Anyone install a TII aero kit on a N/A car?

[infernosg]

I know this is supposed to be a bolt on affair but the side skirts I bought are missing a lot of the original clips and unfortunately it appears a lot of them are NLA from Mazda. Mine also don't seem to fit very well but that might be because they've been in a box for over a year and it's 20* outside currently. I was curious who else has installed these on an N/A car and how you did it. I'm sure I could come up with something with self-tapping screws and automotive trim tape but I'm not sure that'll hold up to 100+ mi/hr speeds on track.

[JDriftM]

Hey, just saw that you were out of Cincinnati, what part?

As for getting the skirts to fit and stay, go pick up the 3M double sided tape, not the crap with green and white plaid covering, but the red covering stuff, it's the stuff body shops use for side molding. Give that a try, any O'Reilly should have it on their 5th aisle with their pinstriping.

[infernosg]

Hey, just saw that you were out of Cincinnati, what part?

As for getting the skirts to fit and stay, go pick up the 3M double sided tape, not the crap with green and white plaid covering, but the red covering stuff, it's the stuff body shops use for side molding. Give that a try, any O'Reilly should have it on their 5th aisle with their pinstriping.
I live and work in West Chester. I don't make it down to the city all too often.

I think I have some of that tape lying around. I used it to hold up a a-pillar gauge pod on my old car. Are you sure that'd be strong enough? I had some issues getting it just to hold up that a-pillar. If the skirts fit better I could see it working but right now it looks like it's going to take a lot of force to hold them down. I just don't want them flying off on track.

[infernosg]

Well I've confirmed half of the OEM clips requires are NLA from Mazda, which means I need to get creative. Would anyone who has a TII or a N/A with the side skirts care to post some close up pictures of the fit-up/alignment? I'm particularly interested in how the front piece is secured near the door and the rear piece is secured along the bottom of the door.

[vrracing]

We put Tii skirts on our 90 vert and used tape we got from an auto paint supply store and then used screws at the ends in the fenders. The vert didnt have any provisions for the clips along the sides. Everything has held up just fine.

[infernosg]

We put Tii skirts on our 90 vert and used tape we got from an auto paint supply store and then used screws at the ends in the fenders. The vert didnt have any provisions for the clips along the sides. Everything has held up just fine.
Yeah, I'm pretty sure the tape you're referring to is the same as that JDriftM mentioned. I'm pretty sure I have some of the 1/2" variety around.

Do you still have this 'vert? If so, could you take some pictures of the fit up? I'm trying to line up the skirts myself and I'm having a hell of a time. The vertical pieces near the wheels aren't too bad but the horizontal piece under the day doesn't seem to want to sit flush to the body.

[vrracing]

Probably not ideal but maybe these will help...

http://i366.photobucket.com/albums/oo104/vrracing/69c69206.jpg

http://i366.photobucket.com/albums/oo104/vrracing/22f4fc37.jpg

http://i366.photobucket.com/albums/oo104/vrracing/c3ef69c4.jpg

You might want to make sure they are warm. Maybe sit them in a sunny window all day first since you're in brrrrrr chilly land.

[infernosg]

^^^ Thanks, that does help a bit. I was looking at mine last night and noticed they're pretty beat. I'm not sure if they're still useable as the PO did quite a number on them. I think my best bet now is just taking them to a body shop and seeing if they can be salvaged. They need to be painted anyway. I may just start looking for another set...

[vrracing]

They are just big hunks of urethane so they are easy to repair. Any of the bumper repair material like 3Ms (http://www.hardwareonlinestore.com/index.php?option=com_virtuemart&view=productdetails&virtuemart_product_id=85084&virtuemart_category_id=3129&Itemid=1&gclid=CLabz6TIp7UCFU-mPAod-3cA2Q) will work great. Ours were old and white when we got em and we painted them off the car in the garage with my 20g air compressor and a HF HVLP gun. If you can get them fixed and fitted before taking them to the body shop you'll save a lot of money.

Let me know if you need detailed shots of any particular area. I can take them when the kid gets off work after 4CST

[infernosg]

They are just big hunks of urethane so they are easy to repair. Any of the bumper repair material like 3Ms (http://www.hardwareonlinestore.com/index.php?option=com_virtuemart&view=productdetails&virtuemart_product_id=85084&virtuemart_category_id=3129&Itemid=1&gclid=CLabz6TIp7UCFU-mPAod-3cA2Q) will work great. Ours were old and white when we got em and we painted them off the car in the garage with my 20g air compressor and a HF HVLP gun. If you can get them fixed and fitted before taking them to the body shop you'll save a lot of money.

Let me know if you need detailed shots of any particular area. I can take them when the kid gets off work after 4CST
I've got a lead on another set for pretty cheap, but if those don't work out I'll see about repairing the current ones.

If you do get a chance I'm particularly interested how the longer pieces fits up against the car under the door. That seems like it's going to be the most difficult to keep in place. Also, do you have a side shot of the entire car? I'm curious how the front lip, sides, and rear add-ons all line up. Are those the rear bumper add-ons from Shine?

[vrracing]

Those are the Corksport bumper caps. We got them specifically because with the CS Odura lip and OEM skirts that something was missing in the back; the continuous line broke. Have someone hold the skirts you have up to the car and stand back and you'll see.

We ran a line of the 3M tape all along the top. We saw a trick on one of Spike's Powerblock shows (probably trucks) how to leave a tail of the red covering folded out at 90 degrees so you can fit the part up by hand and then pull the red tape out exposing the sticky to the car. That tape is pretty damn magical.

The car is in the garage and I dont know if it will be coming out today to take a picture.

[infernosg]

Those are the Corksport bumper caps. We got them specifically because with the CS Odura lip and OEM skirts that something was missing in the back; the continuous line broke. Have someone hold the skirts you have up to the car and stand back and you'll see.

We ran a line of the 3M tape all along the top. We saw a trick on one of Spike's Powerblock shows (probably trucks) how to leave a tail of the red covering folded out at 90 degrees so you can fit the part up by hand and then pull the red tape out exposing the sticky to the car. That tape is pretty damn magical.

The car is in the garage and I dont know if it will be coming out today to take a picture.
Gotcha. Unfortunately it looks like Corksport no longer sells them. That makes two of their parts I was after (other being their wide fenders).

I picked up another set of side skirts that are in much better shape. They even have ~90% of the original clips so it should make mounting everything much easier. Thanks for the tip on the 3M tape. Every now and then those Powerblock shows have useful information.

[vrracing]

Bummer, about the parts being discontinued. Did you actually call them? Over time they'll logically reduce support for the FC but it seems unlikely they destroyed the molds.

Here is a profile picture to show you how the bottom line is continuous. It's raining and cloudy so I had to apply a filter to get the details to show up. The car is dirty but not that dirty!

http://i366.photobucket.com/albums/oo104/vrracing/RX7Forum/920a76a1-266c-4623-9dae-826ecca76704_zps1a7fa11a.jpg

The bottom of the bumper cap at the wheel arch is well below the bottom of the Mazda sheet metal at the back of the fender.

[JDriftM]

Hey, sorry I didn't reply so soon. The tape sticks really well as long as the spot where you apply the tape is wiped with isopropyl alcohol. The other thing you can do is use a heat gun to as evenly as possible heat the skirts as you apply the tape to help straighten them.

[infernosg]

Hey, sorry I didn't reply so soon. The tape sticks really well as long as the spot where you apply the tape is wiped with isopropyl alcohol. The other thing you can do is use a heat gun to as evenly as possible heat the skirts as you apply the tape to help straighten them.
I'm going to try the trick with the 3M tape mentioned above after leaving the sides in the sunlight for a while. I'll bust out the heat gun if more heat is needed.

The second set I picked up is nearly mint. They have 90% of the original clips and I can get about 5% of the rest as new OEM. One of the things I noticed about the sides is they have several extra "pegs" for holes that currently don't exist in my car. These are mostly along the top of the rear piece. Are there extra holes drilled into the body of the TII's for these? I didn't see anything in the parts list for special plugs or anything.

[vrracing]

Except for the screw holes in the insides of the front and rear fender wells we didnt drill any more holes in the body. The tape takes care of it from wheel well to wheel well.

Remember that where you live is called "the Rust Belt" for a reason so I would resist the temptation to drill any more holes than absolutely necessary! :willy_nilly:

Good luck and remember... "Pictures or you aren't wearing a skirt!"

[infernosg]

Except for the screw holes in the insides of the front and rear fender wells we didnt drill any more holes in the body. The tape takes care of it from wheel well to wheel well.

Remember that where you live is called "the Rust Belt" for a reason so I would resist the temptation to drill any more holes than absolutely necessary! :willy_nilly:

Good luck and remember... "Pictures or you aren't wearing a skirt!"
Pctures of the side skirts or installed on the car? Unfortunately it's going to be a while before they're installed. Oh yeah, and I'm just inside the rust belt but this car should never see salt/snow again. It came from VA so it's in relatively good shape to start.

I'm not necessarily considering adding more holes to the car. I was just curious if the TII's in fact had them. I'll more than likely just remove those clips (they're NLA from Mazda BTW) and rely on double-sided tape and the screws from the bottom to hold them up.

BTW, I have no need for the first set so if you know anyone looking for a set of TII side skirts that need some work I'll be glad to let them go for cheap.

[vrracing]

When I did my research on putting Tii skirts on a NA I found that the Tiis did have holes for the skirt clips along the sill. We just pulled the clips off the skirts. I don't recall if we had to grind the clip mounting points down though. It's been a while.