Wings West Side Skirts Owners/Ex-Owners

**93B18** · 12-30-2003, 15:37

I've heard some problems with the middle section of the side skirts starting to sag after awhile since it's not supported too well in the center section toward the bottom. I've heard of a rumor that SOS is fabricating a bracket to support the skirt better. Any updates on this? Is this the case for some of you with these skirts? What have you done to eleviate the problem? Or is it not too noticeable to you? Opinions? TIA for the replies.

**FuryNSX** · 12-30-2003, 15:51

My WW sides started sagging from the moment that I got them. I ended up replacing them 9 months later with Vinny's MH replicas to solve the problem.

I haven't heard any recent news regarding availability of those brackets that you mentioned.

**Turbo NSX** · 12-30-2003, 16:49

Mine have also done the same thing after only a month or two. I am looking for a fix also.

**Zishan** · 12-30-2003, 17:32

Does anyone have a picture of this sagging?
Regards
- Z

**93B18** · 12-30-2003, 18:55

Hope no one minds me borrowing their pics. TIA.

Some you can see more than others. I'm sure there are other pics on the site but I can't find them right now. I'm assuming that the urethane and the fact that there are no supports or mounting spots in the center of the skirt underneath is what's affecting the sagging. Anyone with any suggestions? The WW skirt is really nice and follows the lines of the car well but I don't want to run into this problem later on.

**ChrisK** · 12-30-2003, 19:48

I'll see if I can post a pic when I'm done with my ww side skirt project. I will not have that problem. I bought a pair of used OEM skirts which I trimmed down to fit within the WW skirts and molded it into place. This allowed me a couple of advantages. I can use the OEM mounting points and clips and remove the WW skirts in the same manner as the OEM skirts. This also made the entire WW skirt more sturdy. Also, I will affixed the lower WW skirt to the bottom of the OEM skirt so it will never sag. Now, the WW skirt does hang down more than the OEM, so the the WW lower part does sort of go in a reverse angle, but directly from the side it looks square. Only if you peak under the skirt you can see it is angled and not much. I'm almost done with one side. On the inside it doesn't look too good since you see the cut up OEM skirt and all the urethane/plastic adheasive epoxy (I used Dura Weld plastic adheasive), but once mounted you only see the WW skirt.

**ChrisK** · 12-30-2003, 19:52

As for the SOS brackets, as it was explained to me by Chris, it uses the OEm mounting points and allows you do mount your screws to these brackets rather than drilling your car. It also adds regidity to the skirt itself, but not to the lower part of the WW skirt that just hangs there and deforms over time. It will help keep the side part from warping, but I don't think it will help the bottom part that sags. I guess you could make your own extentions from these brackets to reach the bottom and affix the bottom of the skirt to them, but that would be your own custom work.

**93B18** · 12-30-2003, 20:11

Hey that's something. Can you post a step by step procedure on what you've done. Pics would be awesome. TIA.

**ChrisK** · 12-30-2003, 20:35

Originally posted by 93B18
Hey that's something. Can you post a step by step procedure on what you've done. Pics would be awesome. TIA.

Okay, keep in mind I'm only half done with molding these two pieces together, but this gives you an idea and also shows you how strong the Dura Weld is as I still need to add more bond in certain areas and haven't even done the upper tabs yet.

The first pic is the inside and as you can see it doesn't look too appealing. However, nobody will see that once mounted anyway

The last two pics shows it mounted on the car even in its half finished state. You can see some warping on the sides still, and that is something I just need to keep working out as best as possible with my heat gun. This particular side was majorly twisted during shipping so it was a lot worse. Over all though you can see how it mounts right up using the stock mounts and removes in the same manner. Just to show how easy it was these pictures were taken about 10 mintues ago. I was able to take the pics, mount the skirt, and remove the skirt with ease. Once I'm done and get it all painted it should look real nice I think.

**D'Ecosse** · 12-30-2003, 23:54

Didn't really understand your plan till I see your pics Chris - like they say however, a picture is worth a thousand words!
Novel idea!
What happened to the plastic welding - could you not get it to weld the different materials or just figure epoxy was better?
I'm sure it will work out really nice when it's finished.
Congrats on an original concept.

**ChrisK** · 12-31-2003, 01:32

Originally posted by D'Ecosse
Didn't really understand your plan till I see your pics Chris - like they say however, a picture is worth a thousand words!
Novel idea!
What happened to the plastic welding - could you not get it to weld the different materials or just figure epoxy was better?
I'm sure it will work out really nice when it's finished.
Congrats on an original concept.

I played around with the plastic welding and it really is more for repair rather than main structual integrity which I think the skirts would be considered. It does work well on plastics like bumper covers and other automotive plastics though. I see good use for it in other projects, but the urethane plastic epoxy, glue or whatever you call it is just easier to work with. It is a two part product in your standard caulking tubes and you just mix it up, apply, clamp, and you have about a 15 minute work time. One set of Dura Weld brand cost me $20. There are a lot of differnt brands you can use, this Dura Weld just happend to be what the autobody supply store sold and recomended for this project.

**donwon** · 12-31-2003, 08:18

I dont know about the sag, but mine were too long. They extended into the front wheel well by about 1/4-1/2 inch.

**bizman** · 12-31-2003, 08:54

Wouldn't a long piece of small angle aluminum attached with some epoxy stop the center from sagging. Just a thought ,I have not seen a wings west kit up close so this may not work.

**93B18** · 12-31-2003, 09:01

I see what your doing. Looks like everything on the bottom mounts up just like stock but you still drill at the ends of the skirts for the screws. Now the main goal of this skirt 'molding' is to support the bottom middle section of the WW side skirt. How are you attaching the bottom middle section of the WW skirt to the OEM skirt if there is a large gap between the two since the WW skirt is a lot lower than the OEM? Hope that made sense.

**Veleno** · 12-31-2003, 09:06

Is it just me (or the picture) that makes the installed skirt look like it sits inward at the rear edge (in front of the rear wheels)?

**D'Ecosse** · 12-31-2003, 09:26

I'm sure Chris will correct me if I'm wrong but I think his main goal was to make it easy to install/remove utilizing the original fastening method- there may be a side benefit from some additional structural integrity however.

From my own perspective haven't has any issues with sagging - in fact mine feel really rigid even when I try to move them. I have seen many examples of poor fit, especially in the length, of some of those that were shipping about a year ago.

I believe it's all in the installation to make the skirt pick up it's rigidity from the body structure (as you know, unattached you can bend this thing like a pretzel!)

I install mine with two screws down into the section at the front fender and three scews down between the rear fender & rear section and the tape takes care of the length down the door sill.

I wrote up a procedure and it works for me - WingsWest SideSkirts Installation Guide

(actually the procedure only shows one screw (#4) in the front section, but I ended up with two in there - I think at this area is where it wants to flex & keeping that section up tight against the fender keeps the whole thing stiff.)

**ChrisK** · 12-31-2003, 18:31

Originally posted by Veleno
Is it just me (or the picture) that makes the installed skirt look like it sits inward at the rear edge (in front of the rear wheels)?

It is an illusion. As far as I can tell, it appears to look and sit the same as my friends ww skirt. I think it is a combination of the black skirt on a white car with poor contrast and a picture that was snapped really quick with a flash. I'm sure if I took the pic at a different angle it would appear flush just as I see it. It does sit flush with the rear 1/4 pannel.

**ChrisK** · 12-31-2003, 19:13

Originally posted by 93B18
I see what your doing. Looks like everything on the bottom mounts up just like stock but you still drill at the ends of the skirts for the screws. Now the main goal of this skirt 'molding' is to support the bottom middle section of the WW side skirt. How are you attaching the bottom middle section of the WW skirt to the OEM skirt if there is a large gap between the two since the WW skirt is a lot lower than the OEM? Hope that made sense.

I plan on molding the entire bottom of the ww skirt to the bottom of the OEM skirt using both the dura weld and rivets for added strength. The ww skirt does hang a bit lower, but for the same reason why people are having sagging problems it the same reason why this is not a big deal. The ww urethane is very flexible and can be bent into shape especially when using a heat gun. Remember above I mentioned something about it being at a reverse agle from the underside but appear sqaure from the side profile? Here are a couple of pictures that should help you see what I mean.

In the first pic you can see the OEM skirt has a raised lip at along the bottom. Believe it or not, the ww skirt bottom edge mates perfectly to this edge. I think ww may have used that ridge as a guide or something. Eitherway, it makes for a perfect mating point. Directly in front of the ridge the OEM skirt is flat so again this makes for a perfect point ot mate the two skirts. Everything just seemed to work out and match up right

To bond the two together I will again use the dura weld product but also add some rivets for good measure. To hide the rivets, I plan on countersinking the rivets. The ww skirt is very thick, so a countersink hole the size of a rivet head should be no problem. Then, just cover the holes with a urethane cosmetic finising product just as what body shops would do to repair bumper covers. I was told this dura weld product I' m using will work as well. Also, the rivets are on the bottom edge, so you can't see them anyway.

Directly behind the OEM skirt you can see my project skirt. As you can see the two skirts mate up nicely. Since the ww hangs down a little lower than OEM, I did have to bend the ww up to meet the OEM skirt. It is only about 1/2" so the angle of the bend is not too noticable and not noticable from the side profile. Only if your car is on a lift and you are looking up can you see the angled bend.

The second pic shows you how it should look from the side profile. As you can see, it does look square. The reason is from a side profile your eyes are still seeing the bottom edge line of the ww skirt where it originally was. The bend is actually behind that bottom edge line so you can't really see it. Don't mind the clear plastic tape. I haven't actually bonded the bottom edge yet so I just used the tape so I could take the pictures and give you a better idea of what I was doing. Once bonded the bottom edge will be perfectly flat with the OEM skirt and since the OEM skirt is rigid the ww skirt along the bottom will never sag.

PS. Yes, everthing mounts exactly as stock. Even the two plastic push type pins on the bottom will still be used. The only parts that may not be able to mount as stock is some of the screws that hold the OEM skirt along the front and rear fender lips. I'll have to see what can be done once I get it mounted.

**ChrisK** · 12-31-2003, 19:25

Originally posted by D'Ecosse
I'm sure Chris will correct me if I'm wrong but I think his main goal was to make it easy to install/remove utilizing the original fastening method- there may be a side benefit from some additional structural integrity however.

Yes, that was the main goal. everything else is just a bonus. What I wanted was a skirt that was removable and not have to worry about replacing the double stick tape. I thought this plan up because I was planning on entering car shows in the 04 season and as you know not all show parts are suitable for street driving. I wanted everything to be easily swapped with either show or OEM parts as needed. For example, I bought the DreamzSport NSX-R style wing, but I don't actually plan on using that wing aside for car shows. The wing is easily removable. Same with my 18/19" rims, and the painted RM front lip I plan on using. All those parts were just a matter of bolt to remove or replace. It was the side skirt that was the problem thus my idea. It turns out I actually like the ww skirt and don't really plan on removing it much, but I thought I would follow up on my plan just to see if it could be done. Also, if I ever move up to a 3.2/6-Speed I can swap the parts with no problem. I may need a repaint if the color is different, but everything would be a piece of cake to swap.
My goal was to make every modification I made to this car 100% reversable. Any OEM part that I modified I bought a spare used part to do the modification on so I could keep the original intact. I also did not want to drill and use screws to mount the skirt as the drilled holes would be permanent.

**NSX 3.0** · 01-01-2004, 04:44

Can anyone tell me who makes the little foil or fin thats added on the rear Spoiler on the Red TT NSX above and does anyone have a better shot of it.

**ChrisK** · 01-01-2004, 04:53

Originally posted by Steven Spanbauer
Can anyone tell me who makes the little foil or fin thats added on the rear Spoiler on the Red TT NSX above and does anyone have a better shot of it.

If I remember correctly and if this is the same car, it is from an E46 BMW M3. It could be from the M5, but I think it was the M3.

**ChrisK** · 03-30-2004, 13:34

I'm not sure if any of you who posted no this topic before are still interested in my "No sag WW Skirt" project, but here is the final outcome. I picked up the parts today, but my car will not be ready until tomorrow, so I couldn't show any installed pictures yet. Look for installed pictures in the Picture Gallery in a few days. In the meantime, here is a couple of pictures that capture the idea of the project. If you don't know what the heck I'm talking about just read some of my posts above

I'll be the first to admit it doesn't look pretty on the inside but it is strong and fuctional. Once mounted you can't see any of that anyway. Everything that you can see is painted so it will look real nice on the car when installed IMHO.

**FuryNSX** · 03-30-2004, 19:25

Chris,

Looks nice and straight! Does it seem like it added much weight? Seems pretty strong now.

BTW, got that piece next to the playpen, eh?

-Randy

**ChrisK** · 03-30-2004, 20:22

Originally posted by FuryNSX
Chris,

Looks nice and straight! Does it seem like it added much weight? Seems pretty strong now.

BTW, got that piece next to the playpen, eh?

-Randy

It definately is heavier than stock or the WW Urethane skirts by themselves. The stock skirt is fairly light with the WW skirts noticeably heavier, but together they do have some heft. It literally is the weight of both skirts together. I'd say the adhesive material added 1-2lbs at most.

As for the play pen, my son is just under 7 months old so I'll be using it for a while

**prova4re** · 03-30-2004, 21:10

Looks great Chris.
Congrat's on the little one.

Thread: Wings West Side Skirts Owners/Ex-Owners

Thread Tools

Wings West Side Skirts Owners/Ex-Owners

Bookmarks

Bookmarks

Posting Permissions