Front Lip Spoiler or Skid Plates

[RickyBobby]

I and the former owner of my FRS have put some scraps/scratches on the bottom of the front bumper. They extent out to the edge of the bottom of the bumper but are not visible from above.
I could just forget about them, outta sight, outta mind; but I want to protect the bumper from further damage.

I'm not really a fan of lip spoilers so I'm also considering ProTEKt's skid plates for the FRS, but due to the fact that its bumper starts to curve upward much earlier than the BRZ's, they do not extend out as far as the BRZ's skid plates. They may not protect the front leading edge of the bumper.
http://www.protektskidplates.com/buy-now.html

http://www.motoiq.com/MagazineArticl...kidplates.aspx

http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=89084

http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showt...t=76391&page=2

If I go with a lip spoiler I want one that does not lower the bumper that much, doesn't stick out very far, and is PU. A very non-aggressive looking front lip spoiler.

Would one of these be ok or are there better choices out there?? Would like to keep it <$150.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/12-15-Scion-...09707509&rt=nc

http://www.ebay.com/itm/2013-2016-SC...779473&vxp=mtr
This one, according to another vendor that sells the exact same spoiler, lowers the bumper ~1", and uses bolts and nuts, not self tapping screws to attach it.

[stevesnj]

I'd say the protectors, you may be able to do both if you are creative.

[RickyBobby]

Originally Posted by stevesnj

I'd say the protectors, you may be able to do both if you are creative.

Thanks for your opinion. Good luck with your 2016 FR-S purchase.

[stevesnj]

Originally Posted by RickyBobby

Thanks for your opinion. Good luck with your 2016 FR-S purchase.

Thanks! Now i just need it to show up!! lol

[RickyBobby]

Went with the skid plates from ProTEKt over a lip spoiler. I'm very careful about parking far enough away from those parking space cement barriers, but made the mistake a few months ago of going down a gravel road that had a high center and scrapped the bottom of the front bumper. The skid plates would have protected the bumper.

[mitch t]

Originally Posted by RickyBobby

Went with the skid plates from ProTEKt over a lip spoiler. I'm very careful about parking far enough away from those parking space cement barriers, but made the mistake a few months ago of going down a gravel road that had a high center and scrapped the bottom of the front bumper. The skid plates would have protected the bumper.

Hey, did you get them installed?

[RickyBobby]

Not yet, sitting on my work bench. Been away on business and going on vacation for a few weeks. I'll let you know when I install them.

One small suggestion. You need to include installation instructions. Yeah, I know that you can find them here, but should be included: http://www.motoiq.com/MagazineArticl...kidplates.aspx

[RickyBobby]

Back from vacation and FINALLY got a chance to install the skid plates. Installation took longer than I expected. I didn't run into any problems but lots of those plastic fasteners to take off, carefully. It's also a stretch putting on the end washers and nuts on the side pieces.

Thanks to MotoIQ for the illustrated installation instructions. http://www.motoiq.com/MagazineArticl...kidplates.aspx NO instructions came with the plates.

Pros: Made from HDPE. Installation is fairly easy. Comes with stainless steel screws and nylock nuts. Unlike a lip spoiler, the plates are barely visible from above.

Cons: IMO, the front plate for the FRS could have been made wider (see my pics). The front uses 4 of the existing screw holes that are bigger than the provided bolts. Even with the plate pushed forward there's still about ~1/2" of flat bumper left in front of the plate. Most of my damage has been to the first 1/2" of the bottom of the front bumper.
The sides of the bumper curve upward fairly quickly but not the front.
I believe this has been discussed before and hopefully the front plate will get hit before the bumper. I've also been a lot more careful of late.
The plates with shipping are a bit pricey. But what after market item isn't.

My driveway is steep so I was able to install the plates without jacking the car up.


The side plates fit perfectly. The bumper curves up sharply on the sides.


I pushed the plate towards the front as far as it would go and tightened it down. There's still ~1/2" of flat bumper left.


Plates not visible from front.


@mitch t
So do you think you can add a little width to the front FRS plate and come out with V2?

[mitch t]

@mitch t
So do you think you can add a little width to the front FRS plate and come out with V2?[/QUOTE]

Thanks for the review!!

To answer your question about the width of the center skid plate, we originally made prototypes that were wider as you are suggesting, but be learned that while the bumper appears flat, there is actually a very subtle upturn, about 1/2" from the leading edge of the bumper. On my car, that created a very small (like 1/8 to 3/16") gap between the bumper and the top surface of the plate. In testing, small rocks and dirt were getting caught in that small space, and damaging the paint as it got held there. We shortened the plate to the current shape, and that solved the problem.

Also that is a super steep driveway!

[mitch t]

@mitch t
So do you think you can add a little width to the front FRS plate and come out with V2?[/QUOTE]

Ricky,

we have a ton of time in the development of the FRS Skidplates, (my personal car is an FRS, and it was the very first ProTEKt product!) and we don't have any plans to revise it.

BTW, i know exactly what you are talking about, and the first prototype plates that i made for my car were wider, in an attempt to cover the area you are talking about. but if you look REALLY close, you can see that the bumper has a very slight kick up, (right were the current plate stops) and that created a gap that trapped rocks and debris between the plate and the bumper cover, so we shortened it a little to solve that issue.

Even still, since there is drilling needed to mount the plates, there is nothing stopping you from simply moving them to wherever you want, drilling the holes and bolting it up!