Slats at the back of cars ?

neiler987

hey was just wondering if anyone would be able to explain to me what slats at the back of cars exactly do and how they work ? I just know that they increase speed and it has something to do with aerodynamics ?

Not in extreme complicated detail but in a way most people would be able ti understand ?

And if u wanted them on your car about how much roughly would they cost ?
?

Any help would be appreciated thanks

Mar4ix

i think it for some extra cargo. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roof_rack

fletch

Are you talking about diffusers?

fryup

i think OP means the spoiler ?

neiler987

neiler987 wrote: »

hey was just wondering if anyone would be able to explain to me what slats at the back of cars exactly do and how they work ? ............
And if u wanted them on your car about how much roughly would they cost ?
?

Any help would be appreciated thanks

For a road car they're there for looks essentially and do close to f all, that's not too complicated an explanation and most folk should be able to understand it :pac:

keithclancy

neiler987 wrote: »

hey was just wondering if anyone would be able to explain to me what slats at the back of cars exactly do and how they work ? I just know that they increase speed and it has something to do with aerodynamics ?

Not in extreme complicated detail but in a way most people would be able ti understand ?

And if u wanted them on your car about how much roughly would they cost ?
?

Any help would be appreciated thanks

Think of it like an upside down Aeroplane wing.

If an Aeroplane travels forward the wings create lift and the Aeroplane goes up.

Its pointed the other way on a car so if it goes faster it pushes the car down and creates more grip, infact it would slow the car down becuase theres more friction with road.

In reality though most road car drivers never drive fast enough to get the benefit.

pajo1981

Slats? Surely he's referring to the recent trend of adding a diffuser like thing to the back of cars?

R.O.R

pajo1981 wrote: »

Slats? Surely he's referring to the recent trend of adding a diffuser like thing to the back of cars?

He can't surely mean something like this?


Haven't seen these on cars since the early 80's.

pajo1981

This kind of craic:

robtri

R.O.R wrote: »

He can't surely mean something like this?


Haven't seen these on cars since the early 80's.

thats what i though the op meant as well..... good they bring back memories

Conor_M1990

If its a diffuser its to channel air underneath the car so the air flow is smoother ,less drag makes to the car go faster and better on fuel

enda1

Hah! That picture above reminds me of Kanye and his specs.

For the Porsche cars its for engine cooling, is this what the OP's on about?

cor1.3

perhpas he means spats not slats?

neiler987

keithclancy wrote: »

Think of it like an upside down Aeroplane wing.

If an Aeroplane travels forward the wings create lift and the Aeroplane goes up.

Its pointed the other way on a car so if it goes faster it pushes the car down and creates more grip, infact it would slow the car down becuase theres more friction with road.

In reality though most road car drivers never drive fast enough to get the benefit.

Thanks for the example !

I dont get how that would slow the car down though ? If the ride height of the car was lower to the ground because of the slats would that not increase grip AND speed instead of decreasing speed ?

What about in a car like the ferrari scuderia which has slats and the driver was a bit mad for speed ?

neiler987

Conor_M1990 wrote: »

If its a diffuser its to channel air underneath the car so the air flow is smoother ,less drag makes to the car go faster and better on fuel

thanks

would u have any idea of how fast u would need to be going roughly in miles an hour to get benefits from the slats ?
or would that just depend on the car ?

whippet

neiler987 wrote: »

thanks

would u have any idea of how fast u would to be going roughly in miles an hour to get benefits from the slats ?
or would that just depend on the car ?

depending on the car again .. probably in excess of 100mph to gain anything noticeable on a track focused car.

On a day of driving single seaters on a track (Formula Palmer) it was quite noticeable at above 90mph.

I would suggest that if you are actually asking what spoilers/wings actually are and what benefit they provide I would guess that you would have no practical use for one ... apart from the perceived ascetic value it would add nothing to most daily driver

keithclancy

neiler987 wrote: »

Thanks for the example !

I dont get how that would slow the car down though ? If the ride height of the car was lower to the ground because of the slats would that not increase grip AND speed instead of decreasing speed ?

What about in a car like the ferrari scuderia which has slats and the driver was a bit mad for speed ?

Well the spoiler creates drag, meaning the engine has to do more work to push the car forward:

E.G. with the Bugatti Veyron:

http://www.squidoo.com/bugatti-veyron

Yes as covered earlier the top speed of this crazy supped up go-cart is 253 mph, if it is speed that you want, you need to get out of the car, you actually have to physically stop the car and turn a key, the Bugatti top speed key. This is where it becomes ludicrous, the ground clearance in "top speed mode" is a miniscule 2.6 inches, and has virtually no drag, the rear brick (spoiler) becomes streamlined with the rear of the car, so now instead of a 0.41cw drag we come down to a 0.39cw drag.

The force used to push the car into the ground creates drag.

Tea 1000

neiler987 wrote: »

Thanks for the example !

I dont get how that would slow the car down though ? If the ride height of the car was lower to the ground because of the slats would that not increase grip AND speed instead of decreasing speed ?

What about in a car like the ferrari scuderia which has slats and the driver was a bit mad for speed ?

Sounds like you're still confusing two different things here. A spoiler is usually mounted on the boot, or back of the car, on top. It generates downforce by being like an aircraft wing upside down. Downforce also increases drag, therefore slows the car down.
Diffusers are slightly different. They alter the aerodynamic properties of the car which would help downforce in a different way by speeding up the air leaving the back of the car which would cause lower air pressure under the car, thus increasing downforce that way. These would have no negative effect on the speed of the car, and may even help a little.

You need to clarify what you're talking about though. There are no such thing as slats (unless you're talking about an aircraft), so clarify if you mean diffusers like in post 9 or spoilers like here: