Project: New-style Front Lip - Done!

[irish44j]

Since I've never liked any of the front lips out there, I decided to do some improvising. Thanks to "MaximumPerformance" in another thread who suggested to check out the Ford Mustang Mach 1 lower lip, since it is used by some of the Sentra guys.

-GREAT IDEA-

The Mach 1 lip (a genuine Ford product) costs under $100. It fits very nicely with some minor modifications. The modifications:
- cut some slits on the base of the lip where it "turns the corner" sicne our car is a bit more square than the mustang
- trim off a couple of inches at each end, where it meets the wheel well.

I used a bunch of Nissan large pop fasteners (the ones used for the under-engine splash guards) to attach the lip all the way around the

Overall, I really like the way it turned out. Not too flashy, but gives the front of the car a more aggressive look. With my Eibachs I'm not worried about scraping it on anything like speed bumps or such. With some of the more slammed cars that could be a problem.

Very happy with this project, which took about $100 and 1 hour to do. Hope you all like it (and if you don't, a hex be upon your family, haha). I know everyone isn't going to like it, but I was going for a more "sportscar" look rather than the usual "bling" looking front lip...

so, the pics of course. Sorry for the poor quality pics. It is SUPER bright sunny outside and hard to take pics with no glare. Plus, the car is wicked dirty.

[Metal Maxima]

*twiddles thumbs patiently*

[monty31]

also twiddling thumbs

[irish44j]

ok look now.

[SEmy2K2go]

Hey, that looks pretty sweet. Looks really good actually.

[Jfree]

Very impressive, I think i will be headed down to Ford sooner or later now. Where exactly did you put the tabs, or did you make your own holes or attach to exsisting area?

[irish44j]

Originally Posted by Jfree

Very impressive, I think i will be headed down to Ford sooner or later now. Where exactly did you put the tabs, or did you make your own holes or attach to exsisting area?

I just took the cordless drill out there with a bit the correct size for the tabs/clips, and drilled one in every 6-9 inches. I need to put 3-4 more on there once I get some more, which will straighten everything out nicely.

You can easily drill into the flat bottom of the lower lip and attach them.


I'll post some more close-ups for reference momentarily.

[SEmy2K2go]

How's that going to work with all that crazy snow driving you do?

[zagzig]

Wow, good work. I like it.

Just a suggestion, but you may want to drill a small hole at the end of your cuts to keep them from tearing any further. When it gets cold and/or at higher speads I could see a little stress start to increase the cuts.

[westler92]

Great craftsmanship!

[irish44j]

more....close ups. btw, say goodbye to those 6th gen brake calipers in this pic. It's the last time you'll see them in a photo....

[cutter]

Not really feeling it, but nice idea. It reminds me of the g35sedan without the color matching bottom. Maybe I don't like it because it isn't flush under the bumper, I don't know.

[irish44j]

Originally Posted by zagzig

Wow, good work. I like it.

Just a suggestion, but you may want to drill a small hole at the end of your cuts to keep them from tearing any further. When it gets cold and/or at higher speads I could see a little stress start to increase the cuts.

excellent point. I'll make sure to do that tomorrow.

btw, this is pretty tough rubber these are made of, not the wimpy stuff you can buy at Home Depot or JC whitney. It has extruded edges so it won't "blow back" on the highway and whatnot.


Tim, should be fine in the winter, since my LTB is still lower

If it's an issue, I can take it off by simply popping all the tabs and taking the whole thing off.

[kobalt]

Brilliant - so simple yet I would never think of it myself...

[Jfree]

Second set of pics seal the deal for me! Ahh yes Ye Ol Chipped bumper, I too suffer from this illness...

[westler92]

Originally Posted by cutter

Not really feeling it, but nice idea. It reminds me of the g35sedan without the color matching bottom. Maybe I don't like it because it isn't flush under the bumper, I don't know.

+1 imo

Its definitely creative and well done.........I just like ricier lips

[irish44j]

Originally Posted by cutter

Not really feeling it, but nice idea. It reminds me of the g35sedan without the color matching bottom. Maybe I don't like it because it isn't flush under the bumper, I don't know.

yeah, would have liked it flush, but since our lower lip is so curved, it was pretty much impossible to do it that way without a truly custom piece of rubber made with a high-angle backing surface. I just went to the furthest-most flat area I could use.

you guys know me though....I prefer the "track look" to the bling

[AceofSpds]

Hrm this looks surprisingly good, hehe irish you should put ur homedepo avatar back up. At first glance it looks funny but that straight ahead picture you got makes the car look like a BAMF. The more i look at it the more i wanna do this.

[cutter]

This adds 10+hp to the wheels and gives it better handling right?

[nismopc]

I like how it matches with the lower sides of the car now. Blends the bumper in well with the rest of the lower half of the body. And kinda has that "old skool flava" to it. Reminiscent of the Datsun 510 lower lips.

[AceofSpds]

Hey irish just ondering but where did you cut it at? Like did you make releif cuts so it would flex or did you cut it because it was too long and would go into the fenderwell?

[irish44j]

Originally Posted by cutter

This adds 10+hp to the wheels and gives it better handling right?

well of course! why else would I do it

IN THEORY, though, lower lips do have a tendancy to smooth/"clean" the underbody airflow to some extent and help it bypass all the non-aerodynamic crap underneath the engine area. I haven't been on the highway or anything, and am not expecting to "feel" it, but in theory it could have that effect.

In truth, this is one of the few mods I did primarily just for some subtle improvement of looks. I've always hated how high up the front lower lip is on the 00-01 Maximas. They improved a bit on the 02-03.

[irish44j]

Originally Posted by chopstix2nrz

Hey irish just ondering but where did you cut it at? Like did you make releif cuts so it would flex or did you cut it because it was too long and would go into the fenderwell?

both. The relief cuts you can see in the last pic of the first post, to help it flex "around the corner"

It is too long as well. out of the box, the ends were literally hitting the tires, so I clipped them and tried to make the ends "flow" into the fender. I did it with a utility knife, but plan to clean up the cut a bit using a dremel.

You can see my sloppy cut a bit in this pic

[vq356sp]

Looks pretty decent im definately looking into this, props to you man for being a pioneer.

[AceofSpds]

Ah ok.. i was hoping it would be a bit longer, man id go out and buy one of these today but i have to pay my senior class fees on monday its sooo tempting though!

[irish44j]

Originally Posted by nismopc

. Reminiscent of the Datsun 510 lower lips.

ha! I was so hoping someone would reference that. It's more or less where the idea came from (that, and an E30 M3 that was at our last autocross and had a similar lower lip)....

[irish44j]

Originally Posted by chopstix2nrz

Ah ok.. i was hoping it would be a bit longer, man id go out and buy one of these today but i have to pay my senior class fees on monday its sooo tempting though!

The pieces I cut off each end are about 4" long each, so it's 8" total longer out of the box than it is on my car.

Why would you want it longer?

[Gapp]

Looks good. Now that you have pounded it to fit, paint it to match!