chuck911

Whoa there! Don't go dragging the venerable Fuchs into this! Best friggen' wheel ever made! (Okay there are now carbon fiber wheels- lets see how they're holding up 30 years on…)

But yeah, its definitely a style preference. The basic 991 body is easily the most awesomely beautiful car ever. It is perfect as perfect can be (at least until they make the next one) and needs no embellishment. So adaptive aero is the way to go. Fixed spoilers and wings, they do look a lot better, in and of themselves. But then they also alter the look- less elegant, more functional. It'll be nice to see how they improve the deployed look in future versions.

chuckbdc

Chuck. I just suggested the question. The answer is clear. They are fricken gorgeous the way they come on the 991/50.

chuck911

I just re-read it and realized you said "unlike when each [the Fuchs] was originally used…" How'd I miss that?! The "new Fuchs" looks good but you are right, unlike the original its not a performance item. Why aren't they making a proper carbon fiber Fuchs homage?

StudGarden

We should be glad it's not the Autobot contraption off the Panamera.

John 996 TT Cab

Personally I love the ducktail and as to performance if no benefit over the normal spoiler why does Porsche allow a normal spoiler with standard front end but requires the deeper front spoiler effect to mount a ducktail on the rear? I suspect that the ducktail gives just a little more downforce as it's designed for just that.

Bacura

Well I do agree the Panamera spoiler is ugly. But then again the Panamera itself is no beauty.

Galion

Whats not to love?
The 991 is beautiful without the ducktail/wing as well, but IMO the deployable spoiler looks pretty bad when deployed.

chuckbdc

Lots of possibilities:
If the ducktail balances out the increased downforce of the sport design front bumper cap, then you are right. That would also mean the standard trim front and rear would have a straight line advantage with less overall drag.

Then, there is the extra low front spoiler on 10 mm lower sport suspension cars, despite no ducktail or rear wing. So ride ride hight must have a significant effect in balancing the car.

Then, the rear spoiler does not deploy until about 80 mph, so the imbalance effects must be negligible below that speed.

Of course, there may be a strong marketing effect to balancing the options. These are extra cost options and, how does it go? Oh I remember: "Porsche: merchandizing is expected".

ipse dixit

That's my understanding (and what I've been told). It's one of the reasons Porsche does not offer (or sale) an OEM ducktail without the accompanying front spoiler -- it apparently upsets the downforce equilibrium of the car at high speeds.

Apparently, however, the Sport Design Pkg front spoiler by itself is compatible with the downforce generated by the standard flip-up tail.

Homeles

This discussion lacks one thing. How many people really drive their cars to the point where the aerodynamics really come into effect? When I installed the TechArt spoilers, I only had the rear installed before taking it on the track. At +150mph, I could feel the front end starting to lift from the lack of the front spoiler. 2 weeks later, after the front spoiler install, a noticeable difference at over 160.

I'm just saying.

ipse dixit

Very few, of course, as you allude to.

But, consider it from Porsche's perspective.

Let's say they let a customer pick and choose front and rear spoiler, and someone opts just for the ducktail spoiler and leaves the front "unspoiled" and then takes the car to the track and gets it up to 150+ and the car gets floaty on the straights and a bit wobbly on the curves.

Then comes on these boards and starts a post ranting and raving about how the 911 can't be driven at high speeds, and that it sucks, and that the C7 is much better ...

I'm just saying.

Larry Cable

checkout the US configurator, there is a new option package 'sport package' for $2060 that includes:

- sport chrono
- PSE
- sport design wheel
- sport design mirrors
- sport design aero

that's usually $10-11k set of options ...

its not yet selectable for some reason, but if you are thinking of a ducktail this would be the way to get it

chuckbdc

I would bet the standard retracting spoiler on the 991 is at least as effective as the ducktail. It has lots of area and is wider.

By the way, rear spoilers work to reduce the lift created by the sloping rear- more than to generate downs force. On my 911SC track car, the effect was very obvious in sweeping turns from about 80 mph- the car was better planted and far more stable, allowing more throttle. On 991s with higher rear ends and other better aero it like begins to be noticeable at somewhat higher speeds.

MerlinsGarage

It looks just right on race yellow. To my eye the "Duck" looks better on light colored 911's.
BTW, 100% positive feedback from Porsche and non-Porsche folks alike.

Pez D. Spencer

chuckbdc, agree, it reduces lift rather than create downforce. A car is kind of shaped like a wing, flat on the bottom and curved over the top, "tripping" (glider term) the airflow separates it from the wing, at some point, reducing both lift and drag. How much, I don't know. Will I ever go fast enough for it to matter, ???. MerlinsGarage, to my eye also. Jelly bean colors look great with a ducktail.