Home made front lip
#1
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Home made front lip
I decided to make my own front lip after I had seen this done to a lot of imports. It's fairly popular in the Subaru and Mitsubishi communities because it looks very similar to most of the aftermarket lips available for those cars. So I took a little time after work to see how it would look on my car. I made a trip to Home Depot and got a 9' roll of rubber garage door bottom seal. I used double sided tape to adhere it to the bottom of the front GFX.
Later on I also plan to make a front splitter and I was going to use this as a method to seal the splitter to the GFX but I'm actually fairly pleased with how this looks on its own.
Later on I also plan to make a front splitter and I was going to use this as a method to seal the splitter to the GFX but I'm actually fairly pleased with how this looks on its own.
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Re: Home made front lip
Looks really good actually, I kind of wonder how good it would look being double that length, or even on the outside of the GFX to protect it, like the new ZL1 camaro has, it sort of extends outward a bit. It would make it much cheaper to repair than a new front splitter.
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Extrafitkid (08-10-2024)
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Extrafitkid (08-10-2024)
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Re: Home made front lip
I decided to make my own front lip after I had seen this done to a lot of imports. It's fairly popular in the Subaru and Mitsubishi communities because it looks very similar to most of the aftermarket lips available for those cars. So I took a little time after work to see how it would look on my car. I made a trip to Home Depot and got a 9' roll of rubber garage door bottom seal. I used double sided tape to adhere it to the bottom of the front GFX.
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Car: 91 Z28, 87 SC, 90 IROC, 92 RS
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Re: Home made front lip
Looks good on there man. I almost feel like it needs to be put on the side gfx as well to make it carry across the car visually.
Interested in product you used exactly.
Interested in product you used exactly.
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Car: 91 Z28, 87 SC, 90 IROC, 92 RS
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Re: Home made front lip
I feel like that will be missing at least a section of it on the first driveway you back out of...
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Re: Home made front lip
I like it! Great job, makes it look lower and cleaner. Did you take picture's or video tape as you did it? would be nice to know exactly how you did it. Thanks for sharing a great idea
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Re: Home made front lip
That's what I used, apparently there's a couple different versions of this product. The one I got is made out of a very lightweight and flexible rubber and has a lip that has a 45* angle to it. I ended up using all 9' of it down to the last inch. The corners are a little tricky, I cut some relief slits on the back side to help it mold the corner a little better and a heat gun. In my eyes it's still not perfect so if this tape doesn't hold up I'm going to redo it with some 3M double sided tape. So far it's holding up fine after one day. I don't scrape my lip very often if at all, so it'll probably be awhile before that durability test is executed.
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Re: Home made front lip
That looks great.
Im working on my getting my IROC ready for paint, so will these be easier to add with my gfx and bumpers off the car or easier when its back on the car?
Im working on my getting my IROC ready for paint, so will these be easier to add with my gfx and bumpers off the car or easier when its back on the car?
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Re: Home made front lip
[IMG]
That's what I used, apparently there's a couple different versions of this product. The one I got is made out of a very lightweight and flexible rubber and has a lip that has a 45* angle to it. I ended up using all 9' of it down to the last inch. The corners are a little tricky, I cut some relief slits on the back side to help it mold the corner a little better and a heat gun. In my eyes it's still not perfect so if this tape doesn't hold up I'm going to redo it with some 3M double sided tape. So far it's holding up fine after one day. I don't scrape my lip very often if at all, so it'll probably be awhile before that durability test is executed.
That's what I used, apparently there's a couple different versions of this product. The one I got is made out of a very lightweight and flexible rubber and has a lip that has a 45* angle to it. I ended up using all 9' of it down to the last inch. The corners are a little tricky, I cut some relief slits on the back side to help it mold the corner a little better and a heat gun. In my eyes it's still not perfect so if this tape doesn't hold up I'm going to redo it with some 3M double sided tape. So far it's holding up fine after one day. I don't scrape my lip very often if at all, so it'll probably be awhile before that durability test is executed.
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Re: Home made front lip
I really like it! Looks good. I agree with BADNBLK in that the sides need it to complete the look. Great idea though.
onthedownlow
onthedownlow
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Re: Home made front lip
I though about doing the sides as well. I may add them later, I just wanted to do the front first to see if I liked it.
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Re: Home made front lip
As if our front gfx didnt scrape enough as it is! Lol it doesnt look right imo when you see the whole vechical in the picture. Upclose it does and looks very professional!
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Re: Home made front lip
i drive in urban , rural , & city conditions . with care i have never (well almost never) scraped my front GFX . now each area/city/state has different conditions . i'm going to try it , i like the look . think it might look good against my ultra blue metallic paint (with a treatment of armorall) . oh well , easy enough to remove if i don't like it . cheers !!!
#21
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Re: Home made front lip
I'd bet money that going over the railroad tracks at 185th and T.V. Hwy would take it off DBLTKE...my car got air ...
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Re: Home made front lip
I bet it won't stand up to wet weather...lol. Imho it won't last more than a few weeks of mother nature!! It does look good though!!
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Re: Home made front lip
Not talking about the material itself. The double sided tape on the plastic will not hold up???
#26
Re: Home made front lip
Looks great on your car. Looks like it should be there. Good thing about the 2 sided tape is that if you have to replace it due to damage, it will not damage the paint when you peel it off. And, if you prepped the paint surface correctly before you applied it, you will have nothing to worry about as far as coming loose in wet weather or outside elements. Think, we use 2 sided tape for wheel weights now. Its good stuff.
#27
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Re: Home made front lip
We use this same double sided tape at my dealership to apply door moldings to the sides of cars. It's pretty well on there. And I just got back from a 350 mile road trip that included 70-80mph driving, plenty of rain, and I even scraped the crap out of the lip while boarding a ferry. All it does is flex and spring right back.
A little tip is to clean both surfaces, and use a heat gun to warm up both surfaces as well as the tape. Cold tape doesn't stick well at all
A little tip is to clean both surfaces, and use a heat gun to warm up both surfaces as well as the tape. Cold tape doesn't stick well at all
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Re: Home made front lip
We use this same double sided tape at my dealership to apply door moldings to the sides of cars. It's pretty well on there. And I just got back from a 350 mile road trip that included 70-80mph driving, plenty of rain, and I even scraped the crap out of the lip while boarding a ferry. All it does is flex and spring right back.
A little tip is to clean both surfaces, and use a heat gun to warm up both surfaces as well as the tape. Cold tape doesn't stick well at all
A little tip is to clean both surfaces, and use a heat gun to warm up both surfaces as well as the tape. Cold tape doesn't stick well at all
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Re: Home made front lip
FACTORY vert side caps have a strip of it holding those on also. (along with 2 or 3 screws)
OP that looks good.
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Re: Home made front lip
Yeah, I know what 3m tape is.....and I know what it is used for. What I meant to say was that if the material is a smooth rubber or like a silicone substance, it might not stick to the double sided tape very well. That is all I meant. I love the way it looks on the car, just a little skeptical of the longetivity of it staying on.
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Re: Home made front lip
Looks very good. I did somethng like this on my old 06 Spectra. The OEM lips were only on the sides and part of the frontof the bumpee cover-there was about a 2.5' gap between them. I had some foam rubber tailgate seal laying around that already had 3M on it. I cut a sections to sit between the 2 OEM lips and it looked great and held up for over 3 years, might still be on there?
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Re: Home made front lip
i jacked your idea , did it today on my camaro . i'm happy with the results . my nephew helped & stretched a little in the wrong places . but , the end result was pretty good . i would recomend letting the rubber strip hang for a few days to smooth out . clean all surfaces good with acetone . (after a good wash & dry with soap & water) install tape , do not remove plastic backing from exposed side of tape . test fit rubber strip to make relief V cuts for corners . a 9' strip like the OP shows will be a perfect fit . when doing a test fit i used clothes pins to hold strip in place . (go to local dollar store 2 bux for 100 , i used almost all) a heat gun is a big help (a hair dryer should work also) . a few small C clamps & visegrips were also used . i used heat gun while areas were clamped together then let them cool . now i do have a 4 point inside lift , i would never (at my age anyway) try this on the ground . i also used several #10 self tapping (3/8") screws with washers to secure rubber strip . anyway all this worked for me . i'm happy .
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Re: Home made front lip
I have been looking to do something like this for my car. While I agree with others that it looks good 'standing still', functionality is another issue. Since the material used is soft rubber, it will deform while driving, thus negating any possible performance aspect. You did state that you are looking to add another layer under this rubber? Hopefully you will use a stiffer material such as plastic, carbon fiber, or fiberglass.
#38
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Re: Home made front lip
I have been looking to do something like this for my car. While I agree with others that it looks good 'standing still', functionality is another issue. Since the material used is soft rubber, it will deform while driving, thus negating any possible performance aspect. You did state that you are looking to add another layer under this rubber? Hopefully you will use a stiffer material such as plastic, carbon fiber, or fiberglass.
Yes, I plan to fabricate a fully functional front splitter. The OEM front GFX lip has a 1" rake towards the front. Meaning if a splitter were perfectly level and touching the rearmost portion of the front GFX, then there would be a 1" gap at the very front. It's not crucial that a splitter be level, but only if there were a full belly pan and rear diffuser that way the rake would create a Venturi leading to the belly pan. While I do plan to eventually make a complete belly pan and diffuser, I also want this splitter to be functional by itself so I want to try and keep it level. This lip that I added will fill that gap. I think I might end up using either 3/8" or 1/2" ABS for the splitter. The hardest part will be trying to mount the splitter securely as I don't want to use support rods that are externally visable, I'm trying to keep this clean looking.
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Re: Home made front lip
First off Id like to say, job well done.That looks super gorgeous. And secondly, im gonna have to make a trip to home depot tomorrow and make that my project for the week
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Re: Home made front lip
i jacked your idea , did it today on my camaro . i'm happy with the results . my nephew helped & stretched a little in the wrong places . but , the end result was pretty good . i would recomend letting the rubber strip hang for a few days to smooth out . clean all surfaces good with acetone . (after a good wash & dry with soap & water) install tape , do not remove plastic backing from exposed side of tape . test fit rubber strip to make relief V cuts for corners . a 9' strip like the OP shows will be a perfect fit . when doing a test fit i used clothes pins to hold strip in place . (go to local dollar store 2 bux for 100 , i used almost all) a heat gun is a big help (a hair dryer should work also) . a few small C clamps & visegrips were also used . i used heat gun while areas were clamped together then let them cool . now i do have a 4 point inside lift , i would never (at my age anyway) try this on the ground . i also used several #10 self tapping (3/8") screws with washers to secure rubber strip . anyway all this worked for me . i'm happy .
Yes it sure turned out good on your car Tom
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Re: Home made front lip
what does it look like today?
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Re: Home made front lip
Great job, that looks like it was built for the car.
And as mentioned, with proper prep with a good wax and grease remover or lacquer thinner , the 3M tape will stay on for a long time.
And as mentioned, with proper prep with a good wax and grease remover or lacquer thinner , the 3M tape will stay on for a long time.
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Re: Home made front lip
i dig it too but what does it look like today after highway speeds.
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Re: Home made front lip
Very creative and it looks pretty cool. I see that tape falling off on a hot summer day at 70mph. If I'd do this to my car, I'd want to use a hardened material and hard affix it to the nose of the car. Functionality over Form in my book.