OK, I was wondering if there are any reports/experiences with cones damaging aero work like the APR CF splitter and rear diffuser.

I know the key is to not hit cones, but sometimes you have to to know you were too close to them, right?

The APR front splitter is heavy and beefy except for the rod ends, but the rear diffuser seems more flimsy - I had it come in cracked and damaged in shipping already...

On a road-course, less likely to hit something, so I am not concerned as much, but auto-x worries me a bit more.

Thanks!

 

You should hopefully not have to worry about hitting cones with the rear diffuser. As for the front splitter, i'd just take it off prior to the auto-x event. Most are not too hard to remove.

 

I auto cross my car all the time(twice a month) and I hit at least one cone every event.....the only thing I get is some of that black stuff from them but it comes right out. It hasnt scratched the paint at all

 

any regular autocrossers have an opinion on this? I am curious about the longevity of the splitter and opinions on cone hits on a beat rush undertray would also be helpful.

 

A banged up front end is one of the many hidden costs of autocross. If you do it enough, you will eventually break something.

 

 

thank you capt obvious.

after 4 years of autox'ing my evo, my undertray has seen better days. I have lost the corner pieces a couple of times now in the past few events, so I am very familar with the damage potential of hitting a cone at the top end of second gear. Now I see Vic Sias running a large splitter, and I see others with evos doing the same.

My question (along with the OP) is the duribility of a splitter after boffing a few cones.

There is no point in wasting the money if the splitter is going to break every season, is there? but if it lasts as long as my stock undertray, then its probably worth it.

 

chrisw- I will say the APR splitter is extremely heavy and hopefully heavy-duty. Its not a thin piece of carbon, thats for sure. but the adjustable rods are known to have issues. I also have the canards and afraid those may take an azz-whopping with a cone. I am almost think of getting a second front bumper to auto-x with. They have those c-west replicas on ebay...lol

 

why dont you just do like I do. I have hit cones at the top of second/bottom of third and I have the clear bra on the front of my X and I have not had any problems at all. Just a little bit of that black stuff frm the cones......and oh by the way i have the aero package

 

Best option here really other than a temp. car bra or not hitting the cones.

 

another option that i thought of was the carpenters tape....just throw a roll of it into your kit when you go to race and jut cover your front end with it. stuff is super easy to take off and it will protect your front end.(even though it will be kinda ugly unless you can find some to match your car.

 

I have looked at the APR splitter as well, and yeah, it's a heavy piece for sure. How is that mounted to the car? Are the mounting points durable enough to take a cone hit @ 60+mph?

as for the canards, I would subsitute some ABS plastic for the CF. I have seen people run with them, but like you I have questions about the longevity of the canards.

I don't care about the cone marks, I have plenty bug and tar remover generally works really well, but most of the time you can rub them off with your finger.

 

That is aluminum right? If so, it will destroy cones unless you are racing in 40*F weather and the cones are hard as rocks. . .

No probs!

I've whacked tons of cones with my splitter and the not-so-strong Voltex canards and have yet to crack anything. . .

One other tidbit of info to think about. With a fairly low splitter, you will punt cones out the the sides rather than have them stuff up under your car and melt to your exhaust.

 

Sorry, not trying to pick on you. Just wanted to add a couple more things. The APR splitter is flimsy. Have you ever held the thing in your hands. It's like a floppy d*ck . . . well, not THAT floppy. It's like a floppy carbon fiber d*ck . . .

If you hold it by one corner, the far corner will sag 6" or so. It will take a good strong hit on the edge of it (horizontally) with no problem, but vertically it is very flexy. (think of a pop can - try to press down on it from the top to crush it and it's very hard, but tip it on it's side and you can do it with your pinky) Now my DHP splitter, you can hold one corner of it and it will not bend more than 1mm. It's 3/4 inch thick compared to 1/4 for the APR, but weighs about the same . . .

As far as canards, it's all about the mounting. I have the Voltex urethane canards that have about 10 screws holding each one in from the back side. If you have a canard that is glued on with super glue or uses 2-3 pop rivets, you will probaby rip them off with the first 60mph cone impact. . .

 

thanks! this is exactly the kind of info I was looking for. A little more graphic detail than I was looking for, but its still some great feedback.