There is no shortage of aftermarket add-ons that supposedly enhance the visual appeal of a car. Body kits, stickers, covers, and accessories can transform a daily driver to a race car… or a ricer. My Alto Works came from an era when boxy, over-the-top aftermarket body kits were the norm so there are still plenty of weird, flamboyant aero parts available for the car. Most of it, unfortunately, doesn’t fit with the theme of the whole car… to me, at least.

Front lip spoilers are one of those small little bits that can make a difference in the overall look. A simple lip can transform a boring car to something sporty by reducing ground clearance and adding a hint of aggressiveness. It’s like wearing a little extra accessory, be it a tie, a wristwatch, a necklace; subtle, but really adds to the atmosphere.

Of course, there are pragmatic reasons for adding a front lip spoiler, too. As the name implies, it can also act as an air spoiler, increasing downforce and minimizing underbody air pressure. Larger front lips look very similar to wedges, forcing air over it, pushing the front of the car down for maximum grip.

In addition to front lip spoilers, proper racing aero often employs other tricks to improve lap times. Those long flat boards that poke far past the bumper, often secured by additional tie rods, are called air splitters. They are designed to literally “split” the air above and below, cutting the lower air pressure, but the most effective ones are long and extremely low to the ground. While a simple front lip spoiler alone may not be effective as a true splitter, it can certainly help without making a car impractical as a daily driver.

Rather than go full-bore into a splitter and huge front lip, I’m sticking with something simpler and better looking for now. I always liked the classic look of a flat, broad lip, as found on retro-fantastic muscle cars and Datsuns of old. Essentially a thin wedge angled downwards and attached to the stock bumper, they were popular additions in a bygone era. Also referred to chin spoilers, in Japanese they often seem to be commonly differentiated from other lip spoilers.

Ever since I bought my Miata years ago, I always wanted to get one of these chin spoilers for it, but they were a bit pricey with shipping from Japan. The only ones I’ve seen that are available now are from TRAP and they are gorgeous on a Roadster with other retro modifications.

Unfortunately, there is only one company that seems to make a model-specific chin spoiler for the Alto Works, from Hello Special. It does seem to be bespoke, but it could also be a universal fit one that just happens to work well. Without closer inspection, I had to pass on the price, a cool 15400￥ ($140 USD) for a sliver of Fiber-Reinforced Plastic (FRP).

With a bit of searching, I eventually came across a chin spoiler online from Yahoo! Auctions for quite a reasonable price. They offered two models, one longer and wider than the other. The price the company offered for their “short” spoiler was significantly cheaper, so I couldn’t pass it up. I actually won their Yahoo! auction for at only 5000￥ ($45 USD) when they normally sell it for around 8000￥.

Given the low price and that the chin spoiler was made of FRP with a simple, black gel coat, I expected a very rough finish. It actually didn’t look too bad out of the box from a few feet away, but of course, there was a lot of pits, air pockets, and rough brush strokes on the outer surface when viewed up close. It might’ve been more or less fine with a simple coat of paint, but I wanted the car to look good.