Carbon Fiber Side Strake Installation
 

Hey guys,

Last week I installed the carbon fiber mirror caps and so far so good. This week I decided to tackle the carbon fiber side strakes.

I have not seen a video of the installation so I figured I would make one. I'm a visual learner so it may help those that are wanting to attempt the job.

Tools:
Car Jack (I used Quick Jacks, I highly recommend getting these as they make lifting the Aston a breeze)
21 mm deep impact to remove Wheel
T30 Torx Bit to remove Fender Liner
Philips driver to remove Fender Liner
10mm wrench to remove nuts and bolt
Painters Tape
LOTS OF PATIENCE

Steps:
1) Lift Car from designated lifting points
2) Remove wheel using 21mm socket
3) Remove fender liner using T30 and Phillips driver (Not necessary to remove entire liner)
4) Tape the edge of the fender that meets the door and the edge of the door that meets the fender
5) Unscrew 4 nuts and 1 bolt using a 10mm ratchet wrench

Tips:
1) Use quick jacks to lift the car. For some reason, lifting the Aston is nerve-wracking because of the obscure lifting points. So much faster and even lifting.

2) For the driver side that doesn't have the obstruction, unscrew all four nuts. The bolt that is between the fender and door, the bolt is long and when you back it out, it will hit the face of the door that is open. Since the other nuts are off, you can pull the strake out a little from the fender and thus giving you clearance for the last bolt

3) For the passenger side, this has the major obstruction right behind the strake, not allowing your hands to get back there to get the last nut furthest from the fender. I unscrewed the first three nuts, starting from the fender and working towards the door. Then get the door bolt out. Get your longest 10mm wrench and try to get the 4th nut loose. From there you can pivot the mesh up into the fender allowing your hands to work under the strake for the last nut. (see in the video)

That's it. You will have some beautiful carbon side strakes to accent your car. Enjoy the vid and pics. Hope it was helpful. Feel free to ask me anything.


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https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.6sp...f36e088ffe.jpg
ECPS Carbon Side Strake
https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.6sp...9e9c31d32a.jpg
ECPS Carbon Side Strake
https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.6sp...a8ba2b48f2.jpg
OEM Chrome Strake
https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.6sp...9f6d64a1cc.jpg
Final Upgraded Carbon Side Strakes
https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.6sp...110388507c.jpg
OEM Chrome Strake
https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.6sp...11b84f30a7.jpg
Final Upgraded Carbon Side Strakes
https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.6sp...ec19708ee6.jpg
https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.6sp...cf89cc13b2.jpg
OEM Side Strakes weight 1lb 8.2 oz
https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.6sp...9d8c6213f8.jpg
Carbon Side Strakes weight 6 oz
https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.6sp...dfaad52ebd.jpg
Final Upgraded Carbon Side Strakes

That looks great although I really wish someone did a chromed plastic version to drop the weight but retain a bit of chrome detailing on the car.

I was surprised to see how heavy the chrome strakes were. Not too heavy in the grand total of things, but compared to CF....wow. You could develop a plastic chrome piece.....there seems to be a market for it.
IMO the vantage is a sporty nimble car compared to the DB so I deleted all the chrome off the car (black out trim, mirror caps, side strakes) to give it a more aggressive look, If I had a Rapide or DB9 I would have kept the chrome on there as its a nice touch of luxury and more of a grand tourer.

As usual Andrew, thank you for documenting another interesting project on your Tungsten Chariot. The excellent pictures as well as the video will really assist those contemplating this upgrade.

The new carbon fiber side strakes really complement the recently installed mirror caps.

Well done my friend!

Thanks Rob! Also thanks for catching those psych "patients" that were running wild on my car HAHA

Did you black out the front grill ? If so would you mind sharing pictures. I'm on the fence about blacking out the chrome trim and front grill. thanks.

I have a 6 slate front grill set up that came black from the factory. Here is a picture of the front of my car before I installed the CF additions.

If you are doing it yourself, I believe that each individual slate can be removed and you could wrap them matte black.

Best of luck. Hope this helps make your mind up. I love the black contrast off the tungsten.

https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.6sp...003945e9ae.jpg
https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.6sp...1c347791f9.jpg

Hmmm, are there really that many people who would buy such a thing to lose 2lbs from the car? It's not the easiest thing to pull off, and the OEM pieces look beautiful.

The size is fairly reasonable, I think you could print one out of plastic (could be CF filled if you want to claim "carbon fiber" lol), then it would need to be smoothed out and chromed but that is of course much cheaper than these carbon fiber pieces.

Thanks... that looks good. Def. sportier.

I'm sure many members will appreciate that video.

Regarding the front grille, if you are not sure wrapping is a good idea (also easy to return to OEM without buying new parts).
I chose to powder coat mine satin black and it's easy for them to do it as every piece has a hole in it so it can be hung.
https://i.postimg.cc/W4Lj9s2k/PXL-20...-201737236.jpg

Yes!!! Well done! The front grille is metal so powder coating would work and very durable. Did you sandblast them down?

Also, have I mentioned I enjoy your thread. The strake photos were helpful!

yes they were blasted first, see photos on page 32 of the build thread here:

https://www.6speedonline.com/forums/...canada-32.html

Turned out amazing. I got the car with the black grille already. The side strake mesh was also already black. Seemed to be powder coated or factory. Also, the previous owner put CF everywhere on the interior so I figured I would start on the exterior.

2 questions. I saw your VAP airbox delete. I have an air filter 2-year maintenance coming up. Seeing as they are roughly the same price, should I just go with airbox delete with reusable filters from VAP? Are they worth it? Does it need retune? I believe they are coming out with a new design.

Second, are there any aggressive CF rear diffusers for our models. I know the older MY had the rear bumper mostly painted and the new ones were like black plastic-ish.

My experience has been that it was a successful upgrade, easier to service, a little more induction noise, tune not required. One of those things that you wait until new filters are needed and do it at that time (like a clutch upgrade).

Google Images is your friend on this topic.
Some members may post photos of what they have installed and their are several threads on the forum if you search.

I like the one Handyman installed on his 2009 my guess is that it is from V Collection although perhaps not as aggressive as you are looking for.
It does sounds like an obvious next CF treatment on the exterior of your ride.
Taking it too far IMHO would be a rear diffuser from the Vantage GTE race cars ;)

My service is due in May so maybe it's time to get the air box delete. I will give the forum a good search for rear diffusers. I like the DBS carbon rear diffuser and it is similar to the v collection. I'm not sure what years the rear diffuser changed (when some were painted and others were black). I wish mine was painted, then the carbon diffuser would offset the look. I think black plastic with a carbon diffuser would not look as great. Might have to swap the rear to carbon as well as the diffuser. The GTE is way too aggressive and would not look right on my tame car haha. Thanks for the heads up!