photos by: the author
Bringing Phoenix into the 2020s with IROC Motorsports’ Q-Splitter
Let’s face it, quite a lot has changed since the last F-bodies rolled of of the assembly-line in 2002; be it politics, the economy and especially automotive styling and design. Gone are the days of General Motors taking a “that’ll do” approach to quality and functionality, and in its place, we have everything from 650 hp supercharged Cadillacs and even entry level cars running around with leather-covered dashboards, functioning aero and suede headliners.
Being as spoiled that we road test editors get with our much newer vehicles, plopping back behind the wheel of an F-body that traces its earliest roots to 1993 can leave us with something of a culture shock. And as great as the car looked on the outside with its 1998 update, we sometimes wonder how the WS6 would have looked with more modern advances such as a front splitter and rear diffuser.
Of course with the 4th-generation Firebird long out of production and Pontiac now retired, we’ll never find out. However, there are several aftermarket solutions, namely, the cosmetic accessories currently being offered by IROC Motorsports.
This is a shot of our Trans Am, minus the 6LE front splitter. It looks great, but it just always seemed like it needed something to tie the front end together…
IROC Motorsports has been offering various cosmetic and performance modifications for third- and fourth-bodies, GTOs, G8s, Corvettes, Silverados and last but not least, fifth- and sixth-gen Camaros for a number of years. We even teamed up with them for their billet aluminum hood hinges in a previous update on Project Phoenix last month.
Wanting to continue with the “modern update” theme of our WS6, we rang up IROC Motorsports again. This time, we requested their recently released Q-Splitter for ’93-02 Camaros and ’98-02 Firebirds. Our friends over at IROC also offer an earlier version, a more traditional-looking splitter without the aggressive “fangs” of the newer, Q-Splitter, that we’ve opted for on our car. There’s also an option to upgrade to the full splitter/canard/side splitters package. That’s something we might order at a later date, as well as the rear diffusor. But for now, let’s focus on the Q-splitter itself.
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- Made from a 1/4-inch thick ABS automotive grade plastic, IROC’s ’98-02 Firebird Q-Splitter is manufactured right here in The States and uses the same level of quality the OEs use for production cars.
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- All hardware is included; including washers, bolts and the appropriate body spacers.
Installation is pretty cut and dry with the IROC Q-Splitter, simply removing the four mounting bolts holding the OEM plastics in place. We’ll keep these underbody plastics in place, but we’ll replace the factory hardware with the longer bolts that were included in the kit.
Since we’re lucky enough to have access to a lift in our shop (highly recommended but not necessary), we collected the bolts and stuck them to our magnetic tray dish. Hey, you never know when you might need to reuse them for something else, right?
There are also three plastic tabs that need to be temporarily removed during the splitter install, as they allow access to the three top mounting positions in the lower radiator support that we’ll need to drill three holes. These are found directly in the center of the lower front fascia. Once the holes are drilled, you’ll utilize the three longer spacers in the front, which will be later visible in the finished product. The smaller spacers will be used in the front corners on either side of the splitter.
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- Remember those four bolts we pulled earlier?
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- The splitter has pre-drilled holes for each mounting hole.
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- We installed a bolt in each corner of the splitter, and worked our way inward.
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- It’s best to get a friend to help you hold the splitter in placer as you install it.
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- Up close, you can see how the Q-splitter runs wit the contours of the body lines of the lower bumper, while at the same time, provides a cosmetic edge that adds to the aggressive demeanor of the car.
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- We like the idea of how the splitter evens out the body lines of the front bumper and side rocker panel extension (aka, ground effects). We always felt that it seemed a little unbalanced for years, but at the same time, have shied away from some of the alternatives on the market today.
Be sure to check back next time, when we add an IROC Motorsports rear diffuser to Project Phoenix!
Rick Seitz is the owner and founder of GMEFI Magazine, and has a true love and passion for all vehicles. When he isn’t tuning, testing, or competing with the brand’s current crop of project vehicles, he’s busy tinkering and planning the next modifications for his own cars.
