1) put a used TT wing on my old NA. Looked great, foam seemed ok. Lasted a year before rot set in. We're in a cold, dry climate. Looked like shit visibly on the outside after a year. Also had to replace hatch struts as the NA hatch struts weren't rated for the weight of the TT OEM wing. Lesson here was rot is not visible, even when the wing looked ok before install. However, there were no options in 2002, I went with used OEM. Wasn't cheap, either, $ 450.00 and a year of waiting for one to come up for sale locally. Plus paint & install, it was a $ 600.00 piece that lasted less than a year. Also, OEM requires mounting with several push clips along the hatch, had to drill them in my NA as the wing flexes up from the hatch as you tighten it down. Bit of a pain to get flush.
2) put a Kuruma wing on the TT when I pulled off the 20 year old OEM wing for car painting and saw the extent of foam rot underneath. Fortunately at the time (2007) the Kuruma wings were fairly new and highly recommended. Painter was pretty impressed with fitment and overall casting quality of the piece. He found some small marks and pits from the mould, but also said this is pretty common for fibreglass pieces. Fibreglass is easy to work with and repair. He did a flawless job of prep and install.
3) Replaced MixMan's wing on his '93 TT. Car is well kept, non-winter driven, and fairly babied :) Pulled off the stock wing and found more rot underneath. Ordered the Powertrix wing (2009). Same quality as the Kuruma (small imperfections and all) again, easily prepped, painted and installed. Only issue I noticed is the third brake light fitment, which is easily dealt with if you test fit the light before painting.
Advantages to the fibreglass:
1) much lighter than OEM. My OEM sagging hatch struts actually work perfectly with the Kuruma, even in cold temps.
2) easy to repair. Fibreglass can be repaired, painted and is fairly tough. OEM wings cannot. If there is crush damage, cracking or paint is lifting, it can't be fixed. Chances of smacking up a fibreglass wing are fairly small, you'd have to back up pretty hard & fast into something or be rear-ended. Then, the wing will be the least of your worries, and fibreglass or OEM won't make any difference.
3) Fibreglass is rigid. Dead easy to install, clamps to the hatch perfectly, only need hard fasteners in the corners through the hatch and double-sided tape on the indented underside slot to fit the wing flush on the hatch. Ends won't lift or pull away from the hatch, something I commonly see with older OEM wings.
4) Availability & price. You can order a Kuruma or Powertrix wing and get them in a few days. $ 299.00 + ship gets you the Kuruma from Coz, $ 349.00 + ship for the Powertrix. Good luck finding an OEM in good enough shape to mount... most get some damage from removal, I've seen a few, none were perfect.
5) It is an exact replica. Both wings are. I've laid them on top of each other, OEM and fibreglass, the dimensions are identical. They are 100% OEM looking installed.
Not bullshitting, just my experience with all three. Have you done any?
Regards,
WARNING! Forum posts are likely to contain traces of irony. If you believe you may be suffering from an irony deficiency please consult your physician.
My Zs are hybrid vehicles, they run on gasoline and money
I'm off to wax mine and go for a drive now. - BigTDogg (MA) 07:17:08 07/17/09
times change, people change, but the Z32 still kicks ass. - apudapus 16:46:02 06/15/07
I was more wondering how you set your climate control to 22* lol, it would be that fastest freezer on wheels! - Briscoe'sZ32 (NJ) 23:15:44 02/05/07
You have *got* to be getting a cut from B&B :D - SeedyROM 15:24:29 08/16/06 What do you think B&B stands for? - YugoBernie (NoVA) 15:57:09 08/16/06
