ACTIVE AERO PERSONAL PROJECT

MITSUBISHI 3000GT / GTO · ACTIVE AERO

Keeping the original
Active Aero alive.

A personal journey from a damaged front air dam to an accurate reproduction — developed through persistence, reverse engineering and a lot of trial and error.

Read the project story ↗
A private enthusiast project · First run: 20 pieces
Black reproduced Mitsubishi 3000GT Active Aero front air dam

01 / THE STORY

It started with my own 3000GT.

I own a red, first-generation European-spec Mitsubishi 3000GT Twin Turbo. I do much of the work on the car myself, and in 2021 it was time to restore the Active Aero system.

I managed to repair the rear spoiler, but the front air dam was another story. It was badly distorted and torn. I spent countless hours trying to reshape and glue it, without lasting success.

During a motorway test drive at normal speed, the repaired air dam tore again. Fortunately, it remained caught beneath the car and dragged along instead of coming completely loose onto the road. I knew I needed another solution.

Trial and error

My first reproduction was made from polyester, but it was too heavy and rigid. The original part is made from a soft, flexible plastic. I then asked a friend to produce a carbon-fibre version. The thin version cracked, while the thicker one was again too stiff. I even considered a hinged construction, but that would have changed the original shape and Venturi effect.

Eventually, with financial support from a few fellow 3000GT owners, I decided to reproduce the original design myself.

02 / DESIGN DIFFERENCES

Two factory versions.
One deliberate choice.

I discovered that Mitsubishi made two versions of the front air dam. I chose the European design because its separate corner pieces can be replaced individually if damaged.

EU version with separate corner pieces

European version

Separate, replaceable side corners. This is the design I chose to reproduce.

OEM part number: MB888705

US and Japan version with integrated corners

US / Japan version

The corners are integrated into the air dam as a single piece.

OEM part number: MB867826

GENERATION DETAILS

Gen 1 and Gen 2 corners are different.

The detachable corner pieces also differ between the first and second generations. My Gen 1 pieces were intact, and a local Gen 2 owner kindly lent me his as a reference.

Gen 1 OEM corner part numbers:
Left: MB955713  ·  Right: MB955714

Gen 2 OEM corner part numbers:
Left: MR153885  ·  Right: MR153886

Comparison of Gen 1 and Gen 2 corner profiles

03 / DEVELOPMENT

From a rare original
to real tooling.

01

Finding a reference

Finding an intact original air dam to borrow was difficult. Many owners understandably did not want to lend theirs, and shipping such a large part was expensive.

02

3D scanning

Through a friend of a friend, I met an engineer working in the automotive industry. He scanned the air dam and corners and provided the digital files.

03

Reverse engineering

I spent many hours preparing the scanned geometry on my computer and creating the models needed for toolmaking.

04

Tooling and test pieces

A toolmaker produced the thermoforming and milling tools for the air dam and corners. The cost was quite a shock! I had two trial air dams formed, which revealed two details where the material shrank differently than expected.

05

The first small run

After correcting the forming tool, I approved a tiny first run of 20 air dams. The reproduction uses the same material, thickness and manufacturing process as the original.

3D SCANNING / REVERSE ENGINEERING

From scan data to production-ready models.

After the original parts had been 3D-scanned, I worked on the digital geometry myself. These CAD views show the reconstructed front air dam, the separate corner pieces and a smaller detail — the groundwork for the forming and milling tools.

Raw 3D scan result of the original Mitsubishi 3000GT Active Aero front air dam
Original 3D scan result — raw scan data before reverse engineering and CAD reconstruction
CAD model of the Mitsubishi 3000GT front air dam and its forming tool
Reverse-engineered front air dam and forming-tool geometry
CAD geometry for the separate Gen 1 and Gen 2 corner pieces
CAD models of the separate corner pieces
CAD model of a smaller formed detail and its tooling
Detail model and tooling geometry
Professional 3D scanning equipment
3D scanning
Tooling used to produce the front air dam
Toolmaking and forming

05 / THE RESULT

Worth every hour.

What began as a simple repair turned into a far bigger undertaking than I ever imagined. I spent countless hours testing materials, working with 3D models and developing the tools — and I would rather not think about the costs!

Today, the reproduced air dam is fitted to my own 3000GT and has been tested on the road. It was made using the same material, material thickness and manufacturing method as the original, preserving its shape, function and flexibility.

And if I am a little proud when I look at my 3000GT today, I think that is fair.

06 / GET IN TOUCH

Interested in the
Active Aero Front Air Dam?

This is a personal enthusiast project, not an online store.

If you're interested in a reproduced Active Aero Front Air Dam or the matching corner pieces for your Mitsubishi 3000GT, feel free to get in touch.

centuria@sanzengt.com