Everything You Need To Know About Ground Effects - Camaro5 Chevy Camaro Forum / Camaro ZL1, SS and V6 Forums

CamaroSkooter · 07-25-2009, 06:19 PM

So, I've been searching like crazy for any and all issues and information related to the ground effects. I am hoping that this thread can become a one-stop spot to get any and all info about the ground effects.

I don't want this thread to become a place for people to argue over whether they look good or not. I would like for it to simply be an informational place to get definitive answers to questions about the ground effects.

Here's what I know. When the first design, which I will refer to as GFX1.0, came out, someone very quickly found the installation instructions and posted them up in Adobe Acrobat format. Below is a link to where to download them.

http://camaro5.com/forums/showthread...3172&page=3#73

When GFX1.0 came out, several people had problems with them being installed incorrectly and because of this, GM had to go back and do some sort of redesign and came up with GFX2.0.

I believe that these instructions are for GFX1.0 only, and do not apply to GFX2.0, but I am not fully certain of this.

I'm wondering if someone knows exactly what is different between GFX1.0 and GFX2.0 so that we can determine exactly what has changed in the correct installation procedures. Ideally, if we could find the installation instructions that come with GFX2.0 now and have those uploaded, that would be preferable. However, if this is not readily available, we could at least get something going while this is being researched.

CamaroSkooter · 07-25-2009, 06:41 PM

I will be the first to comment as well.

I got the call from the dealership that the ground effects had arrived and I dropped my car off last Saturday (7-18). They called me on Monday and told me the car was ready, which I was somewhat surprised by, since I know it takes a few days at least to install.

I dropped by the dealership after work on Monday (7-20) and upon inspection of the install, I had a few concerns. First off, they did not cut the exhaust tips at all like I've read in the above instruction manual. The second concern was my biggest one, though. The front fascia did not look right at all. There was about a 1/4" gap between the tip of the front fascia and the edge of the ground effects lip.

I went ahead and drove it home, and the following day called the service manager to figure out what to do. So, he calls me back and tells me to bring it in on Thursday (7-23) so he can have a local technician take a look at it.

I bring it in Thursday after work and he sees what I'm talking about. Apparently, he wasn't there to see what the car looked like when the install was done before I took it home.

He calls me on Friday (7-24) afternoon and leaves a voicemail telling me that the gap is supposed to be there and I can come pick it up. I got the voicemail a bit late, so I decided to just leave it there overnight and come in Saturday (7-25) morning to talk to him about it.

I decided to print out the installation instructions I found above as well as a few photos of someone who's had GFX2.0 installed correctly and bring those with me to talk to him this morning. When I get there, I let my dad do the talking because I know I would have flipped out if he continued this whole dialogue of, "this is the way it's supposed to look." We showed him in the installation book where it specifies that you have to physically remove the entire front fascia in order to properly install the front lip, and he goes mute.

It was his understanding that the front fascia did not have to be removed from the car at all to do the install. When we pointed out that there are supposed to be holes drilled and pop-rivets installed between the front fascia and ground effects from the backside of the front fascia, he finally agreed that he was unaware of that procedure.

He also tried to tell me that he knew that was not part of the GFX1.0 installation procedure and must have been added to the GFX2.0 install procedure. I kind of smirked at that afterwards since I'm pretty sure the installation instructions in my previous post are from GFX1.0 and not the re-design.

Anyway, after all of this mess, I'm hoping that they finally get everything installed correctly, but I'm very concerned that once you try to install these once, if you don't do it right, you've basically destroyed both the front fascia and front lip.

Am I wrong in this assumption?

If it still looks wrong, what do I do then?

This whole ordeal has been pretty frustrating. I will say, though, that the sides and rear look pretty good, even if they didn't cut the exhaust tips like they're supposed to.

What has me worried also is that the instructions say you should remove the rear fascia as well for the installation, which I'm pretty sure they didn't do either.

So, I don't know what to do here. I'm seriously considering seeing if CamaroScotty can order me a bumper and front lip and have his guys put them together the right way and just pay for basically a whole new front end. At least that way I would know it was done right.

World of Wheels · 07-25-2009, 09:17 PM

I have been waiting on my gfx for two months now. Yesterday the the dealer called and told me that they would be avaliable with in the next week or so. I don't know If you guys have been able to get them since the "misshap" with the front or not, but once the people that ordered them with the car get theirs, I guess we will be getting them. IMO I don't like the look of the front piece and will not be putting it on. Has anyone heard any different from their dealer?

07-25-2009, 06:19 PM	#1
CamaroSkooter Retarded One-Legged Owl Drives: 2010 Black Camaro 2SS Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: San Antonio, TX Posts: 9,745	Everything You Need To Know About Ground Effects So, I've been searching like crazy for any and all issues and information related to the ground effects. I am hoping that this thread can become a one-stop spot to get any and all info about the ground effects. I don't want this thread to become a place for people to argue over whether they look good or not. I would like for it to simply be an informational place to get definitive answers to questions about the ground effects. Here's what I know. When the first design, which I will refer to as GFX1.0, came out, someone very quickly found the installation instructions and posted them up in Adobe Acrobat format. Below is a link to where to download them. http://camaro5.com/forums/showthread...3172&page=3#73 When GFX1.0 came out, several people had problems with them being installed incorrectly and because of this, GM had to go back and do some sort of redesign and came up with GFX2.0. I believe that these instructions are for GFX1.0 only, and do not apply to GFX2.0, but I am not fully certain of this. I'm wondering if someone knows exactly what is different between GFX1.0 and GFX2.0 so that we can determine exactly what has changed in the correct installation procedures. Ideally, if we could find the installation instructions that come with GFX2.0 now and have those uploaded, that would be preferable. However, if this is not readily available, we could at least get something going while this is being researched.

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07-25-2009, 06:41 PM	#2
CamaroSkooter Retarded One-Legged Owl Drives: 2010 Black Camaro 2SS Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: San Antonio, TX Posts: 9,745	I will be the first to comment as well. I got the call from the dealership that the ground effects had arrived and I dropped my car off last Saturday (7-18). They called me on Monday and told me the car was ready, which I was somewhat surprised by, since I know it takes a few days at least to install. I dropped by the dealership after work on Monday (7-20) and upon inspection of the install, I had a few concerns. First off, they did not cut the exhaust tips at all like I've read in the above instruction manual. The second concern was my biggest one, though. The front fascia did not look right at all. There was about a 1/4" gap between the tip of the front fascia and the edge of the ground effects lip. I went ahead and drove it home, and the following day called the service manager to figure out what to do. So, he calls me back and tells me to bring it in on Thursday (7-23) so he can have a local technician take a look at it. I bring it in Thursday after work and he sees what I'm talking about. Apparently, he wasn't there to see what the car looked like when the install was done before I took it home. He calls me on Friday (7-24) afternoon and leaves a voicemail telling me that the gap is supposed to be there and I can come pick it up. I got the voicemail a bit late, so I decided to just leave it there overnight and come in Saturday (7-25) morning to talk to him about it. I decided to print out the installation instructions I found above as well as a few photos of someone who's had GFX2.0 installed correctly and bring those with me to talk to him this morning. When I get there, I let my dad do the talking because I know I would have flipped out if he continued this whole dialogue of, "this is the way it's supposed to look." We showed him in the installation book where it specifies that you have to physically remove the entire front fascia in order to properly install the front lip, and he goes mute. It was his understanding that the front fascia did not have to be removed from the car at all to do the install. When we pointed out that there are supposed to be holes drilled and pop-rivets installed between the front fascia and ground effects from the backside of the front fascia, he finally agreed that he was unaware of that procedure. He also tried to tell me that he knew that was not part of the GFX1.0 installation procedure and must have been added to the GFX2.0 install procedure. I kind of smirked at that afterwards since I'm pretty sure the installation instructions in my previous post are from GFX1.0 and not the re-design. Anyway, after all of this mess, I'm hoping that they finally get everything installed correctly, but I'm very concerned that once you try to install these once, if you don't do it right, you've basically destroyed both the front fascia and front lip. Am I wrong in this assumption? If it still looks wrong, what do I do then? This whole ordeal has been pretty frustrating. I will say, though, that the sides and rear look pretty good, even if they didn't cut the exhaust tips like they're supposed to. What has me worried also is that the instructions say you should remove the rear fascia as well for the installation, which I'm pretty sure they didn't do either. So, I don't know what to do here. I'm seriously considering seeing if CamaroScotty can order me a bumper and front lip and have his guys put them together the right way and just pay for basically a whole new front end. At least that way I would know it was done right.

07-25-2009, 09:17 PM	#3
World of Wheels Drives: 2SS Spaceship Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Michigan City Indiana Posts: 210	I have been waiting on my gfx for two months now. Yesterday the the dealer called and told me that they would be avaliable with in the next week or so. I don't know If you guys have been able to get them since the "misshap" with the front or not, but once the people that ordered them with the car get theirs, I guess we will be getting them. IMO I don't like the look of the front piece and will not be putting it on. Has anyone heard any different from their dealer?