Attachment methods
 

If you are like me, you might be in favor of adding an areomod or two to your car, but if it really looks 'out there' it had better really work. The only way to know is to do an A-B-A test, which is simple, but you need to easily remove the areo device to do this. The other thing is while working on your car, you might need to remove it to gain access. I have a few suggestions as to how to attach aeromods to your car...

Blind Riv-Nuts: They instal with a hand drill, then a special $20 expander tool that looks a little like a poprivet gun. These beauties are available in aluminum and stainless steel. Great threaded anchors for sheet metal, where self tapping screws would be tacky, and you can't get a nut or wrench on the backside. Strong machine theaded holes that don't leak. If you remove the bolt on part, you can replace the fastener with a button-head stainless steel screw, that doesn't look bad, won't rust, and is very rounded.

Dzus fasteners: also called 'quarter-turn' fasteners. race car quality stuff, easy to instal remove, perfect for attaching fender skirts, air dams, radiator blockers, moon wheel covers, etc. At about $5ea, they are not the cheapest, but do give your project a finished look while being very practical. You don't want to use these to penatrate into the interior space, as they are not rain tight while things are removed (big open hole)

Hi,

I use tape: (so-called) transparent 3M Duct Tape, black "Gorilla" tape, and clear WeatherSeal tape. The last one is good in flush conditions on when then is low "lift" -- the tack strength is good in some conditions but it loosens in some situations.

Gorilla tape is very strong and very sticky. 3M Duct tape is also quite sticky and slightly less strong; and in hot conditions, it tends to wrinkle and lift a bit over time. So far, I have not found the Achilles Heel of Gorilla tape -- if you can use black tape, then I don't think you could get a better tape.

Obviously, tape is "temporary" -- I have to take off my skirts when I take the car in for service, when they need totate the tires, for example. And I will not be able to use them during the winter, so all it takes is a little "Goof-Off" solvent to remove the residual gluey bits.

I've used the blind riv-nuts under the CRX and had some spin loose.It's a nightmare!!!!!!!!!!! My pilot neighbor introduced me to "riv-nuts" which are attached by pop-rivet and don't rely on the expansion-friction-grip.Harder to use,but won't leave you in the lurch (don't want to lay on 170-degree asphalt trying to remove some panel you have absolutely got to get into).

This PVC air dam is attached entirely with industrial strength velcro. I've had it to 80 with no problem. Velcro is handy because it lets me take it off to get the car on ramps for oil changes.

that's so awesome!

I used to watch a friend of mine, spend hours repairing his banged up dirt track car's sheetmetal. They all pop-rivet the panels on, but must drill them out to remove the panels. I suggested industrial velcro to him several times (Charlie would just give me that, over-the-glasses, under the brow, stare... :rolleyes: )

Riv-nuts: The key to using them is a round hole, then proper expansion. Standard drill bits tend to make this tri-lobe shaped hole in sheetmetal, no good for riv-nuts. You really want to use a sheetmetal drill bit, or a regular but undersized bit, followed by and on-size reamer.

Keep the suggestions/experiences coming.

I have used this, you can't beat the holding power.

http://www.instructables.com/files/d...185.MEDIUM.jpg

But how is the velcro attached?

I used velcro for my rear wheel skirts v.1.0 ( http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthrea...metro-103.html ). They held fine, but the first time I went to detach them, the velcro stayed together and peeled off the car.

Version 2.0 uses brackets & screws.

MetroMPG -

I think you have to remove the sticky backing on the velcro and use the right kind of epoxy. I just did that with my car's dome lamp (plastic tab is busted). And, there's still no promise it will hold unless you're an epoxy master.

CarloSW2

instarx -

Wow, that's impressive. Can you describe the orientation of the attachment? I am assuming the velcro is horizontal, "ceiling mounted", aka being pulled down by gravity all the time.

CarloSW2

Well Nuts
 

one of my favorites is the "well nut"

it is like a riv-nut but it is rubber - with a metal nut molded in it
all it takes is a hole to make it work - and because it is only rubber it is completely removable
middle of the road load wise - better than velcro but not as good as a real fastner
if sized and installed right - they could easily carry 50-100 lbs
and they are water tight (I have used them mainly in sail boat decks)

fyi - if they are not installed as an interference fit they will fall out when not tightened down

I used zipties. Dozens and dozens of zipties of zip ties to attach my coroplast bellypan in place.

Most people don't apply nearly enough pressure when applying anything that is adhesive-backed. Typically they just stick it on and give it a push. To adhere properly the items have to have to have a lot of force applied, preferably with a roller or rounded tool (back of a screwdriver for example). Properly appled velcro will be five to ten times stronger than if it is only given a half-hearted press with your finger.

Thanks, I think it turned out pretty well for $4.69 worth of PVC rain-guttering. The rain gutter was cut lengthwise to give the dam an L-shape, the short part of the L becomes a horizontal lip that faces to the front of the car. The back of the gutter (the part that goes against the house) is the part you see on the car, so the bottom of the gutter turns into the horizontal mounting lip. I had to cut some slits in the lip to allow it to bend in a nice curve. The velcro is attached to the bottom of the lip and to the top of the body panel, so yes - the velcro is horizontal.

However, where the ends of the dam meet the front of the wheel well the vertical part of the dam (the part that you see) is bent 90 degrees inward so the velcro there is vertical, holding the dam to the wheel well material.

Next project: side skirts made of the same gutter material. I think screws or plastic rivets will be a better choice for those. Neither the dam nor the skirts will stay white - I'll paint them dark grey to match the car trim.

yup
 

I agree - not to mention properly cleaning or scuffing the surface

and not all adhesives are the same
cheap velcro adhesive is going to melt in the heat and get nasty on you no matter what you do
but there is better stuff out there

3M has what they call VHB - it is an adhesive tape (not sure it is available to public or not)
some OEMs hold commercial truck trim pieces on with it
My experience is it will hold at +600 mph - very impressive stuff

...but if you want it to work 100% you have to clean/scuff/roll and then it needs at least a few hours at room temp to really get up to a full bond

same is true of most adhesive tapes

one last note if you are only using adhesives to hold something on (like velcro)
you have to be careful about solvents and contamination

it would be sad to loose your custom fender skirt because gas got on the adhesive and dissolved some of it

Attachment
 

I'd like to suggest super strong magnets. Even the small chromed neodymium-based rare earth ones are each able to hold several kilograms. Perhaps they could be sunk into plastic with heat and then glued in place. To avoid paint scuffs when installing something that contacts the body like fender skirts a piece of tape could be applied sticky-side towards the magnet.

Tape:
How about the aluminum tape used for 1) sealing HVAC systems and 2) battle damage to F/A-18 Jets. Stickier than a used p--- star. Also, if you can find a copy of the NAVAIR 01-1A-8 manual, it is the Navy's fastener manual. I won't post because of the nature of technical manuals, but if you find it...