Thanks Bob for the reply

The comments on black screws, vs painting pop rivets makes good sense. I had to order the 18" long splash guards yesterday at the local Advanced Auto ($13). They are 18" X 10" size "C". Should be in this afternoon. I'll go ahead and make them up, as our new GS won't be here for another couple of weeks. I checked yesterday at my dealer, and the stock piece from my Stingray is identical to what is on the stock GS ..... so I'm ahead of the game.

I have tin snips so all set there too.

I want the top edge to line up with the factory spat, like the existing plastic triangle does. Sounds like I'll not need to trim the bottom edge either.

Again, thanks to all of you folks for coming up with a solution that appears to be far better than the more expensive, somewhat less effective store bought versions.

Richard

 

Just ordered a set from Suspension Connection and they had better pricing than Real Truck.

 

Would you post the Item # you used from Suspension Connection?

And if you can post pics of them installed, that would be really appreciated! :-)

 

talk to KeVin, part no. CRE24 ask for the additional discount

 

I picked up both the O'Reilly guards as well as the larger CRE guards over the winter while the Z was sleeping for a few months.

I decided to give the larger CREs a shot first. Cut them exactly to gve's specs, drilled the holes the same as well. The top edge was actually sticking out a good 3/8", so I tapered each one from the top (flush with the existing spat) so that it flowed nicely back to the outside edge. I also noticed the bottom wasn't *perfectly* horizontal, so the OCD part of me tapered the bottom edge, too.

I simply pulled the factory triangles and re-used the same black screw/washer setup that was under the triangle to install the modified CREs. They are solid as hell, so no reason to reinforce them.

Do they look gorgeous? Of course not. But they truly are not THAT crazy looking. I doubt most will notice them unless you tell them.

I also purchased a set of C7 Z06 style side skirts (in carbon fiber) from C7 Carbon. They are in the box in the garage, and when I take the beast into the dealership so they can fix the sandblasted rear quarters and replace the brake ducts (at THEIR cost, already discussed), I'll have them install those as well.

 

Yeah. That sucks. Weird how some people diagnose this as it progresses and others don't notice it until their quarters are destroyed.

I knew about this from before picking up mine which prompted me to trailer it home 160 miles so I could install the 13 mud guards and Xpel all over lol.

in that short driveaybe 7 or 8 miles I sustained 2 tiny chips in the rear brake ducts and a tiny chip in front fascia.

Xpel and mud guards are a must.

 

I wasn't aware of what I (now) consider a 'design flaw' (and GM apparently agrees, as the side skirts are now standard on all Z06's). I told my dealership that, had they told me about this prior to delivery, I would have had them install side skirts, etc.. They agreed to do the repairs, and I had already purchased the aftermarket side skirts. So the CRE splash guards are there for now to keep things from getting any worse between now and when I can get it in.

 

I used the same weather stripping that worked for my C5 tail lights. This just made for a better interface between the splash guard and the fender.

Thanks for this thread, the CRE guards work great!

 

so after procrastinating for a while I finally ordered the 24x12 guards. I don't want to screw this up, I see the dimensions posted - but do I need to also curve the inside? it looks that way from the on-car pictures. If someone is near central jersey I would love some help lol I am not very good with this stuff. I can follow the dimensions obviously but am unsure if I need to do anything else. I am not sure what "cutting inside edge" refers to in the first post or if there is a set dimension for this.

Once they are cut and holes drilled how do I install them?

and finally, is this sufficient protection or do I 100% need side skirts as well? I don't want to have anyone drill into the car. I don't mind the look. I got the car with a few chips already, just trying to prevent more and it looking horrible in a few years. Thanks for bearing with me...

 

I didn't cut the OUTSIDE edge which is what you will see. I did cut the inside edge that is inside the wheel well. Leave that nice factory edge alone for the outer edge. The cut you make will have a curve to it. I left the bottom edge parallel to the ground.

Also, I would suggest making a paper template taped to the existing black triangle piece to the right size and then use that to transfer to the store bought splash guard to cut to the template size.

I had an extra set of plastic factory splash guards that come on the car ahead of time, from my previous 2016 Stingray. I mounted the homemade splash guards onto the factory triangle piece with 5 or 6 black small screws and waterproof epoxy.

The factory triangle piece just pops off of the car with about 3 spring clip retainers. You can remove them from the car and work this up on your workbench as it's much easier. The tires/wheels stick out 2.25" wider than the car body so that's what I made my homemade splash guards to. I also extended them 1.5" below the factory triangle piece. It is a compound curve, so when you go to attach the homemade piece to the factory triangle piece, if you mount the outer edge nice and tight together, you will see a gap on the inside edge...... with the screws and exoxy and several clamps, mine is now curved ( bent ) to the same compound curve.

Once completed, just take the factory triangle piece, with your homemade extension splash guard attached and pop it right on the car using the same factory mounting spring clips. Simple.

Send me a PM if you want more detail, and you can call me. Mine most closely resemble those made by ZR1Bob on thread #13 of this thread.

by the way, mine work extremely well !!!

Richard

 

And I almost spent $300 on other non-working stone guards!! Thanx to all for the diagrams and info. My 2019 GS in Orange was built on 4/19/2018 so I am getting info for it's safe keeping!

 

I found some home depot "extreme double sided outdoor " tape that I will also try.
Is there enough room behind the factory triangle to use 3/4 inch screws rather than the shorter 1/2 ones? I read that someone just applied the new SPLASH/ROCK GUARDS RIGHT ON TOP OF THE FACTORY PIECE. DOES THIS ALOW ENOUGH room for the tire to turn?
Sorry about the caps - poor typing skills.

 

I put the truck guards on last summer and love them. I don't think i have gotten a single rock chip since. I have a black ZO6 so the blend in pretty well, but i think i made them a little too long as they scape a little when going through a dip in the road at higher speeds.

 

Yes I have this drawing. Can I put 3/4 screws thru the new guards into the stock ones?
Would the 1/2 inch ones still hold?

 

My car is a 17 Z07 with full length side skirts. I went from factory guards, to acs enhanced guards, to acs xl rock guards, and STILL!!!!! have the sandblasted look on the rear quarter panels. Its not super noticeable now, however the car only has 10,000 miles. It will only get worse. Its watkins glen gray so it doesn't stick out too bad, but I can definitely see the wear and tear on the paint. I don't have the money to put paint protection film on the car, so I found this thread (with the awesome specs on how to make the new flaps from the CRE truck flaps 24x12" thank you!!) Check out the pictures and you can see how much more it covers the tires. Even with the XL guards, there was still a big area where the sticky cup 2's could sling anything up. In Pennsylvania the roads suck. Even in the summer, you think the roads are perfect and then you come around a turn and there is debris from the side of the road from a washout etc... coal trucks everywhere....you get the idea. I don't want to slam on the brakes and creep over rocks every time I see a pebble in front of me so I thought I'd try this and see how they look. It sucks they cant somehow be carbon flash painted, but they actually don't look as bad as I thought they would. I hate the idea of mudflaps......BUT even more so I hate ugly looking paint.








Too bad I couldn't figure out how to attach these to the bottom of the acs guards....






I've called ACS and there seems to be no hope of them designing longer guards. We are probably really out of luck especially considering the c8 is coming out and they will be working on that one now

 

Zeppelin654, you are in big trouble if you think anything made by anyone in the world will protect your C7 wide body Z06 in Clearfield, PA! I spent much of my working career (40 years with the CAT dealer) in and out of that town and unless there are others on this Forum who have spent any time in Clearfield , any remedy or solution you might get tossed out will very likely be a waste of time! Those roads in that territory (not most of them, ALL of them) are cindered beyond anyone's wildest dreams over the winter months and never swept after the winter is over....they rely on rain and travel on those roads to clean them. You probably have two choices....drive it and enjoy it even though it will get torn up or...don't drive it except 2-3 month a year in late summer and early Fall. Sorry to be so negative with my response, but that area of PA is a hell hole for any nice car....get a pick up truck and soup it up is probably the real answer!

 

The CRE (per instructions/diagram) splash guards have been on the car for a good while now, 25,000+ miles on the car. Most people do not ever notice them; I think they look pretty good myself. Stage 1 from factory. I installed the aftermarket side shirts the second day of ownership. The home made front splash guards came later after noticing the rear panels where getting hit and were still getting hit with the store bought splash guards. The home made ones finally put a stop to the hit job. Pics speak for themselves.






First installed with the original silver wheels.

No holes drilled, used the three original holes with nice black screws. Easy to remove, easy to install. The CRE color and texture is a pretty good overall match to the wheel spats. Check the first two pics again for (natural light) color.

 

You must be referring to Cleveland Brothers on River Road. We take our dozer there for service. Ha! Small world. I've had my share of high high horsepower diesel trucks, but now just have a nice semi stock cummins to get me around in the winter/hauling. There's too much money in that for not much go fast and stuff breaks all the time. I love takin the Z on the back twisties, to the golf course, UMI autocross king of the hill event right here in Clearfield (hopefully next year), and even on a perfect looking summer day after multiple days of rain to clear the roads, I still run into stuff on the roads. If you saw my face every time I see a pile of rocks/dirt on the road, it'd probably look like I was about to get stuck with a 10 inch needle haha. Lets just hope these cre flaps do the trick even if they aren't a museum piece. I've been wondering if I could vinyl wrap them in carbon flash metallic or get them painted, but I'm worried about the paint chipping or the vinyl peeling. We will see!!!

 

Most people can't really fathom how riddled with cinders and anti-skid (small BB and larger sized stone or rejects from a mine) the roads can get in your area and Somerset, as well. I had a new Chrysler 300M back n 2000 and owned it less than 2 years...had 50,000 miles on it, so I traded it in. Anyway, the fiber or plastic type material that was inside the front wheel wells had a hole blow thru them (both front wheels) about 3" in diameter from the drive wheels kicking up that buck shot on the mail roads. Good luck with the "GVE" splash/mud guards, they definitely will help, just remember you are in a rough area for a low slung and wide tired, nice car!

 

I did the home made front splash guards on my '17 GS a while ago, and they help tremendously. Has anyone fabricated DIY splash guards for the rear?