DIY custom lip experiment

[Chandon]

There's not many front lip options out there for the m sport bumpers that are a reasonable price, so I decided to make my own. It was initially just for a laugh, but it turned out quite good IMO.
What I used:
- AA Marine grade plywood (6mm thick)
- Jigsaw
- Primer filler for wood
- Gloss black spray paint
- Glossy clear coat
- Orbital sander

All was done for about $50 only using half of the materials needed with enough left to make a second one, meaning this lip only costed $25.
The plywood is strong and lightweight, and being marine grade it also doesn't rot. The primer filler smoothed out the grain in the wood so it looks smooth. Lip is secured with 12 self tapping screws.
Pictures are probably not in order because I'm using my phone.

[Gray_Panther]

That looks. Superb!! Thank you for sharing, makes me want to do the viciousgook mod for myself!

How does it hold up at higher speeds? 100+mph?

[Chandon]

Originally Posted by Gray_Panther

That looks. Superb!! Thank you for sharing, makes me want to do the viciousgook mod for myself!

How does it hold up at higher speeds? 100+mph?

I haven't really done a proper test, been up around 130-140km/h on the highway and it's had no issues.
Scrapes on a daily basis and holds up very well. Won't have to worry if it breaks either since it's so cheap to make

[Harlequin]

Looks great mate... Would be interested to see some up close pics.

[Pig Farmer]

Wow, if this is symmetrical and fits, you did the hard work. I would love to get a paper template. You may want to make a few before the thing gets chewed up on parking blocks, speed bumps, etc.

As for making it out of wood... You should look into getting a sheet of expanded PVC foam board. It's used a lot on boats. A 4'x8'x1/4" sheet is about $80, you can get it in an black (or any other color for that matter), it doesn't rot, and it's about 1/3 the weight of wood. You can cut and sand the edge just like wood. Expanded PVC foam board is not Starboard (which is also used extensively in the marine industry). Starboard is stronger, more expensive, but it is twice as heavy as wood. In addition, it it is not supported or thicker than 1/2", Starboard will bend under its own weight. Expanded PVC foam board is more ridged.

[ShocknAwe]

Ditto. I would love a paper template to make one out of ABS or PVC!

LOOKS GREAT!

[arcticcat522]

sweet

[Chandon]

Originally Posted by Pig Farmer

Wow, if this is symmetrical and fits, you did the hard work. I would love to get a paper template. You may want to make a few before the thing gets chewed up on parking blocks, speed bumps, etc.

As for making it out of wood... You should look into getting a sheet of expanded PVC foam board. It's used a lot on boats. A 4'x8'x1/4" sheet is about $80, you can get it in an black (or any other color for that matter), it doesn't rot, and it's about 1/3 the weight of wood. You can cut and sand the edge just like wood. Expanded PVC foam board is not Starboard (which is also used extensively in the marine industry). Starboard is stronger, more expensive, but it is twice as heavy as wood. In addition, it it is not supported or thicker than 1/2", Starboard will bend under its own weight. Expanded PVC foam board is more ridged.

I think we probably have different prices over here. I looked into all sorts of plastics and foams and most of them were over $200 in the size that I needed.
I was thinking maybe to fibreglass over the wood but didn't think it was necessary. The lip has been through heavy rain and still looks fine.

[Chandon]

Just seeing if anyone would be interested in templates or the actual lip itself.
A couple of guys on Instagram and Facebook have asked about it, but I'm just not too sure how I would price such an item.

The lip is still in perfect condition after about a month of daily scraping.

[chris82]

Great job.

[highbrowed]

so.. why wood as a material choice? not sure if I want wood on the exterior (let alone the interior) of my car..

[gap]

F1 cars have a wooden plank on the bottom for a skid plate when bottoming out.

[Andrewcoja]

Originally Posted by gap

F1 cars have a wooden plank on the bottom for a skid plate when bottoming out.

Not for long. They are switching to titanium.

[RW Carbon]

Not bad! It looks pretty nice DIY projects are always so much fun.

[dtla1]

Originally Posted by Andrewcoja

Not for long. They are switching to titanium.

Why not Delrin?

Akways seemed like a good choice for a skid plate to me, and very durable in terms of skidness fairly light too, and fairly cheap although cheap I guess isn't a concern in F1

[Andrewcoja]

Because titanium makes sparks or something. The only point of the thing is to make sure the cars aren't running so low that they scrape the entire underside of the car. You can only lose a millimeter or two of material from it.

[inFamousKicks]

A very admirable effort

[e36addict]

I don't care what it's made of, that looks nice. Thanks for sharing!

[Chandon]

Still there

[Gray_Panther]

Originally Posted by viciousgook

I haven't really done a proper test, been up around 130-140km/h on the highway and it's had no issues.
Scrapes on a daily basis and holds up very well. Won't have to worry if it breaks either since it's so cheap to make

Awesome to hear. Interested in a paper template myself.

[ShocknAwe]

Originally Posted by Gray_Panther

Awesome to hear. Interested in a paper template myself.

Same here.

[Joaco135]

Me 2