S-281 spoiler owners...

[pottsy]

I got my painted spoiler on today, and it looks really good except for one thing...it doesn't line up well on the part that extends over the fenders past the trunk lid. There's a good 1-2 inch gap there where it looks like it should be close to the fender. Also despite all the tape I put along the edges the thing still vibrates when I shut the trunk lid. Any ideas on how to fix these problems? I thought I heard someone talk of a stronger double-sided tape, but is the fit supposed to be like that? Any ideas would be appreciated...I really love the look I just hate the quality.

 

[SnakeBite98]

that looks like the one my friend got, its plastic and warped so on one side it was basically rubbing the rear fender and the other was way off it like yours. Im guessing you ordered it straight from Saleen? i don't know a real easy fix for it, my friend sent his back and traded it for an S-351, he has a white GT so it actually looked better than the 281. Mine doesn't vibrate when i slam the trunk shut, but i think its cause i have 4 studs and i used tape.

 

[StangsN4x4S]

pottsy what springs do u have and could u post a bigger pic of ur car

 

[BLACKVNM]

yeah you're right, that doesn't look right. Mine has a small gap right there, but it's nothing that big. It almost looks like its not layed down right on the trunk, but I assume that it is. Was yours a 2 or 4 bolt?

 

[pottsy]

I ordered it through Haney Motorsport. We trial fit it and it seemed fine then, I got it back today and put it on and this happens...someone else suggested it may be sitting to high up, if you notice the back lip of the spoiler and the rounded "edge" of the trunk lid itself do not mate...how does everyone else's compare? If anyone has any close up pics, I would really appreciate it.

 

[Shangsta]

mine definity better fitting than yours. It may be that i have the 4 bolt version but try realigning it and if it doesnt work call up saleen and see if they can send out a replacement

 

[Shangsta]

oh yeah can you take a pic of the other side cause after looking at it again it looks like it is put on too far to the left hand side

 

[Interspy24]

Hope it's nothing to worry about man. Might run it by Johnny as I believe he had one on his 98. Let's see the pics!

Vik

 

[pottsy]

It looks the same on the driver's side as well. I still really like the look of it, I'm not going through the trouble of getting another one and having it painted, that's for sure--and with some better tape I can get most of the edges to stay down which would be a big improvement. Is this something that might "settle" with time? :shrug:

Also, this is the two bolt version. I ordered it around Christmas, it arrived a week later and it was painted two days ago.

Vik, when I saw 98snake's car I noticed his didn't fit perfectly, but it was probably better than this. His was the 4-bolt version.

 

[97CasperCobra]

yea...i agree....way too big of a gap....i'll try to take pics now and post them up for ya man.....

 

[97CasperCobra]

Just to show you the size of the gap.....

 

[pottsy]

Thanks a LOT for the pics. For reference my gaps are both about the size of a nickel at the ends. I did figure out how to help it somewhat, however. The ends after the bolts begin to bend upward where they should curve with the fender so it looks like with some very strong double-sided tape I can get the end to bend downward slightly and stay down. Something stronger than the 3M tape will have to do, though. Any suggestions there?

I also noticed the spoiler is a little too far forward so I will enlarge the holes in my trunk lid slightly so the spoiler can sit all the way back. The combination of pushing the spoiler back a couple of millimeters and putting some strong tape to hold those sides down should be enough to make it look a lot better. :thumbsup:

Needless to say I am VERY disappointed with Saleen quality (too bad they make the best looking wing out there), this will be my last purchase of any of their products. I'm going to write them tomorrow in hopes they might reimburse me (longshot I know)

Thanks again for the pics, I'll get some up tomorrow or Friday when I get the wing fixed as best I can.

 

[97CasperCobra]

Needless to say I am VERY disappointed with Saleen quality (too bad they make the best looking wing out there), this will be my last purchase of any of their products. I'm going to write them tomorrow in hopes they might reimburse me (longshot I know)

Thanks again for the pics, I'll get some up tomorrow or Friday when I get the wing fixed as best I can.

sorry for this experience man. Mine's Saleen, but I bought it from a girl who didn't want it anymore and all I had to do was paint it white. I've heard horror stories about Saleen quality though...hope they can work with you.

 

[sLOWDOHC]

Glad Im not alone. The fit is much better than yours, its not warped, but everything else kinda sucks..

 

[Talus]

hey pottsy. notice in the pictures of Casper's that the wing comes right up to the edge of the trunklid. yours doesn't. i doubt it would overlap on the other side but something is screwy no doubt. is yours authentic Casper?

 

[97CasperCobra]

is yours authentic Casper?

yes mine is. It's an early spoiler, one of the 4-bolt versions.

Pottsy, one thing you DON'T want to do is tape down the "wings" of the spoiler as you wouldn't be able to open your trunk. Really sucks, and I don't know what else to tell you to do, just sucks to see this happen, especially on a beautiful car such as yours.

 

[pottsy]

yes mine is. It's an early spoiler, one of the 4-bolt versions.

Pottsy, one thing you DON'T want to do is tape down the "wings" of the spoiler as you wouldn't be able to open your trunk. Really sucks, and I don't know what else to tell you to do, just sucks to see this happen, especially on a beautiful car such as yours.

Well there's a small area that is actually bending upward on the trunk lid itself before it reaches the fender. I honestly think it can be salvaged, because there is a small area where some strong adhesive can be applied to bring the edges back down.

The spoiler is authentic Saleen.

 

[pottsy]

hey pottsy. notice in the pictures of Casper's that the wing comes right up to the edge of the trunklid. yours doesn't. i doubt it would overlap on the other side but something is screwy no doubt.

yep...I'm going to enlarge the holes in the trunk lid today to move the spoiler back where it should be. It needs to be moved back a couple of millimeters. There is a noticeable gap in the back as well....I think a big part of the bad fit is my trunk lid holes, or where the holes were drilled on the Saleen version (most probable)

 

[CY98Cobra]

like i said in the other thread about this. bolt your spoiler on with the 2 provided studs. raise the trunk and drill a hole in the front of the spoiler where the other two studs should be. buy a heli-coil and a bolt/stud to fit. install the heli-coil (threads) into the spoiler and either put a bolt in or put some loctite around the stud and put in the spoiler. then put a nut on the stud. no tape, no vibration. I did this to a spoiler once and it worked great. not to mention it was very easy.

 

[pottsy]

like i said in the other thread about this. bolt your spoiler on with the 2 provided studs. raise the trunk and drill a hole in the front of the spoiler where the other two studs should be. buy a heli-coil and a bolt/stud to fit. install the heli-coil (threads) into the spoiler and either put a bolt in or put some loctite around the stud and put in the spoiler. then put a nut on the stud. no tape, no vibration. I did this to a spoiler once and it worked great. not to mention it was very easy.

The problem with mine isn't necessarily the vibration...I can get that under control. The problem is the quality of the spoiler. The fit is poor. It's going in tomorrow to be "professionally installed" so we'll see how it turns out. I was told that it won't ever fit perfectly and I'm going to have a sizeable gap there--which I can honestly live with and most people won't notice or care--but it will always bother me. This thing really needs help and by the time it's all said and done I'm going to have over $600 invested in this thing, for a little more I could have had some nice longtubes. :nonono:

All I have to say is if anyone is considering the purchase of one of these spoilers, I'd spend my money elsewhere...either find a used one or just buy from someone else.