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centerchannel68 · Feb 20, 2007, 01:28 PM

I'm kinda torn on whether or not to remove my spoiler. The original design penned by Guigiaro of Italdesign was the car WITHOUT a spoiler, same goes for the almost identical lotus concept car. In fact, non american SVXs came without a spoiler, or a totally different one thatn the ones in the US. The USA dealerships ADDED these spoilers, and apart from being not part of the original design, it weighed the trunklid down, causing the trunk struts to fail quite frequently. So... I'm considering removing it, and filling in the holes. Your thoughts?

PS: Spoilerless silver pic is an SVX with mazda RX8 wheels. I'm in love. They look perfect, aside from the mazda center caps. I'm going to start saving for some.

Pic with spoiler:

Pic without spoiler:

Dakar² · Feb 20, 2007, 01:30 PM

Tough call.

cSurfr · Feb 20, 2007, 01:33 PM

I'm all for removing it. . . especially if yours is that slick silver color. . . of course, the rims make the car though...

sek929 · Feb 20, 2007, 01:35 PM

But you'll lose 15 HP!!!

Gossamer · Feb 20, 2007, 01:36 PM

I kinda like it, but I definitely understand how irritating it can be to have the hatchback struts fail, when it was cold, my Probe's trunk wouldn't stay open.

cSurfr · Feb 20, 2007, 01:38 PM

Originally Posted by Gossamer

I kinda like it, but I definitely understand how irritating it can be to have the hatchback struts fail, when it was cold, my Probe's trunk wouldn't stay open.

Because of the spoiler? Even the glass on my explorer doesn't like to stay open when it's 13 degrees outside.

Doofy · Feb 20, 2007, 01:38 PM

Yeah, remove it. Think of all the drag it's creating.

centerchannel68 · Feb 20, 2007, 01:40 PM

My trunk will stay open fine, it just slams shut, and it requires a bit of effort to open.

PS: God I love those wheels. My car is going to stay black, but probably a slightly different black in the future. Something with a bit of blue metallic in it. Very very very dark, deep midnight blue/black color I think. Who knows. Maybe I'll change my mind again.

cSurfr · Feb 20, 2007, 01:40 PM

Rob, if you hadn't pointed out that they were Mazda wheels, I doubt anyone would even notice.

centerchannel68 · Feb 20, 2007, 01:41 PM

Originally Posted by Doofy

Yeah, remove it. Think of all the drag it's creating.

Well, it's more of a wing than a spoiler, so it doesn't really create that much drag. It's just aesthetics and design integrity that I'm torn about.

cSurfr · Feb 20, 2007, 01:45 PM

It looks as if the silver one has different taillights than the other . . . the silver being a true product of japan?

centerchannel68 · Feb 20, 2007, 01:48 PM

Nope, same taillights. I think that is a japanese SVX, but they swapped the taillights for american versions. Japanese versions have the reverse lights in a slightly different location, and it says 'acylone' instead of SVX. I think it just looks different because I didn't have my lights on in that pic, and my car was slightly dingy. Here's another pic:*

That's with the old stock exhaust. I like my stebro better. Heh. I just wish the tips were totally horizontal.

Mrjinglesusa · Feb 20, 2007, 01:49 PM

Lose it. Spoilers are next to useless in cars that don't go 200+ MPH. I think it looks better without - cleaner lines.

sek929 · Feb 20, 2007, 01:52 PM

Originally Posted by Mrjinglesusa

Lose it. Spoilers are next to useless in cars that don't go 200+ MPH. I think it looks better without - cleaner lines.

Little plastic spoilers create no down force, WINGS produce downforce, spoilers are there for looks.

centerchannel68 · Feb 20, 2007, 01:55 PM

It does produce downforce, not sure how much, but it is functional..... a cross section is like an inverted airplane wing. I've seen the back end get lower as speeds increase on other SVXs... and I do like high speed driving....

argh.

And for the record, wings can be effective at speeds as low as 40mph, depending on the size. Obviously one that's effective at 40mph will be huge, and create a TON of drag at higher speeds.

centerchannel68 · Feb 20, 2007, 01:57 PM

Originally Posted by sek929

Little plastic spoilers create no down force, WINGS produce downforce, spoilers are there for looks.

Sorta. Those little 'lip' spoilers on the trunks of cars actually 'spoil' the airflow, decreasing drag. Without them, there would be a low pressure area right behind the car that would increase drag.... disrupting the smooth airflow causes turbulence, which ruins that low pressure area. Spoilers work on the same principles of why golf balls have dimples.

Wings generate downforce, or lift, depending on how they're oriented. So yeah... I ****ed up. I guess I'm technically talking about a wing, not a spoiler. Whatever. I still don't know.

ajprice · Feb 20, 2007, 02:02 PM

I'd say lose it, if if American SVX's come standard with the spoiler, then yours will be different by taking it off!

. I'll also take a guess that that spoiler blocks your rear view a little. And I agree with what sek says, most plastic wings do nothing for downforce, the only ones i can think of that do are the European Ford Escort & Sierra RS Cosworth models, with the 'Whale Tail' spoilers on them.

centerchannel68 · Feb 20, 2007, 02:43 PM

I'm all for being different, but crapping on my hood would be different, and not necessarily good. Do you honestly like the look of it better without it?

Doofy · Feb 20, 2007, 02:55 PM

It actually looks better with the spoiler. Bit bland around the back end without.

hickey · Feb 20, 2007, 03:03 PM

that silver SVX is absolutely stunning.

centerchannel68 · Feb 20, 2007, 03:10 PM

Yeah I know. It's pretty amazing what that set of wheels does for the looks of the car. The factory alloys really date the car and make it look kinda crappy.

Gossamer · Feb 20, 2007, 03:31 PM

Originally Posted by centerchannel68

Nope, same taillights. I think that is a japanese SVX, but they swapped the taillights for american versions. Japanese versions have the reverse lights in a slightly different location, and it says 'acylone' instead of SVX. I think it just looks different because I didn't have my lights on in that pic, and my car was slightly dingy. Here's another pic:*

That's with the old stock exhaust. I like my stebro better. Heh. I just wish the tips were totally horizontal.

That picture is way too big and takes forever to download. It may be novel to have your own server but if you're trying to post 300K images with an 8KB/sec download speed, that's just ridiculous.

centerchannel68 · Feb 20, 2007, 03:35 PM

Sorry, bittorrenting top gear at the moment.

Paco500 · Feb 20, 2007, 05:13 PM

Another vote for getting rid of it. It doesn't look bad, just slightly less good in my opinion.

And new wheels would be nice as well.

Gossamer · Feb 20, 2007, 05:19 PM

The SVX reminds me of the 89-92 Probes from the rear.

Paco500 · Feb 20, 2007, 05:23 PM

Just got curious and started looking at other photos of SVXs. Like this one:

I now think it looks MUCH better w/o the spoiler. Loose it.

Paco500 · Feb 20, 2007, 05:31 PM

Originally Posted by Gossamer

Probes from the rear.

hee hee.

Gossamer · Feb 20, 2007, 05:55 PM

Originally Posted by Paco500

hee hee.

Try Googling for a picture of that...

cjrivera · Feb 20, 2007, 06:32 PM

Originally Posted by Gossamer

Try Googling for a picture of that...

Man, I must have my Google safesearch filter on...

Nodnarb · Feb 20, 2007, 06:41 PM

I think spoilers are stupid unless you race. Otherwise they're purely for looks.

macroy · Feb 20, 2007, 06:56 PM

I like it better without it. But I'm more into the "refined" or "sleeper" look.

I may catch some flak for this.. but doesn't that sort of look like a bangle butt? For whatever its worth, I'm starting to like it on certain cars now (Camry, ES450, the M coupe etc..).

nonhuman · Feb 20, 2007, 06:57 PM

Originally Posted by cjrivera

Man, I must have my Google safesearch filter on...

Apparently...

This is what I call a 'probe from the rear':

brassplayersrock² · Feb 20, 2007, 07:18 PM

take it off!!!! w00t! err, yeah take them off, I personally would like to see them off the car. that's me though

-a

Gossamer · Feb 20, 2007, 08:04 PM

Originally Posted by brassplayersrock

take it off!!!! w00t! err, yeah take them off, I personally would like to see them off the car. that's me though

them??

brassplayersrock² · Feb 20, 2007, 08:22 PM

you after me tonight? what'd i do? anyways, ya know what i meant

-a

imitchellg5 · Feb 20, 2007, 08:28 PM

I say off. It looks nice without it. I think it looks okay with it on. I've been wanting to take the spoiler off of my Volvo. It'd be kinda sleeper then, like a non-turbo 850.

Rev-O · Feb 20, 2007, 08:32 PM

Off. The spoiler on the SVX (nice looking car btw) always looked tacked on. Americans seem to need a spoiler or a wing or some kind of J.C. Whitney crap glued to a car to make it look sporty. IMHO, most of the stuff looks like crap.

macforray · Feb 20, 2007, 09:07 PM

Take it off...ooh baby ....take it off..... show me those......

Oh wait...........wrong thread.

d4nth3m4n · Feb 20, 2007, 09:24 PM

question: is your third brake light on the spoiler or the trunk? if it's on the trunk, i say go, take it off. i'm a fan of wing-less cars, sometimes a little lip spoiler (like they added to the TT) is a nice touch, but i think more than anything to my eye, you need a ground effect or something to "thicken" the ass end of a car or a spoiler.

the silver svx looks awesome, but maybe just from that angle. it has the same rear bumper cover as yours, so i can't really say if i'm 100% on this.

the real question is wether you want to fill and paintmatch... i'd be too lazy to deal with it, but it's your ride. how impossible is dropping in a forester transmission?

the_glassman · Feb 20, 2007, 11:00 PM

The only thing that I would worry about on that car is a transmission swap. Once you get the auto out of there you could worry about other stuff.

Gossamer · Feb 20, 2007, 11:45 PM

Originally Posted by d4nth3m4n

how impossible is dropping in a forester transmission?

Originally Posted by the_glassman

The only thing that I would worry about on that car is a transmission swap. Once you get the auto out of there you could worry about other stuff.

I'd definitely do the tranny before messing with rims.

Cipher13 · Feb 21, 2007, 01:04 AM

Lose it, I think it looks significantly better without it.

But hell, take it off and see what you think; if you immediately don't like it, put it back on.

centerchannel68 · Feb 21, 2007, 01:38 AM

Originally Posted by d4nth3m4n

question: is your third brake light on the spoiler or the trunk? if it's on the trunk, i say go, take it off. i'm a fan of wing-less cars, sometimes a little lip spoiler (like they added to the TT) is a nice touch, but i think more than anything to my eye, you need a ground effect or something to "thicken" the ass end of a car or a spoiler.

the silver svx looks awesome, but maybe just from that angle. it has the same rear bumper cover as yours, so i can't really say if i'm 100% on this.

the real question is wether you want to fill and paintmatch... i'd be too lazy to deal with it, but it's your ride. how impossible is dropping in a forester transmission?

It's on the trunk. Right now, it looks very chunky from behind in person (with the wing on it). Part of the draw of losing it would be that it would look a bit sleeker and lighter. As for paintmatch and fill, what are you talking about? Filling what? Ohhhhhhhh do you mean the holes caused by removing the wing? That's not really an issue because the entire car needs a paintjob. You can't see them in pics but it has millions of little tiny sandblasted nicks from 193,000 miles. As for dropping in a forester transmission, it's not that hard. The green SVX that's behind my black one has a forester 5spd and 4.11s. And a turbo. And a bunch of other stuff. That said, if I were to swap in a manual it'd be a 6spd from an STi, they're a lot stronger.

centerchannel68 · Feb 21, 2007, 01:39 AM

Originally Posted by the_glassman

The only thing that I would worry about on that car is a transmission swap. Once you get the auto out of there you could worry about other stuff.

Yeah, we'll see. I've driven a 'converted' SVX, and I'm not entirely sold on it yet. It's defintiely faster, and a lot more fun to drive, but it's lacking some refinement, and I don't quite sure know why. Maybe it's the shifter bushings.

centerchannel68 · Feb 21, 2007, 01:42 AM

Originally Posted by Gossamer

I'd definitely do the tranny before messing with rims.

We'll see. I don't mind the auto on the highway... so it really depends how my commute ends up when I get a really real job.

awaspaas · Feb 21, 2007, 02:05 AM

I hadn't noticed that before, but yes, the spoiler is a totally different design. From an entirely different palette of curves than the rest of the car. I say it looks better without.

centerchannel68 · Mar 16, 2007, 12:59 AM

Update, I'm totally convinced by this picture: