[nomorem3]

Hey,

Just wanted to see if anyone had any pics of an STi w/ the Chargespeed Lip Kit I guess you would call it. The carbon fiber add on front lip, sideskirts, and rear spats. I'm really only interested in how well the sides & rear spats look because i'll be mixing them with my Seibon GD CF Front Lip (Mostly painted body color (black), just the canards and lower portion will be left with the CF exposed) & HKS Kansai CF Rear Diffuser.

Here are some pics off of Gruppe-S's website...

Rear Spats:



Sideskirts:



Not much of a ricey CF freak like a lot of people are out there, but I just think that it's a nice compliment to a black car, and it will tie in the front CF lip & rear HKS CF diffuser nicely.

One aspect of the WRX/STi's exterior that I am now concerned with, because of an aerodynamic comparison that I just read of the new STI & Evo9, is the car's poor aerodynamics. Of the two, Evo & STI, the STI was the only one that had actual DOWNFORCE (rear only). But both suffered horribly from front lift, side drag/turbulence, rear turbulence, and in the case of the Evo - Rear Lift.

I don't want to purchase something that you would think would help IMPROVE the cars aerodynamics, and end up with more drag than I started out with. Does ANYONE know if these things are actually FUNCTIONAL? Aerodynamically functional, in the sense that they would help reduce side/rear drag and/or turbulence. I would think that a respectable company such as Chargespeed would put some research into the functionality (aerodynamicly speaking) aspect of exterior body parts.

One reason for my concern about something so strange as aerodynamics, is the fact that our cars are bricks in terms of aerodynamics, the Evo9 & 06+ STI have a 0.383cd (drag coefficient) for cryin out loud?! That...SUCKS...So the few things to help aid in that dept., such as the front plastic undertray, low turbulence zone in the central portion of the underbody, roof vane spoiler (06+), dual pane trunk mounted spoiler, and rear diffuser (06+) that we do have still yeild a 0.383cd!!

That's the reason I am so interested in functional exterior products. The less drag you have, the better fuel efficiency and less power that is required to reach a certain speed and as a result, a higher top-speed can also be acheived without the need for extra HP. As a result of no-lift or downforce, you aqcuire better handling & traction which results in increased performance and safety.

Anything that I can do to make my car more efficient, imma do!! Gas is too damn expensive these days to just let it go to waste!! haha.

Wellp...I think i've written enough for one week. I look forward to ya'llz input...

Lata,

Johnny

[Steel06STI]

I think those are tasteful integrations of CF IMO.
As far as gas is concerned, for the amount paid for the spats and skirts, you would probably break even in about 15 years!!!!

[lovesmysuby]

I wouldn't consider carbon fiber ricey, more Italian. If you want to see a full pic check chargespeeds website, that kit is called "Generations" I think. Oh yeah, If you are looking to save money for gas then gut your car. The amount of weight loss should help out a little bit.

[speedsnice]

I have seen the parts in person installed on a Black STi and they look great.

[ChrisKwan]

I love the look personaly..... but what i really want to know if you can use the rear lips with the rear spats???

[609Audio]

Originally Posted by ChrisKwan

I love the look personaly..... but what i really want to know if you can use the rear lips with the rear spats???

HIGHLY doubt it. But I am not to sure.. But I dont think so.

[nomorem3]

Originally Posted by lovesmysuby

I wouldn't consider carbon fiber ricey, more Italian. If you want to see a full pic check chargespeeds website, that kit is called "Generations" I think. Oh yeah, If you are looking to save money for gas then gut your car. The amount of weight loss should help out a little bit.

DONE - haha. I've already removed trunk lining, spare, IC water spray system, rear seats & braces, hood lining, windshield washer fluid reservoir, swap for iON Perf. 2-pc rotors (12lbs front & 15lbs rear i believe), and Zeal V6 coilovers (yes, they're lighter than stock). I'm getting the Do-Luck Front Subframe on soon also. I saw this japanese video of this raced out WRX w/ an aftermarket (i think it said removed, but that doesnt make sense) REAR subframe...and the damn car weighed 2600lbs!! For a newer generation WRX, that's light as heck.

But don't get me wrong, I am in no means looking into this for the gas savings. I was simply using it as an example for efficiency. The lower your drag coefficient, the less power it takes to reach higher speeds. That's why a WS6 w/ LS1 wont get anywhere near the top-speeds of a C5 Corvette w/ LS1. I even read a quote from John Lingenfelter that said, "The C5 loses 3-4mph on it's top speed with the pop-up headlights..." That just goes to show you that those APR GT3 CF Mirrors based off of real JGTC cars have less surface area for a reason.

[lovesmysuby]

^^^ Did you check chargespeeds site? I didn't want to download the language pack so I don't know if there was any hard data on the kit's performance.

[nomorem3]

No sir, not as of yet. I will RIGHT AFTER I register on Autronic's Forum to get some answers.

Off topic: Does anyone here happen to know how well the Autronic SM4 (or any other model for that matter - SMC or SM2) controls boost with an EBCS (not necessarily just the Perrin unit) or other solenoid (Autronic EWG "Large Valve")??

[nomorem3]

Couldn't find any literature on any tests or claims of any of their body components improving aerodynamics on ANY car...

Someone needs to start a body kit company with aerospace connections for access to some wind tunnels and aerospace engineers that eat, sleep, and hump CAD to design body parts.

[BBKG79]

Old thread but I would like pics like the original poster. I would like to see the carbon grain before I purchase these. Want to see if they match my carbon splitters in front. I'm not to cool with the idea of having mismatched parts.