Originally Posted by crossbowme
This is educating; but, I must ask the question - why does the SRT6 have a fixed spoiler? I can't imagine there is much lift at slow speeds so why not just use the original spoiler?
(By the way, for you young squirts, if you want to see a car with lift, you should try a '59 Chevrolet at 100mph! Now that car was not made for those with faint heart. If you hit a crosswind at that speed, the son-of-a-b***h wanted to crab into the wind! Ah, the good old days! I will take the good new days any time when it comes to cars.)
Are you sure that the SRT6 has a spoiler and not a wing?
My understanding is that the SRT6 has a wing, unlike the spoiler found on the limited and base models. The difference is that the aerodynamic efficiency is much higher on a wing (less drag than a dam or spoiler for a given amount of lift.)
With general approximations of a 1' chord and 5' span, in free air (which the SRT6's wing is definitely not, but I am just assuming this for argument's sake) the downforce at 80 mph is as follows:
0% camber:
-2 deg angle of attack: 18 lbs
-4 deg angle of attack: 36 lbs
-6 deg angle of attack: 54 lbs
-8 deg angle of attack: 72 lbs
-2% camber:
-2 deg angle of attack: 39 lbs
-4 deg angle of attack: 57 lbs
-6 deg angle of attack: 75 lbs
-8 deg angle of attack: 93 lbs
-4% camber:
-2 deg angle of attack: 60 lbs
-4 deg angle of attack: 78 lbs
-6 deg angle of attack: 96 lbs
-8 deg angle of attack: 114 lbs
-6% camber:
-2 deg angle of attack: 81 lbs
-4 deg angle of attack: 99 lbs
-6 deg angle of attack: 117 lbs
-8 deg angle of attack: 135 lbs
I don't have an SRT6, so I can't measure the camber nor the angle of attack. But there are the numbers if anyone is curious and does some measurements.
As for why the SRT6 has more aerodynamic aids than the base/limited models, my guess is this:
Acceleration, not Top Speed: The SRT6 has more than 70 ft-lbs torque on the base/limited crossfires. About 25% more torque. And at speed, this additional torque must be applied to the ground without wheel slippage or loss of traction. At a standing start, a lack of traction may at worst causes a low-speed impact. At 80mph, throttle in a low enough gear could be disasterous without sufficient traction.