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Raptor Racing 85/86 Double Wing Spoiler Trim Kit Install Instructions

6K views 7 replies 5 participants last post by  drjim 
#1 · (Edited)
This is a little informational post about how these seals came to be and how they differ from (and improve on) the OEM ones. Here is the install guide (open it with Word or some real word processor\viewer, not Notepad)...
http://raptorracing.com/Instructions/SpoilerKitInstall.doc

So here is what you will receive in the Raptor Racing 85/86 Double Wing Spoiler Seal kit...



As you can see, these are a little different from the OEM seals. The long upper pieces have been faithfully duplicated, though you do have to trim them yourself and use an adhesive, but the lower pieces are an entirely new design. Here are some crusty original lower pieces, the post seals...



So why the change? Cost mostly, but our new design also improves wear on your hatch paint, prevents dirt build up under the seals as they allow drainage, seals the wire hole on 86s against leakage better and provides a more solid connection between the wing and hatch that reduces rattles and can even be felt when closing the hatch. We could have duplicated the original post seals perfectly, but each one is unique and would have required its own mold, which would literally have tripled the development cost of the kit. If you would like to know more about how we arrived with this design and exactly how these improvements work, read on. There are pics of the fully installed product at the bottom.

Going with seals stamped out of flat sheets of rubber made this project economically possible. When tasked with duplicating the post seals, the first thing I noticed was that the upper sections of the corner pieces (the 2 L shaped seals in the photo above) do absolutely nothing but trap dirt. Look at the long groove on the section that sits in the glass...



What fits in that groove?



Nothing, absolutely nothing! My theory is Toyota went with a slightly different spoiler design originally, made the molds for the seals, then revised the design for the spoiler and determined that the original seal worked well enough that it wasn’t cost effective to redesign it. So I did!
With the upper section loped off, designing a replacement was much simpler. At first I made a set of seals that duplicated the footprint of the original seals perfectly. Although these worked, they just looked wrong as the OEM corner post seals are molded to match up with the long outer side seals. At this point I decided it was better to just hide them underneath the spoiler. With them out of sight, the mismatching wasn’t an issue. This is how our corner post seals fit...




When designing these stealth replacement corner seals, I wanted them to press evenly around the wire hole on the 86s and maintain a waterproof seal between the wing and hatch in case someone’s rubber grommet that plugs the hole on the hatch was unusable. And they do successfully keep moderate running water out with the grommet uninstalled. This led to the design we have now, but a side benefit quickly became obvious after I made my first set of prototypes. Anyone who owns an 85/86 is painfully aware of the wear the spoiler inflicts on the hatch paint. Most 85/86 hatches have had rust spots develop on them under the corner seals by now (and most of those have had that rust fixed at some point, hence the crappy black paint on my hatch). This is partially caused by the dirt that gets trapped under them, but it is mostly due to the relatively small contact area, just two of the outer edges of the wing press on the hatch, and add in being located on something that routinely gets slammed and you have a problem. Our seal’s entire footprint presses evenly on both the hatch and wing. This greatly improves the paint wear problem, but also mounts the spoiler more solidly, which can be felt when it’s slammed and should reduce rattles and vibrations. Last, its smaller size leaves gaps for any water that gets underneath the upper section to drain.
As for the center post seal, it was relatively simple...


From left to right; OEM, near production Raptor seal and one of my early used prototypes.

The only problem we ran into with this one was that switching to a perfectly flat seal revealed how poorly the stock spoiler fits the contour of the hatch. The molded lip on the oem seal hid it effectively. That is the purpose of the little triangle corner seal, it has an adhesive backing on it. If you have a gap under the front corner and dislike it, add the little triangle piece to fill it.




There are 4 seals around the studs on the upper section of the spoiler. Here’s a crusty original vs the new Raptor version...



As for the upper trim, there are two profiles of extruded seal used, so it was a relatively simple matter to have them duplicated. Here is the thin outer piece, Raptor vs new discontinued OEM Toyota (which has an adhesive inlayed into it, with a piece of wax paper on top)...



And the inner wide piece. Raptor vs new OEM, same deal with the adhesives...



Inlaying the adhesive was not doable for our manufacturer. Installation is pretty simple, you just have to apply a little liquid butyl sealer to the wing in the contact areas and trim the reliefs in for the corners and such. I’m very happy with the quality of the new pieces, and they look just like OEM once installed...




Note that I have not wiped down this trim with a mild degreaser like a Final Wipe solvent as I normally do. That removes the fine dust left on new rubber and shines and darkens it up quite nicely. I’ll be installing a set of this trim on a freshly painted SDR very shortly. I will upload some better glamour shots of this trim then.

2017 EDIT: Photobucket has decided to disable all 3rd party image linking unless you pay an outrageous annual fee. I don't have the time to move all of my images to another program (as many on this board don't). However there is a Chrome extension that will get all images working inline again for you. Please use it, works like a charm...

https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/photobucket-hotlink-fix/kegnjbncdcliihbemealioapbifiaedg
 
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#4 ·
Seamus;

as always I really appreciate all the hard work you put into this project. None of this would have been possible without you, so thanks again on behalf of all that purchased these.



Should have it up on the site soon, hopefully by the weekend.

Extremely nice work guys. Speaking for myself, I have wanted this for a long time and I am amazed at the quality and the production of these. Thanks again for all your work and insights.
Thanks CJ, can't wait to see these installed on your car!!
 
#3 ·
Extremely nice work guys. Speaking for myself, I have wanted this for a long time and I am amazed at the quality and the production of these. Thanks again for all your work and insights.
 
#7 · (Edited)
Hey guys, there is a little update I meant to get into this guide a long time ago but I keep forgetting about it. I've found a better adhesive to use then the Rubber Cement. The last set of these I installed I used this stuff...



https://www.dominionsureseal.com/product/liquid-butyl-sealer-clw/

Its basically liquid butyl from a caulking tube. If you can't find the Dominion Sure Seal brand, there are other brands that probably work just as well (google "liquid butyl caulking"). This stuff is essentially the same as the original sealant used to hold the factory trim on. I find it much less finicky to work with then the rubber cement and more forgiving. Just don't open up the tip of the tube too much, you only need a small stream of the stuff.

I'll try and get that guide updated with this info.
 
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