are there any alternatives i dont no about other than AERO, widened steel, stock fiberglass, and carerra kit style ones?
and importantly are aero guards worth the $$?

VForce have some good quality strong fibreglass guards in various sizes(width over stock) and are way cheaper than the other ones you mentioned.

The fellow from Vee Force made the original Aero Guards,
My Son has them on His beetle.... they are very thick fibreglass, which is what You need....

The thick fibreglass widened guards are also very expensive in the USA....

In the UK You can buy guards, widened internally or externally... I prefer the internally widened guards....
and they also sell the wide running boards to match...
not sure whether they are steel or fibreglass....

Lee

question still remains are aero guards worth the expense?

and do they have 2 have the early lights front and late light rear? has any1 else noticed THEY DONT MATCH

HeyDude,

Mine came with them....I believe they are about $260 each!
They do have the sloping headlights at the front regardless of model(mine are 911 lenses) for what I can see are two reasons. The guards are designed for racing and push air around the car and for aero dynamics the early style lights are better. Secondly...they look better!

I have flat lenses on the rear, which I think look a bit better, although I would have liked smaller ones, which they do not make.

Matt

thanks boof, i feel like im talkin 2 my dog here but anyways, i dont really mind the early front lights, but the rears look weird, can we not just have a smooth version 2 fit any lights 2? also boof are they worth the $$ forked out 4 them compared 2 other options?

Fiberglass is fairly easy to work with, is it not?

You could always smooth off the rear guards and fit the earlier tail lights?

I can't comment on the value for money as I havn't seen them, but they have a distinct look to them, which is better than the outside flared guards!

Aeros are a racing guard.
The whole point is to stop air getting in under the guard and causing up lift.

IF you race then they have a purpose

IF you dont race then it is down to looks.

IF you are asking are they value for the effort in making them - definitely.

IF you are asking are they $$ value to improve your car's performance - I doubt it.

IF you are asking are they $$ value to improve the look of a car - I think so, especially a nice German Looker

I bought a set of Aeros and some from Vforce about 12 months ago-The aeros were nearly double the $$$ of Vforce guards and are very thin and flimsy,whereas the Vforce ones are really thick and very rigid. Value for $$$-you have to work that out for yourself,because you have to justify value against the look your after.These two brands are the only ones I could find that keep the early headlight.I agree with you about the Aero rears-would be better to have a flat surface to mount early lights if you want.I haven't bothered to find anybody to smooth them out-just bought LBug lights to suit.When the Aeros are fitted up on a Beetle,they look really awesome for mine-but I suppose others may think differently.Each to their own.

when my father was doing the aeros he put the big tail lights in manly for a more model look and because the guards are much bigger some tail lights look lost in the bigger guards AND it saved him having to make to sets of rears molds for the early and the late beetles. Fibre glass is a B!T#H to work with to. On my car (oval) i run the Aeros on the front and a guard know as the smoothie look on the rear that look original but is 2inchs wider and looks pretty nice and has small tail lights. These guards will improve your cars performance after around 100ks when the air begins to lift the front of the car.

alex

next logical question i spose is does anyone race their vw in QLD?

A mate of mine could easily do the mods to the rear. He is a genius with any type of moulding, carbon fibre fibre glass or even plastic composites. I just havnt had time to take them off, take them to him and then paint them again. You would really want to start with an early model guard as the later ones seem to bulge up more on the top then drop away...not as smooth.

See....

another....

[Edited on 16/3/2005 by boof2332]