GROUP BUY: ** Carbon Fiber & Fiberglass Side Skirt Extensions ** - ENDED 23/09/17
- Thread starter thanatu55
- Start date
great group buy 
thanatu55 said:
Yes! They arrived today! Unfortunately got hit with an extra $35 upon delivery, $10 for a "Handling Charge" whatever that is. Packaging was great and wasnt abused in transit. Plan to have them on Saturday morning, using 3M auto mounting tape and self-tapping screws.
If I'm honest, the quality isn't quite what I expected. I only opened/inspected the passenger side skirts but assume the driver's side is similar. Two places where there's a dent/prang on the edge like it ran into something - thankfully on the inside out of sight when installed. Also a ton of fish eyes in the clear, and minor flaws in the CF. I'm probably just being really picky, and I'm likely the only one to ever actually look hard enough to notice it.
Still looking forward to having them on. Just installed my APR Performance front splitter last week and this will complement it VERY well. Timing was perfect.
BMWZ4MC said:I'm waiting to see photographs of them fitted to an IL coupe, preferably one with aeroskirts. They look like they'll really complement the zed
I should have pictures of mine done by Monday evening, though no aero skirts on my car.
rockstar93 said:
Hey buddy,
I'm sorry to hear there are a few issues with yours, I'd be interested to know if anybody else has any similar issues?
I have to say I've thoroughly checked mine as they are still in front of me and the finish is flawless, I'd question whether or not the flat edge should be curved but I'd already seen photos to know about that. That obviously doesn't mean that there won't be a couple that could fall through the net not 100% and I am sure Antreas would happily address the error for you. Would you like me to raise it with him? It's no hassle.
And ouch you really got stung for shipping! It must be country specific as this hasn't happened to me or anyone else as far as I know.
My apologies your experience wasn't quite as expected.
thanatu55 said:
While it may be beneficial for him to know one of 'not-perfect quality' slipped through, I don't believe it's worth the effort to address further as like I mentioned, I'm probably the only one who will notice it. Hopefully the driver's side turns out better because then I may not even see it too often haha.
And yeah, in the week in transit it switch hands from Cyprus Post, to the United States Postal Service, to Canada Post, then to me. So somewhere along the lines it picked up and extra charge. Would have happened group buy or no group buy (and I was planning on buying these skirts anyway) so I'm still up.
Anyways, I don't want to seem negative as I'm still satisfied and excited to get these on. Thank you again for all your work to put this together!
Very easy fit, took a bit over 2 hours and was taking my time.
1) Jacked the car up, one side at a time and put a ramp under the front wheel, so I had full access on the sides
2) Thoroughly cleaned the underside of the skirt with isopropyl alcohol (and the CF skirt as well)
3) Ran 3M automotive mounting tape along the edge of the skirt on the car (full length)
4) Using tape I marked where I planned to drill for the self-tapping screws (8 per side as recommended)
5) With the help of another pair of hands, attach the CF skirts via the 3M tape. Be careful as there's quite a bit of flex in the CF so if not supported I'd be afraid of it cracking
- After test fitting, I decided against rounding the back edge off as I liked how it looked ending with the skirt, and it's how my APR splitter ends
- I squared up the back corner of the CF with the corner of the skirt on the car, and the inside edge of the front of the CF with a character line in the fender liner (difficult to explain, but you should notice it when you look at the fender liner)
6) Now that the CF skirt is mounted, I drilled the holes through the CF and side skirt at the locations I marked in step 4.
7) Self-tapping screws in each of the drilled holes
Overall happy with the look. Install was simple and resulted in a sturdy mount - I have no qualms about taking these on track or on our pothole-filled roads. I have them mounted pretty aggressively, so if one isn't paying attention getting out it is possible to catch your foot on it - but I really don't imagine this to be a huge issue (and I rarely have passengers, if I do they're extremely careful around my car because they know how anal I am).
As mentioned, I don't feel like the rear edge needs to be re-shaped or rounded, but I'm thinking of doing this to the front to make it a more gradual curve, still undecided though. I also chose to cut off the rubber flaps in front of the rear wheels thinking I'd rather remove those than cut away the CF, but now I'm regretting this as I've realized I should (and will) be trimming the CF there anyway as it's visible through the wheel well and kind of unsightly IMHO. This is all to your individual tastes though and not a big deal.
What is a bigger deal and slightly disappointing, is that it seems my driver's side CF skirt is shorter than the passenger's, and both are slightly too short for the vehicle to go edge-to-edge. I chose to make it short at the front edge because of the radius, hoping it will be less noticeable, but it is definitely not ideal. Along with the flaws in the carbon itself, it's a bit disappointing but as I mentioned before I'm probably the only one who will notice them.
Excuse the poor picture quality and lighting, the car is still in the garage and unclean ahead of my show. I should have some much nicer, outdoor shots in the next couple days.
1) Jacked the car up, one side at a time and put a ramp under the front wheel, so I had full access on the sides
2) Thoroughly cleaned the underside of the skirt with isopropyl alcohol (and the CF skirt as well)
3) Ran 3M automotive mounting tape along the edge of the skirt on the car (full length)
4) Using tape I marked where I planned to drill for the self-tapping screws (8 per side as recommended)
5) With the help of another pair of hands, attach the CF skirts via the 3M tape. Be careful as there's quite a bit of flex in the CF so if not supported I'd be afraid of it cracking
- After test fitting, I decided against rounding the back edge off as I liked how it looked ending with the skirt, and it's how my APR splitter ends
- I squared up the back corner of the CF with the corner of the skirt on the car, and the inside edge of the front of the CF with a character line in the fender liner (difficult to explain, but you should notice it when you look at the fender liner)
6) Now that the CF skirt is mounted, I drilled the holes through the CF and side skirt at the locations I marked in step 4.
7) Self-tapping screws in each of the drilled holes
Overall happy with the look. Install was simple and resulted in a sturdy mount - I have no qualms about taking these on track or on our pothole-filled roads. I have them mounted pretty aggressively, so if one isn't paying attention getting out it is possible to catch your foot on it - but I really don't imagine this to be a huge issue (and I rarely have passengers, if I do they're extremely careful around my car because they know how anal I am).
As mentioned, I don't feel like the rear edge needs to be re-shaped or rounded, but I'm thinking of doing this to the front to make it a more gradual curve, still undecided though. I also chose to cut off the rubber flaps in front of the rear wheels thinking I'd rather remove those than cut away the CF, but now I'm regretting this as I've realized I should (and will) be trimming the CF there anyway as it's visible through the wheel well and kind of unsightly IMHO. This is all to your individual tastes though and not a big deal.
What is a bigger deal and slightly disappointing, is that it seems my driver's side CF skirt is shorter than the passenger's, and both are slightly too short for the vehicle to go edge-to-edge. I chose to make it short at the front edge because of the radius, hoping it will be less noticeable, but it is definitely not ideal. Along with the flaws in the carbon itself, it's a bit disappointing but as I mentioned before I'm probably the only one who will notice them.
Excuse the poor picture quality and lighting, the car is still in the garage and unclean ahead of my show. I should have some much nicer, outdoor shots in the next couple days.
Attachments
JINGLE said:
Unfortunately I didn't think to take pictures during the install, and haven't had much of a chance to take pictures of the finished product, but installation was a breeze and the turnout was awesome! Super satisfied in the look - curious to see how much of a difference it makes on track although it isn't as aggressive as I expected so I don't imagine a massive difference.
To install, I took the bumper off (10 minute job) and fitted the splitter to the bumper off the car, and mounted them on the car as one piece. Didn't mount the splitter to the chassis, but it's sturdy enough that it shouldn't be an issue. Used 7 bolts w/ lock nuts, 2 per 'fang' and 3 in the middle section. All used factory holes which was nice. Still on the fence about using the support rods, but leaning towards not using them as I like the look as it.
Edit: forgot to mention, the direction of the weave on the AGT side skirts matches the APR splitter
. Unfortunately it's opposite of the OE spoiler lol.rockstar93 said:JINGLE said:
Unfortunately I didn't think to take pictures during the install, and haven't had much of a chance to take pictures of the finished product, but installation was a breeze and the turnout was awesome! Super satisfied in the look - curious to see how much of a difference it makes on track although it isn't as aggressive as I expected so I don't imagine a massive difference.
To install, I took the bumper off (10 minute job) and fitted the splitter to the bumper off the car, and mounted them on the car as one piece. Didn't mount the splitter to the chassis, but it's sturdy enough that it shouldn't be an issue. Used 7 bolts w/ lock nuts, 2 per 'fang' and 3 in the middle section. All used factory holes which was nice. Still on the fence about using the support rods, but leaning towards not using them as I like the look as it.
Edit: forgot to mention, the direction of the weave on the AGT side skirts matches the APR splitter
Skirts look great! I was also wondering about the back edges near the rubber splash guards.... I will modify my skirts rather than the guard, thanks for the heads up
I will also check the lengths to see if they are the same or if you just got very unlucky
I had my splitter out today giving it a good clean and pulled the protective edge off (it's a 2nd hand splitter) new edge protector on order. Mine already has holes for the splitter rods so I will be fitting those, interesting you say you think it wouldnt need anymore fixings at the back, and is sterdy enough by itself... I wasn't looking forward to doing all the extra mounting to the back modified undertray?! Should be fitted next weekend hopefully! Also got some of that tape ordered to help mount the skirts!!!
What length screws are you guys using? Photos above look great
JINGLE said:
I bought mine used as well, and with the exception of one small scuff the edging is in good shape - though I anticipate it won't stay that way forever. Did you order yours direct from APR or find the edging somewhere else?
And I do believe it is quite sturdy attached only to the bumper by the 7 bolts. From the reading I've done, having the support rods mounted at the back also gives you the ability to fine tune/tweak the angle of the splitter. Would be nice to have and I may potentially do that long term. Short term my priority is to fabricate something to fill in the gap between the fangs, similar to what Intgr8r had done over on Zpost.
The tape will do wonders for helping to mount the skirts! I do believe it would be enough to hold them on for regular driving use (if you doubled up on the tape instead of the one strip I did), but for my peace of mind I also used the screws. My first time using the tape in such a large application and I was extremely pleased at how thin it was, and how easy it was to use. Would stretch just enough to create smooth curves without introducing air bubbles or pockets.
Silverzedtom said:What length screws are you guys using? Photos above look great
My screws were 5/8" in length which I feel was ideal.
rockstar93 said:
I've just ordered a couple of different edge protectors off eBay and going to see which looks best. I did email APR direct and they offered the APR edge protector but it was like $17 for the part, and $30 for postage so I wasn't about to pay nearly $50 for something I can get off Ebay for under a fiver lol. Will update with the quality and how well it fits from both the parts when they arrive and post the Ebay link (it would be worth you ordering some, ready for when/if the splitter or skirts get caught)
What thickness 3M tape did you use? Looks about 25mm or 30mm?
Also for the splitter, did you use any spacers for i between the fangs? That's something I'm still trying to source?! (Again, APR wanted $53 for the accessory pack so I'm trying to find it elsewhere?!)