V70 spoiler

I'm not bragging 'cos I got a spoiler but I have had my V70 for a year
now & I finally got the official Volvo rear spoiler fitted that I'd promised
I'd get when I got the chance.

Wow, what a benefit! I never noticed my car had a slight tendency to be a
bit light at the back at higher speeds, not till it was corrected by the
spoiler. Blighty has been very gusty over the last few days & I have been
amazed how stable it is compared to what it was. I recommend getting one to
anybody who regularly drives over 50mph for any distance. I just wished I
worked for Volvo so I could get a commission if I sold any!

Highly recommended

Andy P.

 

A spoiler can only work by increasing wind resistance and converting
that to downforce. They really don't do much under 100 mph. How much
did it knock your gas mileage down. If it didn't, then it isn't doing
anything.

Race cars use them at speeds of 150 to 200 mph, not highway speeds.
Most street cars just have them to impress their friends, not for
function.

 

In an earlier contribution to this discussion,

Precisely! My V70 came with a factory-fitted spoiler from new. It looks
nice, but I'm not convinced that it has any real *practical* value.

 

Not trying to knock the original poster... Sometimes when you buy something,
and you excpect it to do something - even when it doesn't you just have a
consious belief that it is in fact making a noticeable difference. People
who don't know you have it won't feel it, and they probably won't even if
you ask if it made a difference,they will probably be humouring you when
they say "ohh yah, I can really feel it". It's an actual psycological thing
that's going on.

Of course there's always getting out the proper test equipment and seeing
for yourself, but that involes time, money, and effort, and of course...
lots of skill most likely.

 

[Bonnet Lock] (Mon, 4 Oct 2004 23:30:06 +0100):

Well, the practical value can be that the car gets less dirty on the back
when it has a spoiler..

 

In an earlier contribution to this discussion,

Yes, that may well be true. I was thinking more in terms of handling - where
the aerodynamic forces generated by the spoiler (at speeds legal in the UK
anyway!) are too small to have much effect.

 

I think your mixing-up spoilers & wings. Spoilers do just that to the
ariflow, thus they do add drag. A wing is what a racecar has & is the
upside-down version of an aircraft wing. It is a low-drag way to get
downforce, that's why racecars use them. The V70 spoiler is very much like
a wind, therefore I think it does not add much drag. Example:- standard V70
quote Cd is @0.3-0.31 & V70R, which comes with the spoiler as standard, has
a quoted Cd of 0.35. This is with extra intakes in the front, so I guess
the spoiler adds very little drag. It should also work well at any speed
above 70mph if I had time to do the maths I could prove it, suffice to say
that drag is cubed with increasing speed & around 50-70mph is more
significant than other forms of drag. There, I think I've made my point.

 

In my defence I can say I have done over 26K miles in my first year of
ownership. The V70 has been a real education as regards driving experience
& I constantly find it showing me how poor my driving is & how well the car
drives, except on comedy-small bumpy roads when the poor lock & short
suspension travel jarrs a bit. But I digress..

26K miles, mostly motorway. One thing I did find noticeable at high
motorway speeds was a light feeling at the back end. I go back to my
earlier statement that I feel my driving ability is crap, despite having
ridden bikes since I was 17 & bikes & cars since I was 21. I'm now 35 & I
still consider my skills are poor, thus I did not really trust my judgement
with the cars handling. All I did notice after the spoiler was fitted was
that at the same speeds as before I was expecting the car to feel the same
way as I have been used to for the past year, but it was totally different.
It is most noticeable in gusty conditions with undulating road surfaces. It
does feel more planted on the road, which you would expect.

Just thought I'd pass-on my experience as I thought it would help others who
felt the same. Maybe if I put some weight in the back like the Police do,
maybe I wouldn't need downforce on the back!

 

Gas mileage-wise it's at about 27mpg, which is exactly as it was before. I
have had over 30mpg when I was driving for economy, but I've been doing
80-100 on main roads so I can say it has not affected fuel economy
noticeably, but I guess Volvo don't fit it when they compile the official
mpg figures. They'd be a bit stupid to!

 

Then it isn't doing anything.

 

Actually a true spoiler reduces drag by reducing (spoiling) air
turbulence.

However, wings on race cars increase drag and decrease gas mileage. If
you don't believe me, then watch the Daytona NASCAR race. It is one
race where downforce, drag and fuel economy are at all at a premium and
the cars are very sensitive to each. They optimize downforce to reduce
drag and increase fuel economy. But they are going 180 MPH.

 

Spoilers reduce turbulence....and downforce increases drag
Therefore spoilers improve consumption while downforce worsen consumption
(and in this case we see no change in consumption).
And following the thread of the argument further, is it not possible that we
have a reduction in turbulence improving the economy AND also a small amount
of downforce increasing consumption by the same amount???
A reduction in turbulence can also improve stability hence this could be
what is being observed.


Just my .02.....

 

I have a 2004 XC70 and drive the Autoban here in Germany from a 160km
to 180km constantly with no spoiler and haven't felt anything abnormal
in the rear. Like one said here it keeps the dirt down.

Have too admit it is a great car!!!!

 

Chuck;

Is that--160-180 KMPH a typical speed in Germany for decent non hot rod
cars--just a bit over 100-110 MPH?

Do many people zip along well over 200 KMPH, or is the traffic so thick as
to make this imposable?


Here in the east coast USA major roads are around 75-80 MPH--just under 130
KMPH around cities during busy times--NJ Turnpike, Pa Turnpike, Rt 95 etc...

 

IME you can only really press on at quiet times, early morning, late
night etc. During the day the autobahn seems to be more congested
than even British motorways. In thin traffic I'd say that there are
lots of cars doing 100mph, but the trucks still hold up the job,
especially on the narrower autobahns.

The standard of autobahn driving is much higher than in other
countries I've driven - I guess it pays to check your mirrors before
pulling out when something could be approaching behind at 180mph.

Notwithstanding, on several occasions I've topped 150 mph in Germany.
On virtually every occasion there was a 911 or something similar 4
feet from my rear bumper. Clearly there are plenty of places in
Germany where you can get the 155mph limiter removed!


--

Tim Hobbs

'58 Series 2 88" aka "Stig"
'77 101FC Ambulance aka "Burrt"
'03 Volvo V70

My Landies? http://www.seriesii.co.uk
Barcoding? http://www.bartec-systems.com
Tony Luckwill web archive at http://www.luckwill.com

 

Yes, it is a typical speed and at times I am passed or get lights
flashes at me to move over so I can be passed.

Chuck

 

It must be heaven !

Brian
East Coast US

 

To be fair, there isn't much derestricted autobahn left. Most of it
seems to be limited (and it's been a while since I was over there so
there's probably less now). What remains is very good though!


--

Tim Hobbs

'58 Series 2 88" aka "Stig"
'77 101FC Ambulance aka "Burrt"
'03 Volvo V70

My Landies? http://www.seriesii.co.uk
Barcoding? http://www.bartec-systems.com
Tony Luckwill web archive at http://www.luckwill.com

 

If you ever saw an accident on the Autobahn you would think differently.
In one accident I saw, the entire side of a car was sheared off. You
could see the people inside what was left of the car. The car that hit
them was wrapped around trees way down the road. I don't know if there
were any survivors.

 

Yah, my dad was in a collision on the autobahn, he said it's the most brutal
experience you can ever have... In a Mercedes "E-class" of the 1970's - got
rear ended by someone going way too fast trying to get to the exit, when he
was trying to merge onto the road - spun, got nailed in the hood by some
smaller cars, then the trunk, then the hood, then the rear pasenger
compartment etc etc... kept spinning.... Walked away with bruises and
cuts... the Benz had no front or rear so to speak of.. the engine took a
trip down the road, his luggage was in the ditch in pieces - the steel shell
protected the cabin... don't think anyone died but about 3-4 cars were
invloved.... he said that was about normal when there is an accident. This
was back when unrestricted zones were much more common and he was merging
into one....

They don't crash as often, but when they do its BAD... he said his wasn't
even anything to talk about