Carbon Cycle Wing Replacement - With Guide

So this is a bit of an irritating blog to write - purely because of the reasons why my wing is broken in the first place!  For those of you that don't know, my car was crashed into by a 'less than athletic' Romanian courier driver whilst on a recent trip to Folembray, France.

 

Anyway, rant over - here's my Carbon Cycle Wing Replacement (with) Guide:-

Firstly asses the damage!  Yes, my cycle wing is DEFINITELY busted...

Broken Caterham Carbon Cycle Wing

You'll need the following parts:-

• A new carbon cycle wing from Caterham link here
• A tube of Teroson 9220  
• Some IVA trim (I had some left over from the build)
• Some heat shrink, superglue and some general tools

Firstly remove the indicator wires - mine was screwed to the wing stay (by CC midlands) and the other wire threaded through the wing stay, but rather than unthread the wire through the wing stay, I cut it and will splice it back together on refit.


Indicator wiring removed / cut

With the indictor wiring freed, the next step is to get the wing off the wing stay.  During the build I figured the best way to secure the wing was using big-head fasteners, but at PBC stage CC Midlands used some Teroson 9220 to properly secure it.  The Teroson forms a very tough rubber bond, and according to CC parts department is the best stuff for the job... Removing it is reassuringly difficult, quite a few cuts with a very sharp Stanley knife and it'll be sufficiently readied for removal.


Teroson 9220 used to secure the wing is reassuringly difficult to remove

With the wing removed, it was time to asses the damage of the wing stay.  The upper tube required a slight re-bend, but the rear tube that took the main impact was quite bent.

Rear of wing stay quite bent

I carefully cleaned up each wing stay tube with a Stanley knife, removing all of the Teroson (very strong stuff) and not scratching the powder coat. 

Having tried using some force to bend the wing stay back into place, it just wouldn't work - I needed a bit more torque... So I managed to build this extended lever which slotted into the wing stay, but used most of my 175 piece 'professional' Halfords toolkit!


Quite a few tools used to make up this extension - but worked a treat!

Well the extended lever worked a treat... It was dead easy to bend the wing stay back into shape... I put the wheel back on to ensure everything was aligned correctly before I moved onto the wing prep and fitting.


Wheel fitted to check wing stay tubes aligned properly

Now onto the wing prep and fitting

The first thing to do is to fit the IVA trim (if you decide to use it), ok it adds weight, but I think the look of the cycle wing without the IVA trim looks bare and unfinished.

 

I had some IVA trim lying around (left over from the build) which luckily was long enough to trim the new wing edge with.  The IVA trim has a longer edge which goes underneath the wing, and is held in place with good old superglue.

Superglue is the 'substance of choice' to ensure the IVA trim adheres (according to Derek Howlett)

Once the superglue has dried it should look something like this:-


New carbon cycle wing with IVA trim fitted

During the build I figured (after some research) that bighead fasteners were the way to go to fasten the wings, and to allow for easy removal... Having had the car for two years, I've often wondered why I ever thought this was a good idea!  Anyway to match the off-side I refitted some bighead fasteners and tie-wrapped them to the wing stay tube.


Bighead fasteners tie-wrapped to wing stay tube

Now I'll give them their due, as you do get plenty of time to move the wing around for adjustment... So I roughed up the areas where the bigheads would be bonded to, measured up (the bottom of the wing is 235mm from the ground), applied some silicone to bond the fasteners to the wing and left it overnight.

Bighead fasteners on cycle wing with silicone adhesive drying

Now time to get out the Teroson.  I bought it direct from Caterham, but it's cheaper if you purchase from here.  You don't need to use laods of adhesive, just enough to form a good bond around the wing stay.


Teroson 9220 used to bond wing to wing stay - when dry it forms a very tough rubber

The Teroson dries as solid rubber and has great adhesion too - apparently (and although expensive per tube) Caterham have tried all manner of products and this is by far the best.  With the Teroson dry, all that was left to do was to cut the tie wraps. 


Teroson applied and dried - just need to cut cable ties

When cutting out the indicator holes I found that the rubber gasket made the perfect mask... Simply place on the wing, mark out your holes and job done... Don't know why I didn't figure this out in the original build though!

Indicator gasket makes the perfect mask - just make sure you put it on the correct way around!

When fitting the front wing mounted indicators here are some tips:-

• The correct way to fit the indicator is with the bulge forwards
• Extend the indicator wire (from the wing-stay side not the indicator) and before refitting the wing (soldering with the wing in place is awkward)
• Make sure you thread the wires through the rubber gasket before soldering back together... Trust me it's annoying having to undo it all again (twice! ha ha!)
• Trim the top of the screw (circled below) to stop it piercing the live wire - as this was the cause of a breakdown when I first got the car.

Indicator refitted along with wiring - cut the top off the screw highlighted to stop it piercing and shorting

Now just give the electrics a final test to ensure the indicator is working, and so long as it is - that's job done.

New carbon cycle wing fitted and indicator working - job done.

A final thought... Using big-head fasteners not only adds height to the wing, but I don't actually see the point in using them at all - now that I've been 'introduced' to Teroson 9220! I certainly would've used this method when I made the car as the way it adheres and dries is very reassuring indeed (and it's what they do in the factory too!)