To understand this you must first understand how a wing works. As air approches the wing it can go two ways over the cureved part or along the botom of the wing. The air going over the curved part of the wing moves faster then the air going along the flat part of the wing. This creates a low pressure on the cured side and a high pressure on the flat side. This is called the Bernoulli principle. It states that as the speed of a fluid increase, its pressure decreases. Now take a wing and turn it over so that the curved side faces down and the flat side faces up. The wing is still creating force, except it is now creating downforce instead of lift.
The term spoiler and wing are often interchanged, but they are two different terms. A spoiler creates is force by the air molcules striking the surface and the high pressure area created in front of the spoiler. The wing creates its forces due to the Bernoulli principle.

Chris

 

so you're saying a rear wing is a wing, and not a spoiler?

 

That's true, however, the Bernoulli principle is based on aircraft, not cars. You don't want to create lift with the rear-end of cars.... I had to learn all about the Bernoulli principle, as I work on an aircraft carrier... Wings on aircraft, for example, don't have a curved side and a flat side....they have flaps, etc. So, i would have to agree that it's a spoiler, not a wing.

 

the bernoulli principle deals with the pressure differential between the top and bottom of the wing, so I think it would be a wing,if it were curved as such, but is a wing a type of spoiler perhaps?

 

My dad has a 2002 Mustang V-6, and my mom has a 2003 Focus. Both are good cars IMH. The Focus is a 4 door ZTS model with the sport package, (guages, spoiler, driving lights). It has the Zetec 2.3L 4 cyl. auto. I wasn't much on these cars when they first came out, mostly because I had seen only the 3 door. But, after driving it, it grew on me very quickly. The Zetec engine is more powerfull than the standard 2.3L, and IMH, the Focus handles like a race car. Very tight steering, little body roll in curves, really holds the road tight, good acceleration. It has alot more room inside than it looks, especially in the back seat, due to design. It also has more truck space than most other cars in it's class IMH. There have been few or no recalls on the 2003 Focus. This is her second Focus, the first got totaled. The first was a 2000 model. It did have several recalls, but, what do you expect from a first year model of a new production vehicle. I don't think she would have any other vehicle. I have seen 2 of these cars, both 4 doors, after bad accidents. My mom's when she rear ended a Jeep Cherokee at approx. 45 MPH, and moved the motor back 6 inches. And, a co-worker's when she was rear ended by a tractor trailer who thought he could make a traffic light on wet road, then locked the brakes when he saw he couldn't. The truck started to jacknife, and the front of the trailer caught the rear of her car. Her rear bumper was sitting approx. 3-4 feet off the ground. Though both were banged and bruised, neither had any broken bones, or other serious injury, and both were released from the hospital that day. Neither car had any broken glass, except from the airbag, nor were the doors jammed. Yes, these cars do have crumple zones, which accounts for the driver's conditions. After 10 years in the fire service, I look for these things.

As for the Mustang, it is also a very nice car. Probably, the only problem I have with it is being harder to get in and out of. It also is a little uncomfortable for a larger sized person due to the design of the interior door panels.

My advice is to drive both, do some research, then make your decision. I'm sure you'll be happy with which ever vehicle you choose.

Bluehawk

 

i say now days they are spoilers, unless they are at least roof high like some ricers now days (ex: the eclipse). But look at the older daytonas and other wing cars from the muscle car era. They arent called wing cars for nothing. The wing is there to create down force on the car, which provides better traction, but in other terms it also helps slow the car down quicer in turns so they can take them at faster speeds. I say if its down low and hugging the trunk, its a spoiler and only for looks. If its up like the old daytonas and such, then its a wing. As far as the Porche, that is a wing as well. Helps in the handling of the car, and keeps it "stuck" to the road at higher speeds.

 

www.anti-rice.com

 

Yes, they do. While on the ground they will usually have the slats and the flaps extend out. The flaps and slats are used to create lift at lower speeds, such as landing and takeoff. They work my creating a bigger low and high pressure area, their downside is that they create drag. Go look at any wing on any aircraft,they will have a wing that is curved on the top and flat on the bottom.

Also Bernoulli's principle is not based on aircraft wings, it deal with fluids, it states that as the speed of the fluid increases, the pressure of the fluid decreases.

A wing is not a type of spoiler from a scientific point of view. They work in two different ways.

Chris

 

IMO, factory spoilers (not the park benches that we see on ricers) look pretty slick - gives a nifty "jet fighter" look to an otherwise vanilla car.

XXL

 

That's not a wing!

This is a wing:

 

See that before, but I still get a kick out of how stupid people are

 

I recently saw an older F150 with a plywood wing with 2x4 uprights (not even exterior plywood - had a bad droop in the middle). Looked silly to me, but if the owner likes it, it is his truck.
Dono

 

The other thing I would consider when weighing a Focus against a Mustang is RESALE VALUE. Look at any other small Ford (Escort, ZX2, Festiva, Tempo) and look at what their resale prices did compared to the Mustang with any engine set up. If this is going to be just a fun summer car hate to see you loose half your money for owning it two years and only put a couple thousand miles on it.

 

Good point on resale. But I'm starting to look more closley at the SVT Focus. A fully loaded zx3 is 17 grand, a svt with the options I want is 20 grand. For another 3 grand I get a 4-2-1 header to free flowing exhaust, dual stage intake manifold, 10.1:1 compression, 170 horse, a six speed, 17 inch rims with 215/45's, huge brakes, and upgraded suspension components. This equals sub 8 sec 0-60, 115 feet 60-0, 30 MPG and it handles like its on rails. Not to be said for the mustang. The mustang also isn't as great in bad weather if the need arises, and I cant fold down the back seats and say sleep, or thow large items in the back of said mustang. IMHO anything with svt written on it will be worth more down the road then a base model V-6 mustang. I would plan on keeping the car for as long as I could so I'm not overly concerned about the resale. The insurance might not be much cheaper at that point but I would rather pay so much for a car thats fun to drive and is more practical later in the year then a car thats not quit as fun and not as useful. With the way I drive I have a feeling that I would be putting a far amount of milage on it. I think the focus might be listed as a 3 door hatchback with the 2 liter motor in it so I dought the insurance would be that much more.

 

I'll order a Texas tail for my rig tomorrow.