Guest Post: Spoilt Rotten – Your Guide On How To Choose A Car Spoiler

It’s undeniable the dramatic effect this seemingly small addition to your car can make, but fitting a spoiler to your car can be a really simple, cost effective and easy to install modification to your vehicle that can improve a large number of different performance aspects.

In this guest post, provided by automotive plastics manufacturer Coleshill Plastics, we run through how to choose the right spoiler for your vehicle and for your performance requirements – whether you’re going for stability, less air resistance or simply the aesthetic appearance. It’s always worth consulting the retailer when buying your spoiler as well, as they can provide guidance on your particular vehicle.

1. I Want To Improve Vehicle Stability
Stability can become an issue for vehicles, particularly at higher speeds; the lift caused by air pressure generated at higher speeds can make handling a vehicle more difficult. How spoilers can come in and help is by generating a down force with their large size and drag to reduce the generation of air pressure that causes lift.

This increases the stability of the vehicle and drastically improves handling and steering. Pedestal spoilers and wings are both great choices in this scenario, though pedestal spoilers are generally easier to get hold of.

2. I Want To Reduce Drag & Air Resistance 
Drag is created by unstable air currents entering the bodywork and chassis of your car, and can have some negative consequences on how your car drives; from increased fuel consumption to slower acceleration and reduced top speeds. This can be particularly noticeable at higher speeds, so you might notice that, on faster roads or if you ever take your car to a track, that your car feels somewhat sluggish – both in terms of speed and handling.

Lip spoilers and wings are great for the rear of your vehicle, and this can be balanced out at the front by a front spoiler, to ensure there’s no drag at the front created by a rear spoiler – style and manufacturer will dictate its effectiveness.

3. I Want To Boost Stability Of Braking 
In the same way that the installation of certain types of spoilers can increase the overall road stability of your car, the same effect can be found on your vehicle’s breaking – it’s almost a kind of by-product from the overall increased stability that’s found by reducing the car’s lift. Both wings and most kinds of pedestal spoilers can help to improve your car’s traction on the road – this, in turn, can improve the effectiveness of your braking.

This can be especially helpful if you’re on highways or motorways, where your speeds are likely to be high, so the addition of a spoiler can actually improve vehicle safety through ease and effectiveness of braking.

4. I Want Something To Just Improve Aesthetics
Above all else, regardless of the benefits and improvements to your driving, spoilers can look awesome; while they’re often a necessity when it comes to high-speed racing vehicles, the aesthetic appeal on street cars can’t be ignored.

Given that it’s all about appearance, it almost doesn’t matter what kind of spoiler you choose – however, consult the retailer first as some styles may have a negative impact on your driving (e.g. increasing drag). A lip spoiler is a sleek, stylish and fairly innocuous choice for purely aesthetic purposes, without running the risk of affecting too much how your car drives.

Hopefully this guide will get you one step closer to seeing if you need a spoiler for a vehicle and, if you do, what style is best and what various benefits can include. Quite often, factory-installed spoilers on street cars can be purely aesthetic and not serve much purpose so, even if your vehicle already has one, it can be beneficial to give it a change.

This guest post was written by Tom McShane – marketing blogger, car enthusiast and writer for UK-based Coleshill Plastics. They provide a range of compression moulding products for the automotive industry including hoods, scoops and spoilers.