63 replies to this topic

[Burton]

I've heard a lot of people showing interest or asking about these lately, so I decided to add another product to the list of other things I sell, and make these too.

I just need a little input from PEOPLE WHO MAY ACTUALLY WANT THESE to figure out the best design.

If you don't like splitters on cars, then DON'T leave your input, that's not the sort of input I'm looking for.

What I'm trying to figure out is what materials to make these out of, and if y'all want a 1 piece design or 2 piece.

First issue- Design:

Of course, we'd probably all love to see the 1 piece design, since that would be the absolute cleanest look, but it would also bring the price up substantially. Not only do the materials cost more to start out with bigger sheets, but it also costs more to ship a package that's 6'X2' rather than 3'X2'.

So basically, would you rather have a 2 piece Lexan splitter that was about $100, or would you rather pay $150 for the 1 piece design?




Next issue- Materials:

I've got a number of materials I can make these from, but the cost of each is different. I could do Carbon Fiber, but the cost would probably be pretty high. I'd guess around $200 for a 2 piece design, and maybe as much as $300 for a 1 piece. Black Lexan is what I have used before and is probably my favorite choice, but it's not cheap either (see prices above). I could also do them in black ABS plastic. ABS is sturdy enough to stand up to the abuse this area of the car sees, and I think it would give the same look as black Lexan but for a substantially lower price. Like, 2 piece design for under $50 lower.

Any of these materials will hold up to the abuse, and also help protect your airdam from damage as it helps give the airdam some extra structural support. Any of these materials could be painted as well.








As with anything in this community, the lower it costs the better it sells. A similar philosophy goes for bringing new products to market... It's economically easier for me to bring products that are less expensive and easier to produce to market sooner because there's less initial overhead. If I go by that, I'm inclined to start with a 2 piece design, probably made from black ABS. However, If everyone's adamant about a 1 piece design, or having Lexan, and want to pay the extra coin, then I would go that route instead. I'm going to be ordering some material in the next week or so, but I'll be able to get things going faster if I can order smaller pieces and less expensive materials.




Now, I'll try and answer some other questions that may come up....

I will offer these kits with or without adjustible stabilizer bars. Of course the kit that comes with them would cost more, but I am unsure of the price difference at this time. I have run splitters on several cars without stabilizers. I just drilled a few holes in the lower edge of the airdam, and bolted it up. I've never had a problem with any vibration issues or anything. That being said, some people like the look so I will be looking into offering the stabilizers.


These splitters will stick out about 2"-2.5" at the furthest point. It should give a nice aggressive look without being overly excessive like the one I used to have on my car. I think that one was about 3"+. I'll try to find a pic. I will also be getting my mock-up template finished up so I can get a pic of it on the car so you can see the actual dimensions of the actual production part. Those pics to come...



Couldn't I offer all materials in both 1 piece and 2 piece designs for different prices? I could, and I probably will down the road. However, like I said before, it's easier to get the less expensive, simpler things going first, so I like to find what will sell the best quantity the quickest so I can offer those first. Then I take the funds generated by that and roll it over into getting some more expensive materials or adding different designs.











So..... Which way would you rather see this go....


Less expensive materials and a 2 piece design? Less expensive 1 piece? 2 piece design with higher dollar materials? Maybe you're baller status and want a 1 piece carbon fiber?



Thanks in advance for your input!

Edited by Burton, 27 March 2012 - 12:16 PM.

[Killtodie]

If its not carbon fiber, I personally dont care what material its made out of. Unless you are trying to go for the clear/smoked lexan look. So I would vote the cheaper.

As far as it being a two or one piece. Can you make it a 3 piece? The front piece being as straight as possible with two small side parts. This way the splitter can fit inside a tube canister or a long box for shipping which will be cheaper than a freight category box and it wont look like its been cut in half upfront. Kinda like the 3 piece airdams are
Otherwise I prefer the single piece look, not a fan of having a cut in the center, from the cheaper material.

Sell the stabilizers as a separate kit, or your choice of mounting hardware.


How close to this will it look?

Edited by Killtodie, 27 March 2012 - 12:25 PM.

[bigjoe]

doo it!!!!! i would buy one

[infamos]

I would want a one piece in carbon fiber and one in any other material, solid black preferred (but I can paint it).

[verde2002]

two piece ABS with stabelizer bars. A ready to bolt up kit with all necessary hardware.

[D-VO]

The trick setup would be to do a delrin piece that was braced up to the bumper support so if it scraped it would help lift the car instead of crush the airdam.

[Mix_67]

2 piece kit with adjustable stabilizer bar out of the less exspensive material. I would much rather have one than can be replaced if abused than have to worry about it. I would love to add one to my car.

[Mike_StarionTSI]

I agree with the "3 piece" comment. I would either go for 1 piece or a 3 piece. And im defintely in for one. as for material....as long as it holds up. I dont think CF is really necessary. Maybe an option for people who prefer it.

Will it be adjustable? and what are you going to base it on? I wouldn't want anything too far out.

[Burton]

Killtodie, on 27 March 2012 - 12:22 PM, said:

If its not carbon fiber, I personally dont care what material its made out of. Unless you are trying to go for the clear/smoked lexan look. So I would vote the cheaper.

As far as it being a two or one piece. Can you make it a 3 piece? The front piece being as straight as possible with two small side parts. This way the splitter can fit inside a tube canister or a long box for shipping which will be cheaper than a freight category box and it wont look like its been cut in half upfront. Kinda like the 3 piece airdams are
Otherwise I prefer the single piece look, not a fan of having a cut in the center, from the cheaper material.

Sell the stabilizers as a separate kit, or your choice of mounting hardware.


How close to this will it look?

The 3 piece idea doesn't really work that well. If you wanted a piece the went all the way across the front, you're still looking at a piece at least 8" wide and about 55" long, which won't fit in any shipping tube deals I know of. Besides, the more pieces the kit is, the more templates and jigs I have to build, as well as more time cutting everything. While it may save a few bucks in shipping, it will cost a few bucks more for the extra time I have into it. Besides, one discreet seam in the front middle, looks a lot cleaner than having seams in the corners.

Frankly, the shipping from here to the customer isn't too big of a deal. The company my wife works for has a UPS hub on site, so she gets killer discounts. Still tho, longer packages cost more. It's more the shipping from my supplier to me. Their prices for shipping big pieces of Lexan and ABS gets very costly, compared to shipping the same weight, but smaller pieces. I figure I'll be able to ship 2 smaller pieces of any material for around $15-20, but if it's one big piece that will probably bring shipping up to $25 or $30. Again, that's my cost to ship out, which isn't the problem. It's the $40 difference it cost me in shipping to get the materials here. In the end, including shipping the materials to me and shipping the final parts to the customer, I'd be charging in the neighborhood of $50 more per kit to have the 1 piece over a 2 piece splitter. I think most people on the site  would be more than happy to deal with a discreet seam if it saved them $50. My labor cost is pretty much the same no matter what material I use.

[Burton]

verde2002, on 27 March 2012 - 01:59 PM, said:

two piece ABS with stabelizer bars. A ready to bolt up kit with all necessary hardware.

Whatever the final design is, the splitters will come with pre-drilled mounting holes where it attaches to the lower airdam, and will come with all necessary mounting hardware and detailed installation instructions, just like my other products. Pretty much all you'd have to do is drill mounting holes in the lower edge of the airdam, per the instructions, then tighten up some bolts that would be incliuded.

The stabilizer bars will be an add-on option. Something like just the 2 piece splitter with all mounting hardware and instructions for $XXX, but I can add stabalizer bars and the necessary hardware and instructions for those to the kit for $XXX more.

[Burton]

Mike_StarionTSI, on 27 March 2012 - 04:41 PM, said:

I agree with the "3 piece" comment. I would either go for 1 piece or a 3 piece. And im defintely in for one. as for material....as long as it holds up. I dont think CF is really necessary. Maybe an option for people who prefer it. Will it be adjustable? and what are you going to base it on? I wouldn't want anything too far out.

It will be adjustible in that if you purchase the add on stabilizer bars you can adjust them for the splitter tilt. I suppose you could slot out the mounting holes a bit to get some front-to-back adjustment too.


Here is kinda what it will be based on, but not NEAR this aggressive. I think this one stuck out about 4" all the way around. The one I want to make will probably stick out about 2", but it will follow the contour of the airdam like this one does....


\



What you can't see in the pic is the sides... After the corner, the splitter will go straight back to the edge of the airdam, so that the splitter is only as wide as the airdam itself.




OK, so it looks like I will start out doing a 2 piece ABS kit and go from there. I'm sure I'll add other material options and maybe even a 1 piece option at a later date. Since I'll be starting with the cheaper. easier option, I'll probably be able to have some kits made, one mounted on my car for pics and the rest ready to sell within a couple weeks.

Edited by Burton, 27 March 2012 - 06:20 PM.

[SunStreaker]

Will there be any flatty offerings?

[Burton]

SunStreaker, on 27 March 2012 - 06:58 PM, said:

Will there be any flatty offerings?

You know, I hadn't really thought about that, but I do have a mint flatty airdam here that I could make a template off of.

[Mix_67]

I would need a flatty airdam as well.

[19cturbo]

i think you need one that follows the contour of the air damn itself. let me see what i can dig up

this is the only one i can find, but without the side fins. just one that follows the line of the air damn. not one that looks like someone cut it out of a square

[SunStreaker]

http://en.wikipedia....itsuStarion.JPG

Edited by SunStreaker, 27 March 2012 - 10:55 PM.

[Mike_StarionTSI]

Ok, I see your reasoning there Burton, 2 piece it is. lol. Im really digging the blue SQ with that CF splitter. The square edge one is too far out, but at 2" rather than 4" seems perfect. Glad youre going to be making these. Will they be pre painted black?

Oh and yeah, will the bottom bracket have oval shaped holes for further adjustment? Some people might want it to stick out a bit more. Maybe do a 1" adjustment so the lip will stick out 1"-2" or 2"-3". Just throwing out ideas and thoughts.

Edited by Mike_StarionTSI, 28 March 2012 - 09:00 AM.

[Burton]

19cturbo, on 27 March 2012 - 10:11 PM, said:

i think you need one that follows the contour of the air damn itself. let me see what i can dig up

this is the only one i can find, but without the side fins. just one that follows the line of the air damn. not one that looks like someone cut it out of a square

Yeah, that was pretty much the plan. The one I posted above followed the contours too, but stuck out WAY too far.


Here's what I came up with last night. I sat on the floor while I was watching Top Gear and played around with an airdam, some cardboard, and some gray vinyl....








I just noticed that the back corner wasn't sitting right in the pics. The splitter will meet up nicely with the back edges of the airdam. Anyway, that is 2" all the way around the radii of the corners, then goes straight back to the back edge of the airdam.


Pretty much that will be it. Imagine that in black and that's what it's gonna look like.

[Burton]

Mike_StarionTSI, on 28 March 2012 - 08:57 AM, said:

Ok, I see your reasoning there Burton, 2 piece it is. lol. Im really digging the blue SQ with that CF splitter. The square edge one is too far out, but at 2" rather than 4" seems perfect. Glad youre going to be making these. Will they be pre painted black?

Oh and yeah, will the bottom bracket have oval shaped holes for further adjustment? Some people might want it to stick out a bit more. Maybe do a 1" adjustment so the lip will stick out 1"-2" or 2"-3". Just throwing out ideas and thoughts.

Yeah, whatever it is, it will be black, unless I do some Carbon Fiber ones, although CF is pretty dark. The ABS comes in kinda semi-gloss black, and one side is smooth, and the other side is textured. This will give you an option of different looks too, depending which side you face up or down. The Lexan is available in black, and is super smooth and glossy.



As far as the adjustment front to rear, I may be able to elongate the holes if there's a lot of interest, but that may add to the cost a little. I also worry that too much adjustment may make the splitter stick out behind the edge of the airdam, or not come all the way back to it. What I will probably do is leave that up to the customer. For installation, the splitter will need to be clampped in place temprarally, then drill holes in the lower edge of the airdam in line with the pre-drilled holes of the splitter. It would be pretty easy for the customer to just elongate the holes they put in the airdam to give them the same front-to-back adjustment, if they wanted it. When I install the first set on my car, I'll be taking pics and such so I can put together the instal instructions. I'll slot my holes on my airdam be able to show show how to do it in the installation instructions, as well as the non-adjustible installation.


I still got to do a little searching to do for the stainless hardware and the stabilizers, but I'm hoping to be ordering all the materials by the end of the day, so I may be close to having these ready about a week from now.

[Crazy Quest]

I like that burton and i think with stabilizer bars it will look good. Im gonna add carbon viber canards to the side of mine to make it actually function.