After all of the bad weather today in S. Fla, my once clean, Zaino shined, Velocity Red 8 looks like cr@#. I found pics of one just like mine with the guards on it and it looked great. I bought them from Rosenthal, but intend to install them myself. Has anyone done it? I cannot fathom drilling into my baby!

 

it's easy enough to put them on yourself...No drilling at all. There are existing holes in the wheel well already to line them up. The only thing you need to do is cut a plastic rock guard on the bottom of the car (GTs only). There is also an adhesive tape to stick them to the body tight.
Just do it yourself and save yourself some cash

 

Thanks, sounds easy enough. Do the instructions tell you how to cut that guard properly?

 

Yes and no. You should eyeball and measure it yourself. If you go by their 3/4" it will be slightly to short. I used some heavy duty snips to cut mine. Take your time and it will be easy to figure out.

You can see in this pic that my first side was cut just a bit too short, using the measurements in the instructions.

Oh yea, if you are planning on strakes, do them first!!

 

oops, here is the pic.

 

Good pic. Now I see what needs to be cut.

I want strakes, but will have to wait for some more cash flow. So much to do, so little I can do without getting a hard time from the wife!

 

I highly recommend that you wait and do the strakes BEFORE the mud guards. You have to use some double face tape with the guards and it would be a bitch to get them off to do the strakes.

PS, its only money

 

I guess from this post that you install the strakes by going into the wheel well and the guards prevent you from doing that?

By the way, I have some bolt cutters, but do not have good snips. Will they do the cutting job?

Is there any other way to install the strakes without removing the splash guards? So much rain here in Fla!

 

Also, from the pic, it looks like you do not have clear corners. I have them on the way also. I think they look much better than the amber ones from the factory.

 

I have the clear corners but have not installed them yet. Bolt cutters may work, the molding is about 3/8" thick and pretty tough stuff, even a small hack saw would cut it ok. I could not get the clip out so I did it in place and the snips worked best.

Good luck

 

Sea Ray and I have discussed this before, LOL, regarding the cutting of the molding. We both found that it was a pain in the a$$ to get off so we both cut the molding with it in place. I don't own cutters strong enough to cut through that molding so I used my Swiss Army knife to cut mine. Went off like a charm.

Sea Ray and I also did one side considerably better than the other. As with all mods the first side is always more time consuming and more difficult than the second side.

Again, do NOT install the front mud guards until you have installed your strakes!! I came very close to making that mistake. You're right that you do have to go in through the wheel well to install the strakes. I actually put the the front mud guards in place with the plastic screws, that come with the kit, until my strakes came in. Then put them on for good by peeling off the double sided tape. Good luck with your new mods

 

I installed the Front guards this past week... the only tricky part is cutting the rubber part on the sides... everything else is pretty simple. One thing to note is don't pull the entire sticky thing off and then placing it on the car... just peel a part of it sticking out, align the piece, screw it in, and when you think it's the right fit, pull the sticker tab out... bamn, tight snug fit.

 

I did the same as Sea Ray, went by their measurements in the instructions. I've got that same gap on the same side. The other side dosn't have that large of gap. I kept the extra and am planning on cuting it to length and gluing it up there somehow after it gets warmer. Probably use a contact cement like the stuff you lay down carpet with. That stuff is water proof. I'm still waiting for the rear splash guards and door edge guards.

 

Looks great all. I just did mine last night ( titanium grey) it was fairly easy about 45 min total. I want the strakes and I wish I knew about the splash removal before installing the front splash guards but I think its flexible enough to remove the clips and bend out of the way for the strake install. if I have to, I'll do it again though. It makes the car look complete with the aero kit. I bought mine from Rosenthal as well,$80.00 including shipping and in perfect conditon. it took a while to deliver because of the ice storm they had but it beats paying $100.00 the dealer wanted not including install labor!overall I'm happy with Rosenthal and I won't hesitate to buy anything else from them, I wish they had a better deal on the strakes though. I'm too cheap to buy the front and rear bumper chrome rotary accent. Do you think it would be RICE to paint this with a good quality chrome paint?

 

JimW - There is a thread out there which goes over the process of painting the front and rear rotary symbols. Check it out to see what you think.

I would probably buy mine but if you're on a budget, You've gotta do what you've gotta do.

 

JimW,

Let me know how it goes installing strakes after the guards. My guards should be here tomorrow, and I want to put them on?

 

Thanks! I'll look it up, but i'll probably save up, nothing beats real chrome!

 

Will do! but it's going to be a while.

 

They are installed and look great. The forum was a big help on how to cut the rock guards. A bit of caution on strakes, though. The instructions are wrong on which holes to use. The template helps you figure ot the correct ones, though, and the results are awesome. Take a look.

 

Very sharp. Nice combination if I may say so, and the color, you couldn't have picked a better choice! Very nice, rx8gator.

If I come into any extra cash, the strakes are on my list.

About the posts that say DO NOT put the splash guards on first...
When I got the rear guards, I now have extra plugs with the snaps so when it comes time to do the strakes, I have the replacement snap plugs on hand. The only part that may be a hassle is the adhesive strips that have to be removed. There are products out there that can repleace these strips, you just have to get creative an look.

 

I waited because I knew I wanted the strakes soon. I got them sooner that I expected to because I wanted to finish the look. It would not be too difficult to remove the guards if you wanted to ( replacing the double sided tape) and even may be possible to install the strakes without removing the guards. You might need someone with small hands, though!

Thanks for the compliment.

 

I agree that is a great color

Nice job RX8gator

 

looks good gator,

sea ray call my cell or check the p/m i sent

 

i don't see the pics anymore, does somebody have the pic from post#5?

 

Here you go... this should fix it.