Help, ISC Racing Air Dam install
#1
Help, ISC Racing Air Dam install
I got it and it looked nicer than I expected. I also didn't expect it to be so stiff, which is kind of cool.
Need advice for installing the thing, especially mounting and fastener advice. I don't want to try something stupid and end up with a mangled front end or a cracked airdam with ragged holes in it.
I used duct tape to do a rough initial mounting and it doesn't seem to match the contour of the front very well. This is odd as the installed pics show that it seamlessly blends with the front clip. I assume this doesn't detract from the functionality, but is there a way to make it not look like ***?
My choices are seemingly:
-deform the front clip so it matches the air dam
-deform or trim the air dam so it matches the front clip (seems very unwise)
-paint over it and hope no one notices the gaps
-adhesives
-rivets
-bondo
-something I didn't list
-some combination of the above
Advices?
Pics related, it's a car in need of painting:
Need advice for installing the thing, especially mounting and fastener advice. I don't want to try something stupid and end up with a mangled front end or a cracked airdam with ragged holes in it.
I used duct tape to do a rough initial mounting and it doesn't seem to match the contour of the front very well. This is odd as the installed pics show that it seamlessly blends with the front clip. I assume this doesn't detract from the functionality, but is there a way to make it not look like ***?
My choices are seemingly:
-deform the front clip so it matches the air dam
-deform or trim the air dam so it matches the front clip (seems very unwise)
-paint over it and hope no one notices the gaps
-adhesives
-rivets
-bondo
-something I didn't list
-some combination of the above
Advices?
Pics related, it's a car in need of painting:
#5
two observations.
1) are you sure that you have a genuine mazda bumper cover. I have seen some aftermarket ones that have a slightly different profile.
2) it looks as though it needs to be rotated slightly. the area under the marker light looks like it should be parallel to the botom of the light and the front should be pushed down a bit. I think that would help close up the gap.
so first make sure it is in the right orientation with the car and then use a combination of everything you listed above to make it perfect. welcom to the worl of fiberglass parts.
they all need some fudging to fit right.
1) are you sure that you have a genuine mazda bumper cover. I have seen some aftermarket ones that have a slightly different profile.
2) it looks as though it needs to be rotated slightly. the area under the marker light looks like it should be parallel to the botom of the light and the front should be pushed down a bit. I think that would help close up the gap.
so first make sure it is in the right orientation with the car and then use a combination of everything you listed above to make it perfect. welcom to the worl of fiberglass parts.
they all need some fudging to fit right.
#9
Who is this Jared chap? Is he a talented body and paint guy?
What is this fiberglassing you use in the verb form? Is there a technique you know of for joining these two parts together? I know nearly jack **** about fiberglass and body work as I considered it the domain of the ricers, at least until recently. Please educate me.
The material for the miata bumper and for this splitter seem to be made of quite different material. The miata bumper is soft and flexy and this thing is pretty hard.
If I was going to DIY it, I would take the bumper off the car, sand everything, and get to fiber glassing that bitch right to the bumper.
The material for the miata bumper and for this splitter seem to be made of quite different material. The miata bumper is soft and flexy and this thing is pretty hard.
#14
What is this fiberglassing you use in the verb form? Is there a technique you know of for joining these two parts together? I know nearly jack **** about fiberglass and body work as I considered it the domain of the ricers, at least until recently. Please educate me.
The material for the miata bumper and for this splitter seem to be made of quite different material. The miata bumper is soft and flexy and this thing is pretty hard.
The material for the miata bumper and for this splitter seem to be made of quite different material. The miata bumper is soft and flexy and this thing is pretty hard.
I did fiberglass work on my front and rear bumper to save from bodyshop costs. I googled "how to fiberglass" and used the Evercoat kit to do them.
Sure "ricers" give fiberglass body parts a bad name. I personally don't dislike fiberglass, or carbon fiber for that matter because everyone else does.
I could be completely wrong about this, but thats how I would do it. I wouldn't stand for seams, gaps, or anything fugly. Did you email the company and ask them how they recommend attaching the piece?
Vash-
#15
They don't have any specific recommendations beyond the braces. Obviously someone knew what they were doing because their cars look great with the air dam installed and painted.
Right now the passenger side matches up really closely but the driver's side just doesn't seem to match up right. Clamping the pieces together would probably help. I'm really out of my element here.
Right now the passenger side matches up really closely but the driver's side just doesn't seem to match up right. Clamping the pieces together would probably help. I'm really out of my element here.
#17
Some people say its a bad idea to mold the two together, as it will now crack and get fucked. However I have been DD my miata for years now, taken it to job sites off paved roads, etc. I only cracked the front bumper because of my simple stupidity one night. I like looking different than the standard happy miata mouth front end.
Vash-
#18
Alrighty, this is slowly coming together.
My handy dandy C-clamps seem to mostly fix the problem of alignment. See pics below.
From the sights and vids I have been looking at, it seems that what I do at this point is:
1) sand the **** out of the stock nose piece. I don't have a dedicated sander, but I do have functioning arms, so I guess we know how this is going to go. Maybe put a sanding wheel on a drill? Dunno.
2) after everything is de-painted, clamp the dam onto the nose and alternate fiber and adhesive over the gap.
3) use body filler and sand after enough layers of glass have been laid and dried
4) put nose back on to car, mount the support pieces
5) get car painted
My biggest worry is step 2 because I realize that these two parts only really mate up properly when they're forced and then clamped in place- whatever I use to join them will have to be strong enough to maintain that same force on the nose/dam.
Thanks for all the advice guys. Please keep sharing the knowledge. I've never done anything like this before and the more tips you guys can give me, the less chance I'll have some sort of catastrophic failure.
My handy dandy C-clamps seem to mostly fix the problem of alignment. See pics below.
From the sights and vids I have been looking at, it seems that what I do at this point is:
1) sand the **** out of the stock nose piece. I don't have a dedicated sander, but I do have functioning arms, so I guess we know how this is going to go. Maybe put a sanding wheel on a drill? Dunno.
2) after everything is de-painted, clamp the dam onto the nose and alternate fiber and adhesive over the gap.
3) use body filler and sand after enough layers of glass have been laid and dried
4) put nose back on to car, mount the support pieces
5) get car painted
My biggest worry is step 2 because I realize that these two parts only really mate up properly when they're forced and then clamped in place- whatever I use to join them will have to be strong enough to maintain that same force on the nose/dam.
Thanks for all the advice guys. Please keep sharing the knowledge. I've never done anything like this before and the more tips you guys can give me, the less chance I'll have some sort of catastrophic failure.
#20
FIBERGLASS EVERCOAT POLYESTER REPAIR KITS - Repair Kits & Materials by Discount Marine Supplies
In my build thread I have some photos of what I'm talking about, I might have wrote down something about doing it but I'm not sure. I cant say if this is what you should do for certain, but its what I would do if I had to join the two.
Vash-