A small but deliberate air inlet allowed the rear tyres and brakes to stay cool and within their operating temperature ranges but with an outlet to reduce the build-up of unwanted high pressure that would cause inevitable tyre blowouts in long endurance races. The Venturi Effect is when air is accelerated through a deliberate constriction in the path of the airflow. Firstly, they were used to reduce the amount of unwanted water and spray entering the wheel arches and disturbing the driven wheels from their operation, along with allowing the track monsters to reach upwards of 200mph on the banking at Daytona and the Muslanne Straight through drag reduction.Īt the same time, the spat maximised the Venturi Effect of the air entering and leaving the wheel arch.
Most famously used during the epic Group C endurance racers of the ‘80s and early ‘90s, wheel spats were implemented to do two main jobs. Unfortunately, this led to some fairly catastrophic results – especially in countries where snow was prominent like its native Sweden – as the front arches would clog up with compacted snow and grit, locking the steering in place.Īlthough spats have been all but banished from production car design due to their inherent drawbacks, they managed to create a definitive foothold in motorsport. Going back to the 1940s, SAAB decided it would be a great idea to apply spats to the front wheels, enclosing them like the wheels on the aeroplanes that they had been designing during WWII. An unwelcome online advertising solicitation placed in a chat room, containing a link to a website offering services such as pornography, money-making scams, prescription drug sales, etc. This will invariably increase the pressure of the tyre itself, thus risking a possible blow-out if the pressure was allowed to reach over normal operating figures (normally 30-36 psi). This will lead to a high pressure within the wheel arch along with a build-up of heat as the friction force between the tyre and the road builds up converts somewhat to sound and heat energy.
Also, any air that does inevitably make its way under the spat and into the wheel arch is essentially trapped. Firstly, using spats meant that the rear tyres had to be narrower to allow for a larger clearance, which intrinsically affected the handling and overall dynamics of the car.
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