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"Fatty" Spoiler-Where to buy?????

3K views 48 replies 13 participants last post by  Kyllgore 
#1 ·
My ZX5 came with the OEM spoiler which is better than none but I would rather
replace it with another. The one I am looking for I believe I saw somewhere and it was
refered to as a "fatty spoiler". I've done a search and come up with nothing..
anyone know what I am referring to and where I might find one or a good source for
differrent spoiler styles?????[???:)] [confused]
 
#27 ·
crazy_urn....Man, I never thought this would turn into such a hot debate. As far as putting money into something that will help my car, been there done that to the tune of a couple thou, you should try it. If we were talking about high performance race cars you would be exactly right. In this application and at the speeds I drive the spoiler will have absolutely no impact on top speed, gas mileage or acceleration. So me and my half brain are going for looks, some people like them some people don't. I can accept and respect the fact that you disagree and you should do the same without resorting to name calling.

If you feel the need to discuss in detail the pros and cons of spoilers and wings, the drag they create as opposed to the benefits of the downward push created in order to maintain stability I would suggest possibly finding a Formula 1 Racing forum. [idea]

And oh yes, the WHP thing was just a joke. Obviously the stereo won't even come close to adding 15 WHP.[:p]
 
#28 ·
Actually when i put in my stereo, i got 14.9 WHP!!!

Secondly, the ONLY time a wing helps is when you wieght reduce your car, and your going 9 second 1/4's. Otherwise a wing on your car slows you down yes, however, you wont even come close to noticing it. If you have a 600hp focus then tell us about how a wing hurts your speed. Otherwise stfu, you wont notice it on a 170hp modified focus.

Its just for looks. Just dont get an aluminum wing =P
 
#29 ·
focusedat50... you have my respect

as for you, bluereiger. i cannot say the same thing. a wing will not help you pull 9's at a 1/4 mile. if anything, it will hinder you. i will agree that you probably will not notice a difference in preformance during everyday city driving, but just because you do not notice a differance does not mean there is not one. do you know anything about physics at all? or aerodynamics? you dont need a 600 hp focus to have a difference. go drive your focus on the highway. go out in the middle of nowhere and do 90 on the interstate. (can your 170hp focus do 90?) if you could drive two foci, one with a spoiler, one without, you would be able to hear the wind resistance created by the spoiler. that wind resistance is drag. that drag effects your car

if you want a spoiler, thats great, its your money, its your car. but will you atleast admit that in a normal situation it is possible for your spoiler to effect your car?
 
#31 ·
"as for you, bluereiger. i cannot say the same thing. a wing will not help you pull 9's at a 1/4 mile. if anything, it will hinder you. i will agree that you probably will not notice a difference in preformance during everyday city driving, but just because you do not notice a differance does not mean there is not one. do you know anything about physics at all? or aerodynamics? you dont need a 600 hp focus to have a difference. go drive your focus on the highway. go out in the middle of nowhere and do 90 on the interstate. (can your 170hp focus do 90?) if you could drive two foci, one with a spoiler, one without, you would be able to hear the wind resistance created by the spoiler. that wind resistance is drag. that drag effects your car"


A WING IS SUPPOSED TO PROVIDE DOWNFORCE AND UNLESS YOU HAVE A HELL OF A LOT OF HP AND RUNNING 9'S IN A QUARTER A WING WONT HOLD YOUR CAR DOWN LIKE ITS ORIGINALLY DESIGNED FOR< I HAVE SAID THIS AT LEAST 4 TIMES. BUT IF YOUR CAR IS RUNNING 14's ON 170 HP OR WHATEVER NUMBERS YOU WANT TO COME UP WITH ITS NOT GOING TO MAKE HARDLY ANY DIFFERENCE IN YOUR SPEED. YOU ARGUING ABOUT THIS IS LIKE TELLING ME RUNNING 11" TIRES ON A CAR VICE 12'S IS GONNA MAKE YOUR CAR SUPER FAST. BS. IT GIVES YOU MINIMAL PERFORMANCE. ITS LIKE PUTTING AN INTAKE AND EXHAUST ON YOUR CAR AND TELLING ME YOUR RUNNING 12'S. AND DONT TELL ME A WING DOESNT DO ANYTHING. EVER SEEN A FAST SUPRA? THE WING HOLDS THE BACK END OF THE CAR DOWN SO THE WHEELS HAVE BETTER TRACTION AT HIGH SPEEDS.

But hey, thnx for reitterating everything i said, only 4 times. Im done with you, you obviously cant read past a 3rd grade level.



**Message Edited**

Btw, im sure his car isnt turboed, and hes not driving 150 mph, so the "Drag" of the wing isnt going to bother his car. OH WAIT! HE WILL ONLY GOT 120 MPH NOW! NOT 121!!! OMFG
 
#32 ·
you are right bluereiger, there is no noticable difference between 121 mph and 120 mph, but they are still slightly different.

but if you remember correctly, top speed was not the only thing i mentioned effected by the drag wings create. i also mentined fuel economy. the effect on fuel economy is caused by the drag created by the wing. the more drag you have, the more force is required to move your vehicle. the more force that is required, the more gas will be used, thus decreasing fuel economy.

lets do some math and see if drag has any effect on you.

according to the ford website, the zx3 gets 26city/33highway for fuel economy. lets say the drag caused by the wing decreases that only slightly. lets say 1mpg, i believe that is fair.

now, lets see how much that 1mpg will effect you over the life of your car (lets say about 100,000 miles) i will be using the number $1.50/gallon of gas to calculate costs. that number is the average cost of gasoline in the denver metro area for a year (where i live)

fuel economy without wing: 26/33
fuel economy with wing: 25/32

gallons of gas used for 100,000 miles without wing: 3846.15/3030.3 gallons
gallons of gas used for 100,000 miles with wing: 4000/3125 gallons
difference caused by wing for 100,000 miles: 153.85/94.7 gallons
cost of difference caused by wing for 100,000 miles: $230.78/$142.05

so, according to this math, installing a wing on your car will effect you. i have checked and rechecked my math and i believe it to be error free, but i am not prefect, please feel free to recheck my math and correct me if neccisary.

can you now see what i mean when i say wings effect your car?
 
#34 ·
Focus ZX5 said:
so the wing affects the weight which consequently affects fuel economy...
so start driving naked and cut your hair, this way you'll save some weight and fuel (on a billion miles basis[rolleyes]
did you even bother to read my last post?
did i ever once mention the word weight? did i ever say anything about weight?
no i did not.

you have shown your ignorance

i did not say weight effected fuel economy, i said DRAG effected fuel economy. if your going to argue, can you please be kind enough to atleast pay attention, and read my post.
 
#37 ·
Hey folks, lets just say we agree to disagree. [drinking] It's not that big of a deal and we are expending far too much time and energy on such a minor topic, actually[offtopic] from the original post. I am sure there is some validity to both points of view however perception is reality.[cheers] [burnout] [wave]
 
#38 ·
thank you focusedat50, i agree.

i just wanted to bring a different view to the table. i guess i did get a little carried away and off topic, and for that i apoloigize, but that tends to happen when you get personally attacked for having a differing opinion.

yes Focus ZX5, i do know what drag is. i believe that my posts speak for themselves reguarding my knowledge. i am not a physicist, but i do understand the basic priciples of physics.

i am through debating. i have made my point. if you want to spend an extra $142 to $230 dollars on gas (depending on how much city/highway driving you do) its your money, its your car. as for me, i will save my money, and put it to better use.

thank you for your time, and your ears (to those of you who actually listened)
 
#42 ·
can you now see what i mean when i say wings effect your car? [/B]


So again i say, when did i say it doesnt affect your car. IT DOES.

If your really that uptight about 1mph faster, you need to loosen your pants.


Secondly, over 100000 miles of gas? Rofl, i think he can handle 10 cents a day.

"i just wanted to bring a different view to the table. i guess i did get a little carried away and off topic, and for that i apoloigize, but that tends to happen when you get personally attacked for having a differing opinion."

Different view? Nobody here disagrees that the wing will cause drag and slow his car down. But its also a FACT that we dont have 9 second cars, and that "HEAVY FIBERGLASS" wing isnt going to slow his 16 second car down much or cause much of a difference in gas.

If you dont want to put a small wing/spoiler on your car thats fine, but dont try to make peope think that thier 16 second car will now run 17's with a small wing that barely sticks up off the car. Or they are gonna go from 40mpg to 20. The fact is, his car isnt fast, and that little wing/spoiler wont affect his car at all, and he wont even notice its there until he gets out of the car and looks at it.
 
#43 ·
HEY BE AWARE

That I am getting tons of emails about how this topic keeps on going, i have it on so I can see if anything useful comes up, not to read this crap, what have we learned that most of us prolly already know if we passed high school

the wing WILL add weight and drag, WOOHOO big news here, ever seen the pikes peak tacoma, it's body kit produces over 2000lbs of downforce while on the mountain which it needs, (if you've ever driven pikes peak it's scary as hell slow let alone at any kinda of speed), that's what wings are good for downforce, which in turn creates drag or friction which you want going anything much over 30 on that mountain, most spoilers are just for looks, yes I'm aware added weight and drag are not good, but I'm not planning anythign wild on my ride, but personally I like that wing, but not enough to buy one, I'd rather spend 2 bills on and saving money over time is good, but money is meant to be spent..if yoiu can afford to buy one you can afford the marginal loss of fuel economy....

in the end it comes down to what each of us likes, I gave my opinion on the wing and shown some info, not much else, nothing to argue over I say....

to each his/her own

time for bed[8D]
 
#44 ·
Why doesnt focus make 12" rims I need to save on the gas mileage and my 16"s are just not cutting it. maybe I should remove my air conditioning yeah yeah thats what ill do and take my hood off and the rest of the sheet metal while Im at it. I can remove all my seats and install milk cartons. And lets shut off three of those cylinders while im at it. Im now ripping off that catalytic converter and the rest of the exhaust system. Dont need a radio. Taking out my moonroof and the motor for it. Windows I dont need no stickin windows. Doors there just too heavy. Oh yeah and last but not least who threw this heavy a$$ engine in my car????? what were these dumb a$$es thinking dont they know thats gonna cost me gas mileage. Ok well I think Im finally done[8]
 
#46 ·
I believe this thread needs to be killed........people have far too much time on their hands.
Me, I'm going back to my room, I think I heard that nice orderly say it was time for my medicine or shock therapy I can't remember which.

And to think all I wanted was where to find a fatty spoiler....hmmmmmmmmmmmm[8]
 
#47 ·
to those of you still attacking me with scorn and sarcasim,
i said i was finished. i made my apology. you need to grow up.
i have an opinion that is differnt then yours, and that is my right. i do not believe i need to be mocked simply because of my opinion.

i attempted to have an intelligent discussion, but i guess that was simply to much to ask.

as i have said i am finished with this nonesense.
i will not check this thread again, so dont bother replying to me

to all of you who were interested in what the thread was actually about. i will now leave you alone with your fatty spoiler, enjoy.
 
#48 ·
Sorry but repeating what i said to me, and trying to tell 9 out of 10 people that a spoiler will slow your car down isnt intelligence.

While you werent wrong in saying it slows the car down, its not completely correct either. In a slow car like the focus you wont notice ANY drag at all, its so minimal that you cant tell. Thats why you were wrong. Nothing more than that.

On a fast car, yes it will slow you down, however, you can side step that by losing extra weight like stereo etc, AND its meant to create downforce to keep your rearend down on the roard for better traction and less slipping.
 
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