AIR 968 Turbo RS rear wing
03-16-2014, 09:49 PM
#1
Rennlist Member
Thread Starter
AIR 968 Turbo RS rear wing
There was a recent thread comparing the Deutsche 9 rear wing vs the AIR rear wing. I just received my AIR wing last week, 2 weeks exactly after I ordered, so I thought I'd post some pics and impressions. As you can see, it came in black gel coat instead of white, it came well boxed and well mummified in bubble wrap. It also came fully assembled. As can be seen in the pics, it has all the proper threaded inserts embedded into the outer pods. Also the proper "L" tabs at the rear of the pods to attach to the hatch frame. It has proper aluminum adjustment plates that don't hang down like the odd D9 versions, and the plates are also attached with proper threaded embeds. No wood screws or epoxy used here. The actual finish is just the black gel coat, it still has the mold release agent on it which gives it a matte finish. A careful visual inspection showed there are no visible pinholes, no ripples, bumps, or other visible imperfections across the surface of the wing element or the end pods. It will absolutely need a careful wash with mold release solvent, then sanding and a couple coats of primer before paint but that's the case with any fiberglass parts. With the discount John offered for making a donation to his charity bike ride, total came to $866 shipped. I could not be a happier customer. For anyone considering adding a Turbo S rear wing, this is really the highest quality and most accurate replica out there IMO and John was great to work with. I'll post additional pics as I prep and install it.
Cheers
Mikey
Cheers
Mikey
03-17-2014, 02:28 PM
#3
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Looks good so far Mikey. I notice some subtle differences between yours and the D9 spoiler but looks relatively the same. Of course the most notable items are the D9 centre wing and adjustment plates are in carbon fibre.
Can you comment on the general craftsmanship of the fibreglass work? Any concern with pinholes, divots etc? Are you doing this job yourself or are you taking it to a body shop?
Can you comment on the general craftsmanship of the fibreglass work? Any concern with pinholes, divots etc? Are you doing this job yourself or are you taking it to a body shop?
03-17-2014, 04:01 PM
#4
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Thread Starter
Looks good so far Mikey. I notice some subtle differences between yours and the D9 spoiler but looks relatively the same. Of course the most notable items are the D9 centre wing and adjustment plates are in carbon fibre.
Can you comment on the general craftsmanship of the fibreglass work? Any concern with pinholes, divots etc? Are you doing this job yourself or are you taking it to a body shop?
Can you comment on the general craftsmanship of the fibreglass work? Any concern with pinholes, divots etc? Are you doing this job yourself or are you taking it to a body shop?
John at AIR is also happy to make the center wing section out of carbon fiber as well, for an additional $175 As to workmanship, please read my comment at the beginning of the first post. No issues with craftsmanship.
Finally, take a close look at the pics in the following thread of the installed D9 wing. Pay particular attention to the pics of the adjustment plate configuration.
https://rennlist.com/forums/968-foru...with-pics.html
As can be seen, since you can't thread screws into carbon fiber with any hope of repeatability, they are forced to use a longer bolt with a nut. This in turn forces them to create those odd carbon fiber "icicles" hanging down below the wing. Carbon fiber with raw edges tends to splinter over time, and if you've never had a carbon fiber splinter it great fun. Not to mention those look to be seriously getting in the way when washing. In contrast, the aluminum plates just allow the bolts to thread in directly, allowing a much more compact arrangement. The only other difference is the shape of the wing trailing edge, which the D9 folks claim is the -2 version of the wing. Some like it some prefer the original. By far the biggest improvement is the attachment of the wing to the hatch frame. D9 uses wood screws and epoxy. Not ideal, not removeable.
Cheers
Mikey
03-18-2014, 01:04 AM
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I ordered the wing as advertised on their web site, what showed up were 2 carriers in FRP, centre wing in satin carbon and adjustment plates in dry carbon, and lets not forget mismatched hardware!
Not sure if my order was a one off but i'll let the other D9 owners chime in. Josh B has the same version as mine, just not sure if he paid extra.
The general craftsmanship of the FRP carriers were passable but had pin holes and required a bit of elbow grease in a few sections, the most time consuming aspect to all of this was nothing was pre-drilled nor hardware pressed in. It's nice your AIR version came with it out of the box. I ended up having the centre wing re-cleared to match my carbon mirrors. The trailing edge of centre wing, right where bottom meets top, it's not perfect. Looks great from afar but if you're super **** it may bother.
The adjuster plates IMHO aren't a big issue for me and actually of very nice quality but that all changed when i caught my hand underneath it while washing and F*%$ did it hurt.
Once i lined everything up, predrilled I took the lot to a Porsche certified body shop in town to finish the job and empty my wallet. They did a great job securing it to the hatch (feels solid) but cant' really comment as i didn't do it myself.
Anyway, keep us posted. It's an exciting project and interested to see the results!
Not sure if my order was a one off but i'll let the other D9 owners chime in. Josh B has the same version as mine, just not sure if he paid extra.
The general craftsmanship of the FRP carriers were passable but had pin holes and required a bit of elbow grease in a few sections, the most time consuming aspect to all of this was nothing was pre-drilled nor hardware pressed in. It's nice your AIR version came with it out of the box. I ended up having the centre wing re-cleared to match my carbon mirrors. The trailing edge of centre wing, right where bottom meets top, it's not perfect. Looks great from afar but if you're super **** it may bother.
The adjuster plates IMHO aren't a big issue for me and actually of very nice quality but that all changed when i caught my hand underneath it while washing and F*%$ did it hurt.
Once i lined everything up, predrilled I took the lot to a Porsche certified body shop in town to finish the job and empty my wallet. They did a great job securing it to the hatch (feels solid) but cant' really comment as i didn't do it myself.
Anyway, keep us posted. It's an exciting project and interested to see the results!
First off, the D9 center wing section is made with fiberglass (FRP) as standard, not carbon fiber. A carbon fiber center wing costs extra. Only their end plates come as carbon fiber as standard.
John at AIR is also happy to make the center wing section out of carbon fiber as well, for an additional $175 As to workmanship, please read my comment at the beginning of the first post. No issues with craftsmanship.
Finally, take a close look at the pics in the following thread of the installed D9 wing. Pay particular attention to the pics of the adjustment plate configuration.
https://rennlist.com/forums/968-foru...with-pics.html
As can be seen, since you can't thread screws into carbon fiber with any hope of repeatability, they are forced to use a longer bolt with a nut. This in turn forces them to create those odd carbon fiber "icicles" hanging down below the wing. Carbon fiber with raw edges tends to splinter over time, and if you've never had a carbon fiber splinter it great fun. Not to mention those look to be seriously getting in the way when washing. In contrast, the aluminum plates just allow the bolts to thread in directly, allowing a much more compact arrangement. The only other difference is the shape of the wing trailing edge, which the D9 folks claim is the -2 version of the wing. Some like it some prefer the original. By far the biggest improvement is the attachment of the wing to the hatch frame. D9 uses wood screws and epoxy. Not ideal, not removeable.
Cheers
Mikey
John at AIR is also happy to make the center wing section out of carbon fiber as well, for an additional $175 As to workmanship, please read my comment at the beginning of the first post. No issues with craftsmanship.
Finally, take a close look at the pics in the following thread of the installed D9 wing. Pay particular attention to the pics of the adjustment plate configuration.
https://rennlist.com/forums/968-foru...with-pics.html
As can be seen, since you can't thread screws into carbon fiber with any hope of repeatability, they are forced to use a longer bolt with a nut. This in turn forces them to create those odd carbon fiber "icicles" hanging down below the wing. Carbon fiber with raw edges tends to splinter over time, and if you've never had a carbon fiber splinter it great fun. Not to mention those look to be seriously getting in the way when washing. In contrast, the aluminum plates just allow the bolts to thread in directly, allowing a much more compact arrangement. The only other difference is the shape of the wing trailing edge, which the D9 folks claim is the -2 version of the wing. Some like it some prefer the original. By far the biggest improvement is the attachment of the wing to the hatch frame. D9 uses wood screws and epoxy. Not ideal, not removeable.
Cheers
Mikey
