I just used another conversion program in which 325 Newtons = 73.0629 pounds, which I call much closer to 80 than 40.

Anyway, this in an interesting thread, and I applaud fireamx for devising and executing a clean empirical study and the subsequent posters for helping analyze his findings.

Now I have to research which blamed fuse to pull to replicate the study.

 

# 20 in the fuse box just in front of the driver.

 

I just made a round trip from Sarasota, FL to Thomson, GA and averaged 29 mpg going up and 33mpg coming home, cruising at 74 mph on the highway. I traded a Pacifica for my 05 Limited Coupe and I really am happy at the pump not to put in 26 gallons and go the same distance if not better.. sure my kayaks are bigger than the Crossfire Oh Well my friends all have suv's let them load them.. I was getting tired of carting everything....

 

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^this

hell yeah, brother! Who cares!

 

Easy there...it's an old thread. I wouldn't have a clue what my mileage averages. But, one statement in that long 4 year conversation did peak my interest. And, that was if there is a difference in the 1/4 mile with or without the wing. That may have to be looked at somewhere down the road...lol....

 

Well its been 3 years since your last post on this. Motor still going?

Reread with interest all the posts made long ago - I might have overlooked it, but I didn't see any mention of the added drag the car has been the airflow is broken up by the deployed wing. With the wing down, the air flow follows the hatch a bit longer and creates a smaller "hole" in the air.

I have a 1980 RX7 with a highly modded motor. I found out that at speeds over 130 the back end would get noticeably light. Enough to make me back off. Mazda fixed this by selling a large bolt on spoiler that fit on the back. I thought it attracted too much attention. My solution was to crank up the sunroof - old kind, not retractable. You either removed or tilted it. This seemed to create turbulence which killed the air flow over the hatch which reduced the lift. Voila, simple and easy fix.

 

If this question is directed at me, then the answer is yes, everything is still working just like it's supposed to. The spoiler goes up at speed just as quickly as it does at 62mph.
I seldom if ever drive fast enough to require the spoiler to be in the up right position. My car always feels planted at highway speeds of 70 and above, and if I choose to raise the wing, I notice no difference in the way the car "feels" . Out west where we cruised for miles at above 80mph, I finally relented and joind the spoiler crowd, and raised the white flag....er wing. But I still didn't notice any difference in how the car felt.
I choose to keep the spoiler down most all the time because I like the way the car looks with it down more than I do with it up. If I enjoy better fuel mileage by doing so, that's great.
My car always seems to pull high 20's when ever I check it.

To answer Old Doc's question about what I mentioned about running an SRT at the drags without its spoiler to see if it helped in the 1/4 mile. Well I think Jim "AMX1397" in Florida tried it on his monster V8 car. I'm not sure if it was him so send him a PM.

 

Nearly 10 years ago I chimed in about how my wing was operating, and just for the record, it's still working fine. I still keep it in the down position most all the time. Usually the only time I raise it is for high winds, wet highways, and to impress the the kiddies. OK, once-in-awhile to intimidate.lol