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Installing Wings West Spoilers
In the European realm of automotive styling, there’s not much
that makes a better visual statement than the addition of aerodynamic
products...
By Michael Shartsis
Photography: Michael Shartsis
In the European realm of automotive styling, there's not much that makes a
better visual statement than the addition of aerodynamic products. These
perfect-for-personalizing accessories also include rear spoilers or "wings," as
they are more commonly known here in the States. One of the leaders in the
stateside aero-styling arena is Wings West. Since the company is headquartered
in the SoCal beach community of Newport, MAX decided to pay Wings West a visit
(Actually, we wanted to work on our tans.--MAX). Wings West offers an
incredibly affordable rear wing for BMW owners that mimics the M3 styling
queues. In fact, theonly thing it doesn't mimic
is the M3 price tag.
Wings West wings are crafted from fiberglass to withstand the abuse of
daily driving. Strong yet lightweight, Wings West wings are simple to install,
requiring no specialty tools and/or hardware. Each Wings West wing comes
complete with all necessary mounting equipment and installation instructions.
Professional installation and color-match painting is also available for an
additional cost. The integrated appearance of a Wings West wing will flatter the
German-engineered styling of your BMW without gouging your wallet. We visited
Wings West's installation and paint facility to document a step-by-step install.
We called ahead (Approximately one week.--MAX) to have our wing painted, and
when we arrived the install took less than 30 minutes to perform.
Installation-complete, the addition of Wings West's 3-Series wing clearly
enhanced the overall styling appeal of our project BMW. And while in Newport, we
decided to cruise the coast (Did we mention chicks dig Bimmers? Well, they
do!--MAX).
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Our installation began by test-fitting the wing to our
project BMW trunk lid. As shown, the mounting hole locators are attached to the
WW wing prior to test fitment.
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With the Wings West wing in place, simply tape down the
provided "locators" and proceed to the next step for
mounting.
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Utilizing the "locators," the Wings West staff drilled the
mounting holes. Note, the underside of the BMW decklid utilizes a
double-wall-steel construction that will need to be drilled out to allow for the
Wings West mounting hardware.
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Wings West wings come equipped with a built-in third brake
light (available in clear, smoke or red) for increased safety and styling. The
Wings West wing is attached using Phillips-tip hardware provided with the wing.
Note, the wing also seals to the decklid via a foam rubber gasket to seal out
moisture.
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With the wing bolted in place, all that is left to do is wire
the third brake light using the provided wiring hardware and instructions as
shown here.
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Strong yet lightweight, WW wings are the perfect
personalizing accessory. Plus, it beats forking out $1,500 for a factory M3
spoiler!
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