Anyone modified an aero front bumper?

[aeroT16]

Im sat looking at my standard aero front bumper and sketching ideas to open it up a little for a larger intercooler. Then I started looking at driving lamps, bla de bla, and the thought train was officially out of the station!!

Do we have any pics or contacts for any tasteful mods that I could look at? Do we know - and now we are thinking right out of the box!! - if any other bumpers could be fettled to fit?? Was thinking, early stages, of the impretza / evo style with an already open front?

How do our bumper skins attach? Is it a faff or a weekend of fettling and trial and error to get them on and off??

Why do I always seem to get distracted when the pressure at works peaks??!!

May get the sack tomorrow if I dontget some work done.....

[ylee coyote]

the aero bottom bit is as rigid as a wet noodle
I guess it was designed to be crash friendly
DFDS seaways had no trouble ripping it off...

you would have to start from scratch and do the chicken wire and plaster till you have the right look taking the reference points from the origonal
then make a mold then make a fiberglass/carbon fibre or whatever from this

(can you tell I have thought about it ) lots of work ...for a little gain

but one way is to add a subtle lip spoiler which would help the aerodynamics for that 200 mph run
might still do this myself...

good luck

ps

get back to work...

[MoreBoost]

this guy just joined saab link, he has a modified from end as well as some side skirts, looks good, he hasnt posted more pictures of the front but ill link you to his welcome page

http://saablink.net/forum/showthread.php?t=33992

[Norman Lovie]

I,ve done the centre front additional vent ( where the No. plate was) and therefore side mounted the no. plate to the drivers side

Next will be an air inlet to the passenger side wing cavity, the main bumper beam has a nice tapered end giving a clean access into the wing area

Black mesh laid inside the plastic, I used some spare windscreen bond to glue it on ( the agitator helps prep the plastic - it sticks)

The foam bumper insert is handy to use to shape the vent profiles you want

I,ll fwd a photo

[MTAERO]

I removed the recessed area behind the license plate and put in a wire mesh, I also drilled 2" holes in the aluminum bumper support and opened the foam to let air through.

I do have some pictures soon. It looks great.

[Norman Lovie]

Originally Posted by MTAERO

I removed the recessed area behind the license plate and put in a wire mesh, I also drilled 2" holes in the aluminum bumper support and opened the foam to let air through.

I do have some pictures soon. It looks great.

I couldn,t find a big enough drill bit so I just cut out a big window, then I cut out the inner cross member across the front of the IC and welded in a box section, when you re fit the bumper beam the box section slips inside the slot I cut out of the beam

[aeroT16]

Oh come on!! Give a bloke a break.... photos photos PHOTOS!!!!!!!

strangely enough, having sat and doodled designs and ideas galore, you find yourself going back to the car and appreciating better the original look...

But, I was down to the idea of playing around with the lower lip and so on. But as ylee says, an awful lot of work for ........?? May find a spare bumper and just play with the idea a while....

Would love to see any pics tho

[MTAERO]

OK here's a photo of mine, You can't see the intercooler but it is a NPR (isuzu deisel truck) unit that is about two inches taller than the 9k unit and 2" thick. About three to four times the flow as stock and 1.5 times better than the 23x12x3 inch one that I pulled out. No ac of course although one could get the condensor back inthere if wanted now.

[John Z Williams]

So, that goes right through to the ic? That is a good idea to get the ic and radiator air flow up. I did notice Mtaero's car had the lowest iat's I have ever seen this year. Given we were in Montana and it was 40f and rainy, but the iat's were very low and this seemed to help the car hold boost very well, I don't think the ecu ever tried to pull any boost out....

John

[Norman Lovie]

I can,t post pics but if you pass on your e-mail - pm i,ll fwd photo,s
For sure my IC is efficient, and judging by the additional muck that finds it way into the engine bay, there is definatly a lot more flow going on, and if you see the block the inner cross member creates it makes good sense
In addition, building the box section which slides inside the bumper beam, and then you shape the bumper foam, you create a bit of a venturi that directs the air from the bumper front (HP region) direct onto the face of the IC

I,m sure the same idea would be nice by doing the same type of mod. into the inner wing for the airbox, next time your in there look fwd at the tapered end of the beam and you,ll see - you can create a nice big window on the outside and shape the foam to direct it to the corner, a bit better than popping the fog light, higher up and away from road water ingress, and again the front of the bumper is a HP area - cost = nothing, negative = nothing hayho