# Rear Spoiler Up All The Time?



## sjwdavies (Jun 14, 2009)

Hi guys, i'm getting a new TT on 1st September as a company car and just found the forum 

I saw an 08 plate driving round town today, and it was sat in traffic with the rear spoiler up?

I thought it only came up at 74mph? Is it possible to have it raised ALL THE TIME or have i got the wrong end of the stick?

I had a close look and it certainly didn't look like a normal spoiler.


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## Singletrack (Aug 1, 2007)

You can raise and lower the spoiler manually using the button just below the shifter. It's a matter of taste really - I raise it manually only to dry the water that collects underneath it when washing the car - otherwise, I leave it's movement up to the ECU. I actually find it quite cool to hear it retract when my speed drops on a slip road.


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## sjwdavies (Jun 14, 2009)

Yeah?

I'm soo excited..

the TT i'm getting is a TT S-Line, does that make it a TTS?

Also, where abouts is the aux socket?

Sorry if these questions are inapropriatly placed :-|


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## Toshiba (Jul 8, 2004)

sjwdavies said:



> the TT i'm getting is a TT S-Line, does that make it a TTS?


lol, no.


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## Ikon66 (Sep 12, 2003)

hi and welcome to the TTF

i'm with singletrack on this spoler in auto mode, prefer the look with it down

also as tosh puts it so eloquently :wink: the s-line is more to do with different styling and add ons, the TTS has uprated performance and different body and interior styling

aux socket is behind the handbrake

good luck with the new car

Paul


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## hanzo (Apr 6, 2009)

congrats!! hope you enjoy drivin your TT!!!!

regarding the wing... i dont remember who said it.. but someone on the forum gave me the idea... "i use the wing to wave to people while passing by"


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## msc0001 (May 12, 2009)

hanzo said:


> regarding the wing... i dont remember who said it.. but someone on the forum gave me the idea... "i use the wing to wave to people while passing by"


hahaha yes - I think I've seen the same post, although I thought it was more to do with flipping people off once you beat them off the line :twisted:

Congrats on the new car - S Line or not, you'll love it.


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## sjwdavies (Jun 14, 2009)

Cheers for the positive comments guys, sorry my post is a little late


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## Sonatina (Jan 4, 2009)

If you reverse at 74mph does the spoiler still come up :? :lol:

Just back from a couple of days driving around the Cotswolds - the sun does funny things to your mind ... :roll:

Sonatina


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## andya (Jun 17, 2003)

mine goes up at 78....


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## Arne (Dec 13, 2006)

And mine at 76 :wink:


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## sjwdavies (Jun 14, 2009)

Can you adjust the speed it comes up?

Would anyone be kind enough to show me the buttons that manually raise it and lower it?

If you manually raise it, get out and get back in in the morning, does the car remember the spoiler was raised and automatically raise it?


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## jalms (May 24, 2009)

I believe that if you turn off the car with the spoiler manually up it will keep that way even when you walk out the car.

For the button, please check the KB section, you'll find a quick guide and, there, the proper button in the console, right behind the gear knob...


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## Gemini (Apr 26, 2009)

jalms said:


> I believe that if you turn off the car with the spoiler manually up it will keep that way even when you walk out the car.


Yes, the spoiler stays up until you manually lower it again. I don't believe there is any way to adjust the speed it operates at. Its a bit of a red flag to the police though if they know anything about TT's. Spoiler up = breaking the speed limit :roll:


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## andya (Jun 17, 2003)

sjwdavies said:


> Can you adjust the speed it comes up?


Nope



> Would anyone be kind enough to show me the buttons that manually raise it and lower it?


It's below the gear lever imediate the right of the hazard warning lights. One thing to note is that when you're moving it just takes one press to lower the spoiler. If you're stopped, you have to hold the button until it's closed - I assume this is so that you have to be more positive in your desire to close and have made sure that there are no little fingers about to get trapped!



> If you manually raise it, get out and get back in in the morning, does the car remember the spoiler was raised and automatically raise it?


If you park up with the spoiler up, it stays up. it doesn't have to automatically raise it as it's already up.


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## andya (Jun 17, 2003)

Gemini said:


> jalms said:
> 
> 
> > I believe that if you turn off the car with the spoiler manually up it will keep that way even when you walk out the car.
> ...


I'd worried about this but then you can activate the spoiler at any speed so I can't see how they would ever use this against you...


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## jalms (May 24, 2009)

Yep, there's no way the police could presume your speed because you can raise it at 0mph....


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## sjwdavies (Jun 14, 2009)

Uess what your saying is, it doesn't retract when you switch off the ignition?


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## Ikon66 (Sep 12, 2003)

sjwdavies said:


> Uess what your saying is, it doesn't retract when you switch off the ignition?


that is correct


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## jammyd (Oct 11, 2008)

jalms said:


> Yep, there's no way the police could presume your speed because you can raise it at 0mph....


Your right it would never stand up in court... but if they did know anything about the car, then if the spoiler goes down automatically below 50mph, then it is obvious you have been going over the automatic deployment speed ( something above 75mph depending on the driver)


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## andya (Jun 17, 2003)

jammyd said:


> jalms said:
> 
> 
> > Yep, there's no way the police could presume your speed because you can raise it at 0mph....
> ...


But you could have activated it manually and lower it manually at similar speeds...still no proof


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## jammyd (Oct 11, 2008)

andya said:


> jammyd said:
> 
> 
> > jalms said:
> ...


true... true...


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## Blaven11 (May 13, 2009)

jalms said:


> Yep, there's no way the police could presume your speed because you can raise it at 0mph....


Not wishing to steal the thread but if it helps, the only way you could get done is by them following you in a proper 'Traffic' car which has video & calibrated speedo's. Cars can be marked/unmarked and are driven by rats

Can't get done on hand held radar as it has to be head-on.

Can get done on the Yellow cameras (if you don't see them in time) [smiley=policeman.gif]


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## Gemini (Apr 26, 2009)

Blaven11 said:


> Not wishing to steal the thread but if it helps, the only way you could get done is by them following you in a proper 'Traffic' car which has video & calibrated speedo's. [smiley=policeman.gif]


If they are following you, why not do as Hanzo suggests and use the spoiler to wave at them :lol:


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## rtrtrtrt (May 6, 2010)

Opposite to the original question - on a 2008 roadster can you set it so the spoiler is always down - no matter what speed you are doing?

thinking about a bike rack on the boot and if i can be sure the spoiler won't raise whilst i'm driving then i dont need to worry about clearing it with the rack


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## Taipei-TT (Apr 6, 2009)

SInce this thread has been resurrected let me chime in....

My four year old son loves the spoiler up....and on the weekend I was actually pulled over by Taiwan's finest on the highway and asked about my speeds. He didn't seem to be considering giving me a ticket based on the spoiler itself, but wanted to warn me about going too fast . . . .I pointed out that there is a button and my son enthusiastically testified to how cool the spoiler is up, and all was well. But completely annoying none the less!


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## wja96 (Mar 4, 2010)

I had a chat with some of Norfolk's finest on the A11 the other day. Both the officers TT owners and knew all about the TT spoiler functions. What they DID know was that if you manually deploy the spoiler, it doesn't retract at 50mph like it does after it automatically extends at 74mph.... And mine had retracted when I slowed down. BANG TO RIGHTS M'LUD!

However, I explained to them that I was running my old Passat alloys and winter tyres (the blue VW logos on a new Audi are a bit of a giveaway) and that the spoiler was raising itself up at much lower speeds (which is true, it's lifting at about 68mph true from the Sat Nav), an excuse they fully accepted with a grin and a quiet word about speed awareness.


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## brittan (May 18, 2007)

wja96 said:


> What they DID know was that if you manually deploy the spoiler, it doesn't retract at 50mph like it does after it automatically extends at 74mph.... And mine had retracted when I slowed down. BANG TO RIGHTS M'LUD!


If you manually deploy the spolier at low speed and then exceed the auto extend speed (eg 74mph) the spolier defaults to auto mode and WILL retract at 50 mph.

Of course you can manually retract it at say 60 mph if you feel like it.


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## jalms (May 24, 2009)

wja96 said:


> I had a chat with some of Norfolk's finest on the A11 the other day. Both the officers TT owners and knew all about the TT spoiler functions. What they DID know was that if you manually deploy the spoiler, it doesn't retract at 50mph like it does after it automatically extends at 74mph.... And mine had retracted when I slowed down. BANG TO RIGHTS M'LUD!
> 
> However, I explained to them that I was running my old Passat alloys and winter tyres (the blue VW logos on a new Audi are a bit of a giveaway) and that the spoiler was raising itself up at much lower speeds (which is true, it's lifting at about 68mph true from the Sat Nav), an excuse they fully accepted with a grin and a quiet word about speed awareness.


Even though, I'm quite positive sure they can't ticket you based on that. You could ALWAYS retract it manually at 50mph and they can't prove you wrong, I believe there's nothing that accepts the spoiler as speed measurement system.

Answering to *rtrtrtrt*, I believe it's possible. Go to an Audi stealer and ask them about it. If they tell you it's not possible, remember them Audi has a fixed spoiler in their acessories catalog which must be mounted on the original spoiler and this one must be turned off. Hope I've helped.


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## Arne (Dec 13, 2006)

brittan said:


> wja96 said:
> 
> 
> > What they DID know was that if you manually deploy the spoiler, it doesn't retract at 50mph like it does after it automatically extends at 74mph.... And mine had retracted when I slowed down. BANG TO RIGHTS M'LUD!
> ...


Correct :wink:


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## newt (May 12, 2002)

Arne said:


> brittan said:
> 
> 
> > wja96 said:
> ...


+1


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## davida-p (Apr 13, 2010)

Ive used my rear spoiler to hack off a Z4 driver after nipping in front of him after he was just going sooo slowly (sort of). I raised and lowered the spoiler and could see :twisted: in my mirror....I just made sure my doors were locked 

Also Ive used the spoiler instead of the hazzards when someone lets you in infront of them. like a wink! :wink:


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## Clean (Aug 13, 2007)

Apologies if this has been answered before elsewhere, but this thread seems as good a place as any to ask......

If the Spolier is not needed until 74mph, why does it not go down until you are back down in the late 40s early 50s? Surely if it is needed at these speeds it should pop up sooner? Otherwise it is just providing uneccessary drag and increasing fuel consumption without any real need for additional downforce on the rear chassis, no?

If there is lots of discussion and answers to this elsewhere, please point me to it. If not, what on earth is the logic???


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## TortToise (Aug 22, 2009)

Clean said:


> Apologies if this has been answered before elsewhere, but this thread seems as good a place as any to ask......
> 
> If the Spolier is not needed until 74mph, why does it not go down until you are back down in the late 40s early 50s? Surely if it is needed at these speeds it should pop up sooner? Otherwise it is just providing uneccessary drag and increasing fuel consumption without any real need for additional downforce on the rear chassis, no?
> 
> If there is lots of discussion and answers to this elsewhere, please point me to it. If not, what on earth is the logic???


I guess they just don't want the spoiler to be going up/down all the time. If you were hovering around 70-75mph, this would be happening. By waiting until you're doing 50 before lowering it they can be reasonably sure that you're not about to hit the limit to raise it in the immediate future.

Deploying the spoiler does have a noticeable effect on instantaneous fuel consumption so I always hit the button to lower it if it's popped up at some stage but I know I'm going to be cruising at lower speeds.


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## Clean (Aug 13, 2007)

TortToise said:


> I guess they just don't want the spoiler to be going up/down all the time. If you were hovering around 70-75mph, this would be happening. By waiting until you're doing 50 before lowering it they can be reasonably sure that you're not about to hit the limit to raise it in the immediate future.
> 
> Deploying the spoiler does have a noticeable effect on instantaneous fuel consumption so I always hit the button to lower it if it's popped up at some stage but I know I'm going to be cruising at lower speeds.


Makes a lot of sense, mate.... didn't think about it like that!

Thanks for a prompt and logical answer!


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## davida-p (Apr 13, 2010)

I was also told by an Audi mechanic that if the spolier is faulty and does not rise when it should, then i'm not to drive above 70mph (as if i would) as the back end of the car can become unstable...not sure how true that is, though he did seem quite serious about it


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## rtrtrtrt (May 6, 2010)

jalms said:


> Answering to *rtrtrtrt*, I believe it's possible. Go to an Audi stealer and ask them about it. If they tell you it's not possible, remember them Audi has a fixed spoiler in their acessories catalog which must be mounted on the original spoiler and this one must be turned off. Hope I've helped.


thanks for the reply jalms - will take your advice and post back later what i find out.

might be a while cos I dont yet have the car and haven't quite lost the gut to allow me to do any serious biking. do have the bike and the rack ready to go tho - so no excuses apart from laziness


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## pars_andy (Dec 10, 2009)

davida-p said:


> I was also told by an Audi mechanic that if the spolier is faulty and does not rise when it should, then i'm not to drive above 70mph (as if i would) as the back end of the car can become unstable...not sure how true that is, though he did seem quite serious about it


Makes sense. The spoiler is there for a reason after all.


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## Inny (Jan 3, 2010)

-1!
Just exceed the automatic lowering speed (about 50mph) and the spoiler will lower as you slow down through that threshold again!
IMO we should also have the option of up all the time (styling) or down (ie drag racing).


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## nvc (May 1, 2010)

pars_andy said:


> davida-p said:
> 
> 
> > I was also told by an Audi mechanic that if the spolier is faulty and does not rise when it should, then i'm not to drive above 70mph (as if i would) as the back end of the car can become unstable...not sure how true that is, though he did seem quite serious about it
> ...


I am not so sure, you can have a saxo doing 100mph with no problem, why not a TT with spoiler lowered.


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## TortToise (Aug 22, 2009)

nvc said:


> pars_andy said:
> 
> 
> > davida-p said:
> ...


Because they are two totally different cars with different handling/aerodynamic profiles perhaps :roll:

The retractable spoiler isn't there to act as a bit of chav-friendly add-on bodykit. You may recall that early Mk1s suffered a bunch of nasty accidents at high speeds and had to be recalled to have a permanent spoiler fitted. Clearly the Mk2 car also needs more downforce on the rear for safer high speed handling but a retractable spoiler is a solution that doesn't ruin the lines at lower speeds and impose a penalty on fuel economy.


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## rtrtrtrt (May 6, 2010)

TortToise said:


> Because they are two totally different cars with different handling/aerodynamic profiles perhaps :roll:
> 
> The retractable spoiler isn't there to act as a bit of chav-friendly add-on bodykit. You may recall that early Mk1s suffered a bunch of nasty accidents at high speeds and had to be recalled to have a permanent spoiler fitted. Clearly the Mk2 car also needs more downforce on the rear for safer high speed handling but a retractable spoiler is a solution that doesn't ruin the lines at lower speeds and impose a penalty on fuel economy.


i'd always thought the mark 1 had the suspension modified to fix the handling problem and the spoiler was more of a visual indication that the car had been 'fixed' rather than adding significant downforce. tbh only going on what i can remember reading at the time.


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## TortToise (Aug 22, 2009)

Looks like there were suspension changes to the Mk1 along with the spoiler but both were needed:

http://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/car/00q1/we_take_audi_s_tamed_tt_for_a_spin-first_drive_review



> Audi says the main aim of the changes is to increase understeer, reduce lift-off oversteer, and improve high-speed stability. The TT coupe and roadster get modified front control arms with altered compliance in the mounting bushings. The front shocks are stiffer in compression and softer in rebound to reduce the pitch motion and weight transfer from rear to front when braking. The front anti-roll bar has been made one millimeter thicker, and the rear is 1mm smaller in diameter.
> 
> More obviously, all TTs get a small rear spoiler mounted to the decklid in a move aimed at reducing lift on the rear axle at high speeds. The TT has 148 pounds of lift at the rear axle at 125 mph without the spoiler, but only a 53-pound lift when the spoiler is fitted. By comparison, the BMW Z3 coupe generates 64 pounds of lift at 125 mph; the Mercedes-Benz SLK, 104 pounds of lift; and the Porsche Boxster, 68 pounds of lift. The chassis engineers claim they could have solved the problem without the spoiler, but this would have meant a significant increase in understeer at normal speeds, a trait they wanted to avoid. All TTs also get a version of VW's switchable Electronic Stability Program (ESP).
> 
> Driving TTs old and new at Goodyear's Luxembourg proving ground and on surrounding roads demonstrated the effectiveness of the changes, most obviously when you swap lanes and brake at speeds above 100 mph. No, not a condition you're often likely to encounter, but for the record, the spoiler does its job, the tail is no longer wayward, and stability is much improved. The TT now inspires far greater confidence in such circumstances.


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## rtrtrtrt (May 6, 2010)

interesting reading - thanks for the link


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## davida-p (Apr 13, 2010)

TortToise said:


> Looks like there were suspension changes to the Mk1 along with the spoiler but both were needed:
> 
> http://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/car/00q1/we_take_audi_s_tamed_tt_for_a_spin-first_drive_review
> 
> ...


Yes thanks for that TorToise, nice one.


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## Dash (Oct 5, 2008)

I still can't believe nobody has figured a way of changing it's operating speed. I can't imagine it's something that's actively controlled by the ECU, rather a feed from some speed sensor. Surely somebody could figure a way of slipping some electronics in or altering the existing to lift at a different speed.


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