Mounting for the spoiler with your own hands

How to make a spoiler for a car: tips on making and installing

To make a spoiler for a car yourself, you do not need special tools or expensive materials, but when tuning a car with your own hands, it is important to know the measure. If you go overboard with the size of the element, the car will look ridiculous, and driving such a car will be unsafe because of the violated aerodynamics.

Self-made spoiler on the car is put on the trunk, to press the back of the car to the road, improving traction with the asphalt, acceleration and handling. The part, made by hand, costs about half as much as the factory one.

Variants of homemade fairings on cars

Air fairings, installed on the rear trunk, come in two types and differ in shape and aerodynamic characteristics:

• A spoiler pressurizes airflow pressure over the car and cuts it under the bottom, improving the car’s aerodynamics, acceleration speed and traction.
• The antifender, like the spoiler, serves to increase downforce of the car, its main difference is the presence of a gap between the part itself and the surface of the car trunk. Due to the free space, the antifender is streamlined with air from both sides and is not able to increase the dynamics of acceleration of the car.

When choosing the shape and appearance of the homemade fairing, you need to be guided by the design of the body, the technical characteristics of the car and common sense.

Materials of manufacture

The main properties for the spoiler – its shape and aerodynamic characteristics, the material of manufacture is not essential. You can make it with your own hands from such materials:

• plaster;
• CHIPBOARD;
• installation foam;
• foam and fiberglass;
• galvanized iron.

When planning what to make a car spoiler out of, it is best to choose the material that is easier for you to work with.

Shape

All fairings can be divided into two types:

• Factory – created by car manufacturers;
• Individual – made to order in the tuning atelier or by your own hand.

Aerodynamic characteristics of spoilers are principally important only for sports cars, because they begin to show their properties only at speeds above 180 km/h. Normal drivers often install fairings to give the car smoother lines and a stylish look.

Making a spoiler with your own hands

Before making a fairing, you need to think carefully about its appearance, design and location, as well as approximately calculate the weight – incorrectly made or installed spoiler can worsen the characteristics of the car.

Necessary tools and materials

To make a homemade spoiler on the car from foam and iron, you need:

• A sheet of galvanized iron with a thickness of 1.5 mm or more;
• scissors (ordinary and metal);
• masking tape;
• a big piece of cardboard (you can use packing from home appliances);
• felt-tip pen;
• foam plastic;
• large utility knife;
• hacksaw;
• glue;
• tracing paper or plain paper to make a drawing;
• grinder;
• sandpaper;
• fiberglass cloth;
• gelcoat – ready-made material for protective coating of composites;
• degreaser;
• polyester resin composition;
• primer;
• auto enamel;
• varnish.

Spoiler drawing

The first step in creating a spoiler is to create a drawing. The design of the part must be verified to the millimeter, so as not to spoil the aerodynamics of the car.

In order to make a template:

1. Measure the width of the rear trunk of the car.
2. Accurately determine the size, height and shape of the fairing (you can see photos of competently tuned cars of similar brand).
3. Make a drawing of the spoiler on the car, taking into account the dimensions of the car and places of attachment of the detail.
4. Transfer the drawing to cardboard and cut it out.
5. Try the blank on the car. If you are completely satisfied with the appearance and characteristics of the resulting element, then proceed directly to the manufacturing process.

In the absence of experience in autotuning, making a drawing, it is better to consult with a knowledgeable car owner or engineer.

Manufacturing process

Further steps in the manufacturing process:

1. Attaching a cardboard template to a sheet of iron and tracing.
2. Remove the template and use metal scissors to cut out the parts.
3. Use foam plastic to build up the volume on the spoiler: use a stationery knife to cut out the individual elements of the fairing and glue them onto the metal part.
4. Try the iron blank on the trunk and check its level and symmetry.
5. If necessary, correct the shape of the future fairing with a box cutter or build up small more pieces of foam.
6. The foam is coated with gelcoat.
7. Glue several layers of fiberglass cloth around the blank, making sure there are no air bubbles between them. Each subsequent layer must be stronger and tighter than the bottom one.
8. Cover the surface of the reinforced workpiece with polyester resin and leave to dry.
9. Grind and prime the resulting part.
10. After the primer dries, apply automotive enamel and lacquer to the spoiler.

It is important to grind thoroughly billet – even small irregularities will be visible after the application of varnish coating and will negate all efforts to create a beautiful element of tuning.

Attaching to the car

Homemade spoiler on the car can be attached in different ways:

On a double-sided adhesive tape.

The easiest way, but also the least reliable, also it is not suitable for installing large or heavy fairings. Description of work:

1. In order for the part to “cure” well, work on its fixing is carried out at a temperature above +10-15 degrees. If it is colder outside, you should take the car to a heated box or garage and let it warm up for several hours before and after installation.
2. Thoroughly wash, degrease and dry the rear trunk of the car, paying special attention to the attachment points of the new element. Additionally you can treat the surface with an adhesion activator.
3. The protective tape is removed gradually, a few centimeters at a time, periodically checking the accuracy of the spoiler installation on the body and ironing the glued part. The first contact with the double-sided tape is the most reliable. If the part has been peeled off several times, you can no longer install it firmly, it is best to replace the tape or glue the fairing with sealant.
4. Fix the installed spoiler on the trunk with masking tape and leave to dry for 24 hours (at most a couple of hours).

At pressure washers, you should warn workers that some parts of the car are sealed with double-sided adhesive tape.

Sealant

When used properly, sealant is stronger than duct tape. To install the spoiler with it, you need to:

1. Accurately mark the area on the body with a water-soluble marker to attach the part.
2. Degrease, wash and dry the surface.
3. Depending on the type of sealant, you may need to apply an additional base.
4. Apply a thin layer of sealant to the trunk or to the part to be glued (there is no point in smearing both surfaces).
5. Place the spoiler in position, without pressing it down, and check the accuracy and symmetry of its position, correcting it carefully if necessary.
6. Press the fairing with a dry rag.
7. It is best to remove excess sealant with two types of cloth wipes: damp, and after it – soaked in degreaser.

Attaching the spoiler on the sealant

After installation, fix the part with painter’s tape and leave to dry for 1 to 24 hours (the longer – the better).

Self-tapping screws

The strongest and most reliable attachment, but requiring violation of the integrity of the rear trunk. Step by step instructions:

1. First protect the paint coating in the work area with painter’s tape.
2. Transfer the mounting points to the trunk. To do this, you need to put a sheet of thin paper on the connection points of the spoiler, mark it on the mountings and transfer the marks to the car using the resulting template.
3. Try on the part to verify and drill holes.
4. Treat the holes with a rust preventative.
5. For a better adhesion of the fairing to the body you can additionally use glue, silicone or pieces of double-sided adhesive tape.
6. Fasten the part to the car.
7. Clean the surface from the adhesive tape remnants.

The most popular types of spoilers

All spoilers can be divided into two types:

• decorative – small overlays on the rear contour of the trunk, they have little effect on the dynamics, but give the car a more elegant silhouette;
• functional – high spoilers in sporty style, which really change the pressure of the air flow at high speed and downforce car.

You don’t have to make a spoiler completely by yourself. If you like store parts, but do not fit the width of the trunk, you can buy a ready-made, saw it and extend it with an insert (or cut) to the desired size.

To make a spoiler for a car yourself, you do not need special tools or expensive materials, but when tuning a car with your own hands, it is important to know the measure. If you go overboard with the size of the element, the car will look ridiculous, and driving such a car will be unsafe because of the violated aerodynamics.

Mounting for the spoiler with your own hands

We have a spoiler and no mount. What we do, take the spoiler make measurements. Measurements can be made by measuring and applying to the material. After you have made a blank for the fixtures to make sure you did everything right. By attaching to the spoiler where you will be doing mounts.

Then immediately mark on a piece where you will make holes in order to attach it to the spoiler. After you have measured, make the holes with a drill.

Once you have made two blanks, clean from rust and dirt. Using a porous wheel for the drill.

Cleaned, degreased and primed for painting. Since it will be out of sight for a long time you can not wait until it dries. The main thing is not to be wet. If you want to speed up the process, you can use a hair dryer, or you can use a regular hair dryer.

In this case the workpieces are not painted, but it is advisable to do it. When you are done with the workpieces we fix them to the spoiler with a shaped screwdriver or a screwdriver. Using small screws, as they are called seeds.

After screwing, take masking tape and go to the trunk.

We need masking tape in order to be able to mark on the trunk lid where the mounts will be installed.

We place the spoiler on the trunk lid and outline it.

Here’s what it looks like.

Then, after all these procedures, you need to determine in the figure where the mounts will be. We measure and drill. After you have drilled the holes, you need to put the spoiler in the right place and opening the trunk on the holes do markings on the mounts where budimet weld threaded rod. We measured and took off the workpieces, then welded studs.

Welded studs clean up the weld so it does not interfere with the spoiler. And so each piece. We take a car camera and cut gaskets so as not to scratch the trunk.

We assembled the spoiler and now place it on the car. Put it in the holes and fix it all engraving washers.