So, outside of the other performance projects I have for this winter, I also need to do someting about my front end bumper cover. I have racing beat springs and koni yellows set a their highest mark on the front end for 25" of clearance from the fender to the ground (best for AutoX and tire camber fromwhat I have read. Previous owner knew what he was doing). The problem is that the front end was "curbed" once by the previous owner and it has slightly bent and cracked the bottom part of the R1 chin spoiler and the thick plastic lip.


I want to replace the entire front end, but I want to know how much clearance I will gain back from getting a 99 JSPEC front or something like the Arios FRP front end. Is there a general rule of thump aftermarket kit makers follow to provide ample clearace so the the frontend doesn't get destoyed by a simple freeway flex in the road?

I want to do this once, since the 99 signals and front end will cost close to $700 together and I would hate to find one frontend hangs too far down and have to replace springs.

 

The stock 93-95 US bumper offers the most ground clearance. Any other bumper will sit lower (even the 99 but only by a little bit from my measurements). Adding the 99 spec lip will also decrease ground clearance but at least that thing flexes and hides scuffs reasonably well.

Most of the aftermarket kits are made for looks and some very few with performance in mind. Most will get ripped up over time and street use. I've never seen one w/o scrapes and broken fiberglass unless it was new or rarely driven on the street.

The 93-95 bumper works very well for me for street and HPDE use.

 

A whole lot cheaper to buy repalcement R1/R2 lips if that is the only concern. I keep at least one spare set on hand at all times. I actually switched over to the '99 lip about 4 years back, minor fit up problems but I was doing a clossed highway speed run and needed to improve stability for an extended run at over 150 mph .. never went back to the older stype lip and then switched to the '99 front end.

If you want ground clearance use 93-95 standard lip. Want aero '99 Lip. Want balnace between both use R1/R2 lip

 

So it sounds like I should do the '99 frontend (and the tail lights while I am at it eh?) along with the 99 Lip. Does Carbon Fiber give the same flex/durability as the softer R1/R2 lips? I assume the R1/R2 will fit up on the 99?


Thanks for the help.

 

nope

 

CF does not offer flexibility

Not that I have tried this reserve but I do believe fitting a '99 lip to a '93-95 bumper will be harder than an R1/R2 lip to an '99 bumper.

The two lips have a differing curvature in top view plan. older lip and bumper has more curve back towards the wheels. Old lip on new bumper may not have any meat to line up with bumper.