987 Spoiler question
 

There is Black cover around the base of the spoiler on my 987S, which you can see when the spoiler is up - what is it for? And can it be removed?

It is actually a part of the "spoiler" as far as air deflection is concerned.
It can probably be removed, if you think it will look neater. I doubt seriously any difference in rear downforce would result, as I doubt there is much downforce anyway. The air flowing through the gap between the body and the top of the spoiler may make noise.
The spoiler is not a wing and gets it's downforce from directing the air up at the rear of the car, very much like the original duck-tails of early Carreras. The later 911 variant whale-tails sort of combined the effects of the duck-tail with some wing effect at the outer edges.
I've seriously watched for any tell tale signs of downforce with the rear spoiler going up at 75, but be real, I haven't been able to distinguish anything.

That's the spoiler! Without it you just have the body colored piece which really does nothing aerodynamically. The black section is what pushes the airflow up thereby producing downforce.

Regardless, can the Black section(s) be taken off and if so, how?

In the future, I may decide to replace it with the one that Zeintec is coming out with next month (as per past conversations with them) - it will look similar to the Cayman spoiler and go up & down.

Just for clarification, a spoiler doesn't produce downforce. It reduces lift. It's actually not the same thing, though produces similar results.

Jeph's Spoiler Tip
Don't mess with it. Porsche knows what they're doing... and you may not realize it until you've messed with it at 75+ speeds.

I beg to differ. Porsche doesn't seem to employ random gimmicks (especially for appearance's sake). Also, take it up to 100+mph and let me know how it goes.

I've had it well over 100 mph and have put the spoiler up and down manually. I can "feel" no difference in basic handling. A stop watch on track may tell me otherwise. I would also think it will make more difference on a Cayman as they have much cleaner air-flow to the spoiler.

How did you make it go down? Impossible on the 987. Unless you did some type of a wire hack.

You can push the manual button and after a few seconds the light goes out, same as sitting in the drive drying it.
Since I can't see it, never considered if it was not moving! :D
I still have a problem with it doing much. Porsche could not afford to have it make much difference in stability, or they would be seriously liable for a simple fuse failure. It is also very small and the air-flow to it, top up or down, is minimal.

I really don't think this is an accurate statement, but it sounds like you know more than I do. Plus, you should have both hands on the wheel at 100 MPH! :eek: :D :)

PS- if there is a failure (fuse or other) the spoiler light will illuminate.

I disagree, b- it is more than likely the spoiler is not going down, and now, I'll have to go do it again to make sure the light is going off. It's not like I had the time to stare at it! :D It could be I assumed it was going to, it's happened before.
If there is a failure, does the light go on and stay on, or blink, to get your attention? I read the owner's manual pretty carefully, but don't recall that part.

Quick, it is my understanding that the light will just stay lite, if you are above the speed requirement (72ish?) and the spoiler is not raised due to a failure. Not blink.

Interesting discussions but back to my original post/question: how do I remove the black section(s) or for that fact, the entire assembly?

Go to DYI section and see if there is a thread on removing it. I don't know if anyone has removed it on a 987 to do an aftermarket piece. You may also do a search - 987 spoiler remove - and see what that brings up. If nothing here, try the Rennsport forum. Also, it may be similar enough to a 986 spoiler to get it off with that info.
Beyond my pay grade.

Found the info I needed...seems easy to remove the stock 987 spoiler. Now I am hyped about getting the new Zeintec one!