Apparently they finally have my spoiler ready to come install. One thing I’ve been wondering about... has anyone tried to measure whether it has any noticeable negative impact on range due to increased drag?
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Performance spoiler impact on range?
- Thread starter BrandonLive
- Start date
AlanSubie4Life
Efficiency Obsessed Member
I haven’t noticed any difference. I did not have a chance to do an instrumented/controlled before/after test. I also do little freeway driving so I probably would not notice. But I have done a little freeway driving and noticed no significant difference.
Some people optimistically claim it might even improve the efficiency! I would be very skeptical, without instrumented wind tunnel testing. It certainly will create a small change, but whether that change is positive or negative, hard to say.
Some people optimistically claim it might even improve the efficiency! I would be very skeptical, without instrumented wind tunnel testing. It certainly will create a small change, but whether that change is positive or negative, hard to say.
WilliamG
Hinge Fanatic
Quite a huge amount of downforce actually, and reduction in drag.
“The vehicle’s total drag was reduced by 2.3% and the rear downforce was increased over baseline by 34.7%. This reduced the total drag coefficient (Cd) by 0.005.”
Independent Aerodynamic Study of Tesla Model 3 by Unplugged Performance
DirtyT3sla
Member
Just from that tiny little spoiler? I obviously don't know anything about spoilers but that is pretty amazing...
WilliamG
Hinge Fanatic
Uncle Paul
Well-Known Member
Imagine that range difference with spoiler will be insignificant, and even then only at higher speeds.
Fascinating. I hadn’t thought about it much but I assumed it would increase drag not reduce it.
Incredulocious
LEAF → RAV4EV → Model 3 → Model Y
jyalpert
Member
Maybe you're thinking of a wing, which is an airfoil that is intended to impact local airflow and creates drag. Spoilers are intended to impact bulk airflow and are typically intended to improve total drag.
Spoiler (car) - Wikipedia
Spoilers can also have the impact of reducing lift as well. (Some of MPP's track testing indicated that the rear gets light at speed, and a spoiler seemed to improve that characteristic: MPP Competes In Global Time Attack With Performance Model 3, Sets Fastest Time, Gets DQ’d For Being Electric!).
Since UP's numbers are quoted entirely in % improvement figures, it's difficult to understand the actual impact on lift/drag - e.g. 33% improvement on a 1kg baseline is only 0.3kg. Most of the values in the study was also done assuming the car is traveling at 150mph, so at highway speeds (75mph) you can expect the quoted difference to be reduced by 3/4 (since lift and drag both scale with the square of the velocity).
Edit: I am not meaning to imply that the UP spoiler doesn't work. Just that the values on their site aren't particularly trustworthy for drawing conclusions.
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P-Lo801
Member
I want to like the UP spoiler, but my gosh, I think it takes away from the overall lines of the car rather than adding to it like the OEM one. I definitely plan to get their front lip, though, because it has the best of both in adding to the aerodynamics of the car, and it enhances the looks too.
It's simulation testing (computer modelling), not wind tunnel testing.
They won't do wind tunnel testing because it costs too much.
Very large shovel of salt required when it comes to the claimed figures.
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