rx900 said:
First time I'm testing the spoiler in the rain, left the 4R outside the garage the whole night while it was raining, come to see it in the morning and the rear window doesn't look as soaked as the other windows. I see the spoiler is so wet but Im guessin the spoiler accumulated all the water from the rain?!??!?! MY first and only effective spoiler I've had! :bigok:
If I understand rx900 correctly, I don't think the 4th Gen spoilers were designed and intended to work this way like a visor to keep rain water off the rear tailgate window. Also, I think the 4R spoilers were designed with the intention of not just for looks, but to serve a purpose to help minimize road dust accumulating on the rear window and tailgate.
Although I haven't yet seen any technical explanation or information by the original designers, being an inquizitive engineer myself and my personal inspection of the spoiler configuration, I think the spoiler works by causing some of the air over the top of the vehicle to be drawn down over the rear of the vehicle as it is driven. As the vehicle moves forward, air over the vehicle is caught by the lifted edge of the spoiler front face and diverted down the slot between the spoiler and top of the tailgate. Also, the negative (vacuum) pressure created behind the vehicle as it moves forward helps pull this sheet of air down over the tailgate. Because the air from the top of the vehicle is generally less dusty then the air sucked up from behind the moving vehicle, the air diverted by the spoiler to flow over the tailgate shields it from the dust-laden air kicked up by the moving vehicle; dust that otherwise may be deposited on the rear of the vehicle is thus reduced.
I haven't yet driven my 4R on any dusty roads since installing my spoiler last October, but I'm anxious to see how effective this spoiler design is. I have previously driven my 4R on miles of unpaved dirt roads in Baja, and the rear window and tailgate get coated with a thick layer of fine dust that it's difficult to see out the rear window The dust is obnoxious when you need to open up the tailgate and to keep the dust from getting inside on stuff. Next time I get a chance off road, I'll see if I can give a report on how effective the spoiler in reducing dust on the rear tailgate.
I like the SpoilerFactory style, which conforms to the 2003-2004 sleek design. The post 2003-2004 style is deeper (or fatter to others) with a higher lifted front edge, but was probably a redesign in attempt to be more efffective in catching and diverting air down over the vehicle rear, and hence, to keep dust off more effectively. However, I haven't yet seen any information, which compares and prove which of the two basic design works better.
:driving:
