who else has a saggy stillen front lip?
 

so i had my stillen lip on my car for about 10 months and in the time frame the middle has sagged enough to look bad so last night i removed it and got some pics

its hard to see in this picture but u can see the lip starting to seperate from the body in the middle of the car (yes, i had it screwed on there.. in 2 spots). it wasn't terrible at this point, but it had steadily gotten worse over the last couple months. kinda started becoming noticeable

http://www.the370z.com/members/edub3...tillen-lip.jpg


heres a pic that kinda shows how far it was seperating. that bug collection on the tape shouldnt be there. if the lip stays straight and doesnt pull away from the bumper exposing the tape

http://www.the370z.com/members/edub3...er-removal.jpg


i know a couple people with this lip have had this problem, but i wanna know how broad of a problem this is exactly

Is the plastic deformed now or can you just put on new tape and reinstall it?

plastic deformed causing tape and screws to pull out. u can somewhat see the middle sagging in the first pic

If it is no longer in the same shape that it should be you can try to use a heat gun make it soft and then try to remold it? I do not know if it can be done but it would be worth a try. I would also try to redo the tape and maybe add two more screws in the middle.

That sucks...this is why I held off from purchasing one. I hope you find a fix of some kind.

LOL hey! I had just commented about this. I have seen this before. It looks like to me the lip causes a good amount of downforce over the nose of the car and its warping the urethane lip over time or the 3M tape is not capable of holding up to the stress levels. I would say the lip cannot be installed with just simple 3M tape and a few screws. I have twelve screws and nuts installed in mine with about 4 inch seperation between all screws and bolts.
Stillen's installation instructions are simple on paper but in order to really install the lip correctly and provide the lip with additional structural regidity, you MUST remove the front bumper and intall the lips with actual screws and nuts inside the bumper.

However, I believe Stillen offers a lifetime warranty for this part. Have you spoken to Stillen yet about his issue?

i have not. may give them a call in a sec. thanks for the tips tho

No problem OP. Let me know what they say... Keep me posted please.

will do. like i said, i know im not the only on with this issue. it seems to me the screws the provide in the mounting hardware is pretty inadequate

Yes it is. When I took it to a shop for installation they laughed. The so called "self tapping screws" are worthless. Stillen says this to sell the product as a "simple and quick" installation.
I ended up buying different hardware (nuts and bolts) and used a drill to actually drill the holes. My splitter has held up but I do see a little distortion in the middle of the frame but nowhere near your case.

mine started ever so slightly about 3 months ago and it just gets worse and worse.

its a shame cuz i really liked it

calling them in about 5 min

yah, that's a flimsy piece. can you use larger washers and maybe a metal bracket on the bottom to keep it straight?

possibly could try that. would be a little late on this piece as its already warped. maybe if i get another i can come up with some type of bracing or reinforcement

is it heat that's causing it? if so, can you place it on a flat surface and bake it in the sun or use a heat gun to re-shape it?

I personally dont think its the heat but I could be wrong. :tup: The piece is made out of urethane same material as our bumpers. I think it has to do with the wind downforce that's constantly pushing down on the front lip. Underneath middle portion of the splitter, it does not have much skeleton ridges to provide regidity. :tiphat:

yeah mines been getting worse over time.

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7253/7...94a749e2_b.jpg

My splitters been on for about 6 months now, no warping. The screws Stillen supplies are useless. How can you use self tapping screws into something thats only a few millimeters thick? I used nuts, bolts, and large fender washers(2 per bolt) about 6 inches apart from eachother. Drill pilot holes and install through the bottom of the bumper with the front jacked up. There is a channel underneath to fit the bolts and washers (no need to remove the bumper). First few times after install checking the oil I accidentally stepped on the lip a few times. It's rock solid with no warping when installed this way.

Sent from my SPH-D710 using Tapatalk 2

I talked to Ralph at Stillen about this last week because I was very interested in ordering one but not having seeing these post. I asked if Stillen had fixed this issue, he said he was unaware of any sagging of the splitter. I told him so search this forum and he could read up on it. Have any of you guys reported the issue? It's a nice addition to the Z but that saggy crap is a total FAIL to me.

get the ings+

I mounted mine in a similar fashion, no issues after 8 months.

Yup that's exactly how mine started

I love that from lip. But damn, $475 for a front lip??

I'm gonna try and take some gear to mine and straighten it out. If i can get it straight, i may try this method


Tbh, I'm really bummed about this. I loved the look if this lip

I think Ings+ was a little more if CF. I don't remember exactly how much I paid.

If you mount it securely you should have absolutely no problems. I used nuts, bolts and washers (except on the sides where it runs across the flat painted surface of the bumper cover because I wasn't going to put holes the front of the car in a visible area should I ever choose to remove the splitter) and I used truss head sheet metal screws (drill pilot holes!) to attach the very ends of of the splitter to the bumper cover flange in the wheel wells. Use black acrylic caulk (sparingly) to bridge/seal any gaps between the lip and the body work (makes it look more integrated and prevents dirt and bugs from getting in the joint) and you'll have a splitter/lip that is very secure and looks OEM quality. Just yesterday the service writer at the dealer commented on how much he liked the splitter.

edub - if you're looking for an ings rep, lmk. I have one for sale.

mine is also secured with nuts and bolts. didn't even bother using any of the screws stillen supplied. but the warping doesn't have anything to do with how well it's secured. im think its downforce as robones said or possibly heat.

link has been sent to stillen so this issue can be documented.

I have also had this issue. I track my car and so I have a very saggy middle section after only a couple months. Mine is secured with 3m tape and lots of nuts n bolts over the provided useless self tap screws, the lip isn't coming off bumper just the thin middle part is jut sagging, def due to high speeds and downforce it's trying to provide but I feel like its getting to a point where it's providing negative drag on the car. I believe this issue can be fixed with stabilizer struts like most race cars have for their splitters and APR offers for their splitters. I'm goin to try calling stillen tomorrow to get a replacement splitter and then buy and install stabilizer bars to see if it helps. I'd hate to have to go with a different splitter since this one is cheapest and best looking for stock front look. And it obviously seems to be giving a good amount of downforce.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

make sure to mention that the middle is sagging. or maybe wait and see what comes of this thread. i am currently still in contact with john at stillen and they are looking into the sagging lip issue. trying to get a replacement for mine as we speak

I have cut a piece of aluminium to go in the center section of my splitter that will act as a brace to straighten it out. Fortunatly I have braces to mount it to, don't know how you could mount it without drilling holes in the lip.

http://www.the370z.com/members/macsi...-ernge-010.jpg

^^^ That looks pretty good. I kind of like the braces.

There's actually a few guys around here that have had the splitter fly off at highway speeds.

Mine cracked after 8 months of normal driving granted that I lightly bumped into the curb while parking a couple of times.

Just went in the shop and looked at mine (not mounted yet). It would be pretty easy to pop an 18" piece of aluminum bar stock in there to support it and either glass it in or just epoxy it. Something thin just to give it some rigidity without adding much weight. And if you made it long enough to get back to where it starts to taper, I don't think it would be an issue. Heck, even something like a couple of 1/4" diameter fiberglass poles might work. Like you had on your bike flag growing up?

I am sure they only had the splitter installed with the darn self tapping screws. Is really not their fault either, they just went along with the instructions they were provided and trusted the vendor. :shakes head:

mine had like 15 extra screws in it. It was starting to sag too though. I once left it overnight with something under it to force it up for a long time and it helped. Might be something to look at for some of you guys.

Mine did that after a few months of driving. Oddly enough, after the first 2 got smashed to pieces, I painted it. The painted lip never did sag.

I had one attached with a ton of bolts and this is what happened...

http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f3...Z/a6d7795a.jpg

http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f3...Z/3afb5379.jpg

The parts that were bolted on stayed on... problem was that everything else broke off.

http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f3...Z/c2e0fbb5.jpg

You said it bro " parts that were bolted stayed on" :happydance:

I just recently installed the Stillen splitter on my car and it looks great. After reading this thread I am a bit concerned as well, and may question other products Stillen puts out... I am in the market for CBE or HFC. Was looking at Stillen, but may hold off depending on how they handle this issue...

i dont know about aero bits, but stillen's mechanical parts (suspension bits mainly) have been very good to me.

Any updates?