Aerokit I versus Weight

[RedTele58]

If you're running the car on the track, the aerokit adds unnecessary weight. The sideskirts will end up being scraped and will probably get torn off or destroyed if you end up off track, especially if you've lowered the car any. The aero spoiler doesn't add any track peformance over the pop up spoiler either and is more weight.

Now - saying all that, I have to admit my DE car has a factory aerokit. I love it for the looks, but if the car was a dedicated track car, the aerokit would be gone.

If you look at Spec Boxster class rules, they allow sideskirts, but I've never seen anyone with them on their car. (The Spec guys I've talked w/ say the same as above.) The class rules don't allow the Aero nose or fixed aero spoiler either. (The guys running at the top of the Spec class are running a Gen II Boxster S front bumper cover on their car - both for the added center opening for a center radiator and their belief that the 2002-2004 nose is a bit more aerodynamic than the earlier S nose.

If your running the car strictly as a track car, you should take a llook at the Spec Boxster rules and build your car to those specifications. Once you get serious on the track it's a short jump to wanting more and thats where you'll be glad your car is built to Spec car rules as you ponder moving to the dark side of Spec car racing. .

Do you get to Hallett for any of your track days?

Also - check your PM's for some more from me.

[78F350]

As Rick and Woody (RedTele58 and Itsnotanova) said, there's no benefit to having it on a track car.

That said, I will gladly pull it all out of whatever dumpster you put it in if you are in the western half of Arkansas. If you would like to swap on a stock rear trunk lid or '97 - '02 style base bumper I have a couple available here in northeastern OK. I'll be traveling across Arkansas to Shreveport in late January and could divert to drop off or pick up.

I think that Rick has about eight aerokits now and I don't even have one yet.

Also, there are some good lightweight parts available from various vendors such as:
https://www.ccpfabrication.com/category/category-1

[RedTele58]

Originally Posted by 78F350

That said, I will gladly pull it all out of whatever dumpster you put it in if you are in the western half of Arkansas. If you would like to swap on a stock rear trunk lid or '97 - '02 style base bumper I have a couple available here in northeastern OK. I'll be traveling across Arkansas to Shreveport in late January and could divert to drop off or pick up.

I think that Rick has about eight aerokits now and I don't even have one yet.

Ha! For once I was ahead of you in raising my hand first. PM for them was already sent.

You're sleeping in too late on a Sunday morning!

[lawren]

As I suspected, the Aerokit parts provide no performance benefit. I will be removing the side skirts and the wing from the trunk lid to reduce weight. I plan to keep the fiberglass trunk lid in place.

Since the spec boxster guys run with the spoiler (Gurney Flap style?) in the up position does that mean there is some aero benefit there? Should i try to replicate that smaller projection from the trunk lid? Occasionally, I will touch 100-105 mph at the tracks i visit most often (Hallett and Barber) but not much over that. I'm guessing it wouldn't be worth the effort.

Assuming the track car survives intact, i plan to restore to original on day so i will be keeping all of the parts i am removing, including the Aerokit parts. Thanks for the interest and the advice.

[BrokenLinkage]

Yes. The oem spoiler is not for aesthetics. The benefit is not an abrupt transition so hard to say at what speed the performance benefit outweighs the weight of the mechanicals.
But as a safety issue I would leave one or the other in place. Particularly if there is any chance that anyone else might ever drive your car at an indiscreet speed and suffer the consequences of lift.

I'd just bolt on a stock lid, leave the spoiler affixed to glass lid so you dont have to remount it later, and add what you need from a scrapyard to have an effective "stock" system. The one 986 I've seen that was thought to have the factory aero kit looked like it had some, if not all, of the mechanicals still in place. But maybe it wasn't truly "factory."