Has anyone installed the 5 piece body kit from stillen on their own? Does it come with 3M tape? Is it easy or do I need to sand it down a lot for fitment? What do I buy to and it down? I saw the wire up on how to install the front lip so I shouldn't have problems with that but I was really wondering about the rear corners and side skirts. How do the old ones come off?

Lots of questions. Someone please help a fellow 7th gen owner out! It would be much appreciated. I have a white 09 Nissan Maxima SV. Thanks!

 

*sand *write up* hate auto correct lol

 

the side skirts were kind of a pain, rest was easy.

 

A pain? Why? How?

 

because its essentially held on with primarily 3m tape, so if you dont prep the surface right and use adhesion promoter it will sag and come off. i had to install mine twice before it really stuck. some guys used screws to hold it on but i think that looks ghetto

 

How do the old rear corners and side skirts come off?

 

the OEM splash guards are held on with 3m tape as well and a couple clips on the bottom. the OEM side skirts have a bunch of clips holding them on the bottom and clips holding the sides. you have to kinda break the clips holding the sides to get them off, and remove the remnants which kinda makes them worthless for re-install. so if you plan to re-install oem side skirts later you'll need to get some new clips from Nissan, nothing crazy but definitely an extra step

 

Thanks so much! How about prepping. Do I need to sand the new parts down a little before installation?

 

Has anyone tried painting the side skirts and rear corners and front lip black on a white maxima? I've seen a gtr like that. Do you guys think it'll look good?

 

Yeah, the side skirts are kind of a b!tch, especially if you're not familiar with removing and installing body components.

The stock rockers are held on there pretty well. Each side has 6 philips screws (3 on each end), ~8 plastic fastners underneath and along the mid section, and 3M tape supporting the top.

The stillen rockers can reuse the philips screws on each end providing a nice solid anchor. But that's where it ends. Stillen didn't mold bottom tongues to utilize the stock fastners, and therefore you're only left with tape for stability.

If you don't do a good job, like Ghozt said, it's gonna look kinda shi!tty.

Make sure you wash the area really well after pulling off the OEM rockers. I re-taped the Stillen rockers after they were painted to make sure everything was fresh. And make sure you use adhesive promoter. IMO Stillen doesn't provide enough (promoter) for the rockers. You should be able to get the tape and promoter from autozone.

I'm not sure about the diffuser or corners but those are probably a lot easier than the rockers. The lip is pretty easy too. And if you can't do the roof spoiler then you probably shouldn't attempt anything else. Just get a friend to help you out. And post some pics when you're done.

 

yeah if you do some pre-fit you'll get it to sit much better, mine needed very minor sanding around some of the curves to get it to fit more flush so it wasnt too bad. i did my prefit then took to my boy to have painted and then i installed. definitely use the 3m adhesion promoter, i used painters tape to kinda hold the side skirt in place for a good hour and occasionally gave it some pressure too to let the tape adhere well

 

I've already installed a roof wing spoiler and the rear diffuser. Those were a piece of cake. Although because I've been parking outside and it's been snowing and raining, one corner of the roof spoiler started to come off. I keep checking my rear diffuser to make sure it's still intact. I'm pretty paranoid about it and I'm not sure how I feel about my side skirts being installed with just some 3M tape and promoter.

 

Wait for the weather to get warmer. I didn't even attempt to install my rear roof spoiler until late spring.

If it's already peeling that's not a good sign.

 

I've had it on for a few months. Installed it before the winter. I reapplied 3M tape about a month ago and so far it seems like it's stuck on there pretty well. Hopefully for a while. *fingers crossed*

 

I think there's a silver Max on here that left the lip unpainted.

I guess it depends on your theme. It definitely has potential.

 

Unpainted? Unprotected? I'd rather vinyl wrap it black and plastidip it clear to protect it. Lol. And maybe add glossifier. Actually.. I think that's a good idea

 

Yeah. If I remember correctly he unpacked it and slapped it on the front. Maybe he's since taken it off and repainted.

Your method would prolly be cheaper than getting it painted.

 

I vinyl wrapped the wood trim in my max and also plastidipped my wheels, grille, door handles, trim around the windows. I'm still deciding but I think I'm going to vinyl wrap the body kit gloss black.

 

What did you use to sand it down?

 

800 grit sandpaper, smoothed it out with 1000 and then 1500 grit after i got a nice flush fit

 

Thanks!

 

My car naked for now. Can't wait to start my project!

 

 

Still undecided. Don't know if I should do plastidip or vinyl wrap. For the side skirts that's where I'd really gotta scrub coz that's where the most dirt builds up and I wash my car often. What's more durable?

Any suggestions?? Vinyl or dip?
Thanks in advance!

 

id get it painted

 

Paint. You don't want I scrub plastic dip, vinyl will tear or puncture considering it's going to be in an area that will incur lots of debris kicking up.

Make it look nice and get it painted.

 

I emailed 3 body shops and 2 of them replied and quoted me $900 to paint and refuse to install due to bad experience with fitment. So I'm trying to find the best solution for now so I can save up some money to have it painted. And this way I think is better because I'll know how to install them for the second time and know exactly what I'm doing

 

sigh, so many scammers out there. mine were painted for $300, and as long as you do pre-fit and sand where needed before painting, and then prep the surface WELL and use adhesion promoter you'll be fine for the install.

$900 is pretty close to covering getting the front bumper, hood, and 2 front quarter panels painted, just for reference. id shop around, try calling some body shops that specialize in automotive repair after collisions.

 

There s an old thread on here that talks about the stillen body components when they first came out. This included the front lip, side skirts, deck lid spoiler, and roof spoiler. He talked about the price for painting (and installation I believe). FYI, the rear corners and diffuser were recent additions to the stillen kit.

It was a silver Max (2009 or 2010).

Try and find that thread to give you a comparison for price. Others have paid around $600 for lip, rockers, and spoiler ... So $900 might be around the right price.

The guy, who is a close family friend, who painted my front lip and rockers also told me he wouldn't guarantee the installation. He told me that it's more of an adhesive issue rather than a fitment issue. I did the install myself about 7 months ago and have not had any problems yet.

 

This is what I paid but they did all the fitment and prep work as well.

 

I'm confused on how to go about pre-fitting for the side skirts. And rear corners. Without uninstalling the stock? Or is this done in a shop before they paint?

What needs to be done for the prepping before paint?

 

you cannot do pre-fit without removing the OEM parts. if you are unfamiliar with this stage id have a shop do it for you

 

I'd rather do it on my own. Thanks

 

i understand, just for those who've never done it before pre-fit/sanding and installing body components isnt like slapping in an intake, it takes time and a good eye. so, just a heads up on that.

 

Thanks. I'll keep that in mind. I just don't want to get ripped off by a mechanic and get charged for something that takes some patience and effort and that's totally do-able on my own. And if I mess up its not a big deal as opposed to a body shop messing up on something they should know how to do. I work hard for my money as most people do. I'm not ready to spend that kind of money and not be happy with the end result.

 

well said.

 

10 points!