

I did it for looks only...

 

[JPhil]

I found mine increased high-speed stability by reducing the air pressure & turbulance under the car. I assume. For whatever reason, I noticed a change for the better in reduced front end floating. And at the same time I removed the front license plate & bracket to open up the grill & i have absolutely no overheating problems anymore, not even on a friggin hot day in slow traffic.

 

[vette427sbc]

I cant get rid of my front plate. I had it off for a little over a day and was pulled over. I dont need any more reasons for them to pull over a kid in a loud, red vette. Even with the front plate and the spoiler, my rad temps are still around 130*
I have a BB/LT-1 hood with the vents cut out to relieve some of the pressure created under the hood, so that may help with the extra air being pushed up by the bigger spoiler.


Any other opinions on keeping air out from under the nose or under the car with a front spoiler?

 

[Bee Jay]

I cant get rid of my front plate. I had it off for a little over a day and was pulled over. I dont need any more reasons for them to pull over a kid in a loud, red vette. Even with the front plate and the spoiler, my rad temps are still around 130*
I have a BB/LT-1 hood with the vents cut out to relieve some of the pressure created under the hood, so that may help with the extra air being pushed up by the bigger spoiler.


Any other opinions on keeping air out from under the nose or under the car with a front spoiler?

Can I see more pictures of your hood, especially from underneath, please.
Bee Jay

 

[mrvette]

After doing yarn and penny tests on my stockish BB aftermarket hood bulge with a open back end , and no gasket on the back of the hood, I found there is NO positive pressure under the vast majority of the hood, in fact with the yard above 50 mph the thing was slightly negative, yarn being sucked INTO the hood/engine area.....not out...

but I found out the hard way, the lift is ALL in front of the radiator, no where else....don't ask please....:tomato:

I also see no need for a front tag, Florida don't have them, and neither should any other state, save money on tags for one thing....I got ticketed in Faryland for no front tag years ago too, by a PARK COP ON HORSEBACK of all things...


Now I know that ain't no vette, BUT, about 2-3 years ago the engine blew on my wife's '99 Escort, so in the ensuing mess getting another in place, of course the under front 'fairing' was removed, ALL of it, the car always got 33 mpg on the freeway, no cruise control, not equipped...but wether she or me driving..33 mpg....with 150k on the clock.....so the fairing did not go back on, I put the new short block in, and noted it was getting only 26 mpg for a few months, then 29, then back up to 33 mpg after all the oil/crap got blasted outta the converter, with NO FAIRING.....

so just WTF IS all that plastic hung under modern cars?? some wet dream of some engineering group?? sure don't affect performance in THAT case....

:clobbered::amazed:

 

[mrvette]

Any other opinions on keeping air out from under the nose or under the car with a front spoiler?

I too want a underhood pix, like on from further back on topside too, do you have any overheating on freeways?? 40+ mph?? I be surprised if you don't, unless you have Dual Spal fans or some such, I would think the air would pass up and out before forcing it way through the radiator....no??

:bonkers::huh2:

 

[vette427sbc]

Can I see more pictures of your hood, especially from underneath, please.
Bee Jay

I dont have any pictures of the underside, and wont be able to for a while since the car is at the body shop. Here is the cutout without the bezel:


I do have electric fans, and no overheating problems. The cutouts are right after the radiator, so air still has to go through it before leaving the vents

 

[mrvette]

Can I see more pictures of your hood, especially from underneath, please.
Bee Jay

I dont have any pictures of the underside, and wont be able to for a while since the car is at the body shop. Here is the cutout without the bezel:


I do have electric fans, and no overheating problems. The cutouts are right after the radiator, so air still has to go through it before leaving the vents

So that cutout on the hood there is AFT of the radiator?? still getting lift from up front on the hood, that is before the radiator....that explains it all on the overheating at speed issue I though about....cool, literally...

:amazed:

 

[clutchdust]

To go back to one of the original questions, the less air you can keep from going under the car, the better. From an "aero" standpoint, what you have there is better than how your car originally came and will function much better than stock. But as far as high speed stability, the lower you can get that, the better. Additionally, anything you can do to direct the air helps. Now, don't go off and create your own splitter because they take some serious calculations to get right, but a splitter put as low on the car as possible will make the car more stable at speed. Not that any of that matters much unless you tend to spend extended periods of time traveling at near triple digits or above.
For your purposes, i.e. keeping the car cool and better stability at highway speeds, what you have there is probably ideal. Now go get your fender fixed!:smash:

 

[Yellow73SB]

They ran them back in the day like that

 

[Bee Jay]

Can I see more pictures of your hood, especially from underneath, please.
Bee Jay

I dont have any pictures of the underside, and wont be able to for a while since the car is at the body shop. Here is the cutout without the bezel:


I do have electric fans, and no overheating problems. The cutouts are right after the radiator, so air still has to go through it before leaving the vents

I think your L88 hood is an example of how it was designed to be used. A vent right behind the radiator, and the high rise to clear high rise manifold and carb or fi, and still a cold air induction system at the base of the windshield. What insert is in the first picture? As soon as you get it back from the paint shop, please send me picures of your hood, top and bottom.
Thanks
Bee Jay

 

[Bee Jay]

Here is my Pace Car front spoiler witha splitter added. I'm thinking of adding a rubber lip to the bottom of the splitter to limit even more air from going under the car, something like the 80-82s have under their front spoiler. I would put it back toward the rear of the splitter, barely above the ground. When it wears out, I replace it. Just like the 80-82s.

Bee Jay

 

[vette427sbc]

I think your L88 hood is an example of how it was designed to be used. A vent right behind the radiator, and the high rise to clear high rise manifold and carb or fi, and still a cold air induction system at the base of the windshield. What insert is in the first picture? As soon as you get it back from the paint shop, please send me picures of your hood, top and bottom.
Thanks
Bee Jay

My hood is a big block hood, not the L88 (I wish it was an L88 hood though). So it doesnt have any type of cowl induction. The insert is just a chrome bezel that all BB hoods came with. The bezel, oddly enough is painted black in the center to give the appearance of there being a vent there.

I'm at school right now, so I wont even get to see my vette until thanksgiving :suicide:
On a side note, you have one of my favorite rubber bumper cars. The splitter looks great on there too :thumbs:

 

[saudivette]

...I'm thinking of adding a rubber lip to the bottom of the splitter to limit even more air from going under the car, something like the 80-82s have under their front spoiler. I would put it back toward the rear of the splitter, barely above the ground. When it wears out, I replace it. Just like the 80-82s.

Bee Jay, that "rubber lip" basically is the spoiler on the 80-82's. It attaches to the lower edge of the valance and outer lower edge of the bumper.
Damn expensive to replace too!

 

[Bee Jay]

...I'm thinking of adding a rubber lip to the bottom of the splitter to limit even more air from going under the car, something like the 80-82s have under their front spoiler. I would put it back toward the rear of the splitter, barely above the ground. When it wears out, I replace it. Just like the 80-82s.

Bee Jay, that "rubber lip" basically is the spoiler on the 80-82's. It attaches to the lower edge of the valance and outer lower edge of the bumper.
Damn expensive to replace too!

Expensive? Wow! I did not know that. Why would they make a consumable part expensive? Nevermind, this is a Corvette only part. I hate when I answer my own questions. Back when I owned a 300ZX, you could by the lower spoiler rubber piece by the foot. I wonder if it is still available? Don't the racers use it?
Bee Jay

 

[71vettewi]

Why so large

I like the look but from underneath is there a functional reason it is so large/deep?
Just curious. I have an L88 hood on my custom and I am thinking of cutting it out, now. It makes a lot of sense. There was a string about front end lift at higher speeds. Not sure if the cut out would help that much but it would release air after the radiator and help keep the engine cooler.
Do our cars need all the air coming in the grille and scooped up from the spoiler just for engine cooling? Has anyone incorporated brake cooling ducts up front? Is it prudent to divert some of the air directly to the radiator rather than the way it is done with a wall that is even with the radiator?
Seems to work fine on the C4-C6 cars
-Thanks,
-Charlie

 

[00fxd]

Front spoilers work on those cars no question. I had an eckler on my '74 years ago. I put it on for the look. I could feel the effect right away at speed. I soon damaged it and had to take if off for repairs. I was surprised when I could feel it gone. Put it back on and there it was again. I have been sold on 'em ever since.

 

[saudivette]

...I'm thinking of adding a rubber lip to the bottom of the splitter to limit even more air from going under the car, something like the 80-82s have under their front spoiler. I would put it back toward the rear of the splitter, barely above the ground. When it wears out, I replace it. Just like the 80-82s.

Bee Jay, that "rubber lip" basically is the spoiler on the 80-82's. It attaches to the lower edge of the valance and outer lower edge of the bumper.
Damn expensive to replace too!

Expensive? Wow! I did not know that. Why would they make a consumable part expensive? Nevermind, this is a Corvette only part. I hate when I answer my own questions. Back when I owned a 300ZX, you could by the lower spoiler rubber piece by the foot. I wonder if it is still available? Don't the racers use it?
Bee Jay

All the vendors have them but they are a molded shape, so you can't really buy it buy the foot. It's "L" shaped in cross section that curves in one directional plane and tapers at one end in the other plane. You could no doubt knock something up but probably not as straight forward as you'd think.
On average, the two halves run at around $45 each although I picked up a new pair off eBay for $70...

 

[Rolling Thunder]

I like the look but from underneath is there a functional reason it is so large/deep?
Just curious. I have an L88 hood on my custom and I am thinking of cutting it out, now. It makes a lot of sense. There was a string about front end lift at higher speeds. Not sure if the cut out would help that much but it would release air after the radiator and help keep the engine cooler.
Do our cars need all the air coming in the grille and scooped up from the spoiler just for engine cooling? Has anyone incorporated brake cooling ducts up front? Is it prudent to divert some of the air directly to the radiator rather than the way it is done with a wall that is even with the radiator?
Seems to work fine on the C4-C6 cars
-Thanks,
-Charlie

Hard to see in the pic but I used the FGreg spoiler (modified). It has ports for brake cooling that is not yet connected but plan is to do so. I thought about cutting out the same as OP did on the hood, but would have required opening to outboard sides of the trough because I use the ram air scoop on top of the L88 hood bubble. To let off some pressure under the hood, I installed external louves in way of side gills allowing increased exit flow with larger area.



Screens will be installed in shark gills for cosmetics.