This AM when I got on the FWY as I accelerated, the warning (!) light came on, along with the spoiler indicator light as I passed 50MPH. I looked in the rear view mirror and noted that the spoiler had not extended, even though I was well over 50mph. I tried to extend the spoiler manually, but could not.

At the next interchange I decelerated to below 50mph, then accelerated back over 50mph, then the spoiler extended, with no lights or warnings as normal.

Is the warning just a hicup or an indication of something?
Anyone ever have this happen and what does it mean?

 

for me there is no chance to see the spoiler from the drivers seat anyways...

and i never had the issue as you described above...

 

Funny, I noticed the same thing happened a few times lately to me with my spoiler as well. I also noticed once or twice that it didn't drop when I stopped. I take it as a hiccup, since it worked later on.

Does the spoiler have any real function, unless you are traveling well in excess of 100mph, which I rarely ever do? If not, I'm probably not going to spend much time and/or money to fix what is just a cool cosmetic feature.

Sounds like a hiccup on a not very critical component to me...

 

Mine stopped working a while back and I had to have a new gear mechanism in (whatever they're called). I was told it's important that it work as it helps cool the engine.

 

@gbd:

1. cooling
2. cooling
3. cooling
4. aerodynamics
.
.
.

849. cosmetic

 

Check the cable that connects to the spoiler motor. It may have popped out and only partially turning the wheels that lift the spoiler.

 

Thanks for the education!

OK here's a stupid question then. If it's so important for cooling why does it not lift til 50 mph? Does the engine not need to be cooled at lesser speeds? In a city with heavy traffic, it would be possible for the spoiler to seldom automatically go up. If it is so critical to cool the engine, I'd imagine the spoiler would be temperature, rather than speed, activated, no?

Also what real world aerodynamic benefits would the spoiler give at speeds less than, say, 100 mph? I understand the spoiler reduces lift, but I'd imagine that only comes into play at much higher speeds than the 50mph that activates the spoiler.

Any info would be appreciated...

 

At lower speeds, the air follows the shape of the car and gets sucked into the engine. At high speeds the air can't follow the shape of the body and a low pressure area develops near the base of the rear window. This can cause the air in the engine compartment to move less and thus retain more heat and get warmer. The spoiler extends into the airflow and directs more air into the engine compartment and changes the shape of the body to create a higher pressure, or at least less lower pressure thus creating downforce, or less lift.

I knew those aerodynamic engineering classes would come in helpful!

 

I don't know at what speeds the spoiler starts to create effective downforce, but my recollection is that aerodynamic forces build as the square of velocity so they rise pretty fast. Most people experience this with acceleration, or drag. Your car can be pretty fast to 130, but that last 40 mph takes a lot of power to get to. Downforce is similar. You may not see much effect at 60 mph but you'll see quite a bit more at 90.

 

here we go, german only. sorry...

 

New 911 Carrera

The developer designed a particularly aerodynamically clean driving concept, which can offer a very good air resistance with a Cd-value of 0.33. With the new Carrera it is a particularly remarkable act in that it gets along well because of its well balanced air circulation without lift, which supports driving safety at high speeds effectively. The aerodynamic assistance becomes effective only with driving speeds over 80 km/h, so the tail spoiler was designed to be electrically extendable on the engine compartment lid. Visually, while stationary, the typical 911 rear end is not altered. When fully deployed, the spoiler provides effective engine compartment ventilation and cooling of the engine, while providing an enormous amount of air. The unmistakable sound of the Carrera motor remained.

 

...at high engine speed the fan/blower delivers one cubic meter air per second, which means 3,600 cubic meter per hour, or three times the weight of the car (4,300 kg).

thanks Edgy01 for the first part

 

+1
I will have to check my mirror for this. I do hear an audible 'click' from the spoiler switch relay itself when the spoiler is activated or fully retracted. Never seen any mention of that before from anyone else here, perhaps no one else can hear this subtle indication anyway over their Stage II's and the like (I still have a stock exhaust,) or perhaps my spoiler switch is dying.

Thanks for the info!

 

^^^^^^^^^^
same same here... "click" when final position out. "click" when final position in

 

I can just barely see the upper edge if I stretch my neck and move closer to the mirror, but I definitely can see it. Helps that I have a long torso too, even though I am only 5'8".