Rick

I am seriously thinking about putting a wing (perhaps an Aerokit) on my Speed Yellow cab - I'm working through the process of what will look best but have 2 somewhat foundational questions.

1) I haven't been able to locate anything online about the regulations but I'm guessing that I have to have a 3rd brake light on this car - installing a wing would likely involve removing the existing 3rd brake light. Is this correct? Or, is the 3rd brake light a matter of safety & personal choice?

2) I understand that if I install a wing, I'll have to disable the warning light (thanks Robin for the great DIY info here). However, I also understand that part of the function of the existing motorized wing is to control the amount of cool air channeled to the motor - are there any negative effects of putting on a fixed wing considering this factor?

Thanks much.

Pete Lech

If you go to pelicanparts.com, they have a wing that has the third brake light built into it.

I thought that the purpose of the moveable tail was more for downforce than cooling, as the oil cooler is up front.

Here is a picture of the factory aerokit on a '97 narrowbody car that I tried to buy in Asheville last summer.



I just finished putting the aerokit II on my S, and love the look. Have fun.

J-McDonald

The active wing is for cooling, as well as downforce (some would say that the amount of downforce it creates is so minimal that it's only purpose is cooling). That's why a malfunctioning wing is a "level 1" fault, triggering the "!" light, in addition to the wing warning light in the clock. The owner's manual says that a malfunctioning (i.e., non-raising) wing could cause the engine to run overly hot and warns against driving the car with a non-operational wing.

The active wing cools the engine better when raised because raising the wing causes the louvers on the wing to "catch" the air flowing down the back of the car. Since a fixed wing always has this advantage (i.e., not just at higher speeds when the active wing would be raised), it should "catch" more airflow and cool the engine better than the active wing.

Also, since most fixed wings have a larger louvered area than the active wing, more air should be able to flow through.

I recently had an RS America-style wing added to my 91 C2 cab (and the active wing removed). It definitely runs cooler since the fixed wing was added, especially on the highway.

FYI - most wings will clear the "bread basket" third brake light band.

Eric in Chicago

Rick,
If you go with a wing, make sure you also get a front splitter that is matched. I think this is only important if you plan on high speeds or track events. I read somewhere that the down force of a wing will create stability problems if not matched to a front splitter that also produces
equal downforce. I have the Techart bumper and tail on my 96 cab. shoot me a email off line if you would like to see pics

E. J. - 993 Alumni

Nice looking car, but we really to do something about the size of pictures here. Since I am traveling this week, I can lament with Viken on the dial up speed. <img src="graemlins/crying.gif" border="0" alt="[crying]" />

E. J.

RT7

Don't forget to add the Turbo snorkel/trumpet to your intake to give additional cooling air. See Robin's DIY site.

Peace!
Ron

Martin S.

You wrote, "I am seriously thinking about putting a wing (perhaps an Aerokit) on my Speed Yellow cab - I'm working through the process of what will look best but have 2 somewhat foundational questions.

1) I haven't been able to locate anything online about the regulations but I'm guessing that I have to have a 3rd brake light on this car - installing a wing would likely involve removing the existing 3rd brake light. Is this correct? Or, is the 3rd brake light a matter of safety & personal choice?"

I assume you are talking about the "luggage handle" 3rd light. There are two aerokits, Aero Kit 1 w/o light integrated into the wing, and Aerokit 1B with the light integrated. The kit along with the side skirts is available from Gert in Belgium for less than what you will pay at your Porsche dealer. It will cost a bit more than "aftermarket" glass...but the first good thing, it will probably fit when you install it. My bodyshop and paint guy in SoCal won't touch the aftermarket Aerokits. He says it is too much work fitting them to the car. And, the factory front spoiler is made of polyurethane...just like what you have now. Polyurethane will flex, glass will crack and or break.

You also wrote, "2) I understand that if I install a wing, I'll have to disable the warning light (thanks Robin for the great DIY info here). However, I also understand that part of the function of the existing motorized wing is to control the amount of cool air channeled to the motor - are there any negative effects of putting on a fixed wing considering this factor?"

The snorkel is a good idea...if the car runs hotter, contact ANDIAL in Santa Ana, CA for their oil cooler fan override kit. This way you can get the fan working at your whim. I have one of these on my car and it helps. If you really want to get rid of the heat, install a Cargraphics Cooler, also available from Gert in Belgium. <a href="http://www.carnewal.com" target="_blank">http://www.carnewal.com</a> The cooler mounts either behind, or in front of the the air conditioner condenser in the left front fender. When the car gets hot...assuming it will also be hot outside, turn on your air conditioning. The air conditioning fan on the condenser is activated pulling air across the Cargraphics cooler, and voila, cooler oil temps!

Good luck with the project.

Martin <img src="graemlins/xyxwave.gif" border="0" alt="[bigbye]" /> <img src="graemlins/burnout.gif" border="0" alt="[burnout]" />

Matt Vaughan

Rick, Gert Carnewal - <a href="http://www.carnewal.com" target="_blank">http://www.carnewal.com</a> - is going to be the best place for factory parts. If that's not extreme enough for you, I'd check out MA Shaw - <a href="http://www.mashaw.com" target="_blank">http://www.mashaw.com</a>.

Good luck.


-Matt

J-McDonald

I agree with Martin re: factory vs. aftermarket fiberglass. One very respected high-end bodyshop that I approached about doing the wing on my C2 refused to work with anything other than factory fiberglass-- they said that it required too much prep work. So I went with another (also very respected) high-end body shop, who agreed to do it, but warned that the prep work would be expensive. (I had good reasons unrelated to price for wanting to go with an aftermarket rather than factory wing). Sure enough, when the wing arrived from MA Shaw, I received a call from the bodyshop guy, who said that the area around the louvers needed substantial finishing work and there were lots of pin-holes in the fiberglass. Once they spent 5 or 6 hours sanding and prepping, the wing looked great. FWIW, I've heard a similar story from another guy who added an MA Shaw RS America wing to his C2.

Robin 993DX

J-,

I have successefully installed several MaShaw aero kits on 993s, I've even preped, and painted one set. Everything fitted very nicely and I didn't feel that it required too much preped time. Of course I was doing this for fun so the time clock was not a concern.

You can take a look at the DIY section of my web site where I preped, painted and installed a complete aero kit fo rmy friend's 95 993.

J-McDonald

I didn't mean to denigrate the quality of MA Shaw products. I'm very happy with the wing that I purchased from them. In fact, I chose them, rather than other aftermarket part manufacturers, because of their reputation for quality. This reputation is well-earned, in my experience.

My point was that non-factory fiberglass will (not might) require finishing work. Some bodyshops are unwilling to do this kind of work and, for those bodyshops that are willing do it, it will add a substantial amount to the bill. As Robin pointed out, if you're willing to do the prep work yourself, this isn't an issue.

Anyone considering factory vs. aftermarket body kits should keep preparation costs in mind, especially when considering any supposed cost advantage to buying an aftermarket kit.

Pete Lech

Sorry about that large picture, guys. I now know how to downsize them.
I just installed the MA Shaw Turbo S wing and splitter. The body guy said he had to do some work to minimize the side gaps on the rear deck, plus I seem to have a slight interference problem that is preventing the top louver from seating all the way down - it fit before the paint apparently, so it can't be much off.

I am very happy with the look of both pieces.

FWIW, many have told me that any needed repairs to the fiberglass splitter are actually easier to do than to the urethane factory splitter.

Flying Finn

Pete,

How much they charge for installing (install, painting etc.) wing & splitters?

Rick

One item that I still want to understand...am I required by law to keep a 3rd brake light on this car?
I'm leaning towards the RS Aerokit but it doesn't have a brakelight.
Thanks much.