wings west kit

['98 NSX-T]

I am considering the side panels and rear spats from Wings West, but have some questions for those who already have the kit.

1. Do the side panels affect the jacking points?
2. Would you get pre-painted from WWor have a local shop paint? WW say they have the paint codes, etc...
3. Relating to the above question (and next one) would you install yourself or have a shop do it? The person at WW said it is easy.
4. The person I spoke to at WW said they attach with 2 sided tape. Are you kidding me??? I will admit ignorance as I have never done “ground effects” on a car, but does this end up bad over time?

Thanks


[This message has been edited by '98 NSX-T (edited 08 January 2001).]

 

[jon69]

1. Do the side panels affect the jacking points?
(I can't remember what is was like with the stock ones but with the wings west kit I needed to drive my car up on small planks so that I could get a jack underneath the car. But this will vary depending on the height of your jack and if your car is lowered or not. Either way no big deal as you can get around it)

2. Would you get pre-painted from WWor have a local shop paint? WW say they have the paint codes, etc...
(Definately get a local shop, as they will always be able to match the paint better as they can take into consideration any fade that has occured to your stock paint)

3. Relating to the above question (and next one) would you install yourself or have a shop do it? The person at WW said it is easy.
(Really easy to do, I recommend taking off both wheels and having somebody help you align the sides as best as possible as the kit is not perfect. There is double sided tape on the panels already but it is not enough. First affix the rear portion that sticks to the rear quarter panel then the rest. What I did is drilled several holes were the rear quarter and front fender join with the body kit. These holes is where I used screws to attach the panels. You'll need to do this as the tape will not hold the weight)


4. The person I spoke to at WW said they attach with 2 sided tape. Are you kidding me??? I will admit ignorance as I have never done “ground effects” on a car, but does this end up bad over time?
(You'll need to use screws for sure, see the above comments for the side panels. As for the rear spats I screwed them in on inner wheel well lips and the tape seems strong enough to hold the rest. I've seen somebody put a screw on the underside as well but doesn't look to good, make sure to paint the screw to match if you do this. Another point that was brought up on this forum was that these spats fill with dirt and water so you should make a hole at the bottom end for the debris to come out of, again do this prior to painting, something I didn't take into consideration. And finally the front fascia is easy, use the tape and then screw the ends on the inner wheel wells/bump'r.)

Some other points to take into consideration (my advise anyway):
- paint the kit prior to installtion
- be sure to prep the lips of all edges as I thought mine was good enought but I have some imperfections that nag at me.
- have somebody help you align everything just to make sure after you've installed it nothing is crooked. Goes without saying really but you never now.
- one mistake I think I made was not taking all the plastic off from within the center inlet of the front bump'r. I've seen it done and it looks much cleaner, and since your doing painting and installtion you may as well.

Thanks


[This message has been edited by '98 NSX-T (edited 08 January 2001).][/B][/QUOTE]

 

[TampaBayNSX-R]

I agree with all of the above advice. In addition, I used some windshield adhesive...it's black and comes in a caulking tube. I applied this in the center section of the front airdam and in the door sills to further secure the bodykit. Also, the door sill kick plates that have the VIN# on them won't go back on after you attach the sideskirts. You have two options in re-attatching them. 1)Drill holes in the new sideskirt to allow the tabs on the bottom of the kickplates to go through to the inserts in the frame. 2) Trim the tabs off of the bottom of the kickplates and use some of the windshield adhesive to secure them. My personal experience and advice is to go with option 2...much easier and cleaner install.

You may also want to consider replacing the louvers in the side scoops of the car...similar to the Zanardi edition cars. This will match the screen that is in the smaller scoop at the rear of the sideskirts. Home Depot sells this screen, used to keep leaves from clogging downspouts in gutter systems. The swap isn't too bad. There are two small screws holding the louvers in. Loosen the fender liner while you have the rear wheels off and pull back the fender liner. It's a bit snug up there but you can get the two screws out and remove the louvers. Use them as a template and cut and form a piece of the mesh screen leaving about a 1/2-3/4 inch overlap to use in attatching them. Once formed, slide them up into place from inside the wheel well and re-attach the two small screws. Some additional security can be had with the good old windshield adhesive around the edges...just be careful not to get any on the screen where it will be visible from outside. This stuff is toxic and you should wear gloves when working with it. In a word, MESSY! Take your time with the pieces...they'll need a little trimming here and there and like the above post said, they're not perfect. With some patience and effort you can get them looking great on the car. It definitely steps up the appearance of the car and it will stand out even more. Feel free to private me with any questions you have before or during the install.

[This message has been edited by TampaBayNSX-R (edited 08 January 2001).]

 

[Veleno]

just a couple of tips...

1. like they stated above, be sure to drill the inside corner of your rear spats right behind the wheel, so that the water and dirt don't collect.

2. The hardest part to take off for me was the factory side skirts(I didn't have my manual in yet). After figuring out how to do it, I now would say it's a peice of cake! You have to unbolt the 2 screws at the bottom, one at each end of the skirt, and then with the rear tire off, push the skirt forward, towards the front tire. It might be a little stuck at first, but just push it, it'll come loose. The side panel is "slipped" on, and you'll see this when you take off the first side. I'm not sure if it shows how to take it off in the service manual, since mine still hasn't arrived.

3. Pre-fit all the parts before you paint it(and be sure to drill the hole on the rear spats as well).

4. Yes all the parts are held up using double sided tape. However, I used an additional product, it's an adhesive promoter for double sided tape, made by 3M. It's suppose to make it stick stronger. It looks like a marker, and they also use it for the dash overlay kits(carbon fiber, aluminum, etc...). You might want to look into that for extra bonding power.

5. Have a nearby body shop paint it for you. This way you can fit the body kit to your car BEFORE it's painted, which results in less scratches, chips, flaking, cracking...you get the picture.

and no the side skirts do not affect the jacking points at all.

if you have any questions, email me your number and we'll talk about it.



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Richard