rear "wing" purpose?

[thunderpaw]

ok, our "new" '97 4runner has one of those little wings at the top of the rear hatch.

What the heck is that supposed to do?

Does is just clean up the air flow on the rear window so you don't get as much splash? Does it even do that much?

I can't imagine that is does anything at all worthwhile....

 

[webshot]

It maintains rear-end traction when you hit 150 MPH! ;-)

 

[thunderpaw]

It maintains rear-end traction when you hit 150 MPH! ;-)

LOL yeah, that's what I thought

probably adds about 20 HP to the engine too - but not as much as a NOS sticker would...

 

[peter78]

I drove a friends SUV and when it started to drizzle I noticed I had to use the rear wiper. With my rear wing I noticed I don't have to use the rear wiper as much. So I guess it deflects some or the rain.

Another benifit that is something I am sure no one else would notice. When I put my kevlar canoe on the top, the rear wing prevents scratches to the rear when I take the canoe off.

 

[Thai]

Yup, what Peter said. The spoiler is there to push dirt/dust/water down. For an SUV, dust gets kicked up from rear wheels...so this spoiler helps counteract that.

Truth be known, i don't see it being very effective at all.

BTW, for performance sake, this spoiler is probably bad because it increases wind resistance...thus, may decrease fuel economy on a microscopic scale.

 

[thunderpaw]

Cool, that's pretty much what I thought.

The protection of the hatch from loading objects is actually probably more useful than the wind deflection!

I would expect losing it would gain a tiny bit in MPG but not significant enough to bother....

 

[Neech]

I think it makes the whole truck look a lot better than without it. Epecially the profile shot!

 

[peter78]

It does look kind of funky, doesn't it. Kind of belongs on a sports car. Mine came with a travel package which includes the wing, tow hitch, roof rack and rear cargo mat. The package helps bring the price down and since I wanted all the other stuff, it made sense, well kind of made sense.:rainbo:

 

[gaslight]

it helps force air coming over the top of vehicle down along the window to help keep it clean. I think its real helpful to have but doesn't look good. You see a lot of those on buses around here. Keeps the back of the vehicles clean so You can see out the windows.