rev5 spoiler adjustment, any noticeable improvements?

[jimGTS]

this is a strange one, ive had 2 cars with a rev5 spoiler for a combined time of like 4/5years, and not once have i ever felt compelled to adjust the blade.

infact, being honest, i dont think i ever knew they were adjustable!
not sure how this has skipped me by.

just interested, as i was planning to swap out the dirty hex bolts holding the cover on and noticed the 1,2 and 3 settings on the inside behind the cover.

i know how to adjust, seems obvious, it was just more has anyone noticed any effects messing about with the angle of these??
i realise these will likely be "MINIMAL", but im interested none the less.

i may mess about purely for looks, but wondered peoples experiences?

i will be doing the odd track day this year.


googling i found this

""After some searching I found this which is apparently taken from pages 81-85 of the owners manual...

The angle of the spoiler is adjustable by 3 steps.
your spoiler is set up as standard initinally (1) The standard angle gives you both stability and controlability in normal driving conditions.Other angles (2 and 3) give you better drivability under specific conditions (eg driving in a circuit) by lowering the front edge or the rear spoiler that gains down force on rear.""

[raptor95GTS]

see other thread re removing rear spoiler for and the analysis that showed the rear wing actually did make a difference (esp over not having it there!)

[jimGTS]

see other thread re removing rear spoiler for and the analysis that showed the rear wing actually did make a difference (esp over not having it there!)

ive seen that thread, but im not talking about removing the spoiler, im talking about the adjustments.

that thread certainly doesnt have rev5 adjustment analysis unless i missed it.

[SonicSW20]

As the spoiler is functional, adjusting the angle will make a difference. Whether that difference is tangible or not is another thing entirely. It would be interesting if the person who did the calculations originally in the other thread could model that.

[jimGTS]

it is interesting its mentioned in the manual apparently about adjusting for different uses.

ill check out the rev5 brochure i have (i think i have a jdm brochure though, so likely in japanese), i do also have manual, but id guess its likely a pre rev5 one though.

[SonicSW20]

I have a UK Rev5 manual, I'll have a look in there after work and see if it's mentioned, though I doubt there will be any more than what your Google-Fu revealed.

[bobhatton]

We have them on our sprint and hill climb cars set to max, must be 3 I think and no high speeds, but if I was going for top speed 160+ I would set to 1.

[Mikey637]

We have them on our sprint and hill climb cars set to max, must be 3 I think and no high speeds, but if I was going for top speed 160+ I would set to 1.

Does it make any noticeable difference Bob?

[bobhatton]

Not that I can tell, we have too many other things on the car to make them corner well. We have to run stock body parts so that should be the best stock wing.

[gnzyza]

I presume the owners manual suggesting more downforce on 3 is probably not backed by testing but merely what we know about physics. I'm sure it probably does have a slight affect in downforce and drag?

[jimGTS]

I presume the owners manual suggesting more downforce on 3 is probably not backed by testing but merely what we know about physics. I'm sure it probably does have a slight affect in downforce and drag?

maybe the spoiler was made to be adjustable so they only had to make 1 spoiler for testing and then they could decide what the default position should be?
the other 2 were just bonus positions for the user?

[RikH77]

Iirc my manual mentions increased downforce...

[shinny]

maybe the spoiler was made to be adjustable so they only had to make 1 spoiler for testing and then they could decide what the default position should be?
the other 2 were just bonus positions for the user?

I don't buy that really... it will have cost Toyota more money to make the adjustable version than simply molding a fixed version (even if they used the adjustable version in testing). Just think about it compared to the rev3 spoiler:

5 parts to mold and paint, not 1
2 new seals between blade and support
different seals on the body
6 new bolts securing the blade
4 new bolts securing end caps
2 new stickers inside the supports
copywriting costs for user manuals
copywriting costs for workshop manuals

Given all that extra cost, they must have thought there was value in users choosing the angle. Regardless of what the prototype was like, Toyota wouldn't have shipped it as adjustable out of laziness.

[Race Idiot]

I mean the aero differences must be negligible, but now im tempted to set mine to the 'maximum attack' angle

[dansREV2turbo]

It would be very difficult to mould it as a 1 piece due to the shape, most likely to cost more to produce with the finishing included. Casting lines are easier hide rather than remove.

[gnzyza]

I can see the appeal in making a adjustable spoiler, this is a era when the japs were throwing out all sorts. But I do not think it was wind tunnel tested, they just used angles they knew should theoretically produce more down force....my theory

[jimGTS]

Just for the hell of it as I was interested to see this evening

Options



1


3

[shinny]

It would be very difficult to mould it as a 1 piece due to the shape, most likely to cost more to produce with the finishing included. Casting lines are easier hide rather than remove.

Really?? The rev3 spoiler is a single piece, so they clearly worked out how to mould that. The aftermarket copies are a single piece too, meaning you don't need Toyota's huge industrial experience to achieve it with that specific shape either

[synXero]

I had an OEM blade on the beams and a brilliant full carbon version which I somehow got hold of on my old white rev3 MR2 (and I hand painted the carbon feet white...). Both I left in position 2, because as Jim's photos show, you get weird uneven spacing around the blade ends where it joins the spoiler feet. Looks wrong to me and I always presumed it was adjustable more for quirk and novelty value than for actual performance.

[jimGTS]

the airflow coming off 3 compared to 1 will mean more downforce for sure.
at what speeds it becomes noticeable is another question.


but i do agree 3 looks odd compared to the ends.

i think 2 as you say will actually look ok.



for anyone interested, this is a BRILLIANT video on OEM aero on a few different 80/90s JDM cars, also the GT86.

shows the old 80s rx7 as actually very aerodynamic compared to the mr2s/supra.

if you got a hour to kill!

ttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=quDLzxmJl5I