Need some help, splitter torn off.

kevinyvng

Hey guys, I recently purchased an APR front splitter for my 16' Nismo, and the installation result looked great. The problem is, around 30 minutes after installation, the splitter torn off from my front bumper and basically fell on the free way. Note it was pouring rain in SoCal these couple days, and I basically didn't even realize it until I got home.

Knowing the weather was terrible, I drove on average 60~70 mph on the freeway. Was the installation bad? Or did the windy weather just caused too much down force. I know most of y'all would just install it by someone professionally, or take it to a shop. But my friend and I thought it would just be a simple job in the garage with some drilling and bolting by following that instruction guide they gave.

I have already contacted EvasiveMotorSports for help, but they don't seem like they want anything to do with my situation besides pushing me to buy another splitter with a discounted rate :~(.

TL DR: I should get flamed for being a poser but can I get some tips and advice if I do get another splitter in the future? Would I be able to chassis mount onto the front with the damaged bumper by drilling new holes?

*I also did test drive / test pull to see how the splitter will hold up before I head back home as well.. and everything was just fine.

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JC-Nismo

Sorry to hear that man, that sucks. How many bolts did you have in total? I have a front splitter on mine and I have 20 bolts that hold it together, with the first 10 towards the front of the splitter and the other 10 at the rear of the splitter, parallel to the first set of 10. Hell yeah man, if your pockets can stand it, get another one and add a bolt every 6 inches and make two rows, no blueprint to it, but that's how it did mine.

kevinyvng

It came with 12 bolts from the package, and I basically put a put a bolt on where the rivets used to be (12). Can't see any installation error, but I'm really looking forward to get another set of splitter

Over_ReV

When I've seen that splitter mounted on a new nismo bumper in the past I dont recall seeing that large of a gap between the bottom of the bumper and the splitter. 12 bolts should be enough to hold it at 70mph if mounted correctly, I have around that holding my splitter on and its been fine at 100+.

Trips

Looks like you low sided in the rain and could not hear the splitter getting damaged or while pulling up to a parking space at that point the splitter had no choice but to give.

You may want to just be extra careful or raise the car a little if your dropped already.

Go out and buy yourself another one and for God's Sake be more careful.

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OptionZero

I agree - that gap seems much bigger than other installations of the same splitter i've seen

cooltoy

It seams to stick out further then what others have done.

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cooltoy

And looks like OP attached the arms too low. If I had to guess, installing the arms too low pointed the splitter down, causing the water to grab it.

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cooltoy

Here are some other shots of a higher mounting point.

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JARblue

way too low for those arms.

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kevinyvng

Comparing side to side now I shouldn't have aligned the end of the bumper to the end of the splitter, and I can clearly see the gap I had as well

Should have done my research before rushing to install these splitters.

Thanks all for the pics and advice, I will be extra careful on the next installation.

Hotrodz

Jar and cooltoy nailed it. I have gone through my fair share of splitters and the last was due to too much down force on deceleration. With your splitter point down like it was you were bound for trouble. Get a level and make sure it is. You don't want it pointing up either as that will cause lift which can be disastrous at high speeds.

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ZoomZ

Honestly, when I saw the OP pictures, I was going to say "what a terrible set-up". In essence, the kit manufacturer, has built a water/air-scoop.

Having read other posts, I can see that it was installation error.

Sorry for your loss, but lessons learned. It wouldn't hurt to add a few more bolts. Personally, I would use Nut and bolt combination IF ABLE, instead of just threading into plastic clip-nuts or plastic threads.

Have a look under the car and make sure the departing splitter didn't hurt anything else.

josemartinrea

Does his splitter come with mounting holes or do you have to make your own? Does this go far back enough to mount to the existing bolts that hold the engine splash guard near the oil pan?

Also, does this REPLACE the splash shield?

Nope

I recently bought street aero splitters. Does not come with its own mounting holes. It doesn't replace the splash shield, I will be installing my under the splash shield. It's going to make a oil changes a bit more annoying.