Here is the how

Yarbsea's how-to on installing racing stripes on your Srt-4
If you like them, put them on and if you don't - well then go somewhere else.
I dyno'd this in my driveway and I saw 0 HP gain, but my kids swear it looks faster.
I'll have to tinker with it some more to get the expected results...I'll keep you posted

Email me at sean@seanyarbrough.com for anything you like

Required Supplies

Vinyl (I used 15" x 10 Yard Avery® Metallic Silver)
Razor blades
Spray bottle filled with mixture of water & couple drops of soap
Rubber Squeegee (or credit card covered in a soft cloth)
Flat cutting surface
Ruler / Measuring tape
Masking tape, 2" wide
Grease pencil
Hair dryer / heat gun

Tips

I got the vinyl from a plastic's warehouse for less than $40 for a 15" wide by 10 yard roll. Very inexpensive, and easy to cut in half. I used the blue painters masking tape that is 2" wide. As far as the water spray, distilled water can yield better results, but I didn't bother with it.

Basis of the install

The basis to the install is that I want 3" spacing between the stripes, so I found the easiest way to achieve that was as follows. A stripe of masking tape is laid down the center of the vehicle from front to back. This tape is 2" wide. When the Avery vinyl is cut in half it leaves computer perforations on either side, and when flipped around and laid against the tape as a guide it measures exactly 3" across. This is how you will achieve a 3" spacing easily across the entire vehicle.

Now lets begin..

Install masking tape "guide" down entire vehicle

Start in the front of the vehicle, and measure between the two window washer sprayers and mark off the exact center with a grease pencil. This is one of the major references for the center of the stripes. Open the hood and using a screw driver, push in the clips that hold the washer nozzles to pop them out, then pull off the tubes and pull the nozzles out from the top of the hood.

Now on the roof mark off the center of the front of the roof and the back portion right up against the glass.

On the rear of the car mark off the center of the 3rd brake light, and point between the two bottom holes on the license plate cutout and the point on the TOP side of the spoiler opposite the hole on the underside of said spoiler (if you still have one).

Also open the trunk and remove the two nuts holding the 3rd brake light in. Disconnect it and remove it leaving the space. Also take off the license plate.

Now begin from the front and lay your first piece beginning on the middle of the Ram's head insert in the bumper, continue it up and across the hood cutout and EXACTLY across the middle marker you made between the wash nozzles. If you don't' have straight eyesight, you can also make marks 1 inch on either side of the center mark to have "railroad tracks" to lay the tape through, otherwise just center the tape on the center mark.

Also cut the tape at the top and bottom of the trunk so you can open it during install.

Install vinyl

Roof Install

Measure and cut the vinyl stripe to allow a couple inches overhang on either side. Now to lay the vinyl straight you just have to use some common sense. I simply butted the dry vinyl still on it's white backing against the blue tape. Remember from the beginning this assures a 3" spacing between stripes. So now that the stripe is butted against the middle tape guide, you can use pieces of tape to mark the OUTER side of the vinyl stripe.

You can see this process on the picture on the right, and see i have placed a single piece of blue tape on the right side of the vinyl to mark the outside edge. Now repeat this outer marking process a couple times along to the vinyl so that when you get ready to lay it, you will have a nice set of guides.

Now spray down the area with the water/soup mixture (NOT febreze). Peel off a small section of the vinyl and spray down the sticky side. Continue pulling the vinyl off it's back while spraying it down to prevent it from sticking to itself. You should end up holding the entire stripe in your hand. now lay the stripe down on the roof.

Now place the wet vinyl on the roof against the OUTER tape pieces. Use the inner piece to guide you visually, but actually butt the vinyl up against the tape you placed on the outside. Now using your squeegee, move the water from underneath the vinyl. I started somewhere in the middle and once I had it lined up, I move the water and it will start to stick. Now work your way all around until you've moved all the water and removed any bubbles or wrinkles. if you are getting wrinkles at this stage you are doing something wrong, either lighten up your touch or put more water down.

Work all the way up to the plastic sealant for the front/rear windows. Use the hard side of the squeegee to press the vinyl firmly against the edge, then using a razor cut the excess. I tried putting the vinyl under the sealant, but it just ended up wrinkling the vinyl, so I simply butted it against the edge...but it's your choice.

Now finish by using a hair dryer to heat the the stripe. Especially hit the edges to prevent lifting. If you get the vinyl to hot, if you try and move it around it will distort or rip, so be careful.

You should end up looking like this after applying stripes to the roof.

Hood Install

Okay, first off make sure you removed the washer nozzles as described earlier. Now you simply repeat the same basic steps as the roof to put on the stripes. Now I went with the "Fangs" look, so it's actually a bit easier than the complete front stripe look. I simply put some paper up on the hood and traced out the contour of the hood scoop to create the inner line of the "fang". Then I just freehanded the rest and ended up with a template. The secret now is to lay the two stripes of vinyl on top of each other with one piece reversed, then use the paper pattern to cut out both stripes at once using a razor or scissors. Laying it is easy as the roof, just be careful with the small fangs portion to not get it wrinkled or ripped.

Curl the top edge under the hood and use the hair dryer to insure it's nice and dry. Now to tackle the washer holes simply hit the area with the dryer until it starts to make an indentation. Use a razor to cut a "+" into the vinyl that's covering the hole. Then use your finger to press the vinyl down into the hole and insure there aren't any wrinkled on the surface around the hole. Once it's as good as you can get it, reinsert the washer nozzles, snapping firmly into place. Reattach the lines and use the squeegee to remove any wrinkles that may have occurred.

Use the dryer on the edges of the fangs especially and then give it all a once over to make sure it's all nice and tight. if you wanted the regular stripes to continue down through the grill, then simply cut small pieces and continue the process all the way down, simply rolling the edges behind the grill to secure them.

Trunk Install

The rear portion is the hardest, and best saved for last. Remember we removed the 3rd brake light, and now it'll payoff for sure. Start by measuring from the window to the middle of the hole left by the brake light. Here is where I cheated and spliced the stripes instead of molding them around this compound contour.

If you are talented and patient you might be able to do this part in one continuous strip, but I could not so I had to cut. It's barely noticeable in normal light, and even then nobody will care. But if that's not enough, be my guest and pay someone to do it for you, I'm sure it won't cost more then a couple hundred :)

You can see on the right how the right stripe ends in the middle of the 3rd brake light. This line will give the least noticeable in my opinion. Use a razor to cut the excess from the hole and leave a bit extra to fold down into the hole. Hit this part with the hair dryer especially good.

You can see how the bottom stripe is layered on top of the other stripe. This line is barely noticeable and actually runs with the body lines of the trunk.

Continue installing vinyl over the trunk area.

For the spoiler I looked underneath it and there is a hole that I used as the center point. Install the vinyl as normal but be ready to put the seam on the bottom side. Then use your hands to pull the wrinkles smooth. It may take a lot of pulling, and I recommend you smooth out the center portion and then grab the two corners and pull tight until the wrinkles are almost gone. Then use the squeegee to work them out.

Now we finally come to the hardest part next to the above mentioned 3rd brake light compound curve area. If you were able to do that section without cutting and butting two pieces against each other, then stop reading here and just finish it all up...otherwise read on.

I decided there was no way I was going to attempt to fill the license plate area, so I resigned myself to laying the stripes as shown to the right. The piece above the license went on with a bit of struggling on the outside compound curve, but with some hair dryer and squeegee action it finally worked out with no wrinkles and straight.

The bottom was tougher to get, especially as it curves underneath the car. Once that was on, i used a razor blade to cut the "U" into the stripes for the license opening. Here you can do what I did, and grit your teeth and cut the vinyl by pressing the razor blade ever-so-slightly against the vinyl and through to the clear-coat. Cutting lightly so as not to cut into the paint. I actually succeeded and only ended up with very small scratch mark right on the edge of the indention to the license. If you're worried, then you could make a mock-up and cut out the piece with scissors.

DONE!

Well, now you've laid all the vinyl and are basically finished! Go take a break and then come back and hit everything with the hair dryer against, and make sure any curling is laid flat again. I'd let it sit for at least 24 hours before messing with the surface (like washing it). I even set mine out in the sun to dry up.

Remember, this will be permanent as long as you treat it well, but I'd still take care around the edges while washing until it's dried for a couple days. if you ever want it removed, you'll probably end up using a heat gun to get it really warm and then peeling it off. Then use 3m products to remove the glue residue if there is any. I've removed vinyl after as long as 1 year with no paint problems, and this was in the Florida sun. No fading of surrounding surfaces, or blemishing of the surface beneath the vinyl. but as usual i have no idea what I'm talking about....so believe what you will and GOOD LUCK!

written by Sean Yarbrough, 2 Sep 2004. copy as you like, just reference me :)