I went to a couple of body shops on my lunch hour. One want's $500 to paint the sills and lower front and rear bumper, the other think they can do it right for about $400. I'll probably give it to $400 guy, he didn't inspire any less confidence. Both discouraged after market body kits. In the winter it can get as cold as -15 here. They say they get really brittle at that temperature, and that they often see them cracked just from hitting ice or the kind of hardened snow banks that can form here for at least part of the winter. They said, "Don't put any of that California stuff on there"!! He said most people he's seen end up with it damaged and most regret it. So unless it's basically a "show" car or something your going to have off the road in the winter forget it. He says what I have on there is sturdy, and has good clearance, and won't be difficult to paint. I'll probably schdule something with him.

Tilf

 

An OEM Nismo Areo bumper is made of the same stuff as your stock bumper. I can see where the body shop guys have a point, I live in FL though, so I don't think about it!

 

Tilf - They may already know this, but from what I've read on here when painting these parts, they need to be sure to add a flex agent to the paint. Good luck.

Jim

 

Thanks I'll mention the flex agent.

The Nismo Aero kit is on my other G35x that I gave to my son to use. It looks really good, and it's clearance is not that low. Some of the other aftermarket kits seem to be more vulnerable, and I'm very doubful how they would fare here. The shops I talked to said to install and paint four piece body kit could be as much as $800. They said it's hard to say without seeing the specific kit. But anyway if you figure the kit's around six or seven hundred and maybe another eight to paint and install it, your probably talking 12-$1400. What I have on there now is really pretty good and once the sills are painted it'll be a little better, and I think the $1200-1400 for new kit installed just isn't worth an extra perhaps seven or eight hundred dollars maybe more. Oh, and I've got my coilovers set to be installed on Monday Columbus Day. The guy said he can do my paint job this Wednesday, and likely have it for me Thursday morning.

Tilf

 

a lot of the people around here with body kits look a fool because they're driving around with cracked stuff, and stuff handing from their cars. Once you get much north of New York City the climate and road conditions are your cars mortal enemy, and the climate always eventually comes out on top. The cars a lot of you guys have in places like Calif and Florida would just be show cars around here, or cars that lived pretty much in the garage from about Thanksgiving to 1st of April. This winter I hope to keep my G35x off the road during the worst of it. I can car pool with my wife in the Subaru Legacy AWD and use it for my stuff when the weather's really bad. Attached I have an example of what the weather here can do. It's a photo fo what happened to our Legacy in an Ice storm that hit in mid December. We had no electricity and no heat for a week!

Tilf

 

had em painted all around $400. I've attached a picture.

Tilf

 

Me likey! Any more picts? Where did you go? I contemplated this 1 yr ago but never looked into it.

 

No other pics yet. Just took it to my local body shop. I think they did it right. Charged $420. I think the car has substantially better look, but in NE the black has some functionality because the sills can take a real beating, and if they're just flat black toughing them up or painting them is something you can easily do yourself. Monday I get my BC Coilovers installed, and a 1/2 drop in the rear and 1 inch in the front is what I have planned.

Tilf

 

I dont know if i am sold on painted side on the 03-04s yet. Something about it just doesn't look right. I prefer the black.. gives some contrast.

 

You need to see two running the same suspension, same color side-by-side, one painted and the other unpainted. The painted one will look a lot lower to the ground. I almost painted mine flat black at first, but I'm really glad I matched them IP and did the roof in gloss black instead.

 

I think really think the car looks better with them painted, but as I mentioned I think where the road conditions are harsh the black has some functionality. The black will hold up better in that blemishes won't show as much, and it will be easier touch up if it needs it. Here in New England if you want to keep it looking really good maybe you'll have to repaint the sills after three or four years.

Tilf

 

I wonder if a shop would cut a deal on a repaint, considering the plastic is already preped and primed.

 

It would probably cost less. When they painted mine they also took the parts off to paint them.

Tilf

 

wtf it looks like a bubble.

 

^What?????