Best 'Whale Tail'???
08-13-2005, 07:53 PM
#1
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Best 'Whale Tail'???
In the August 2005 issue of "GT Purely Porsche", Chris Harris ponders the 'best whale tail ever?' and the 'five best representations of the Porsche tea-tray ever'.
How can one ruminate on the 'top five' tea trays or the 'best whale tail' when there was only ONE tea tray and ONE whale tail? ( granted, a slight modification was made to the whale tail in 1976...and the 1992 3.3 Turbo S featured a modern interpretation ).
I have seen many publications mix up the 'whale tail' and the 'tea tray'. I don't know why the two are so often confused- they are wholly different and easily distinguishable from one another.
The whale tail is flatter overall, and features a rear edge that curves upwards...a 'rolled lip' if you will. This downforcer looks much like the tail of a whale in the way it is much broader near the end, as opposed to the tea-tray which is not.
The tea tray has a upturned lip that curves around the sides of the wing, 'buttressed' ends if you will. it is much taller and blukier looking than the whale tail, as it accomodates both the intercooler and a condenser for the air conditioning unit.
Do I have it wrong here? Are there numerous 'tea trays' as Harris asserts in his quest for the 'best five'? or is Harris simply being sloppy and referring to all rear 'wings' as 'tea trays'?
Whoever came up with the description of the 911 turbo wing as a 'tea tray' should be shot! Nothing about the Porsche 911 Turbo is 'tea-like'! This is a black coffee machine if anything....maybe something more like '100 proof'!
How can one ruminate on the 'top five' tea trays or the 'best whale tail' when there was only ONE tea tray and ONE whale tail? ( granted, a slight modification was made to the whale tail in 1976...and the 1992 3.3 Turbo S featured a modern interpretation ).
I have seen many publications mix up the 'whale tail' and the 'tea tray'. I don't know why the two are so often confused- they are wholly different and easily distinguishable from one another.
The whale tail is flatter overall, and features a rear edge that curves upwards...a 'rolled lip' if you will. This downforcer looks much like the tail of a whale in the way it is much broader near the end, as opposed to the tea-tray which is not.
The tea tray has a upturned lip that curves around the sides of the wing, 'buttressed' ends if you will. it is much taller and blukier looking than the whale tail, as it accomodates both the intercooler and a condenser for the air conditioning unit.
Do I have it wrong here? Are there numerous 'tea trays' as Harris asserts in his quest for the 'best five'? or is Harris simply being sloppy and referring to all rear 'wings' as 'tea trays'?
Whoever came up with the description of the 911 turbo wing as a 'tea tray' should be shot! Nothing about the Porsche 911 Turbo is 'tea-like'! This is a black coffee machine if anything....maybe something more like '100 proof'!
08-20-2005, 09:53 PM
#2
I prefer the duck tail, but the wing on my S4 makes a great picnic table as long as I don't forget my sun glasses and drive off. Duh.
Personally I find the GT crowd to be the most opiniated and stuck up group that I have encountered since secondary school, but then some people confuse their opinions with facts, and I would also be guilty of that from time to time. Like right now.
As for the tea tray thing, it sounds Ever So British. Spoiler would be the American idiom. How about "large macho appendage that indicates insufficient design" ? "Bodacious afterthought"? I know, "the thing that makes us like ricers". " Police officer flag " ? ''Id Appeasement Device''?
Sorry, coudn't resist.
Personally I find the GT crowd to be the most opiniated and stuck up group that I have encountered since secondary school, but then some people confuse their opinions with facts, and I would also be guilty of that from time to time. Like right now.
As for the tea tray thing, it sounds Ever So British. Spoiler would be the American idiom. How about "large macho appendage that indicates insufficient design" ? "Bodacious afterthought"? I know, "the thing that makes us like ricers". " Police officer flag " ? ''Id Appeasement Device''?
Sorry, coudn't resist.
