Spoiler Vs. Wing: What Is The Real Difference?

Everyone who owns a car may wonder how they can improve their vehicle's performance. Regular maintenance can help you get the most out of your tires, so your car keeps on rolling. As long as you're mindful of the stress you put on your engine, and keeping your engine's oil clean and change it regularly, then it will continue to run smoothly. But there's something else we can do. What about increasing the aerodynamics of a car? If we want to fly through the air without resistance but keep our wheels on the ground, your best bet is to buy a car with a wing or spoiler installed.

Aren't those the same thing? Not really, no. Nor are they interchangeable, but they are designed to do generally the same thing. When it comes to aerodynamics, there are two things to consider: the shape of the wing or spoiler and how airflow reacts to that shape. Thinks of it like an airplane, which are designed to pierce the air and allow airflow to pass over and under it to create lift. Wings and spoilers do the opposite to keep cars steady and on the road. The main difference is wings change the direction of airflow, whereas spoilers "slow it down" to build pressure.

Wings and spoilers are both designed to create a downward force to keep the car stable and on the road. It takes longer for air to flow over the car than under because of the way they're designed: the front has a nose, sloped windshield, the roof, and then the rear bumper, whereas the underside of a car is mostly flat. There's a lot less resistance, which can lead to lift, and we need to combat that by redirecting the airflow to generate negative lift. Wings and spoilers can both do this, but their shape and how they achieve it are completely different.

Take a look at cars with a pair of wings on them. Installed at the rear of the vehicle, they are more than less an extension of the car. The faster the car travels, air pressure develops on both sides of the wing, top and bottom. What makes it work is the wing is designed like an airplane wing, but in contrast to our example above, the wing is upside down, creating a downforce instead of lift.

Spoilers work differently. Not so much an extension of the car, spoilers are more like lips that can be installed at the front of the car below the bumper or a lip at the rear on the trunk lid. A spoiler is designed to disrupt the airflow and slow it down even more, because the lip acts like a miniature barrier for the air to get over. Just like anything else, the more air concentrated in one spot, the heavier it will become, and the more pressure being applied downward. This keeps the car firmly on the ground without interruption of its speed. And luckily, wings and spoilers aren't one of the car parts thieves love to steal.