TBW Aluminum Splash Shield Skid Plate FX35 & FX45

[myl168]

03 FX45

Fit is great. a bit harder to get on then the oem. It doesn't have the guides that latch into the front bumper.

The real test for me was changing the oil thru trap door while on the car. It looked tight and I was afraid the oil coming out of the drain would shoot on top of the shield, but it works. Very happy with the usability. You don't have to remove the entire splash shield to change oil.

pros: very sturdy. door for oil changing. great fitment. great price(free shipping) for a piece of this quality.

cons. the "vents" are a little odd, but not a deal breaker. I tend to over analyze product(industrial designer). the vents are a bit retro looking. I understand there are limitations to stamping/pressing aluminum. google race car undertray design. there's minimal vents. if there are, it's seems like they are designed to extract air out, not force air thru. a bit worried about water and debris getting thru.
Thanks again TBW for creating these. if you redesign a v2 with some of my vent suggestions, hook me up :rotfl:

front view (loose fitted)


drain bolt view


filter view


side by side

 

[porkandbeans]

Good review.
I really do like the tight clean fit of this pan.

 

[Viperi]

i would get one of those quick valves to drain the oil with a built in hose. much easier.

 

[tollboothwilley]

2006 FX35 - Black Powder Coated

only one in stock at the moment

http://www.tollboothwilley.com/2006...uminum-under-tray-engine-splash-shield-black/

 

[wlvrn97]

I'm still in for the 06-08....has anyone actually test fitted yet??

 

[tollboothwilley]

nope - i have one in stock waiting for someone to get it and put it on

 

[shadow191]

If it's still there on 4/12, I'll get it. I've been travelling a ton for work and I'm out of the country next week. I've been meaning to pick it up, but I live in a loft and the front desk hates it when I order large packages and leave it there for days or over a week. I did it once with tires and the manager asked me to try and not do it again.

 

[vnbuddy2002]

Hi - I am interested. Does this fit FX 35 2nd Gen ? - Thanks

 

[shadow191]

Just bought the 06-08 in stock. Will let everyone know how it fits, but I don't anticipate any problems. Just need to go find my bag of bolts from when I took my old broken shield off.

And I can't believe no one has bought this yet. Weren't there dozens of people who put their name on the GB list? And a lot had 06-08 models so I'm somewhat confused as to how he's had a finished one for over a month. This is one of the reasons why there is no aftermarket support for the FX; everyone is interested until it comes time to actually put money up. This is a $200 part that has no risk; worst case, you maybe modify a mounting point. So it is surprising that people consider it too risky to be the first...

Rant over, now need to wait for delivery.

 

[smijus]

Just bought the 06-08 in stock. Will let everyone know how it fits, but I don't anticipate any problems. Just need to go find my bag of bolts from when I took my old broken shield off.

And I can't believe no one has bought this yet. Weren't there dozens of people who put their name on the GB list? And a lot had 06-08 models so I'm somewhat confused as to how he's had a finished one for over a month. This is one of the reasons why there is no aftermarket support for the FX; everyone is interested until it comes time to actually put money up. This is a $200 part that has no risk; worst case, you maybe modify a mounting point. So it is surprising that people consider it too risky to be the first...

Rant over, now need to wait for delivery.

I was simply waiting for someone to confirm that it fits. I think once we have that you'll see more people pull the trigger, myself included.

 

[shadow191]

Cool, I hope that's the case. Not a lot of parts have been created for the FX lately so I hope TBW gets some benefit from this. He even made it without confirmed orders so I don't want him to regret his decision to support the FX market. GT Spec won't even produce an existing part until they get 8 orders so when someone creates an entirely new item without requiring people to put deposits down, I'm impressed.

 

[g0ldm4g3]

Lol... yeah, we're all waiting for a confirmation.
It would be odd to purchase a product a $100+ product that doesn't fit.
I even PM'd him a while back that I wanted an 06-08 FX35 PC Black and he said he will get on it.
He, then, posted updates to ONE being produced.
So I'm waiting till we have confirmation that it does, in fact, fit.. just like a lot of other 06-08 buyers.


People still have nightmares from the JLC group buy, FYI.

 

[meme405]

I would have bought it but the only 06-08 one he had was PC black, and I want just a bare aluminum.

Also having him ship it all the way to me in canada, then find out it doesn't fit would be dumb. So I was waiting for someone closer to him to confirm before I order.

 

[shadow191]

I guess my threshold for potential issues is higher. It's only $200, and we know it fits 03-05 perfectly. So worst case, I may have to make tiny mods to make it fit. Not a big deal. It's not a $10k untested turbo kit that could blow my motor.

For me, as long as there isn't risk of permanent damage to the car, I'll give it a try. I installed a VB from a 350Z at one point with no guarantee it would work. Figured worst case I could just swap back.

I'm just happy people are still making stuff so I'll try to support them if I can.

 

[meme405]

I guess my threshold for potential issues is higher. It's only $200, and we know it fits 03-05 perfectly. So worst case, I may have to make tiny mods to make it fit. Not a big deal. It's not a $10k untested turbo kit that could blow my motor.

For me, as long as there isn't risk of permanent damage to the car, I'll give it a try. I installed a VB from a 350Z at one point with no guarantee it would work. Figured worst case I could just swap back.

I'm just happy people are still making stuff so I'll try to support them if I can.

Well I've already been burned once on a belly pan since fucking GT-Spec is full of shit and their pan which is listed as 03-08 is really only for 03-05 FX's. I was apparently the first person to figure that out.

 

[shadow191]

Not calling anyone out, just trying to make a point that unless we take a few risks, we can't complain about lack of support. If we expect company is to take risks on us by creating products, then we have to take some risks that the first version won't always be perfect.

And GT Spec pretty much represents what I hate about the industry. They don't really create anything or innovate. They basically just resell parts from the actual manufacturer like Summit. They take no risks since they won't even get a production part made without 8 orders. So they won't even take the risk of buying 8 and selling 2, then holding the rest in inventory. What sort of business won't hold inventory? Meanwhile they prevent Summit from selling to the US market so we can't even get parts the rest of the world does. They basically generate zero value while stifling the market. And their customer support is terrible. They don't stock installation kits for existing parts if there is low demand. I had to but 50 rivet nuts since they don't stock them. If I can buy 50 to g get the 4 I need, why can't they make the minimum buy needed to have parts in stock. They basically operate like a kid running a business out of his apartment with no inventory or overhead.

 

[wlvrn97]

Once I know it fits...I still want my original order. Would still like the black PC with the Infiniti logo if possible

 

[gto]

TBW Aluminum Splash Shield Skid Plate FX35 & FX45

I like supporting new product too. Pretty cool cover, but I'm still hesitant cuz I don't like how the middle lip goes away. Besides, the only thing I rarely rub right now besides occasional tires is the rear gt spec bar. And sometimes the front ladder. Think I would get the raw brushed if ordering. Maybe better pics of front would sway me. Post up guys!

 

[shadow191]

So I ordered it last Tuesday and I received it Saturday. I finally had some time today to unbox it and get it installed. Pictures are terrible, but it was dark. I can say that it fits 100% on my '07 so I can confirm it fits fine for 06-08. All of the bolt holes line up; I'm just missing several of the metal clips in my front bumper so all the bolts aren't in yet, but it was the same way with my OEM. The bolt holes are slotted as well which makes it even easier. I did look at each hole I still have empty and they line up, so once I get my clips, the bolts will go in perfectly. My old one was actually already broken so it was removed and I just had to install the new one. It took 15 minutes to install. So even if you had to remove the OEM one, I can't imagine the install taking over an hour total. On to the pics.

Old and New



Front bumper junction, not installed yet.


Passenger side


Driver Side



And I think ground clearance will actually be better than OEM. The lowest point is the same, but it's right at the axle line. The OEM one drops down right behind the bumper and is flat while this one slopes. I constantly hit my OEM one on parking blocks and such. This one wouldn't hit those things since it slopes. I actually broke my old one on a flatbed tow truck because the OEM pan wouldn't clear the bed since it stuck down at the front. I think this one would have cleared.

Finally, the build quality is pretty good. Thick aluminum, good powdercoat, clean edges, good bends. I'm surprised that the price point is this low for a belly pan. I used to own a metal fabrication shop and we made stuff like this (not belly pans) and I wouldn't have sold it for this price. I probably would have been closer to GT Spec price.

 

[meme405]

THANK YOU.

Emailing John now, to get him to bend me a bare aluminum version.