OEM US spec Front Bumper wave and fitment solutions?
OEM US spec Front Bumper wave and fitment solutions?
Having trouble finding info on this, seems the solution is to go 99spec.
For the few of us that want to keep the OE style front bumper, is there any permanent solutions to solve the wave in the bumper and somewhat poor fitment? Seems its caused by heat from the sun. Every FD I've seen in person has the wave to some degree, even the 30k mile garage queens. I also recall reading years ago that the front bumper should not be left off for long periods of time due to the risk of it shrinking and not refitting properly.
My body guy restores vettes, and said it was a common issue with the front bumper on certain years of those cars. He said it is fixable, but is prone to cracking if bumped, and would likely distort again.
Mazda dealer says they still have new bumpers, but there's no doubt it will have the same issue in the future.
Can't find any companies that offer the OE style bumper aftermarket.
So is this a fools errand to try and permanently correct? Do I just deal with it and pretend its built like an old exotic supercar?
For the few of us that want to keep the OE style front bumper, is there any permanent solutions to solve the wave in the bumper and somewhat poor fitment? Seems its caused by heat from the sun. Every FD I've seen in person has the wave to some degree, even the 30k mile garage queens. I also recall reading years ago that the front bumper should not be left off for long periods of time due to the risk of it shrinking and not refitting properly.
My body guy restores vettes, and said it was a common issue with the front bumper on certain years of those cars. He said it is fixable, but is prone to cracking if bumped, and would likely distort again.
Mazda dealer says they still have new bumpers, but there's no doubt it will have the same issue in the future.
Can't find any companies that offer the OE style bumper aftermarket.
So is this a fools errand to try and permanently correct? Do I just deal with it and pretend its built like an old exotic supercar?
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Joined: Nov 2001
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From: SJ, CA
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Spirit-RE - I'm thinking the same as you are. I'd like to keep the OEM bumper cover. I've seen where some suggest fiberglassing the back of the OEM but unless the fiberglass & the OEM material are the exact same coefficient of expansion that is destined to fail.
Spirit-RE - I'm thinking the same as you are. I'd like to keep the OEM bumper cover. I've seen where some suggest fiberglassing the back of the OEM but unless the fiberglass & the OEM material are the exact same coefficient of expansion that is destined to fail.
my new 93 bumper seems to be made of better quality than the one that originally came on my car. I never had the waves on my old bumper. My car is VR and I saw somewhere that the darker colors have the issue more. I also wonder if the waves are on cars without the 3 foam pieces on top of the bumper rebar.
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Joined: Nov 2001
Posts: 333
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From: SJ, CA
My 7 is BB and out in the sun the wave is obvious. When it isn't heated up the wave is still there, but very subtle. Original OEM. I was thinking of ordering a new one in the hopes they would have resolved the issue. Bummed the new ones haven't fully fixed it.
Like many things on the FD, it seems like this improved over time. It's possible the "new" OEM bumpers don't suffer so badly. It looks like 94+ don't get it as bad, though my 94 does have a little bit of a wave in one spot so far.
^I have a factory '94 bumper and its pretty wavy.
Well there's hope if the new ones might be better. I suppose worse case scenario is 10 years from now dealing with this issue again. My hope is someone like Shine picks up the production of it once OEM bumpers are out of stock. Would be a tall order for Shine to make them now for the few of us that would buy them.
I wonder if the series 7 cars in Australia had this issue? That'd be a great way to test the theory of the newer bumpers.
Well there's hope if the new ones might be better. I suppose worse case scenario is 10 years from now dealing with this issue again. My hope is someone like Shine picks up the production of it once OEM bumpers are out of stock. Would be a tall order for Shine to make them now for the few of us that would buy them.
I wonder if the series 7 cars in Australia had this issue? That'd be a great way to test the theory of the newer bumpers.