To Tail or Not?

[kristian85]

Hello,
New lister from Seattle, Washington, with a recently purchased outstanding silver '78 Targa. She has pretty serious motor--Mahle 3.2 kit, electromotive crank-fired ignition, twin-plugged heads, SSIs, etc. And, she has the proper front spoiler, but not the rear. I prefer the look of the car w/o rear spoiler, as that is what it is to Butzi's shape, but I hear they're highly functional for adding downforce for those pesky 100+mph sweepers. Do the rear tails really make a marked improvement for fast street driving (on Targas), and how is that manifested? Is it OK to have the front spoiler sans rear spoiler?

Thanks!

Kristian Soholm
Seattle

[AirCooledExcellence]

Hi Kristian,

Welcome aboard and congratulations on your recent purchase (good choice!).

Adding a tail will reduce uplift and also helps in cross winds. There has been posts in the past that compare the performance of different types of tails (try a search).

As far as having a front spoiler with no rear that's fine, however having a rear without the front is a big no no!

Cheers,

Tim.
____________
1983 SC Targa

[Dana_Drury]

Personally I think the tails can make the Porsches look a bit dated, especially the tea tray ones. The Whale tails are okay, and the 993 TT rear spoiler is the best tail they came up with but I think no tail looks sleeker and better, and unless your doing 200 km/h along the autobahn or tracking it I don't feel that not have a tail is going to be detrimental. That said, I am not a scientist and I know the downforce the tails generate is beneficial.

[Jack Olsen]

You can add a 964 tail with its retracting spoiler, and get a tail when you need it while retaining Butzi's fastback vision for when you don't. Or you can swap on a tail for track days. I do both.

IMO, nothing you do on public roads will (or at least should) benefit all that much from having a tail. More stability during freeway driving is the most tangible benefit.




And when it's not on the track:

[RoninLB]

not up on hard numbers, but I think the tail comes into play around 70 mph...so crusing at 85mph on I-10, I-70, I-80, I-90, etc., which is traffic flow in many states, a tail would have a relaxing affect on the driver.............Ron

[Jim Richards]

Hi Kristian,

I'd also recommend the 964 decklid & tail based on your stated preference for the no-tail look. When it's up, you get reduced lift and some improvement in engine cooling. When it's down, it's quite understated, unlike that engine tucked underneath!

[n8marx]

Personally, I think Targas look much better without the tail. That being said, an impact bumper coupe looks naked without a tail IMO.

[APKhaos]

I'm with you on preferring the clean lines sans tail.

Running a couple of seasons of track time, the car feels planted at around 135. I suspect it would feel more positive with the tail. Removing 300lbs of lift is a real plus, but I've never felt unsafe without it. Doubt that you would notice much at road speeds.

The 964 tail mod is a great compromise, and looks sweet IMHO.

[JonT]

Best looking tail on a targa is a ducktail IMO. The lines of the targa don't sweep back the same as the hardtop so the carrera and turbo tails just don't quite look right but the angle of the ducktail and its smaller size seem to look more natural.

Consider the mighty duck.

[Moses]

I noticed a HUGE difference in my targa's handling with a chin spoiler and Carrera tail. At freeway speeds I am now firmly planted to the road. I probably drive a lot faster than I should, but before the tail I had some scary moments on Nevada highways during wind gusts. That is no longer a problem.

[Moses]

Oops! Wrong Picture!