Wizdom Body Kit - Duraflex?
#1
V8 Miata Participant
Thread Starter
Wizdom Body Kit - Duraflex?
I am seriously considering the Wizdom body kit for my 1991.
From what I can tell, different "places" are selling their own version of this type of kit.
Any experience with these?
I plan to do the install, prep and paint myself...
Mike
From what I can tell, different "places" are selling their own version of this type of kit.
Any experience with these?
I plan to do the install, prep and paint myself...
Mike
#2
V8 Miata Participant
Fiberglass cracks and is a difficult, and expensive kit to install
Most (but not all) polyurethane kits are flexible enough to withstand daily, or semi daily use.
Whichever kit you get, make sure to get their installation kit, no installation kit offered, walk away and find another kit.
Bill S.
#3
Mike I'm with Bill S., as a fiberglass kit owner my vote is "Polyurethane". I didn't find the fiberglass kit installation a challenge, a very few hidden screws and 3M body adhesive worked great. 4 years and a few thousand miles and no problem. The reason I'd go Poly next time is my kit took a ton of time to get paint ready. The fiberglass could have been much better, I suspect the Poly kit will be slick and ready to paint from the getgo. Also if bumped, likely no repair required.
#4
V8 Miata Fanatic
#5
V8 Miata Habitué
I alway go the fiberglass route. Yes it's harder to fit, but if you like custom car it's the choice to make.
Maby poly flex more, but not your paint.
If you want to see my version of wizdom look at my picture.
Maby poly flex more, but not your paint.
If you want to see my version of wizdom look at my picture.
#6
V8 Miata Participant
Thread Starter
I'm tempted to take the $500 risk but then I ask myself, how good could a body kit be that only costs $500 with shipping that includes complete front and rear bumpers and side skirts. Some of their feedback says the kit is trash and others give good reviews...
I think the one that I get (if I buy it) will be one of the good ones, right?
...Maybe I just go with a quality R package...
I think the one that I get (if I buy it) will be one of the good ones, right?
...Maybe I just go with a quality R package...
#7
V8 Miata Participant
The manufacturer offers no mounting kits with their products, that tells me they cannot engineer it and expect the end user to do so. They pull them out of the molds still curing (proper curing takes weeks, sometimes months for out-gassing to finish depending on the temperature. They use fiberglass instead of polyurethane because it is cheap and quick to produce (sorry folks, anyone that tells you differently has no experience working with both products in a manufacturing environment). As such, no body shop will warranty or guarantee the work, not even charging you 4 times what it would be for a quality, well thought out product.
Did I mention I am a retired production body shop owner
Bill S.
I'm tempted to take the $500 risk but then I ask myself, how good could a body kit be that only costs $500 with shipping that includes complete front and rear bumpers and side skirts. Some of their feedback says the kit is trash and others give good reviews...
I think the one that I get (if I buy it) will be one of the good ones, right?
...Maybe I just go with a quality R package...
I think the one that I get (if I buy it) will be one of the good ones, right?
...Maybe I just go with a quality R package...
Bill S.
#8
V8 Miata Habitué
I agree with Bill on the fact that a fiberglass bodykit is more work (some wave in the bumper but easy to correct). in the case of the wizdom, it's was not too mutch work to get what i want, but i cannot use poly bumber for custom setup.
If you have no experience in car body, go poly.
If you know how it's work go fiberglass. Don't be afraid to cut your new bumper
Hope that help....
If you have no experience in car body, go poly.
If you know how it's work go fiberglass. Don't be afraid to cut your new bumper
Hope that help....
#10
V8 Miata Participant
Can't offer solutions without first knowing the issues...
Bill S.
#11
V8 Miata Habitué
#12
Jim Stainer
LOL after the tire thread I thought everyone knew! Well there is no fixing it and really I have no issues other than a few cracks and no doubt will have many more after all the trips to -20 in the last month. But if you want to see here a goes. What I did was just to have fun and keep me out of trouble last winter but there is little doubt it was the dumbest and hardest way possible to do flares. The good news is I have less than 100 bucks into the whole thing and lots of options to fix it when it all falls off!
One of these days I'm going to do a video of it but this is it in a nutshell.
Measuring and forming a vision.
Cut and fit
Yeah I know why didn't you just keep going with metal?
But nope I covered it with fiberglass.
Then sanded half that off to get it sort of shaped and smooth and went to duraglass
5000 hours later. Yep I did the same process to the front...
And paint
Kind of looks like a big wart!
But if you step back 200 feet and blur the photo it's not bad!
Sorry you asked right? LOL and now you know why I said no matter what you do it will make a hell of a lot more sense than what I did!
One of these days I'm going to do a video of it but this is it in a nutshell.
Measuring and forming a vision.
Cut and fit
Yeah I know why didn't you just keep going with metal?
But nope I covered it with fiberglass.
Then sanded half that off to get it sort of shaped and smooth and went to duraglass
5000 hours later. Yep I did the same process to the front...
And paint
Kind of looks like a big wart!
But if you step back 200 feet and blur the photo it's not bad!
Sorry you asked right? LOL and now you know why I said no matter what you do it will make a hell of a lot more sense than what I did!
#13
V8 Miata Participant
Jim,
We already knew you had a screw loose after watching your original thread on the subject. Yet you had a vision, and had the ability to turn that vision in to your reality. Can't fault you for that.
However, in this thread, we are discussing off the shelf parts that require either the owner, or the bodyshop to fit to a particular car. Having owned a body shop (now retired from it), and worked on countless body kits (Miata and otherwise), I can tell you what works in that sense, and what does not. If the OP is doing it all themselves, fine, then their time is their own. If they are going to pay someone to do it for them, then my original statement is what I will be sticking to.
Time is money.
I'll leave it at that.
Bill S.
We already knew you had a screw loose after watching your original thread on the subject. Yet you had a vision, and had the ability to turn that vision in to your reality. Can't fault you for that.
However, in this thread, we are discussing off the shelf parts that require either the owner, or the bodyshop to fit to a particular car. Having owned a body shop (now retired from it), and worked on countless body kits (Miata and otherwise), I can tell you what works in that sense, and what does not. If the OP is doing it all themselves, fine, then their time is their own. If they are going to pay someone to do it for them, then my original statement is what I will be sticking to.
Time is money.
I'll leave it at that.
Bill S.
#14
V8 Miata Fanatic
out of the box
Frankenstein process
finished product
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