Should I dump the factory ground effects? Options

[JimMueller]

I need to get the car into the body shop to repair the front/rear bumper damage from last November. It's being a pain to find bumpers which already have the effects installed on them. The last time the front bumper was repaired they bought new fascia's but they didn't install them straight - probably because the template was no longer available from GM. I plan to do a re-spray in the new imperial blue metallic, just not the jambs and engine bay, etc.

I like the look of lower clearance, but not the tacky add-on look. If it was a one piece look like Alan's front bumper I'd be alright with it... but I want the look to be seamless around the car... I don't want the botom of the wheel well at different heights fore/aft of the tire, for example. I would like the wheel wells to be wider so the tires didn't stick out when going straight.

Should I just cut my losses and remove all the Y3F parts? That's the rear 3-piece spoiler, rear fascia, 2-piece front fascia, side fascia's? Not sure if the side body moldings were part of RPO code. I'd only pursue this if I was doing a full re-paint. I haven't yet discussed this with the shop to see how much more I'd need to give them to clean this up.

[JimMueller]

A lot of reads but no feedback. If I dump the front fascia, who makes a good aftermarket front bumper which is functional, streetable, and looks aggressive but not tacky? I'd like if the sides of the front bumper were wider so wider tires didn't stick outside the body. Something like this but they don't seem very aerodynamic the way they are shaped? Concerned about 2-piece noses looking good on a street car.

(IMG:http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v335/JasonWW/Euro%20Race%20Cars/powertourcamaro3.jpg)

[SuperMacGuy]

I read your post but I really didn't understand what you want. So you need new bumper covers etc. But you want something with some aftermarket stuff already attached? You're never guaranteed to find it in that case. I don't think our cars have anything like the rice community that builds multiple front fascias for civics, toyotas etc. And as far as I've known, there were no "factory ground effects" kits. The TA had a lower side panel, and maybe the SS also. But no extra fender flares or wide body option.

Is that a picture of your current car? or an example of what you are looking for?

[JimMueller]

Haha, no not that's not my car, just an example of the wider front bumper hiding more of the tire tread. I like the look of the rocker panels and rear fascia, but not the front ground effects. Just looking for pros/cons to using an aftermarket front bumper vs fighting with the factory fascia alignment vs removing the entire kit.

[Jeff94TA]

Jim, I know what your car looks like but you really should post a pic of your existing front fascia so every one can see what it is that you don't like. I like your existing ground effects but I can see where if a one piece nose was available it would probably look better.

[JimMueller]

Here's a couple of photos from 2010. I would like a little more ground clearance without raising the car, or perhaps have a dark material on the bottom which doesn't change color when it rubs on obstructions? I now have 315's in the front so it'd be nice to tuck them in a bit better.

(IMG:http://i808.photobucket.com/albums/zz9/evcass69/LSFest-4.jpg)

(IMG:http://i808.photobucket.com/albums/zz9/evcass69/LSFest-1.jpg)

Below you see that it was installed skewed previously. The flat side of the fascia near the is supposed to be vertical instead of slanted out at the bottom. Perhaps just having an intelligent person doing the work will fix that issue.

(IMG:http://i808.photobucket.com/albums/zz9/evcass69/IMG00028-20111126-0852-1.jpg)

This post has been edited by JimMueller: Mar 12 2012, 06:26 PM

[nape]

Not sure if you can on a 4th gen, but unbolt the nose/fender brace and push the bumper cover/fender out more with angle AL. That ought to do a better job hiding the tire.

As far as a material that doesn't change color when you rub it on stuff, you could try roll plastic from Coleman, but I'm not sure how long that would look nice on a street car. It picks up a lot of dings on track.

[tlillard23]

I like the orange ground effects on the first picture, I have a number of photos of my car with the same type.....

[FASTFATBOY]

I would take the door and rear parts off.

Why don't you make a bracket and push the front fenders out a little at the bottom? They are plastic after all.