Installing a wing on your import car can be a difficult thing to do if you don’t have just a few things to get started. First off, you need to decide what wing or spoiler will look right on your ride. Don’t choose one that’s gaudy and oversized for your car just because you saw it in a magazine somewhere. If your personality is gaudy, then go ahead and put some god-awful piece of crap on the trunk of your car. Otherwise, choose something subtle that blends with the lines of your car.
Wings or spoilers can be had in a couple of different materials these days, most notably carbon fiber, fiberglass, and aluminum. Each has advantages that you might consider. Carbon Fiber is the lightest and strongest, and will suit you best if your intention is to race in SCCA competition or drag racing. Fiberglass is paintable and comes in many different shapes and sizes, and is best suited for the car show circuit. Those big, crazy wings DO NOT add horsepower, and DO NOT add a sufficient level of downforce to the rear of a front-wheel drive car to make you go faster. Aluminum is the least expensive, and is best for circle track applications or where you want a simple, no-frills spoiler capable of making your ride look a bit sportier.
The first step is to mark off where you want the spoiler to go. Make certain you have it on correctly, and then have a friend help you by holding the wing up over the trunk lid of your car. When you’re happy that you have chosen the correct style, cut out a piece of cardboard the size of your trunk lid’s width. Figure out the center of this by bending the cardboard exactly in half. Measure your trunk lid and put a mark on the paint with a dry-erase marker at the halfway point. Next, measure your wing between the two mounting points. From this, you can find out how far from the center you need to drill your mounting holes. With the measurements taken, make marks on the cardboard where your holes need to be, then cut them out carefully. You’ll use this as a template. Place the template on the trunk lid, and line everything up carefully. Measure out how far from the front of the trunk lid you’ll be drilling, then place the template accordingly. Now, use a permanent marker to mark within the template’s holes where you’ll drill. Remove the template and measure everything again. Once you’ve drilled, there’s no going back, so don’t mess it up!
Now, you can drill. Put a piece of masking tape over the marks that you can see through, and use a small drill bit first to avoid walking the bit across your paint. If the bit walks off center, you’ll need to get a reamer rather than a larger drill bit to make the hole line up correctly. This is no time to fudge it. Do it right the first time!
With the holes drilled, now you can put your new spoiler on your car, and install the nuts that will hold the wing in place. Close the trunk and you’re done! Couldn’t be easier.
