Friday, April 25, 2014

Installing the Schnell Autosports 981/991 Aluminum Protection Bar

Installing Schnell Autosports' exclusive aluminum protection bar on your 981/991 is a quick and simple project for the DIYer to do at home.



Tools you’ll need:
  • T30 Torx head remover
  • 13mm socket wrench
  • Pliers
Your aluminum protection bar kit should come with the following:
  • 1 protection bar
  • 3 speed clips
  • 3 13mm bolts
  • 3 crush washers


The first step is to raise the car to give you access to underneath the front bumper area. As you'll be underneath the car, make sure that if you're not using a lift or ramps, you have the car's weight properly supported on jackstands.


With the front of the car now raised, you should be able to see the three screws that secure the bottom trailing edge of the front bumper. All three screws have T30 Torx heads.



The protection bar in relation to where the stock screws are located

Next step is to remove the three stock speed clips that the three screws you removed previously attached to. To gain access to the clips, you will have to pull down slightly on the trailing edge of the bumper to expose the tabs that they sit on, and then you can use pliers to pull the clips off.

With the old clips off, you can now install the new clips that came with your protection bar. The installation of the clips is just the reverse of the removal of the old clips, but make sure that the “flat” side of the clip is pointing downwards towards the ground.



Old hardware on the left. Note the T30 Torx screws. New hardware on the right, with 13mm bolts and crush washers

Once the new clips are installed, you can now push the edge of the bumper back upwards so that its holes align with the holes on the speed clips.


With the holes aligned, all that’s left is to bolt up the protection bar. The bar will only fit in one orientation, but make sure that the tabs are at the top, with the bar facing the ground. We suggest fastening the middle bolt first (make sure to use the crush washer), as it will help to hold the bar up for when you attach the other two bolts and adjust the bar’s position. The new bolts are all 13mm. Once all three bolts are in place and you are happy with how the bar is sitting, go ahead and tighten the bolts until snug, and then give it another ¼ turn (for the crush washers to compress properly).



How the bar should be oriented. The round bar needs to be the lowest point to work properly.
The bar after installation.

1 comment:

  1. Will this prevent scraping up the bottom of the plastic nose ahead of your bar?
    Which are the worse?

    ReplyDelete