So, I got some aftermarket sideskirts today, and they’re all set to go on the car!
Painted, and ready to be drilled.
I got them second-hand for a great price, and I’m curious on exactly how to mount them. I will need to drill two holes both front and rear in the wheel well, to hold them on from the sides. But, there is nowhere in the middle to drill them/connect them to the car.
They tuck under the doors, right by the door sill, and sit there. The factory side skirts have 8 little plastic clips that connect it all along the car.
People on the mazda 6 forums are telling me that they’re just mounting them with 4 screws. Wouldnt that make them wobbly along the center?
Does anyone have any recommendations on exactly how to mount them, or what I can do along the middle? Do you HAVE to add foam between the side skirt and the body?
Thanks for the recommendations/ideas/help in advance
Jeff
try some 3M doubble sided tape. as simple as this sounds, thats what they use to hold on fender flaires and fake hood scoops. it was prob on there to birgin with but they guy who sold them too u prob jsut cleaned it off when he took them off of his car. i would try that first, if they fall off then my guess would be just drill some holes on the side skirts and get some self-tapping screws and go to town.
edit: im not sure what u mean by foam, but i kno there are some 2 sided tapes out there that have like a1/8" layer of foam rubber between the sticky, but the 3M stuff im refering too looks just like clear packing tape buy sticky on both sides.
Thats exactly what I’m talking about, that two sided 3M 1/8" foam stuff. I do know you need to screw it in on both fenders, just curious exactly what to do in the middle.
They have never been installed on a car. He had them trimmed, primed, and painted my car color. They fit fine, just need to mount em, and want to do it right!
im by no means, much of a body guy, but, the only reason i could see u needing the foam is to make it stop from vibrating or something. but the way i look at it is the foam is kinda cushy and gives easier and rips easier, so i would say go with the regular clear thin stuff so u have as close to plastic-on-metal contact as possible. and IMO, the non-foamed stuff sticks better. the only other reason i could see using the foam is if the kit was desinged for that extra 1/8" of clearance for the foam tape.
i would agree with the thin 3M application tape to hold on plastic body mouldings, stay away from the foam stuff foam holds moisture which holds salt, mud dirt right on your paint. 3M is the most expensive stuff out there. .but its for a reason Its the best.
if you dont wantto use self tapping screws, and you dont anticipate ever wanting to take them off, a great material to use IN SMALL AMOUNTS is windsheild urethane
if you think about it, windsheild urethane can stand up to you plowing a deer at 60mph with your car, the glass doesnt hold, butthe urethane sure does
just dont go ovrboard with it, only apply it in short sections, and use 2 sided tape in other sections so you can stick it in place immediatly and it dosnt move while the urethane dries … cause that would suck
or you can use a classy torx head screw on either end of the door jamb lip. the urethane will seal the drill holes quite well
if you use urethane, use it properly. and also don’t apply to a smooth painted surface, you may want to scuff up the section that it’s getting applied to. I’ve have a skirt pop off before after a few months because of that. But yes it does hold well. If they are staying on there.