Finally broke down and got the Data Systems Illusion rear spoiler. It's sitting in the back of the Z, safely covered in bubble wrap.

Next week, it goes to the body shop for paint and install.

It feels pretty light... 5-6 pounds, maybe?

Will I need the "high performance" rear hatch struts to keep the hatch raised after the install?

Anyone have experience with this?

Thx!

 

It will work fine with the stock setup. Post pic's when your done!

 

Thx!

Shud have some pix up next weekend.

 

how much is the paint and install? im going to get a wing installed on my Z and need a ballpark of what to expect

 

you can always remove the butterfly-shaped counterweight that's in the hatch.

 

What counterweight is this? Do you have any pics of it?

 

also interested in the "counterweight" and how to remove....

where can you buy "high perf" hatch struts?

 

i looked for the pic i took of it, but its not on my laptop. however, i have posted a pic of it on this site before and posted its weight. might want to search weight, trunk, or hatch. its under the hatch liner, near the latch. easy removal of 4 screws, iirc.
found it:

 

Here you go. I took pix of it a while back when I went to remove mine. Note that I don't have one, but this is where it is supposed to go.









This is what it is supposed to look like:

 

interesting how those two pieces look different? So this piece is literally just a WEIGHT?! it serves so other purpose that weighing the hatch down?! Thats nuts... im taking it out! How do i remove the cover on the bottom side of the hatch?

 

very carefully. i whittled a paint stirrer down to a fine edge and used it as a lever.

 

does it just pop off once you get leverage?

 

yep, just slide the tool over until its close to one of the stays, and turn your tool. it'll pop right open. there are several stays, tho. look at the orange ones in the pic above.

 

awesome thanks. any trouble getting the cover back in or pulling the counter weight out? anything to look out for?

 

no. really very straight fwd.

 

So how much does it weigh? Thanks for the info and the pics by the way!

 

I find it odd that they would put a dead weight on the hatch instead of just adjusting the force on the shocks that hold it up. Are you sure that it serves no other purpose?

 

1.5lb. its not connected to anything else. at first i thought it was some kind of yaw sensor or something, but its not.

 

well it may be placed there to balance the car's weight. If you remove it yes your car will weigh a little less but from a factory tuning stand point it may have just been placed their to acheive their desired balance and weight distribution. Who knows... im surprised it only weighs 1.5lbs... that seems so minor to me... maybe its because i wanted it to weight 300 lbs so I could have just hit the magic jackpot of weight savings... lol. I think i'll take it out though if for no other reason than boredom and the desire to take my car apart. Im installing a wing anyway and it weighs more than 1.5lbs... this will help offset the added weight.

 

Well, the reason for my asking this is I have always thought it strange that when you trip the release for the hatch it doesn't pop up on it's own like every other car I have seen. You have to actually use two hands to open the hatch because of this and it's silly. But perhaps once this is removed the hatch will finally open on it's own just like I think it should have in the first place! Thanks again for all the pics and info!