Spoiler bolts (again!)

[obes]

Having a bit of a prob. with the eyebolts that hold the spoiler up. One of them is cracked and the replacement from the factory has a MUCH bigger thread than the ones that are on mine. Looks like this part was upgraded? With apologies for the intense boringness of this question , can someone tell me what size thread they have on their bolts ? I just want to make sure that this replacement is the correct part.

Cheers, Owen.

P.S.

All ends up I'm going to have to take the wing off while I sort it out. Cant really risk one bolt holding one side on! I see a couple of people are running with no wing already - any real difference for everyday ?

[amg merc]

obes said:

P.S. All ends up I'm going to have to take the wing off while I sort it out. Cant really risk one bolt holding one side on! I see a couple of people are running with no wing already - any real difference for everyday ?

Owen, yes, you can see out of the back!!! You shouldn't notice anything with regard to high-speed stability going wingless!

[joust]

Danny proved that it feels more "skittish" under braking from 160+ mph, and you get 7mph more on the top speed, apart from that you won't notice much difference at legal speeds..

J

[goodlife]

You won't notice any difference for everyday road use.

Wingless (on track) it was noticably twitchy on high speed bends and under high speed braking.

[obes]

O.K. The bolts are a bit ugly ! but otherwise, as you guys suggested, I can't feel any real difference at 'road' speeds. Oh, and you're right rob - you can see out the back !!!!

O.

[pic] http://photos.fotango.com/p/eba00397909f00000008.jpg [/pic]
[pic] http://photos.fotango.com/p/eba00397909f00000009.jpg [/pic]

[Siban]

Owen, I'm just about to remove rear wing and was looking at your picy's on this posting and had a couple of questions.

What order did you remove the rear wing components in? Did you first unbolt the wing from the uprights and then undo the bolts inside the rear clam, or just remove the whole rear wing section by undoing the rear clam bolts? The latter I would have thought needs two people and risks scratching the paintwork

And the second picture shows the bolts on the bodywork....are these the bolts that are normally on the inside of the rear clam? I was thinking of maybe finding some rubber grommets that would fit into the holes.

Removal of wing on experiment....think the lines looks cleaner. Will fit back on for track use (once I get the track day sump fitted)

[amg merc]

Siban said:

Owen, I'm just about to remove rear wing and was looking at your picy's on this posting and had a couple of questions. What order did you remove the rear wing components in? Did you first unbolt the wing from the uprights and then undo the bolts inside the rear clam, or just remove the whole rear wing section by undoing the rear clam bolts? The latter I would have thought needs two people and risks scratching the paintwork And the second picture shows the bolts on the bodywork....are these the bolts that are normally on the inside of the rear clam? I was thinking of maybe finding some rubber grommets that would fit into the holes. Removal of wing on experiment....think the lines looks cleaner. Will fit back on for track use (once I get the track day sump fitted)

Simon, unbolt the wing from the uprights first and then remove the uprights. Its still a 2-man job as you need someone to hold the uprights when you unbolt from the inside (otherwise they'll just fall off and may scratch the paintwork!).

[obes]

I agree with Rob, if you're on you're own put something over the back of the car under the spoiler and the take the wing off first. I actually lifted the clam and then tied both ends of the spoiler to the garage roof !! I just un-did the bolts underneath and took it off in 1 lump. Be careful you don't over tighten them when (if!) you put it back on.

As for the bolts I plugged the holes with, well I was just being a lazy-arse! Couldn't be bothered with sorting it properly as it was only going to be temporary whilst I repaired the broken bolt. I used M5 bolts with plumbers washers top and bottom.!!

O.

>> Edited by obes on Monday 4th October 10:10

[Siban]

Rob/Owen........thanks for the replies. I'll get some picy's posted up once I get camera fixed (driving over camera in a M12 GTO tends not to do them much good :-()

>> Edited by Siban on Monday 4th October 13:02

[turnbaugh]

Has anyone considered having new shorter wing mounting brackets made? This would move the wing down closer to the rear clam shel, make it less conspicuous, improve rear visibility but still retain some down force(?). This might be my first experiment when I get my car.

[AMG Merc]

turnbaugh said:

Has anyone considered having new shorter wing mounting brackets made? This would move the wing down closer to the rear clam shel, make it less conspicuous, improve rear visibility but still retain some down force(?). This might be my first experiment when I get my car.

...sounds good if it doesn't reduce downforce?

I have a vision of a smarter looking wing with smooth/curved edges that curves forward at the ends aligning with the rear clamshell shape (like the Lotus Esprit wing).

Re: temporary/semi-permanent hole plugs - I've tried coach bolts (with the ends dipped in silver hammerite to match the bodywork!) and also plastic plasterboard plugs (these are already silver coloured but need some reprofiling to fit)!

[m12_nathan]

Moving it up will also aid rear visibility, with the bonus of getting some air over it