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I received my Carbon Fiber Splitter, Side Skirts (w 1" extension), and Mud Guards from CFkits (forum vendor). Decided I'd take some pictures while installing- as they certainly would have been helpful to me. I tried to get quotes from some local shops for install- but was mostly met with non responsiveness. Business must be good.
Anyway, I borrowed a low profile jack and jack stands from a friend, which appear to be adequate for this installation. A lift would probably be easier, but this setup should do.
To start things off, the packaging was VERY good, and the vendor has been very communicative during the buying process and with any follow up questions. The only things not included with the packaging are a rivet gun and 3M tape, should you decide to use it.
Packaging.
First step first, get the car up on the jack stands. Garage had to be shut because it was SUPER windy this weekend in Dallas with the weather situation.
Car on jack stands, lift also in place as fail-safe.
Next step- remove old plastic splitter/mold. This is screwed on. You just unscrew it. Mine came off pretty easily. Save the screws- you'll reuse them to fasten the new splitter.
Looks naked without plastic factory splitter.
Next step- clean the underbelly. Use rubbing alcohol to remove all dirt, grease, grime, wax, etc. The metal clips shown are what you fasten the screws to. The new splitter will not be able to use 4 of the existing metal clips- so I removed them completely so they won't get lost while driving and cause rattle or a headache on down the road.
Next step- fit the new spoiler.
New spoiler fitting.
This is where it may be beneficial to have a helper. I didn't, and I imagine the time spent would have been cut in half if I did. Next step is the scariest- drilling. The CF splitter did not come pre-drilled, though areas were marked on the splitter where the drilling holes should be placed.
Point of no return.
For the most part, the splitter lined up really well- you can tell it was made with high quality, and a lot of time was spent developing it. The carbon fiber is surprisingly lightweight, as the nature of carbon fiber. I made the drill holes where the areas were marked in the splitter, and reused the existing nails/fasteners. It lined up *almost* perfect, the last drill hole needed a separate hole- I suspect all corvettes may have ever-so-slightly different placement of holes from the factory in the bumper.
Splitter attached!
I'll get more photos of the splitter and fitment once I complete the side skirts/mud guard installation. I started to attempt the install, and quickly learned that this will most certainly require a second set of hands. Looking to complete in the next couple days and will post progress/install pictures for those interested.
Ok- got the side skirts finished. Pretty darn happy with the results. This is a bit photo-intensive (though I compressed the size of the photos a ton, shouldn't be any loading issues), as I would have loved to have had photos prior to my install.
The side skirts are pretty much a two person job. You'll want to use 3M tape for fitment, most likely. We also used Cleco Clamps to set the side skirts in place, but these probably aren't necessary (I'm just ****).
Tools needed. Riveter, ratchet, rivets, screws. 3M tape and drill also used, not pictured.
Jacked up with jack stands. Added extra lighting.
Underside mounting. You'll remove/reuse some of the existing screws/fasteners. I relocated the black factory fasteners to the back of the mud guards so the shiny ones that came with the kit wouldn't stick out.
3M double sided tape in place on the side skirt. This is much-needed for fitting purposes in my opinion.
Once the side skirts are fitted with 3M tape (and Cleco clamps if you're me)- you've reached the point of no return. Drilling time!
This was part of my fitting process. Pictured here are the Cleco Clamps (in addition to 3M tape) making sure everything is properly lined up.
Riveting, isn't it?
Partial progress. Had to tinker a bit more with the fitment on the driver side side skirt, the passenger fit quite a bit better out of the package. The carbon fiber has a good amount of flex, which helps. Staying properly hydrated is also a must.
This is the underside of the driver side skirt after the rivets were installed/finished. Pretty. This side skirt isn't going anywhere.
Passenger side being installed. Had to shut the garage and crank up the lights because the mosquitoes were getting nasty.
Will post finished product in the next reply.
A few notes and/or tips:
-Like I mentioned above, I reused some of the black colored factory fasteners on the back of the carbon fiber mud guards so the shiny ones that came with the kit wouldn't stick out like a sore thumb.
-Make sure you have decent drill bits. Mine were old and sucked, and had to get new ones.
-The carbon fiber splitter can be installed with one person- if you have a proper jack/lift system available.
-I'd recommend 2 people to install the side skirts. It makes fitment MUCH easier. This is an aftermarket kit. While the side skirts had a "good" fit, they are not OEM/factory (nor is the price). I'd give the factory fit a B+ on the driver side and an A- on the passenger side. The final result, after much positioning is a solid A.
-The old rule of "measure twice, cut (drill) once" applies. Except I probably measured 5x.
If you have any questions, I'll do my best to answer them.
Just curious but what is the clearance of the splitter? Thanks.
Not sure of the exact measurement, but it is VERY similar to the prior plastic splitter piece. I have not had any clearance issues that didn't previously exist with the other one. I'll measure when I get home.
Nice job, looks great & excellent write up! This is exactly what makes this forum awesome, we all take care of each other with very useful tech info & DIY projects.
I got my kit from CFKits dropped off on Monday. I also got a rear spoiler, so I get drill the that on! I haven't mocked my pieces up yet, I got the fiberglass with extensions and I'm spraying it first. On your skirts, did you just run the full length with the 3M, mud flaps too? Also, did you use more rivets per side? How many OEM screws did you remove & reuse, and is it only using rivets on the horizontal portion of the skirt?
Nice job, looks great & excellent write up! This is exactly what makes this forum awesome, we all take care of each other with very useful tech info & DIY projects.
I got my kit from CFKits dropped off on Monday. I also got a rear spoiler, so I get drill the that on! I haven't mocked my pieces up yet, I got the fiberglass with extensions and I'm spraying it first. On your skirts, did you just run the full length with the 3M, mud flaps too? Also, did you use more rivets per side? How many OEM screws did you remove & reuse, and is it only using rivets on the horizontal portion of the skirt?
Thanks
Nice choice. On the mud/splash guards, you can reuse a screw that is already installed on the car. This was my "pilot screw", so I basically installed it exactly where the old screw was, and reused that screw. This also helped to finalize the positioning against the side skirt. I wanted my side skirt flush with the mud guard. And yes- I ran the 3M tape the full length of the side skirts. I didn't use any 3M on the mud guards because of the pilot screw.
Not sure on the final count of rivets- but I used all of them supplied in the bag that came with the kit- just split them in half and allocated half to each side skirt. There were only two screws that I reused on the side skirts, you'll sort of see which two when you look under the car.
I'll take a few more photos tonight (if I remember) showing some of the screw placements, which should help conceptualize the whole thing.
* * * * *
I also had 4 screws left over from the original plastic splitter that I reused in the mud guard/side skirt installed (the black screws). I did use two larger threaded screws from home depot in the install of the front splitter for "extra" reinforcement, but this is most likely extra and unnecessary.
Last edited by Evander Holyfield; 05-18-2017 at 03:18 PM.
Nice choice. On the mud/splash guards, you can reuse a screw that is already installed on the car. This was my "pilot screw", so I basically installed it exactly where the old screw was, and reused that screw. This also helped to finalize the positioning against the side skirt. I wanted my side skirt flush with the mud guard. And yes- I ran the 3M tape the full length of the side skirts. I didn't use any 3M on the mud guards because of the pilot screw.
Not sure on the final count of rivets- but I used all of them supplied in the bag that came with the kit- just split them in half and allocated half to each side skirt. There were only two screws that I reused on the side skirts, you'll sort of see which two when you look under the car.
I'll take a few more photos tonight (if I remember) showing some of the screw placements, which should help conceptualize the whole thing.
* * * * *
I also had 4 screws left over from the original plastic splitter that I reused in the mud guard/side skirt installed (the black screws). I did use two larger threaded screws from home depot in the install of the front splitter for "extra" reinforcement, but this is most likely extra and unnecessary.
To follow up on this post, here is a photo of the rear assembly of the mud guard. I used four total screws. The screw that is outlined is the factory screw with the factory placement (my "pilot" screw).
4 Screws holding on mud guard. Outlined screw is factory screw that is reused in installation.
Opposite side of assembly. Neither passenger or driver side skirt is even with the mud guard (slightly extended). As these are the 1" extended side skirts (over factory), they both sit slightly past the mud guards. I've reinforced both the mud guard and the side skirt with two black screws that run parallel to one another in the above photo.
Last edited by Evander Holyfield; 05-18-2017 at 05:49 PM.
Nice install. Just an observation but the sides kinda look like steps on the side of truck.
Step rails. Takes away from the natural curves of the car IMO.
But it's your car and it's a nice one.
It looks bad *** in person, and flows with the lines of the car. That's why (I assume) Chevy elected to put them on the Carbon Edition Z06 and ZR-1. Like the inferno orange color, kind of tough to capture in a photo. You do have to be a bit more careful getting out though so you don't kick the side skirts on the way out.
It looks bad *** in person, and flows with the lines of the car. That's why (I assume) Chevy elected to put them on the Carbon Edition Z06 and ZR-1. Like the inferno orange color, kind of tough to capture in a photo. You do have to be a bit more careful getting out though so you don't kick the side skirts on the way out.
looks pretty bad *** in the pictures too................
Thanks for the great write-up and pictures showing the installation process.........
What was the specific issue with fitting them on prior to drilling and rivet installation? Did you keep them "square" or level to the front and rear wheel openings?
That is the only thing you really didn't clarify in your posts.
looks pretty bad *** in the pictures too................
Thanks for the great write-up and pictures showing the installation process.........
What was the specific issue with fitting them on prior to drilling and rivet installation? Did you keep them "square" or level to the front and rear wheel openings?
That is the only thing you really didn't clarify in your posts.
Hmm, tough to describe.
The driver's side side skirt didn't sit 100% flush against the lines of the body of the car, and didn't have a totally "square" or perpendicular angle to the car. The side skirt would sit flush-- but in doing so was angled somewhat sloped downward. This is where you had to finagle it so it would sit both flush against the body AND be at a perpendicular angle ("square") against the car- 3M tape, and in my case, Cleco Clamps, came in quite handy here. The passenger side set much easier and didn't require as much negotiation.
I've read some people will leave the side skirts sloped at somewhat of a downward angle, but I didn't care much for that look. There is one YouTube video of a C6 Z06 with a walkaround after his side skirts install that gave me a conceptual concept of what it should look like, but he didn't have any video/photos "in process".
You can see on his install he used the shiny bolts in places where I used the black factory bolts. He even mentions it. His were also installed at somewhat of a downward angle.
Last edited by Evander Holyfield; 05-19-2017 at 10:10 AM.
Love the look...I have almost the same exact car, except gray wheels. I may go this route also look into the carbon fiber grandsport front fender emblem. Both calipers are red now!
05-02-2017, 06:58 PM
Carbon Fiber Splitter & Side Skirts Install
I haven't mocked my pieces up yet, I got the fiberglass with extensions and I'm spraying it first. On your skirts, did you just run the full length with the 3M, mud flaps too? Also, did you use more rivets per side? How many OEM screws did you remove & reuse, and is it only using rivets on the horizontal portion of the skirt?
