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. 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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