After about a 6 month wait, I finally received Unplugged Performance’s high efficiency trunk spoiler, which in the Model 3 trunk spoiler world is quite distinctive for its design, which IMHO is more sweeping and graceful. I know some Model 3 owners don’t like the design, but everyone’s taste is different, and I like it. Ironically, the day it arrived my local service center contacted me to let me know that the OEM Tesla spoiler had arrived (more than a year after the car was delivered). I told them to give it to another customer who was waiting in line, as I wouldn’t need it.
I think that was a good decision, as Unplugged did extensive CFD (Computational Fluid Dynamics) testing of its spoiler design. To quote from the results,
”The total vehicle drag was reduced by 6.3% relative to the factory car baseline, representing a 273% relative improvement over the optional factory rear spoiler. Rear downforce was increased over baseline by 83.7%, representing a 241% relative improvement. This reduction of drag reduced the total drag coefficient (Cd) by 0.015.”
I also added a Gurney flap to the spoiler. For those who don’t know what that is, the flap was developed by the famous US racing driver, Dan Gurney, and the flap operates by increasing pressure on the pressure side of the spoiler, decreasing pressure on the suction side, and helping the boundary layer flow stay attached all the way to the trailing edge on the suction side of the airfoil.
Unplugged also did CFD testing for the flap, and to quote from the results,
“Rear downforce was increased over baseline by 160.9%, representing a 464% relative improvement over the Tesla rear spoiler and a further 192% improvement over the Unplugged Performance High Efficiency Rear Trunk Spoiler. The total drag was reduced by 0.1% relative to the factory car baseline in this configuration, making this configuration nearly drag neutral despite the specific downforce focus.”
As an extra benefit, the UP high efficiency spoiler is incredibly easy to install. There’s a notch in the back which has a 3/8” wide strip of double-sided tape. The notch fits precisely over the rear edge of the trunk. All one has to do is confirm that it’s centered side to side and press it into place. Done, and with no fuss.
I’ve known Ben Schaffer, the head of UP, from the days when we were both developing aftermarket accessories for the Honda S2000. He’s a perfectionist, and doesn’t do anything without thorough proof of concept testing, so I trust implicitly the results of the CFD testing on the spoiler.
To answer my own post title question, IMHO the UP high efficiency trunk spoiler, from both the perspectives of aerodynamics and aesthetics, is the best trunk spoiler available for the Model 3 for street and track use. It's not inexpensive by I think it's worth every penny.
A few pix:
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