Faced with the concept of “car tuning”, which is not known only to beginner car enthusiasts. On the roads, there are often foreign cars with aerodynamic dodgers, straight-through mufflers, powerful acoustic systems. On expensive SUVs, power dodgers are installed, and often there are cars with aerography. But today I will tell you in detail how to upgrade your car to still be competitive! Let’s go!
Tuning in The West
Many motorists think that external tuning is made only for decorative purposes and does not bear any practical benefit. It is absolutely not true: any professional car racer will tell you that all sorts of “tricks” should not only look nice but also have some useful functions, such as aerodynamic or best tonneau cover for Jeep Gladiator. Besides, they have to meet the safety requirements, not to hurt neither a driver nor a car.
The Antifender Is the Main Element of Tuning
According to its principle of operation, it can be called a kind of a rear spoiler, which has long been used in tuning. The correct antifender is an inverted wing, like an airplane. Of course, there are many variants of antifender design present in the market nowadays – you can often find even triple-decker constructions.
Is it possible to turn any rounded board into an antifender? It’s hard to say. In this case, it means much more the correct positioning of the antifender: it should not be placed too far from the car body, because then its useful action will be little visible. The correct design of the antifender, tailored to each specific car, allows the best results. Not only the shape and size of the antifender are important, but also the angle at which it will be installed. Installing it in the right place will load the front of the car and increase downforce on the rear.
It’s impossible to optimize the load on both axles using only the antifender, which requires the installation of a spoiler on the front bumper, which also improves the car’s aerodynamics by 40%. The front spoiler is needed, first of all, to ensure that as little air as possible gets under the bottom of the car when driving. For the same purpose, you can get rid of unnecessary (aerodynamically) parts, such as tow hooks. It is not necessary to remove them, it is enough to cover them with something.
Bumper
The front bumper is extremely important to reduce air resistance. In its design, the bottom edge is the most important – it should extend as far forward as possible and go as low to the ground as possible. It is good if there is an opportunity to test it in a wind tunnel beforehand.
Why is it undesirable for the air to penetrate under the bottom of the car? The fact is that the air masses that get under the bottom of the body swirl and fill the rarefied space behind the car. Unfortunately, this takes quite a lot of energy from the car, and the high pressure that the air creates reduces downforce. It has a very negative effect on the driving characteristics of the car. By the way, the effect that the air that escapes from under the car is well noticeable in the fall when the fallen leaves fly out from under the cars. For the same reason, powerful cars with low ground clearance, passing at high speed, sometimes pull even heavy sewer manhole covers.
Front Spoiler
In an attempt to combat these air currents, some car manufacturers install special panels on the bottom that cover the undercarriage parts that trap the air currents. But a good front spoiler brings more benefits, and it is more profitable in terms of money. Its usage leads to the so-called “ground effect” – the car starts to stick to the road itself, as there is rarefied air under it.
Another interesting application of the front spoiler is to increase safety at high speeds, which is achieved by increasing the downforce acting on the front axle. The front bumper skirt can be used to install additional equipment such as fog lights. The air resistance from such lights is not too great, but it is better if they are installed away from the sides and closer to the center.
Rear spoiler
Another frequently used element of external tuning is the rear spoiler. It has a similar effect with the antifender on the rear axle of the car, only it is installed not on the bumper, but on the trunk, less often – on the roof edge behind. It is known that a well-chosen rear spoiler can remove the necessity of using an antifender.
In addition to the fact that the downforce on the rear of the car increases, the airflow goes more orderly. It is interesting that this property allows reducing contamination of the rear window, but the deflectors – the devices which change the direction of airflow – cope with the same task perfectly.
Deflectors
The installation of deflectors can both improve the aerodynamic properties of the car and worsen them. It is enough to direct air blow to the rear window, the lifting force will be considerably increased, and therefore the fuel consumption will also increase. Different “gadgets”, which car owners like to put on their SUVs, will affect fuel consumption even more strongly: an ordinary spare tire, hanging behind, will increase gasoline consumption by 1 liter per 100 kilometers. In addition, chandeliers made of spotlights, which are installed on the roof, and kangaroos are popular. Each of these decorative elements will also increase consumption by 1 liter.
Bottom Line
All in all, here I have discussed the Basics of Car Maintenance. It is impossible not to mention such popular elements of external tuning, as covers on a hood. These unpretentious devices, which are mostly needed only for beauty, usually worsen the aerodynamic properties of the car. Only functional pads have useful effects when it comes to hood cutouts. Only special studies can determine where on the hood a zone of reduced pressure is created. Once this zone is found, the master makes a hole in it and installs a special overlay. The result can be a variety of positive effects, including lowering the heat load, improving engine airflow, and increasing the airflow through the radiator. It’s a very useful thing, unlike deflectors and “flappers” that not only worsen the aerodynamics of the car but can really ruin the hood of the car.
