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The mkiv Supra Owners Club

Alternative options to fibreglass


charlton
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I'm sure I read somewhere that OEM side skirts are no longer available from Mr T. As fibreglass (or carbon fibre) cracks and breaks too easily compared to the plastic OEM skirts I may need to move to aftermarket. What body kit materials are available instead of FG or CF and who can supply them?

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The OEM side skirts have been discontinued for many years. OEM bumpers and side skirts are made from Polyurethane which requires VERY expensive tooling and huge moulding machines to produce.

 

All aftermarket kits I know of - genuine and copies - are either Fibre Reinforced Plastic (fibre glass), Carbon Fibre or a combination of both. Most of the cheap FRP and CF copies on the market are pretty poor quality, genuine Japanese branded body kits are generally far higher quality and much more durable but they are lot more expensive.

 

There is Duraflex which market their FRP bodyparts as being more flexible/durable than the competition, whether this is true or not I don't know

http://www.duraflexbodykits.com/1995-toyota-supra/catalog-parts/

Edited by Nic (see edit history)
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Adding to what Nic said, you can get flexible additives for polyester resins that will, as the name suggests, make the end composite more flexible.

 

I think the reason a lot of after market sideskirts don't fit as well is due to the way the molds were made. If you mold a perfectly fitting oem sideskirt on the car a grp composite should be very close to a perfect fit. If you mold a sideskirt off the car it can twist out of shape.

 

Unfortunately not many people are keen on letting their car be the guinea pig for such scenarios.

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Thanks for the replies guys

 

The OEM side skirts have been discontinued for many years. OEM bumpers and side skirts are made from Polyurethane which requires VERY expensive tooling and huge moulding machines to produce.

 

All aftermarket kits I know of - genuine and copies - are either Fibre Reinforced Plastic (fibre glass), Carbon Fibre or a combination of both. Most of the cheap FRP and CF copies on the market are pretty poor quality, genuine Japanese branded body kits are generally far higher quality and much more durable but they are lot more expensive.

 

There is Duraflex which market their FRP bodyparts as being more flexible/durable than the competition, whether this is true or not I don't know

http://www.duraflexbodykits.com/1995-toyota-supra/catalog-parts/

 

I guess that the other body parts are discontinued too, particularly the front wings? I had seen Duraflex kits but also saw some reviews online and they appear to be FRP and the general concencous is to avoid

 

the stilen body kit was polyurethane.

 

I had a quick look at the side skirts and they aren't for me, I'm after OEM, TRD or Blitz skirts

 

its good your avoiding fibre glass, one dink and thats it.

 

Looks like I'm not going to have much choice, I had fibreglass before and not too keen on having them again. I'm probably going to go for the Blitz side skirts, the hard part is deciding whether to go Knight Racer or trying to find original ones at double the price...

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I guess that the other body parts are discontinued too, particularly the front wings?

 

The side skirts and rear spat were sold as a set and were optional parts, they were £1K+ a set. The front wings should still be available but probably a lot cheaper to source second hand.

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