NOSZ06

I installed a new Katech CF ZR1 front splitter on the Z and was curious how resistant is carbon fiber to road rash?

It appears the ZR1 piece has about 1" less of ground clearance than the stock Z06 piece...Look out road rash.....

Katech_Zach

Z06

Katech


No splitter is going to take a straight on impact to a curb. Glancing scuffs to the bottom won't hurt it. It's when it's a scuff and a bend that you could do some damage. The plastic air dam hits everthing, but I never hit my splitter on anything. You just have to avoid extreme driveways. If you do have to go up a sharp driveway, it it at an extreme angle so the tire hits first.

BEZ06

Here's my ZR1 splitter after tangling with a tire tread that was shed from a truck recap:



So.....look out for those road gators!!!

Bob

0Adam at RSI

Yea, this is whats holding me back. I am constantly scrapping and knocking off my current stock splitter, which has 30 screws in it!

I see tire turds ALL over DFW roads!

Vette5.5

My stock molded poly splitter already hit's enough thing's, but being a fairly inexpensive piece, not really losing any sleep over it. Wouldn't be to happy about trashing an expensive carbon fiber piece though. Also consider the more rigid carbon fiber piece wont flex like the molded stocker, so more likely to rip the screws/mounting nut's out of the car.

BEZ06

There are 13 screws that hold the stock ZR1 splitter on. When my splitter was ripped off, it didn't pull any screws out or damage the fascia at all.

I believe there are only 7 or 9 that hold the stock Z06 front spoiler/air dam on the car.

There have been several reports from Z06 owners that installed a splitter that air loads have ripped the splitter off the front fascia while driving down the highway.

If you look at the Katech site, they say you need to install the fascia/grill reinforcing piece if you install the splitter.

Bob

QTR-Z06

MyOtherZisQuicker

I have had two other cars with low (fiberglass) front splitters. If it's a daily driver, you will destroy it eventually guaranteed, no way to avoid it. If driven occasionally, you will buy yourself more time.

I suggest buying a second one now and keeping it on hand so when something happens, you can fix it right away. Then you can repair and prime the original one and sell it to someone who wants the monochrome look.

Code Z

I think the question is how durable the CF splitter is compared to a fiberglass one...yes fiberglass is expected to get the Dareto treatment...go ahead we'll make more. You can buy two...or three for the price of a CF, so can I expect to get 3x the wear from a CF vs. a fiberglass one?

MyOtherZisQuicker

I wasn't really comparing "wear" of fiberglass to CF, just the likelyhood that given the inevitable traumatic hitting of something: tire treads, road debris, curb blocks you misjudge, that the CF will behave similarly to FG and crack.

I love the look, and if my car wasn't a daily driver on crappy michigan roads I would do it in a minute. If you are careful and attentive and drive the car occasionally I would take the risk.

Also, get yourself a money jar, and put a dollar in it for everytime you look at your car and say to yourself "damn, that's hot. Then you'll build up a kitty for your replacement.

GMuffley

dvandentop

well i had my apr splitter on for around 1.5 years finally took it off due to i needed to do some repairs to it, from it got caught on my trailer door hinge, nothing major.

well went to a car show today and went to a place afterwards and i pulling into the parking lot with not even an extreme angle and F%#$ somehow there was a sticking up edge of the concrete and now have 2 pieces broken out of my zr1 splitter. sucks for sure since i have only had it on a week and a half. i have all the pieces and hopefully it is fixable. i will have to fiberglass it back together it looks like and paint flat back most likely but seems the zr1 is alot more vulverable then the apr splitter with the already integrated undertray

CudjoeScott

You guys have car shows up there? Wow, I thought it never got above 32 degrees.

Pontiaker

Does anyone make the ZR1 style front splitter from black ABS plastic? I would love one in ABS with the same pebble style kind of flat finish the stock Z06 splitter has. Would match all our wheel well trim, etc...Probably cheaper and would take mishaps better.

06Z

ABS ZR1 splitter does sound interesting!

BEZ06

I don't think anybody makes one because it would probably be too flexible and wouldn't work. ABS can be formulated to be quite rigid, but it's real benefits are that it is usually made to be a bit flexible for impact resistance.

If ABS splitter was soft enough to absorb impacts, it would fold up under air loads.

If it were made to be hard and rigid to handle the downforce it develops, it would be just like the carbon fiber or fiberglass splitters that are available.

The splitter adds a BUNCH of downforce!!!

With the stock front spoiler/air dam the Z06 has lift.

The ZR1 style splitter creates a lot of downforce and if it were flexible it would just fold under the load. There have been several forum members that have ripped their splitter off at highway speed without the reinforcing piece. If you put on a splitter without the ZR1 reinforcing piece, the splitter may create enough downforce to pull the whole fascia down and scrape the splitter on the road surface. Take a look at this video of a car with a splitter but no fascia reinforcement:




.

At 2:38 into the video you'll see this:




If you had a flexible splitter made a material soft/flexible enough to absorb impacts, I don't think it would be rigid enough to do what a splitter needs to do.

Bob

90sundevil

My guess there are many people who have their CF splitters on the garage wall in a couple of pieces.

BEZ06

Yeah....there are a number of us already!!! The busted up one in the pics in post# 3 is in my garage.

However.....my new Katech one is on the car now, and it looks great!!!

Below is a link to a thread where I showed putting on the Katech splitter, and it also has pics of a Z06 spoiler/air dam on the ZR1 until I got delivery of the Katech one:

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c6-c...-splitter.html


I think I'm going to get another Z06 air dam to put on the ZR1 for daily driving, and especially for road trips in the future. It only takes less than 1/2 hour to swap them out - probably only take me 15 or 20 minutes next time.

Bob

tjwong

Personally I think the Katech piece is an one of the best looking splitters out there. I would be sick if I bashed it up, my car scrapes the stock plastic peice all the time. But I would still love to have the CF unit on the car one of these days.

CodeBlueZO6

someone needs to make an inexpensive EASY TO INSTALL splitter with undertray to be used for track days and then easily removed for street driving.