Quadcammer

right, but if you're driving the car, you won't see the spoiler

Quadcammer

It was my impression that the moveable spoiler, and the big whale tail on the turbo are used to get into the airstream to "grab" that airflow, as opposed to it passing right over the closed spoiler.

NP993

Again, if this was true, how was it possible for all the tail-less pre-964 Porsches to run cool at highway speeds? Explain it to me please.

Again, if this was true, how was it possible for all the tail-less pre-964 Porsches to run cool at highway speeds? Explain it to me please.

The tails do "grab" the airflow -- but this aids aerodynamics far more than it does cooling. I've owned my 993 for three years now, and have never seen the oil temps on the highway even crack 200F. Highway driving is the one area where you really don't have to worry about oil temps, because there is so much air flowing through the cooler, and the RPM's are up, forcing air through the motor.

I'm not sure where everyone acquired this idea that the electric spoiler is a cooling aid (as opposed to an aerodynamic and aesthetic one). Sure, maybe the tail in the up position helps direct a little more air to the motor. But was the motor starved for air before? No.

Amfab

+1

I dont know about silly, but the aesthetics are definitely messed up with the spoiler up.

As for being annoyed: everyone is annoyed by stuff, small and large. It seems that even others being annoyed can annoy some.

Coleman

When you are driving, and it's up.. hit the up button.. It will stay up now..

C/

Stealth 993

The fixed tail is just like the spoiler going up, it just doesn't go down. The TT's have a different fan/pulley ratio to pull in a bit more air. I "believe" that the fixed spoiler pulls in more air, as the surface area is much larger to catch the air moving over it.

Our cars & 964's run hotter then the earlier cars, lets not forget the engine is quite a big bigger. It also runs more HP/ltr, this creates more heat. The 946 spoiler didn't cut it, so they made it bigger for the 993.

The airflow coming off the roof is moving fast as it moves down the rear window, & starts to break up, the spoiler creates a low pressure area behind it, pulling the airflow into the engine bay, that little spoiler wall, also helps to pull the air into the engine bay.

There is a very simple test, get a temp probe, put it in the engine bay, drive around @ 45mph, record the temp, then put the spoiler up, do the same drive, & see what the temp is.

IXLR8

Its not a matter of that. Its just silly to have the thing go up and down everytime one comes to a stop. If I designed the spoiler control, I would have had it come down on speed and time...not just speed.

I just put mine up manually after I start the car and it stays there for the duration of the drive.

NP993

That wouldn't tell you much of anything. There's a huge amount of air flowing through the engine compartment when you're at speed. What we're concerned about here are oil temps, or to be even more precise, cylinder head temps. To get an accurate measure of the data that matters, you'd have to measure cylinder head temps or oil temps. Have at it.

This doesn't concern me in the slightest. My car doesn't get close to even running too warm, much less hot, on the highway, and yes, that included a month or two when my spoiler drive gear broke and the tail was fixed in the down position.

This idea of the electric spoiler being a key component of engine cooling is a fantasy. I'll make a bet right here in public: those of you who believe this, put the spoiler down and go drive your car down the highway. Then put it up and do the same drive. If you see any difference in oil temps, I'll eat my gym socks.

2Many Cars

If I had a big butt I could also argue I didn't care because I never see it but at the end of the day I'd rather not have a big butt.

+1 I was following a C4 in traffic not long ago and the spoiler was wagging up and down - it just looks silly.

All of this is true but I think the speeds where this comes into play are pretty high, especially relative to our US speed limits. Ruf, who I think most agree does their homework on mods, thinks that spoiler deployment only at 70+ mph is safe so I'm good with that.

Noah, I messed with this too and couldn't come up with a good solution. In the end I just bit the bullet and sprung for the Ruf module. Yeah it's probably an unnecessary mod but arguably so are new wheels, sport seats, clear corner lenses, etc. If you take the "unnecessary" arguement to its logical conclusion we'd all be driving Hyundais.

tommyg

Yeah, the flapping spoiler can be annoying so once I hit 25mph I manually raise it for the duration of the ride.

Canyon56

fwiw, I have the RUF module. There is no difference in temps from when I had the OEM module. My driving habits are still the same (same roads, traffic, etc..)

This issue has been discussed ad infinitum. But I'm trusting RUF on this one. If my engine fries prematurely, then so be it.

btw, here's a post from back in 2006:

"It is a spoiler, not a wing. It "spoils" the flow of the air over the car, reducing the lift that is inherent in the design with the spoiler down. A wing would be required to apply "down-force". Somewhere on the web there is a comparison chart of various spoilers and wings done in a wind tunnel. I recall it included earlier Turbo tea trays, but I don't think it went beyond 964s. It might help with cooling, but those slats function when the spoiler is down also, as did early 911 grills."

Leander

Why do you care if it goes up and down? Oh - you think it ruins the "look" of the car. So what?

DaveE30

Please educate a newbie-- what speed does the spoiler come up on a stock car?

Greg964

I can hear it go up and down which gets annoying in stop and go traffic or on the streets around here with traffic lights every 1/4 mile. There is no reason for it to go up at 45 mph, if it was in any way necessary Ruf would not offer the module. Oh and I do like the look of the car better with the spoiler down-why does that bother you so much?

matt777

I haven't much talk about the needless wear and tear either. The RUF module seems like the answer but I don't know if its a $400 problem for me. Does anybody know if this parts is still available?