Hi Guys,

Hoping for your opinion. My FD is currently wingless but have a 99 Spec spoiler with a CF wing...

What are your thoughts? Spoiler or no spoiler?

My FD - wingless


Example of spoiler:

 

Looks pretty damn good as is. What about a tail light spoiler? They are subtle but still add a little aggression to the back end, and don't require any mounting holes so easily reversible. I just received mine from Shine Auto and need to get it painted and installed.

 

I was wingless for years, and finally added the '99 wing grudgingly for track use, and now i love it.

Side note: Did you paint/mold-in your front lip (first pic)?

 

I personally don't love body kits on my own car. I can appreciate a Feed Type2 or some crazy widebody - but it just doesn't work for me.

That said, Mazda knocked it out of the park with the 99Spec spoiler - it's the perfect addition to an FD3S. I've had one on every FD I've owned.

 

+1 for the wing.
The first thing i bought body wise was the 99spec wing and i never looked back!

 

I guess it also depends on how old you are. At least that is what made my decision.


Just like you I like both looks. And I also had a 99 spec wing that I installed for like 9 months. Ultimately while I was getting my car painted I took it on and off to see what I liked the most. To us (my GF, the body shop owner, and myself) it was clear that without a spoiler the car looked more serious and less "race type". Given that I am not in my 20's anymore I went with the more serious look. But that's just me

 

+1 for the wing. Looks awesome. I want the same set up.

 

I, myself, think the wingless look makes that car look whimpy. It looks like there is something missing. That being said, I think the 99 spec looks highschoolish. I have the stock 93 R1 spoiler and love it. The only other route I would go is a duck bill. All JMO though!

 

I'm in the same boat. Mine is currently wingless and I honestly like it. My first FD was a touring and I installed an R1 spoiler on it. My wife loves the spoiler but I've kinda grown to like the lines of it spoiler less. I have considered the shine tail light spoiler however.

Do you plan to track it or anything? If you plan to race it, get the spoiler, it will be both aesthetically pleasing AND functional. Otherwise, leave it wingless. Looks good either way

Matt

 

The front number is a 99spec fibre glass... all one piece...

I myself am in my 20's and owned my FD for almost 10 years now and always loved the clean wingless look and thats how I have had it all along...

I have plans to track it from time to time but certainly nothing too serious... more so just a bit of competitive fun with some friends...

I'm still torn... I would hate to drill holes in the boot/trunk and then regret it...

Thanks for all your feedback

 

Have you seen this? Changed my mind on the spoiler question:

 

I like the little carbon fiber whale tail in the rear that just flares the rear of the car up some. Looks classic and very nice.

The 99 spec wing is too large, although functional.

 

Cool video, but I'm a geek with an aerospace engineering degree so that's right up my alley. I would love to see a similar comparison in a high speed tunnel with force transducers at the wheels so they could measure downforce.

 

You nailed it.
These are exactly my thoughts.

Once you drill that hatch... Plus that wing will get all the wrong attention. You will be begging the cops to pull you over.

 

Cops could care less whether you have a spoiler or not. Hell, Camry's have them. The FD just stands out. After that it's how it's being driven.

Like others I'm a little torn between spoiler/no spoiler look. But for a streeted car IF I went with a spoiler I actually like the "whale-tail" (96?) style version over the factory version we saw on our NADM cars. Now if I tracked my car, I'd be rockin' the functional/adjustable 99 spec.

 

My vote is for the spoiler; i don't think it's large enough to be the sole reason for attention from the police when family sedans have spoilers too.

 

Actually Zoom has a very valid and realistic point. Now I'm not saying that you are guaranteed to get pulled over. What I am saying don't be surprised if it happens. Plus getting profiled by a police officer because of the car you drive ihits very close to home for me.

Back in my late teens/early 20's I used to drive a lowered pick up truck. And wow I used to get pulled over so much that if a cop even glanced at me I would pull over to save each other some time. No lie. To prove my point further, about ten years ago my father in law (who is in his late 50's at the time) was driving my old truck because he needed to haul stuff. Sure enough he got pulled over lol... The first thing the cop said was 'wow! Not what I was expecting!' As he found an older white guy in the driver's seat. My father inlaw's reply was laughter followed by 'me neither!'. Which at that point the cop replied 'We pulled these things over all of the time...'

Also to compare the 99-wing with a Camry spoiler is apples to oranges. First the Camry is a family sedan, second the spolier on the sedan is no where near as ostentatious.

See for yourself:


Compared to:



Now come on ask yourselves if those two belong in the same category?

 

We're each speaking from our experience.
I've owned cars much more ostentatious than the FD, and still others (in college) that looked like they were stolen from a salvage yard. Driven my FD for 13 years now from Denver to KC to Chicago. never been pulled over for anything...albeit it had the stock spoiler.

 

I think its pretty silly to say that you will get pulled over more if you have the wing. You are driving a sports car, that enough grabs enough attention to get you pulled over. The wing doesn't make it more likely.

 

Yeah I'm not going to discount your experience but like I said from my experience zoom makes a valid point. I wasn't exaggerating about how much the cops used to pull me over. I'm not kidding it happened all of the time. To the point that I actually became a pro on what to say and what not to say. Sometimes even for fun I would deny searches just to see what they would come up with. Let me tell you it would get pretty colorful from 'OK then well get a judge out of bed and a get a search warrant'... riiiight anyone knows that if a judge has enough evidence to grant a search warrant then there is enough probable cause that there isn't a need for a warrant . My favorite one was the one where my car matched the description of a vehicle involved in a drive-by lol... I remember I once told an officer that they really needed to catch this double of mine because apparently he was just going around shooting everyone. Lol. Aw the nostalgia...

Sigh... If someone has to explain it to you, you wouldn't understand. But anyway like I said I'm not saying that it is guaranteed to get you pulled over. However if it happens (even once) don't be surprised.

I got question for you: I remember you saying you were waiting on a 20B. Now is that conversion legal in MD? If it's not then your *** should be extremely worried about keeping the lowest profile possible. If it is legal who cares! Rock that bitch loud and proud.

But let me tell you here in CA, police officers will jump at the chance to pull you over and pop that hood for the sole purpose of finding infractions. Which unfortunately can result in getting your car impounded.

 

I would go with a 99 Spoiler if your car already has the holes for a spoiler. The Shine lip spoiler would look nice if your hatch has no holes drilled. That's what I would have done to my car but the 99 Spoiler was already on it when I bought it.

Regards on being pulled over, a spoiler MAY increase the chances, but driving like a jerk surely increases your chances. When I had my Subaru GC with the huge STI spoiler, I've never gotten pulled over, I think it mainly depends on your driving habits. Then again, I've never been pulled over

 

I guess pretty much every tuner that has any modified engine should be worried then? I'm not here to argue with you, if you modify anything with the drive train it is 'illegal' and you are unable to use the historic tags. So using a spoiler as an excuse is , imo, silly because these cars attract way too much attention as it is. A spoiler won't help, but that definitely isn't the first reason a cop would pull you over for. These are based on my experiences in my area and owning multiple cars with wings (911 turbo, multiple FD's, etc). The only time I ever got pulled over was for not running a front license plate. Btw, I wouldn't doubt a word you're saying in your teenage era, I've heard cops were way different than they are now.

 

Be careful with the small shine duckbill, I ran one for way too long and while it looked great from a few angles it really bothered me from the front three quarters angle. Looked aftermarket, tacked on. So so glad I got rid of it

Having said that, for a car that's tracked I think the '99 wing makes a lot of sense.

 

I like the smooth, wingless look. I have always thought that a FD with a wing looks WAYYYYYY too much like an F-Body car of the same era.

 

There is no way I'd put that huge wing on my car.

If I was wingless I'd probably get one of those small spoilers that goes above the lights.

I really like a wingless car that's completely stock looking with subtle rims and a lowered ride height.