DavyZ Posted July 17, 2001 Share Posted July 17, 2001 I recall a guy (no names) saying that he would never use a urethane airdam on his primo Z because they bend and get all distorted at speed. Now, on the surface this sounds like it could have some merit--but is it true? How fast do you really have to be going before that urethane sucker goes wacko? 140 mph? The guy currently runs a fiberglass airdam which shows signs of "driveway interference" and is a little bit cracked near the bottom. I know fiberglass is more rigid and I would consider using it--if there was a very compelling reason to do so--anyone have an opinion??? DavyZ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Anonymous Posted July 17, 2001 Share Posted July 17, 2001 My .02$ go urethane the amount of pot holes/speed bump/road trash that a daily driver will see will more than pay for cracks chips in the fiberglass flexing.. you could put tubing behind the urethane to stop the flex. Hot rod had an article on high speed 1/4 mile deformities.I think there was a mustang with fiberglass that was flexing I installed a few bumper covers for trucks both in urethane and fiberglass the fiber glass always looked like hello after a few months the urethane would last for years both would still need paint at least the urethane didn't need any bondo/repair my .02 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pparaska Posted July 17, 2001 Share Posted July 17, 2001 I agree - Urethane (short for polyurethane). Funny you mention the aero deformity thing. I just bought a 4 foot length of 1.5"x1.5" AL angle, 1/8" thick to bolt every 6 inches or so underneath the top of the center section of my Xenon Urethane 240Z air dam, for just this reason. I plan on putting a center mount on it as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Owen Posted July 17, 2001 Share Posted July 17, 2001 So that's what that flapping sound is when I drive on the freeway... Owen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavyZ Posted July 17, 2001 Author Share Posted July 17, 2001 OK, for looks the polyurethane is key, because it holds up better by being flexible. Although there is a deformity issue at speed--otherwise you would not be installing aluminum bracing, correct Pete? Aluminum bracing would be ideal because of the light weight and good strength. I'll look into that when the time comes. I've thought about a chin splitter made of CF, but it would not extend too far back underneath the car--this would unfortunately take the brunt of impact and screw everything up if it was ripped off by hitting some small object or driveway, etc. Thanks for the replies--always good to get another opinion! Davy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pparaska Posted July 17, 2001 Share Posted July 17, 2001 Yeah, I've had people tell me that the thing was getting pushed down at highway speeds. The neat thing about the Urethane one is that it can take some beating (I've busted one hitting a tire retread at speed though). One night I somehow left the car out of gear and no parking brake on. Luckily the car rolled forward into the curb in the lot and not backward into the lot and hit another car Anyway I saw it on the way to school that morning (that is a clue this was a long time ago ) and it was bent WAY back under the car. It recovered some initially, but but the end of the day crept back to original form. A fiber glass one would have been in shards. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Anonymous Posted July 17, 2001 Share Posted July 17, 2001 If a fiberglass one hadn't come on the car, I would have bought urethane as well. My glass one (until I lower the car again) just misses the parking barriers, but right after I put in the V8 and before I put in the spring spacers (sacked springs) it hit ALL of the barriers. The Z with its long nose is hard (unless you've driven it for quite a while) to estimate the front of the car to me, so its "I wonder if thats close enough, nah I can go a little more" "SCCCCRRRAAAAPPPPEEE" Regards, Lone Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fl327 Posted July 17, 2001 Share Posted July 17, 2001 i think urethane is the way to go with all body kits, especially if you drive it hard, ive bottomed my spoiler out about a hundred times, only blemishes being big scratches on the bottom and a scratch where the lower grill attachemnt hits it when i go down hard, one thing with fiberglass though, it holds its shape better than the urethane, which after a while starts looking fat and saggy. thats one of the main reasons im taking mine off and going back to the stock front end, i only exceed 100mph a 1/4 mile at a time also i checked out owens japanese fairlady sites and saw a lot of great stock front z's with zgs and big tires that make the ones with front spoilers look fat and retarded. one trick i did learn to make a saggy urethane spoiler and make it look tight again is to mount it on the OUTSIDE versus lipping it behind the remains of the front valance, the front bumper mounts reinforce the positioning of the spoiler, and make it less likely to get that saggy nasty look because the front bumper acts to keep the ends where it meets the body very straight and tough. you would need to drill holes to match up some of the bumper mounting holes, but with urethane thats easy and takes about two minutes, learned this when i did the front end on a customers car and put it on this way, and it ended up looking better that way-but i put it back because he had no front bumper and it looks nasty if you dont. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest MM_280Z Posted July 18, 2001 Share Posted July 18, 2001 Has anyone considered using some of that expandable foam to help urethane parts maintain their shape? Probably not enough by itself but a ribbed metal structure (like an airplane wing) with the voids filled with expandable foam should do quite well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BLKMGK Posted July 18, 2001 Share Posted July 18, 2001 I've got a glass spoiler on my car but it's actually turned out to be somewhat flexible the few times I've bumped it with a jack. Maybe it's urethane after all? Anyway, I've still got a Xeon urethane unit in my back room gathering dust. Brand new from MSA bought for a different car. Rear spoiler too which I'm pretty sure I won't be using. Just not sure what I want in the way of a rear spoiler for this car if anything.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Anonymous Posted July 18, 2001 Share Posted July 18, 2001 I have noticed that the eurothane spoilers tend to warp if they are left outside in the sun a lot, my old 260 had one and it looked like a 2x4 that had been soaked and left to dry in the sun. You can't beat them for durability though, my only gripe is they never seem to hold paint very well even when using an elaticiser in the paint for use on plastic parts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Anonymous Posted July 19, 2001 Share Posted July 19, 2001 To paint urethane parts, use a urethane paint and no primer. The Urethane paint will bond to the urethane part. I had a Z for 10 years with the air dam painted like this and it held up very well. Mark Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BLKMGK Posted July 19, 2001 Share Posted July 19, 2001 I "rotate" the position that my spolier is sitting in from time to time in order to maske sure it doesn't warp. Until it gets put on a car I want to keep it in as good a shape as possible. I found out real quick that leaving it standing on end was a bad idea... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavyZ Posted July 19, 2001 Author Share Posted July 19, 2001 Good tip, Mark. My urethane spoiler was scratched as all get out underneath, but the front part held the paint well for years--must have been the urethane paint. BLKMGK: maybe I'll hit you up for the spoiler before the year is out! Davy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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