Having seen some FRP products from other UK suppliers, I can understand your worries. I do agree that anyone with a lowered car should be very careful when thinking about adding something on the underside of the car. Doesn't just apply to chin spoilers, I've seen some seriously mullered mud guards ;0-)

The chin spoilers that we have are made of Glass fibre with a gelcoat finish. Anthony says that he uses a Fire proof gelcoating....??? Not much use on a chin spoiler I know ;-) The gelcoat is supposed to be anti-scratch as well but again not much use if the chin spoiler is going to be painted. End of the day, damage will be done if you're unlucky enough to scrap a kerb irrespective of whether you have a chin spoiler made out of FRP or ABS plastic. To be honest, if you exerted enough force to cause our FRP chin spoiler to break, an ABS chin spoiler probably wouldn't break but I'd bet it'd be torn off the bumper. Minor scrapes can occur but you have to remember that the bumper is made of ABS and still allows a bit of flexibilty.

There are always going to be pros and cons when using different materials. ABS plastic has problems holding paint even ones specifically used on plastics. Not good for those that want colour coding. Colour fade on ABS plastic is another issue, still trying to figure this out and I'm sure a lot of people on this list would like to know as well. Definitely something to do with the plastic and not the paint. I suppose the good thing about ABS is that the products are cheap to make as long as you order in 1000s, the business side of me would love this but where am I going to find 25000GBP?? 40000GBP?? Reminds me of a friend who said that the company that he works for makes metal kickplates for the MGF @ 1GBP each ;-) I said, "Great!! Whats the minimum order?? 10,000 he says ;-) There might not 10,000 MGFs but at a quid each... does it really matter ;-)

Back to FRP...... Another thing about quality FRP products is that the layers are laid in different amounts depending on area and product. A good chin spoiler will have a lot of layers where the mounts are situated but the rest of the chin spoiler has to retain flexibility and have slightly less thick fiberglass layers. Remember that no OEM bumper retains it's original shape forever. If the chin spoiler was to be rigid all over, it'll fit a perfect bumper and not a slightly un-noticably distorted bumper. A rear spoiler for example can be as rigid as you like ;-) Our one is rigid enough to make do without the middle leg yet still be lighter than the original ABS 3 leg one and other FRP copies. I've had a customer that was kicking himself for not buying the rear spoiler from me even though mine would have cost a little more then the 80 odd GBP he paid for his. He saw that my spoiler would have come primered ready to paint whereas his one had to have a lot of filler and it still didn't come out right. Guess that's why the other company charge over 100GBP to colour code their spoilers. Bit difficult to explain the quality of our FRP products via email or even catalogues. Guess I just have to wait until a few people buy spoilers and hopefully others will follow suit when they see the quality. Please try not to compare it with other companies, I've had loads of people call me up for rear spoilers and they'll say that so and so sells there for a little less. Very disheartening for me, but I won't lower the quality of my products even if it means losing the sale. Off to test some of Anthony's fire proof claims ;0-) Jay (12/99)

Sounds like the chin spoilers may be manufactured from glass fibre. If this is the case there may be a durability problem.

Three "ifs". If the spoiler is the "Mazda" original chin spoiler, if the car is lowered; e.g. Konis; and if the spoiler is made of glass fibre and resin. Simply, a glass fibre chin spoiler with polyester resin may be too stiff.

The one I have installed , is ABS and flexible; and is from Canada of all places. I have scraped (and repaired) the paint a number of times over what I would have considered to be safe driveways, and gotten very pissed with myself. I suspect glass fibre would not be as forgiving. Food for thought (12/99)

Just got a mail from Val at Scimitar who has looked into obtaining the skirts for me, the latest result is somewhat worrying. Prices are as follows...
front 525,00.-DM
back 479,00.-DM

This is due to these being the last 30 in stock and the fact that no more are to be made :( I guess this makes it ~350 + 16% tax + shipping. (2/00)

It is made of ABS

Nope not ABS, 'cause that would make it rigid and crack easily, more likely to be Polypropylene or Polyethylene (2/00)

It is a Mazda Finishline Front Airdam, back one is also OEM. Made in Canada and bought/shipped from Finishline Performance in US via Andy at donutz.co.uk

Would have looked into Jays but as I wanted a rear skirt as well it seemed sensible to get both at the same time, oh and a OEM front fog lamp switch.

As for price take a look at http://www.finishlineperformance.com but remember to take into account $/, 4.5% import tax and 17.5% VAT onto of shipping which is not cheap, the box is huge. Best to speak to Andy at Donutz for a better idea. (4/00)

Be very careful, small step at a time fitting the mud flaps to the rear skirt.

Yup, I know exactly what you mean. I reckon I will remove the mud flaps, fit the rear skirt and then look into modifying the flaps. Certainly don't want to knacker them, can't afford to replace them at present.

Might invest in a dremel drill thing to do the shaping, should be able to remove a tiny amount of plastic at a time with this, will make a lovely mess in the front room as well :)

Only real problem is time, might end up with the skirt fitted but no rear flaps for Beaulieu :( Hate to think what the paint is like under the flaps, they were fitted as a factory option. (4/00)

Picture of the air dam?
Try here : http://www.mxfive.co.uk

It does make all the difference in the world to the stability and handling of the car, and not just at high speed. (4/00)

The abbreviation PU injection means that the material is an injection moulded polyurethane (it may be filled with a PU foam). This material is VERY tough and flexible (It will not shatter) and would require a flexible PU primer and paint to cover it.

Just for interest this is very similar to the material used on the rubber bumper MGB's which some of the 'older' MX5 drivers like me will remember fondly.

The other abbrevs. mentioned are:
ABS: Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene - a tough rigid thermoplastic much used in domestic appliances. This will age in sunlight if used on an exterior part however, therefore it requires painting to protect it. It will shatter if hit very hard.
FRP: (Glass) Fibre Reinforced Plastic - Usually a thermoset resin such as polyester epoxy which contains a 'gel coat' which provides a smooth surface which can be painted. It will not shatter as easy as the ABS but will start to crack and craze and tends to be 'brittle' (this leaves exposed jagged edges of glass fibre - Not so easily repaired to a smooth finish).

I have had both ABS and FRP airdams on my MGB GTV8 and I consider that the ABS painted spoiler is the best option as the FRP was easily stone / Kerb damaged as it is too rigid. It is cheap (vacuum formed) and with a plastic primer and black gloss paint gives a good high gloss finish. The thin wall section maintains it shape in the air but is flexible during slight knocks. (4/00)

I have fitted the rear skirt - wahey ! although It was almost pitch black when I had finished tightening up the bolts so not sure if all positioned ok, will double check tomorrow. I think that the little section to the right of the exhaust is not on squarely by touch.

The whole thing looks good from what I can see, must eat more carrots ;)

I have had to remove the rear mud flaps temporarily so as to fit the skirt. These need a little careful trimming so I can put them back on. It is incredible how much dirt builds up behind these over 4 years ! Anyway they have to go back on as the paintwork has been rubbed by the flaps back to the underseal :( which I am a little concerned about ! am going to touch up the line that has been rubbed both with rust killer (just in case) and then some classic red paint. The only problem that I can see at present in re-fitting the flaps is that both the skirt and the flaps attach using the same bolts.

Problem is that I don't want either to not be attached here so will have to have a closer look in daylight to work out how to continue. Any ideas welcomed :) To those who have done it, what exactly has been cut on yours to enable fitting ?

All looks fantastic now though with a nice black bottom to the whole car :) just as Mazda designed it to have. (4/00)