I'm trying to make the maverick very aerodynamic. I was thinking about a front valence spoiler, don't know if that's enough. Need something that I can ideally drive around with. I suppose I could always bolt it on and off if needed.
It's supposed to prevent air from rushing underneath the car at high speeds, causing drag {moving air getting tangled and trapped with everything under the car} and lift, {high speed air trying to lift the car} Most high speed cars are designed with flat bottoms or belly pans covering everything to prevent this F1 cars and some high end exotics are designed with tunnels underneath which provide downforce, which helps keep them glued to the track
those chin spoilers in my opinion do not do much in terms of aerodynamics, but they should direct more air into your radiator. I think if you want something that's functional you may have to make it from scratch.
A front spoiler should give you better grip at high speeds but not be more aerodynamic. The guys with the 99-04 Mustangs have put on a Mach I front spoiler and actually noticed a decrease in fuel mileage due to the increased drag. If your handling is fine and you are only looking to decrease drag to improve MPH then I dont think adding a front spoiler will accomplish this goal unless you made some bigger modifcations to the front end. Maybe you need to find a Drag N Fly Maverick.
As for material, if I were to build an air dam is aluminum too much or should I go with some sort of plastic? I may try the chin spoiler since my biggest concern is getting enough air flow through the radiator going 140mph.
Are you building it permanently or just for the race?...If it's just temporary i would probably just do it out of aluminum.....Make it functional and strong enough so there's no deflection, looks be damned
it is mostly going to be for the race it would be nice to be able to leave it on the car but since it's a daily driver I'm sure it would be demolished after one week of driving it around
The problem will be more getting the air out of the engine compartment. I think it was on the Sunbeam Tiger with the 260 V8 they cut a 4”x6” hole in each fender aprons so the air/heat had a place to exit.
There will be absolutely no issue with insufficient airflow at 140mph and this issue is very misunderstood by many. Trapping or funneling too much air into the engine bay.. and ultimately allowing it to end up under the car.. can hurt high speed stability. Especially on fast sweepers with even slight gradient/elevation changes as the front rises and funnels additional air where you least want it to go. The old school method was to just shim the rear of the hood up a few inches to allow a vent up and over the car.. BUT it's not the safest method since any coolant or oil leaks will blind you if suddenly sprayed onto the windshield. As for the cheapy bolt on chin spoilers helping at high speed? They certianly do.. but just not to the extent that a wider/lower track only design would. However, the cheap bolt ons will serve double duty and make the car look the part without many mods being required. Using notched-to-fit fender washers.. or my favorite valve cover hold down/load spreaders.. will keep them from flexing as bad(and trust me here.. they do flex at such high speeds) and eventual crazing/cracking issues. You really need to balance the need for high speed stability with the additional drag created by the dam. And with that in mind.. this is a road going car the majority of the time that could see slight improvement from the cheaper bolt on spoiler at the track.. while still allowing you to actually make it into parking lots without damage. If it was mainly a track duty car with very little street use.. I would go the full effort and have an adjustable custom-fit aluminum one made up.
