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C6 Corvette ZR1 & Z06General info about GM’s Corvette Supercar, LS9 Corvette Technical Info, Performance Upgrades, Suspension Setup for Street or Track
Curious if it's normal for the front bumper to have a significant amount of flex when putting some downward pressure on the middle area in front of the grill (in front of the radiator). I think its sagging ever so slightly in the middle because I see a slight gap between the front middle of the bumper and the grill screen. No real gap between the sides of the front bumper and grill insert. Just curious if this is normal.
If you've added the ZR1 style front splitter, and do any high speed driving, then yes it will sag. For high speed runs you would need to added the bumper reinforcement, and that goes for the standard Z06 air dam as well...or you'll get the "smiling" Z06 effect caused by the downforce applied to the lower front facia.
I do have the ZR1 style front splitter, but I don't spend much time over 100mph. The previous owner might have though. Is it worth getting the bumper reinforcement for my driving style?
Is it normal to have flex at all though when applying downward pressure on the bumper though? Or should it be super stiff and not move at all?
I do have the ZR1 style front splitter, but I don't spend much time over 100mph. The previous owner might have though. Is it worth getting the bumper reinforcement for my driving style?
Is it normal to have flex at all though when applying downward pressure on the bumper though? Or should it be super stiff and not move at all?
Thanks a lot for your input guys!
There will be flex in that area if you put any real pressure on that area. You'd be surprised how much pressure is applied to the nose at highway speeds with the ZR1 splitter and no reinforcement.
I took a few pictures (from different distances) and it does appear to be sagging a bit in the middle. What do you guys think? Would a bumper reinforcement solve this or has the damage been done?
looks like it's sagging but maybe it's just the lighting. mine was sagging a bit and a bumper reinforcement fixed it somewhat. I bought the katech reinforcement which is thicker than oem.
I would hate to get the reinforcement and it not fix the issue. I would be thrilled if the reinforcement did fix this issue though and the "damage" not be permanent. You still have some slight sagging after the reinforcement? Any chance you could take some pics?
My only concern is having a shop remove the bumper to install this. Really hoping nothing gets scratched or something ends up misaligned when they put the bumper back one.
I would hate to get the reinforcement and it not fix the issue. I would be thrilled if the reinforcement did fix this issue though and the "damage" not be permanent. You still have some slight sagging after the reinforcement? Any chance you could take some pics?
My only concern is having a shop remove the bumper to install this. Really hoping nothing gets scratched or something ends up misaligned when they put the bumper back one.
well i bumped into a curb like twice in the past and that caused a little crack in my bumper where you screw in the bottom splitter. I could tell the bottom lip was bent downwards because there was a little gap where the black grill and bumper meet. hard to explain but if you look inside the 'mouth' part of your bumper the black grill should sit pretty flush on all sides, top, bottom and sides. mine had a slight gap at the top and the katech reinforcement brought it all back pretty close.
taking the bumper off is pretty easy just time consuming. there is a DIY guide on this forum. If only you were closer i could help you with the install.
well i bumped into a curb like twice in the past and that caused a little crack in my bumper where you screw in the bottom splitter. I could tell the bottom lip was bent downwards because there was a little gap where the black grill and bumper meet. hard to explain but if you look inside the 'mouth' part of your bumper the black grill should sit pretty flush on all sides, top, bottom and sides. mine had a slight gap at the top and the katech reinforcement brought it all back pretty close.
taking the bumper off is pretty easy just time consuming. there is a DIY guide on this forum. If only you were closer i could help you with the install.
Yup, that issue is similar to mine, but I have more of a slight gap at the bottom. I will get a bumper reinforcement and keep my fingers crossed. I am going to bring it to a performance shop I go to because they take the front bumper off on C6s pretty regularly for FI installs. Appreciate your offer to help out if you lived closer. Really appreciate it! Thanks again for your help!
You probably pulled some of the push pins out that hold the grille to the fascia. I would install our front fascia reinforcement and re-install the grille. That should pull all that back together.
You probably pulled some of the push pins out that hold the grille to the fascia. I would install our front fascia reinforcement and re-install the grille. That should pull all that back together.
Thanks for your input Jason! Glad to see there is a good chance of pulling it all back together.
Just wanted to provide an update. Got the front fascia reinforcement installed yesterday and it fixed the issue right up! No more gaps whatsoever at any point around the grill either. Jason was correct in that some of the push pins were also pulled out so that fixed the grill issue. Definitely get the front fascia reinforcement if you get a front splitter guys. My car does not regularly see speeds in excess of 100 mph and it still sagged.
Check the difference in the pics above and these ones.
09-21-2017, 10:52 AM
Front bumper flex by grill area
