So I have this body kit on my car....every time I have the opportunity to drive fast, I can't help but wonder if this kit was designed or tested to withstand what are effectively 100+ MPH winds.

Anyone have hi-speed experience with fiberglass body kits or have input on whether i'm ok for to go fast with this thing or not? I know I'm flirting with disaster by not having hood pins on the CF hood, but that is a different story altogether....thinking specifically of the bumer/skirts/apron/wing at this point.

 

I think a lot has to do with how the shop installed the kit. I know that my front bumper is mounted from the top and bottom while my sides just sit on the rail and are mounted with normal fiberglass screws. Rear is molded so it's pretty sturdy.

I've seen a lot of cheap kits shaking in the wind...it wouldn't take more than a small/med sized object to wreak havoc on fiberglass at 100+

 

Bumper, sideskirts, rear, and wing are fine if installed correctly. You may see some shakey fronts the the use of zipties

 

i tried it at 110 for about 10 mins on the kit

 

I got my car up to 130 mph and the body kit is fine.

 

This is the disadvantage with bodykick...you put them on your car. They look good and all that.....but the truth of the matter is these bodykicks never been tested for high speed. It's better to get Nismo body kick which Nismo tests it extensively.

Kcobean, you should've found out the specs on your bodykick before you even install on your Z. It may look good and all but it may not be as areodynamic as stock Z.

Just a thought.

 

had my CF NISMO Kit up to 130 on the track.. no problems...

doesnt do to well vrs a tire though...

on my current kit, there is no where for the under engine cover and fender liners to attach.... they are gone now.. haha

 

First, I'm not sure what a bodykick is, but it sounds painful.

I'll make you a deal....you find the aerodynamic and speed-rating specs on my body kit, I'll give you $5. I'd be very surprised if that data exists.

 

Ha ha...I remember Jasons Z vs. retread. That was terrible.

There is nowhere to attach the engine cover on mine either. I had the shop just sawzall the thing off right where the mid-point screws are. I look at it this way...now my intercooler gets better airflow!

My front bumper isn't connected to anything at the leading edge, which is one of my big concerns. I was thinking about fabricating some adjustable length support rods and attaching them to the bumper and to the support where the engine cover attaches just to add some rigidity.

 

I have gone 183 on my widebody RX-7 and it is fine. Hodd pin is a must.

 

the undertray is to help out with high speed stability.. hence we HAD Zero lift before we started messing with the body kits..

your side skirts should be ok. depending on how low your rear bumper? you might get some drag from under the car if you removed your stock exhaust (aka stock rear diffuser).

as far as teh front bumper goes, it's best if you had some type of support. right now for me, i have the 6 clips, and two bolts each side, but my undertray is ziptied to the underside of my front bumper..

i've gotten my Z up and over 130+ with my current body kit and i noticed nothing wrong (adverse wind noise or flapping) but i did notice a big differece in drag once i put my salad bar on. hehe. but it does push my rear end down quite a bit so eh.. tradeoffs.

i'm sure you can go to home depot or lowes and pick up two aluminum flat pieces to bolt into the bottom of your front bumper, or if i were you, i'd go the whole way, buy a 3' x 5' aluminum sheet for roofing and just cut out your own flat undertray, put a hump in the center and TADA. front diffuser.

 

All fiberglass widebody.....341km.h (about 212mph) and no problems. I have seen cheap carbon hoods have the top layers of clearcoat/carbon fly off at the drag strip. Basic rule of thumb for a car that gets driven is quality of the parts.

 

Most of the JDM kits are either wind tunnel tested .. or have actually evolved from motorsports ... JGTC is not the only racing series in Japan

And this brings another point... Mixing and matching body kits may look cool.. but who knows how it will effect the dynamics of the car at speed.

 

Mine may have been wind tunnel tested, but I doubt it's a racing evolution product.

 

Very good point, most are designed as systems.

 

So just out of curiosity, I sent an email to the sales/info contact at JP Aero. The reply was basically "no wind tunnel testing. If you put it (referring to the front bumper, no mention of the rest of the kit whatsoever) on per the instructions, you should be fine." He did indicate that they have a sponsored car that races at Willow Springs Raceway quite often that hasn't had any problems. Guess I'll drive it until something falls off.