Installing a fixed spoiler question.
 

I'm looking at installing this fixed spoiler to my car.

http://i57.tinypic.com/huimtt.jpg
http://i60.tinypic.com/s28doj.jpg

My question is, can I remove the motor assembly from the Porsche spoiler and still have the stability provided by the Porsche spoiler with the fixed spoiler?

The reason I would want to do this is because the places I have looked to buy this spoiler from says the shipping weight is 77lbs. :eek:

I did send an email to the company that makes this spoiler asking the weight of it, no reply yet, but if it does weigh 77lbs I need to offset that weight gain.

Thanks!

KRAM,
That's a fine looking spoiler. I hope the 77lb is a typo.

If it's made of fiberglass or similar type product I would guess 7.7 pounds.

Where did you find that spoiler? (If I may ask...)

Porsche Boxster Rear Wing Spoiler 986 SPEED GT by Hofele – Hofele America LLC

$800... :(
Not for me yet, even if it looks really good !

Yeah, it's not cheap. You can get it from here for a little less and if it's your first order with them you get 5% off.

https://www.horsepowerfreaks.com/hofele-speed-gt-rear-wing-porsche-boxster-96-04-p-145818.html?osCsid=ntl2kjp8qtapmkt92t82ddt8a1

I'd suggest checking with the manufacturer to see if they have done any testing or have any predictions.

Good idea. I'll do that if they respond back on the actual weight of the spoiler.

Hard to believe this spoiler weighs 77lbs. If it does I may just forget about it.

No way that weighs more than 10 pounds. Pulling the factory spoiler motor will offset everything. With some creativity you'll have a net loss. You'll want to pull the spoiler bulb from the dash... As soon as you hit 75 and the spoiler doesn't go, the light will come on as a fault.

Check this out. Add it to cart then look at the weight.

https://www.horsepowerfreaks.com/hofele-speed-gt-rear-wing-porsche-boxster-96-04-p-145818.html?osCsid=ntl2kjp8qtapmkt92t82ddt8a1

From their site:

Looks like they expect you to leave the original in functioning condition...

Question is, am I going to need that extra down force?

To me the spoiler I'm looking to buy would actually give more down force then the Porsche stock spoiler, as the spoiler I'm looking at actually has a bit of wing built into it.

heres a pretty good spoiler/wing article:Wings/Spoilers: You're probably doing it wrong.

I like the look of the spoiler you are considering. Unless you are on the track going 9/10 or higher, you'll never notice any difference.

That's what I'm thinking. I don't track my car, no tracks near me. I do have some favorite twisty roads outside of town I love to hit. Most of the corners are probably between 35 to 60 mph, but there is one that's a long up hill sweeping corner that I can do 100+ mph through it right now on snow tires.

While I have your attention. I'm looking at fiberglass front and rear hoods. They would be lighter then the stock hoods, right?

Be careful on the snows 😉
The CF hod on my car saved 30+ pounds. The FG trunk lid saved a few, but I don't remember the exact numbers.

Carbon Fiber starts getting pricy compared to Fiberglass. Is there no weight saving in the Fiberglass?

The easy answer is yes about 50% of the difference in Carbon Fiber to the original piece for a fiber glass part. If you look at 30 pound saving in carbon possible 15 pound in Fiberglass

The thing to think about is the quality of the part? Carbon fiber manufacturer for the most part fabricate a part close to ready for installation because the vast majority are only cleaned, wet sanded, and clear coated because they intend the fiber look for it's aesthetic. Fiberglass manufactures up front will tell you the part may need adjusted for fit and finish because they know it need adjusted sanded primer and finished with paint and sealer.

Consider you cost as the price of the part plus steps to finish it. With this in mind you may find Carbon fiber cheaper.

Lighter front and rear hoods are beneficial in two ways - not only can you save total weight but it also saves weight up high which lowers the center of gravity for improved handling.

Found a Carbon Fiber rear deck lid for $400 shipped. Anyone want to share a place to get a Carbon Fiber front hood at a decent price or rear deck lid at a better price? Prefer one that doesn't need pins in the hood either.

The hoods will be painted, so I'm just looking for Carbon Fiber, nothing fancy.

Thanks!

Ran across this one for $840 shipped. Anyone have one cheaper?

http://www.streetbeatcustoms.com/Custom/Hoods/98_04-PROSCHE-BOXSTER-911-996-OEM-CARBON-FIBER-HOOD/17350/



.

Oh yeah! This baby is going on the hood! Came up on my search for Boxster Carbon Fiber hoods.

http://i61.tinypic.com/6oz8uu.jpg

[QUOTE=KRAM36;447963]98-04 PROSCHE BOXSTER 911 996 OEM CARBON FIBER HOOD by Custom

Ah, but this:
That doesn't sound very promising, does it? Plus, they misspelled Porsche?

The rest of the hoods they have for sale have Porsche spelled correctly.

I see carbon fiber hoods on street cars all the time. Even at that mine will be painted Arctic Silver, so if it's illegal, the police wouldn't ever know. :D

I assume "not for street use" means that they have had no standard safety testing. So, not really any different than a fiberglass part you laid up yourself.

They list all of the Carbon Fiber hoods as off road use only, except the Maston hood.

I'm actually thinking about going with a fiberglass hood I found for almost half the price. Read reviews on it and the guy does a really good job on them.

Other then the pictures all it says is

"porsche boxster fiberglass hood, full factory style liner, drilled and tapped for

factory henge and latch. weight 14# hand laid in the U.S.A."

I would definitely use hood pins. I don't trust fiberglass for the latch to stay put.

Guess I'll just stick with my stock hood. I don't want any pins on the hood.

That probably is a good idea. Most people don't put pins on and they have those issues of flying up. That might be why they are stated off road use only.

Hood clips have evolved since the seventies. Just saying it doesn't have to look like a Cuda or Chevelle...

Ok, back to the rear spoiler part of this post. Found a company that sells an extended rear carbon fiber deck lid, so I can remove all parts of the original Porsche spoiler, but I would have to back date my rear bumper for this. They also happen to sell the back dated rear bumper in carbon fiber too.

Crude rendering via my made photoshop skills lol, but this is what the back of the car would look like adding the GT3Tek rear diffuser. Compared to when I bought the car.

http://i60.tinypic.com/2nc3oco.jpghttp://i58.tinypic.com/rcjxok.jpg

Back to the front hood part. I emailed a well known seller on eBay about a hood. Here is the correspondence.

ME

"Hello,

How much lighter is this hood then the stock hood? Are hood pins needed for this hood?

Thanks!"

HIM

"Hi, think about 20 pounds lighter
the hood functions the same as the oem hood
you swap over the oem latch and hinges
the new hood has threaded insters built into it for those
*******

for about $500.- more there is a CF one
which i think would be about 1/2 the weight"

ME

"Thanks for the reply. I'm on the 986forums and everyone that has replied to my thread about hoods say that I would have to use hood pins with a Fiberglass or Carbon Fiber hoods. I don't want any pins on the hood of my car.

Thanks"

HIM

"well, as much as they know, they are wrong
we dont use any pins
fiberglass or carbon fiber
look at many of our auctions that have our hoods
Gemballa style rtc
you will not see any pins in any photos
we use them on alot of cars
and i have had them on my cars for 10 years at least
feel free to have any of them call me and debate this
I have been doing this since 1989 so I know 100% for sure
*** *** ****
I dont want any pins on my hood either
********"

He has a lot of faith in his hoods. You could believe him and if your hood does fly up you have written proof he said they don't need them and you could go after him that way. Are there hundreds or thousands of people who have fiberglass hoods or cf hoods ad they never had their hood fly up? Sure! Are there people who have fiberglass or CF hoods that they have flown up? Yes there is. I have seen it personally. I would have responded to him back saying so if my hood flies up and destroys my windshield and a pillars you will cover all costs of damages? That is just me though. :)

Maybe one would want to periodically check the front latch when not using pins? Makes sure it's tight.

That is true also. Too many variables to say. I just love his answer of they are not needed and have anyone call him and debate it lol. Sounds like a typical sales guy to me :)

Actually he is a pretty well know person on these forums.

Thats a cool looking spoiler. One of the best looking I've seen in ages for the Boxster.

Its not suitable for racing (Glued down really?!) and since racing is not your goal who cares about the weight.

It will attract the attention of every ricer for miles.

It will also make you car look faster when parked. :D

I'm all for personalizing and beautifying your car and makes for good small talk with others.

Do what makes you happy and enjoy.

I've got pins in both my hood & trunk, however, for the factory Porsches with CF hoods/trunks, they do not appear to use pins and instead use the regular latch:
http://986forum.com/forums/uploads01...1430837616.jpg
Use your best judgement! :)

Are you not required to have the hood pins in your racing rules? I'll ask the Porsche Service Manager why they don't use hood pins.

You know they use glue to install windows in sky scrapers. Just because it says glued on doesn't mean it's going to fall off.

I called the US office about the weight and the guy who answered the phone even knew about the email I sent them over the weekend. He said he did not have one in hand to weigh, he will have some today and let me know the actual weight no later then the 6th. He also said it doesn't weigh 77lbs lol.

Actually I've had Mustangs and Chargers mess with me, only "ricer" if you could call him that was a Mitsubishi Evo and you could hear his turbo(s) blow off valves go pssh when he switched gears. I held pretty good to him, he beat me, but that was before my mods too. That was on a highway, not from stand still start.

The rear spoiler can be deactivated with a Durametric Pro. I can either have a shop deactivate it or pull the bulb as you mentioned. Depends on what the shop would charge to deactivate it.

You were right, 10lbs is what it weighs.