A spoiler is designed to “spoil” unfavorable air movement throughout the body of an automobile in motion. They function by disrupting or diffusing the airflow that passes over and around a vehicle as it passes over the vehicle. Diffusion is accomplished by increasing the amount of turbulence that flows over the shape, “spoiling” the laminar flow, thus providing a cushion for the laminar boundary layer. A lot of times spoilers are added to a vehicle for styling purposes rather than practical ones. They are often fitted to high performance racing or sports cars.
Spoilers are usually comprised of one of four different materials. ABS plastic is most commonly used to create spoilers by casting the plastic with various admixtures which brings about the plasticity of an otherwise flimsy material. The biggest disadvantage of using plastic is its frailness, which is increased with age and is usually caused by evaporation of volatile phenols. Fiberglass is used as part of the production of spoilers as well because of the low cost of the manufacturing process. A fiberglass spoiler is made up of fiberglass filler that is fastened with synthetic tar. Although fiberglass is unprofitable for large scale productions, this material proves to be very durable and workable.
In recent years, auto accessory manufacturers have turned to silicon-organic polymers. The great benefit for using this material is its extraordinary plasticity. Silicon provides a longer product life because it possesses extra high thermal characteristics. The most recent technique for spoiler production is fiberglass based on carbon fiber, since carbon is super light weight and durable. Unlike regular fiberglass, the solidification of the connecting tars takes place using high temperatures in the pressure chamber. Though this material is fairly inexpensive, manufacturers cannot widely use carbon fiber because of the large amount of waste that is accumulated during the production process.
