Wheel Skirt Installation complete

[cowmeat]

Took a couple of hours, but I finally got around to installing the rear wheel skirts. Also finally painted the mods to blend them in to the car a bit, what do you guys think?

Used my favorite material (flashing) since I had it on hand. If I have to change the tire, gotta just pull the silver tape loose, and take out 4 or 5 screws, plus a re-paint afterwards

Will post the results I get on the next tank, but pretty sure the paint job alone got me an extra 20 horsepower!

Also going to try to install the full belly pan, but might not have time this weekend

[ecomodded]

Good one, I have been planning to do this for a few years , nice to see yours on the car, your car suits the wheel skirts well..,the air will pass over them nicely

On my beetle I plan to tuck the edge of the wheel skirt under the wheel well lip , somehow secured.

[California98Civic]

Very nice write up, and I think the paint scheme was a clever move. A small mod could make it so that L shaped tabs, mounted on the inside of the wheel well could become mounting points for a set of screws to hold the skirt. That way, no tape, though it would take a minute or so more to remove the skirts.

Thanks for the pic too.

James

[mikeyjd]

Looks solid! Time to get some smooth wheel covers

[cowmeat]

***update***

I can remove the rear wheels without disturbing the wheel skirts after all!

I can throw a jack under it and bump it up a couple notches, making it possible to reach all four lug nuts, and once they're loosened I can jack it all the way up, and the tire slides right out from under the skirt!

Front wheel skirts come next, those will probably be the straw that breaks the camel's back for my wife

Didn't get around to adding the belly pan yet, but I have the frame ready, just have to install it and then the plastic

[The donkey CRX]

Cowmeat- here is a picture of the mounting system on my red VX. It is 1''X1'' x 2"long aluminum angle screwed into the lip of the fender well. Then I captured a 6/32 bolt with a nylok nut to make a stud that goes through the skirt and is secured by an another nylok nut on the outside. Each "stud" is a different length so the stud is only long enough for the threads of the outside nylok nut.





Sorry for the blurry picture

[cowmeat]

Thanks for the pix, that looks pretty damned professional compared to mine, wish I had checked it out before I did mine now. And it looks like you could remove yours easily.
I checked out your build thread and that rear lexan part of the kammback was a cool idea, very functional!

Where'd you get the sheet aluminum you used, and how much did it run you?

I will eventually get around to applying a rubber strip to cover the tape & bolts where the wheel well meets the skirt to make mine a little more legit. Since I can change the tire without disturbing the skirt, I'm going to make it a permanent fixture.

I like your front air dam, too. Been thinking about adding one, it might be hard to hook up since my bumper is mostly soft plastic and foam, but I'll come up with something.

[Istas]

Congrats on doing the skirts. It might net you some cabin noise-reduction too. I highly approve of using flashing, my material of choice. And cool that you can change the tires without removing them! Very handy.

You can probably get away with fewer mounting points than that on the edge of the wheel well too (would link an example pic but don't want to be spamming your thread with pics .

Plastic and foam aren't a big problem. I've got a short airdam + undertray attached to plastic that lasted five years without a single screw coming loose. 25+ sheet metal screws (I use slotted hex washer head sheet metal screws with as deep a thread as I can find), and the undertray keeps the airdam from bending back. Roommates have hit a curb a couple of times and it stayed firm, I just bent it back in place, and the new one I just did on my second car, I can push on the bottom edge of it and rock the car back and forth (automatic in park).

If the plastic is _really_ weak you could try drilling the holes while wiggling the drill around so that the hole widens the deeper the hole goes, fill it with some sort of filler/rubber/whatever, then drill into the plugs you just made maybe? Dunno, just pontificating.

[The donkey CRX]

Thanks for the kind words. I really lucked out on the aluminum sheet I used to build most of my rear aero parts. Our little shop is located in a garage complex that is used by many car racers and also has a fab shop. They had several sheets that the finish got damaged and let me have it free!!! Even better I get to use all their large metal rollers and shears! Nothing like walking up to an 8 foot sheet metal bender when you need it.

[mikeyjd]

Originally Posted by The donkey CRX

Thanks for the kind words. I really lucked out on the aluminum sheet I used to build most of my rear aero parts. Our little shop is located in a garage complex that is used by many car racers and also has a fab shop. They had several sheets that the finish got damaged and let me have it free!!! Even better I get to use all their large metal rollers and shears! Nothing like walking up to an 8 foot sheet metal bender when you need it.

A little jealous...