What the heck are Vortex Generators?

Like I mentioned in my post about Why supercars matter to me I am very interested in the aerodynamics of racing and the technology behind the cars. One thing that has always interested me is the way that aerodynamicists can manipulate the airflow around the vehicle to improve the way the vehicle moves through the air.

Aerodynamicists can accomplish this manipulation of the airflow through various different solutions including the use of wings, spoilers, changing the shape of the vehicle, etc. One method I want to focus on today is the through the use of vortex generators.

Vortex generators are small appendages in various locations around a vehicle which create disturbed air and help guide air into particular locations. In formula 1 cars you will find vortex generators located on the end plates of the front wing, on the leading edge of the bargeboards and also on the top of the side pods. These applications are all done to manage how the air flows around the car and guide the air into the radiators, towards the splitter or rear wing. The end plate vortex generators are typically used to help keep the air away from the front wheels to reduce drag, whereas the ones located elsewhere on the car are typically for directing air towards places where it can do work.

The latest generation of the Honda Civic Type R has effectively taken the aero principles from race cars and applied it to a street car. As you can see in the image above there are several vortex generators at the trailing edge of the roof line. These vortex generators are used to create turbulent air so that as much air as possible is directed towards the massive rear wing to improve downforce. While the vortex generators are very functional, they are not what many people would often call pretty. There are many other ways to manage airflow around a vehicle.

Cars like the Aston Martin Vulcan have been purpose built and produce incredible amounts of downforce. The Vulcan is also, in my eyes, a stunningly beautiful car that has extremely clean lines and does not rely on vortex generators to direct air to the even more massive rear wing. Since the Civic Type R is not purpose built, and is effectively a regular civic hatchback with a few different body parts and a tuned engine, Honda didn’t have the same opportunities. 

While the most recent mass market example of the use of vortex generators is definitely the Honda Civic Type R, they are used on many other vehicles in much more subtle ways. My 2014 Ford Edge has small vortex generators on the side mirrors to help the airflow moving over the mirror get past the turbulent air right behind the mirror with as little disturbance as possible. I suspect that this application has been done in the name of fuel economy with the intent on reducing drag as much as possible, rather than increasing downforce such as with the Civic Type R.

 If you’d like to know more about how vortex generators work, Youtuber, and real life engineer, Kyle.Engineers has a couple of videos going through every aspect of the aero impacts they have.