Around a month ago I picked up a used Carbon Creations Carbon Fiber STi Wing from a friend for a pretty good price. I’m not a huge fan of carbon fiber for aesthetic purposes alone, but it was available so I bought it. And in case you are wondering, it weighs 13.6lbs (OEM is ~17lbs).
[Note: This was written in August 2020; I was frustrated over how it ended.]
Obviously, the first thing we need to do is a test fit.
I’ve heard complaints about CC parts not fitting well and needing a lot of work. The wing didn’t sit like 100% OEM, but it is so close that unless you are building a show car, it’s probably fine for most people — including me.
The clear coat had some chipping in it so it needed to be clear coated again. So, I decided to paint the whole wing.
As with all things concerning paint, we need to prep the wing, which means lots of sanding. I decided on wet sanding to cut down on the dust. Splitting the wing apart was a bit of an ordeal as two of the bolts were seized; the access points are not straight on either. The bolts had a Philips head which made it difficult to get any torque on them.
Overall, the condition of the wing was pretty good. There are quite a few low spots either in the clear coat or the resin. Which would be fine in full carbon fiber mode, but I planned on painting it.
I didn’t document any of the processes of how I got the mounting points from the wing to the trunk. Everyone has their method, but I taped a couple of sheets of paper to the bottom of the spoiler base (there are no mounting points in the middle section); then, I punched holes through the paper where the mounting holes were. I lined the wing on the trunk, transferred the paper to the trunk by peeling the tape off the wing, and then taping the paper to the trunk. Then all you need to do is mark and drill (or elongate nearby existing holes).
I mounted the base of the spoiler to the trunk and started wet sanding. It was much easier to sand on the car.
I marked off the center section with tape to get an idea of how the final product would look.
With the sanding done, I bolted everything down and drove around for a couple of days to make sure it wasn’t going to fly off or anything.
Painting the wing was an ordeal and a half. I usually warm up my paint cans so that they spray more consistently. Apparently, I left them out in the sun too long. The caps kept exploding, shooting blobs of paint onto the wing.
Very frustrating.
This meant I would have to wet sand the paint before applying the clear coat. Unfortunately, WRB is a metallic paint so wet sanding marks show up in the clear still.
Unfortunately, this story does not have a happy ending.
I can only assume that this happened after my car wouldn’t start for the 100th time during COVID-19 since I don’t drive it much. I was checking on the battery in the trunk and accidentally slammed the trunk shut. Normally I have to give it a push, but it went down like someone was pulling on it this time.
However, I don’t remember seeing anything wrong with it. I was also in a hurry so I probably missed it.
I left the car outside for a few days while working on some stuff in the garage. And I guess the heat from the sun caused a crease to rise in the center of the wing. It is hard to photograph and looks much worse in person.
I will probably cut a channel underneath and make all of my reinforcement repairs there. Luckily, nothing has cracked yet, so I may not need to respray the clear coat. Then again, I may take this opportunity to change the carbon fiber weave pattern. We’ll see.
Street Bandito (great channel) recently did a video on how to repair carbon fiber.
However, the fall semester starts soon, and I have a couple of more pressing issues to deal with. My header cracked at the #1 cylinder (more on that later), my oil pan is leaking, and my power steering rack and pump are leaking. Yay.
Cheers!
B.黒曜石 