DIY-Installing JDM Underpanels-FRS/BRZ
 

So, you participated in a GB that your local community put together. You waited 2-5 weeks for the panels to be delivered from Japan. You paid a small, and unexpected duty/fee. Now you have 2 big and 2 medium sized under-panels, a handful of screws, nuts and clips. What now? There's no instructions! Read on!

Things you'll need:
10mm socket
12mm socket
Flathead screwdriver
Box cutter/exacto knife
Body clip panel remover
Pliers(if you don't have body panel clip remover)

This is a pretty easy install, but from browsing through the various GB threads, it seemed many people would just like some photos of the install. Note: The silver/aluminum skid plate DOES NOT GET TOUCHED during this install. I mean, go ahead and touch it if you want, but its not necessary for the install of these panels.

Start off by jacking up the car. You might be able to do it without raising it, but it would be a massive PITA. I chose to get the car as high off the ground as I could, while still being safe. The boxes you see the rear tires on are solid wood fyi.
When using jack stands, be careful of placement, as one of my jack stands was blocking a clip that I had to pop out. Nothing major, but an inconvenience that you can hopefully avoid.

There is NO particular panel you need to install first. Start with the larger panels, OR the smaller gas tank panels-your choice.

Included in your parts to install are:
Large black clips(red arrow)
Small black clips(green arrow)
nuts(orange arrow)
screws/bolts(gray arrow)
Note: Items in picture below are NOT to scale.
http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c1...ps07c3fa73.jpg

http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c1...pse3da9484.jpg

I personally started with the smaller/rear gas tank covers/panels.

Start off by removing bolt(s) and plastic clip on passenger side securing plate to the tank. It is outlined in Yellow. Solicite help from gf/wife/buddy/dog. Well, maybe not dog, as he was not much help during the install.
http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c1...psbef94888.jpg
http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c1...ps43dc179f.jpg

Next, take the new panel, and prepare to install. The panels are marked "LH" and "RH" so you know which spot/side they go on.
http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c1...ps91d0e4d0.jpg

The rear panels each require (2) nuts, and (2) large black clips. The nuts go on the areas marked by orange, and the large black clips go into the areas marked red. I did not take a photo of both panels, but they are nearly identical.
http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c1...ps3148f11b.jpg

Now, onto the drivers side. There is no panel to remove on the driver rear, but there is a small rubber grommet that needs to be removed. On my car, it had "10" on it. See photo, with lime green arrow pointing to rubber grommet.
http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c1...ps25ab216e.jpg

Now, onto the larger panels. Start off by using your flathead screw driver to pry the black plastic clips off that hold on the factory panel.
http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c1...psd0c0b08f.jpg

Comparison of old panel vs new.
http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c1...psc8928b53.jpg

Now, starting with the passenger side, remove (3) bolts from the existing black panel. If you hold up the passenger side under-body piece, you will see which holes overlap. They are indicated as purple stars in photos.
http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c1...ps1c7328b3.jpg

The next step, is probably the hardest part of this install. There are (4) plastic clips on each side of the car that need to be removed. However, they were installed prior to the underbody being sprayed with a protective layer of paint/foam/gel/whatever, so they require some "convincing" to remove. Located right on the otherside of the jacking points of the car. Seen as green in photos below.
http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c1...ps3d380b13.jpg

I used a box cutter to slice the material around the plug, and then used pliers to pull it out. Other members have suggested pulling the plug on the sides until you can see the "wings" on the clips, and pressing on it with a small object to "unlock" the clip from the hole, making it easier to remove. I chose the banshee method of pulling, twisting and cursing.
*Note: Since there is now the body/frame exposed to the elements, you can choose to spray some paint on the metal parts exposed if you live in wet/salty areas to try and prevent future issues. If you choose to paint these areas, it is under the car, under the panels so no one would ever see/know. But ultimately it is up to you. I did not paint the exposed metal. There are (4) on each side you need to remove.
http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c1...ps8d0b9a36.jpg
http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c1...psfe2cade3.jpg

Once those are removed, you can install your panel. Starting with the front first, place the new under-body panel on top of the black transmission cover. So, it would be body, JDM under-body panel then the transmission cover. There are (3) total points/bolts that are shared by the two covers. Once again, they are indicated by purple stars in the photos.
http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c1...ps950799ae.jpg

After that, install screws into areas marked by gray arrows, and small black clips into areas marked by green arrows.
Passenger side:
http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c1...ps1c7328b3.jpg

Repeat for the drivers side as well.
http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c1...ps950799ae.jpg

Congrats, you've just installed JDM under-body panels that we didnt get from the factory!
http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c1...ps303abd86.jpg

Good write up!

The pic of you under the car with the dog is adorable.

Haha, he kept bringing in tennis balls that squeak, and dropping it near us to play. At first he wasn't too sure about going under the car, but once I went under he came under as well and started sniffing the undercarriage.

Wow how much did this cost you guys? it looks great.

It depends on when you do it(its ordered from Japan, so there's currency rates to check) and how many people are in the group buy! But you should expect to pay between $240-$300

Shipping is expensive, so the group buy is really to split that up amongst 4 or more people.

Also, there's plenty of pictures of our car without these panels, but ill throw up a before shot in the beginning.

Thank you for the great write up! If you don't mind me asking, in your last picture, where did you place the jack to lift the car through the middle? Also, what was the process of carefully sliding the blocks under those wheels? Instead of blocks, can we also use another set of jack stands?

Use this cheap tool to make it a 15 minute job.
http://www.autozone.com/autozone/acc...questid=357918

I used a flat tipped screwdriver to help the tool slide under the clips. The clips pops right off. Little to no damage to paint.

The Jack in the middle is/was supported by the beam right after the differential. I'm not sure how much weight its actually supposed to hold, but I had the jack there as a 3rd safety net lol.

As far as the blocks go, I used two jacks on either side of the car to lift the front/back up at the same time. It requires two people, or one person jacking up each side a little bit and running over to the other side.
You may use another set of jack stands as well, of course.

Note: Using the crates/blocks are semi dangerous, as the car could theoretically roll off if you weren't careful. Before my next use of the blocks, I will be making "stoppers" on each side to prevent that from happening. I would highly suggest jack stands/proper car lift ramps.

great DIY. impressed.
girl works on car, SEXY.

Nothing turns me on more than a lady who can put the wrench on her car. Sorry for being creepy.

Off topic but what is holding up the rear tires? It looks like wooden boxes.

they are lol. They were some sort of wine/food shipping box, but I cut up some 2x4's and put them on the inside, so the box is now a solid piece of wood and wont collapse/crush.

uggh.. I'm a sucker for aero mods. It was painful to pay $120 in shipping but JDM aero factory panels are sexy!