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2G Eclipse Carbon Fiber Bumper Shutters

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gofer

Moderator
8,152
1,441
Feb 18, 2006
South Gilbert, Arizona
Trying to squeeze every last mph out of my setup on the back end of the track with my current setup I decided to take a step further into aero mods and make some bumper shutters. I wanted to do something that fit the lines of the 2gb bumper and was real 100% carbon fiber, not a vinyl, that could withstand daily driving duties and high speed (130mph+) head winds. I also wanted to make them removable and not mount them with rivets or the 3M adhesive that might break down with heat or potentially rip the 18yr old paint off my bumper if I need to remove them.

With those things in mind, here's what I came up with...

I used real 2x2 satin finish carbon fiber sheets and contoured them to match the side vent and FMIC opening, which makes them look a little less "slapped on". I also found some well nuts that press into the bumper and secure the shutter with low profile allen head bolts, keeping the shutters easily removable.

Now it's time to put them to the test and see if I can't get another 2 or 3mph at the top of the track!


Well nuts installed with the CF shutter removed.

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Shutter installed and secured with allen's threaded into the well nuts.

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Looks good. Hope you get the extra few mph your looking for
 
Awesome!

How did you install the well nuts? They seem to be highly identical to some "nutserts" I utilized on my Accord build.
 
Well nuts are basically rubber nutserts, so the install is similar. I just mic'd the O.D. of the well nut and drilled a hole that was the same diameter in the bumper and then pushed them in by hand. I think nutserts require a special tool to install them...

I didn't want to use metal nutserts on the urethane bumper since I needed something that could bend/flex with it and was afraid the metal nutserts would just loosen up and fall out over time.

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Just the diffuser that goes under the front of the car to the down pipe...

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I wasn't sure if the diffuser was really doing anything but it's definitely pulling down on the car driving 80mph. On my way to IFO last weekend another DSMer took a rolling shot of the front of my car with their phone and there was a pretty significant gap under the FMIC in the photo and when the car's parked it sits up on the bottom of the core 1/4". Time to figure out how to make the bumper more rigid to take that flex out of it...

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Well nuts are basically rubber nutserts, so the install is similar. I just mic'd the O.D. of the well nut and drilled a hole that was the same diameter in the bumper and then pushed them in by hand. I think nutserts require a special tool to install them...

I didn't want to use metal nutserts on the urethane bumper since I needed something that could bend/flex with it and was afraid the metal nutserts would just loosen up and fall out over time.

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Thanks for the informative post--those would have been great to use on urethane material.

You are correct; I had to purchase this tool for the nutserts:

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It does in fact make install a breeze:

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I ended up using finishing washers--basically the same concept as you:

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Are those the boostin performance aero block plates? Look like dry carbon correct? Look great though I'm assuming custom diffuser? Any pictures before installed on car(in regards to where/how you mounted under car)
 
Ive not made my front splitter yet but i did over the winter make my bracing to strengthen the underside more ready for it as i plan to go as far back as the front rear part of the subframe so needed something strong. It might be over kill and i might actually use more straight brackets and shorten them alot but for now its stiff as can be.
 

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Its actually steel, 1mm thick and its added a little weight but as i said ive over engineered it and i will alter it once i make my splitter and i will do aluminum and less of it. There really is zero movement haha i did go OTT with it all but for now it works well
 
Are those the boostin performance aero block plates? Look like dry carbon correct? Look great though I'm assuming custom diffuser? Any pictures before installed on car(in regards to where/how you mounted under car)
No, I actually wanted to take the easy way out and just purchase the BP shutters but once I found out they weren't real CF, just textured vinyl that looks like it, and that they come with 3M adhesive to mount them on the bumper I decided to fabricate my own.

That's why I posted this in the custom fabrication forum, these are Angry Gofer bumper shutters... LOL

I did lots of reading and sampled some materials and decided on 100% genuine CF sheet was the best bet for durability and I got it in a satin finish. Another reason I wanted it to be durable is because I plan on mounting a velocity stack in the passenger side shutter that will feed fresh air to the turbo.

Here's what the shutters looked like after I cut them out of the carbon fiber sheet.

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There's a picture of how I mounted the diffuser under the car in my post above, there's a tab welded to the cross member just behind the front roll stop. The diffuser uses the OE bolt hole locations that are already on the bottom of the bumper, the problem is supporting the downforce of it at speed on the front of the bumper which is the next step in the aero mods. I'll probably end up going with some steel wire to support the front of the diffuser, rather than going with the usual support rods that most tuners use.

Ive not made my front splitter yet but i did over the winter make my bracing to strengthen the underside more ready for it as i plan to go as far back as the front rear part of the subframe so needed something strong. It might be over kill and i might actually use more straight brackets and shorten them alot but for now its stiff as can be.
The problem with that is, from the reading of the 2g FSM tech manual Mitsu designed there to be a low pressure zone under the car to pull the hot air out of the engine bay. If you seal up the underside of the engine bay you may run into overheating issues, unless you've got some serious radiator ducting and a hood vent.

Of course it's all theory and book reading, you won't know until you actually get it out on the road and test it. Something to consider though when you're designing the diffuser.
 
That would be a hilarious mascot have a cartoon angry gofer driving a 2g with the CF bumper shutters on it LOL but seriously I'm surprised boostin would have such a cheap product. Are you making more?

At $145 for the 2g you would think it would be more then textured vinyl and 3M, I mean 3M has great products but I would seem to lean more towards threaded down bolts then adhesive, ecspecially when going 130mph+ but that's me I don't like to see a $145 investment go flying over my windshield and prolly being damaged LOL
 
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The problem with that is, from the reading of the 2g FSM tech manual Mitsu designed there to be a low pressure zone under the car to pull the hot air out of the engine bay. If you seal up the underside of the engine bay you may run into overheating issues, unless you've got some serious radiator ducting and a hood vent.

Of course it's all theory and book reading, you won't know until you actually get it out on the road and test it. Something to consider though when you're designing the diffuser.

Thats only them being picky as most manufacturers will try do that to a certain level but as soon as you alter anything in suspension it messes it up anyway so to be honest its not going to be the biggest issue if at all any. The rad at 30mph cools more then enough anyway so i do see the full splitter being an.issue at least not from the ones ive worked on other cars in the past so doubt it will be any different to ours! We just have the downside of 1 opening compared to others with a dedicated rad grille.
 
I think nutserts require a special tool to install them...

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I used them to install fairings on my honda cbr 600f4i a long tome ago some much easier than rigid plastic ones (think interior nylon plastic screw PITA things you also find in wheel wells). I only used an Allen wrench. on a clean (dust free) body, the rubber should be sticky/tight enough to provide enough resistance to tighten them. Good hardware for a temp/permanant type install.
 
Ive not made my front splitter yet but i did over the winter make my bracing to strengthen the underside more ready for it as i plan to go as far back as the front rear part of the subframe so needed something strong. It might be over kill and i might actually use more straight brackets and shorten them alot but for now its stiff as can be.

Do you have a picture of this bracing you made?
 
@gofer You'v done amazing work here and I want do something similar. I was wondering if you still had the template you used to cut out the carbon fiber shutters? Or have you ever made of a trace of your shutters?
Thanks, and yes I do still have the template. There was enough interest in them that I kept it and buy just enough material to make sets as people order them. They're a bit more expensive than other vendors shutters but these are a true CF piece with mounting hardware, not 3M backing, and can easily be removed/installed hundreds of times with no problems, and it also includes shipping.

2gb 100% Carbon Fiber Bumper Shutters
 
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