Cintoman

Pshek,

To clear things up, what FrankW wrote up above is what's going on. My diffuser was NEVER non-centered with my bumper. And I was NEVER matching up the diffuser to the exhaust tip. That's crazy. If you read my posting correctly, which FrankW obviously did, I mentioned that prior to me installing my diffuser, my OEM exhaust was slightly off center to the OEM bumper cutout. Remember, this is ALL prior to installing the diffuser. So I say again....my car came from the factory with the orginal single exhaust tip slightly off center from the original bumper cutout. So now after installing the diffuser, which has a totally different and larger cutout than the OEM cutout, the new diffuser cutout shape actually makes the exhaust tip look centered. At no point in time have I cut the original OEM cutout on my bumper; all I did was stick the diffuser to the bumper.

So now the exhaust looks centered without having to do anything to hangers, dropping the muffler or any welding. In FrankW's comments, he mentioned that my exhaust might look a bit low, seeing that the diffuser's cutout is much wider and higher than my OEM cutout, and he suggested actually going ahead and cutting out the OEM cutout to match the diffuser's cutout. Because I don't really want to cut my OEM bumper right now, I told him that I understood what he meant, but I think it's fine on my end for now. There's not a huge height gap that's really noticeable. Plus, because my car is Capri Blue, you can't really tell from a distance that the cutouts don't match. See my pics to see if you can tell. And remember, I took one of them really close up.

As for the other guy (Chadski), because he had a white car, you could definitely notice the OEM cutout was different than the diffuser's, and it would look stupid if he didn't cut the OEM bumper to match the diffuser's cutout.

When my diffuser was first installed, it was matched perfectly to the bumper...perfectly centered and perfectly aligned with the OEM bumper's horizontal indentation line. The issue I had, as well as nearly everyone (or everyone else) had with the diffuser is that TLS1212's mold/pattern for the bumper doesn't match 100% exactly with the OEM bumper's indentation line. It's off by just a little bit. Where? Well where the bumper's indentation line starts curving downward underneath the car. On the left side, it matches the indentation line great. On the right side, the diffuser is short by about 1/2 inch at most. Again, not really noticeable unless you're on your knees.

Also, the diffuser is a little bit wider than the bottom end of the OEM bumper. In other words, it goes further underneath the car than the OEM bumper does. This is necessary so the vertical fins are fully shaped, and it's not noticeable in the middle section of the diffuser. But again, when the diffuser rolls underneath, looking from the side at the small part of the diffuser that mounts underneath the left side of the exhaust, you can tell that it doesn't match the end line of the bumper. Same on the very right side. See the bottom part of my MS Paint drawing for an example as I can't take a pic of it right now.

So, it's no problem dremeling off this minor piece on each end. I was originally thinking of dremeling off the overhang on the lower part of the diffuser in the middle, but in doing so, I would be cutting thru the vertical fins, and it would not look good. So, I'm fine with the way it is. The only thing, which some people posted they were concerned with, is that air coming from underneath the car could find its way between the bottom of the diffuser and the bottom of the bumper (since the diffuser overhangs by about 3/4 inch) and blow the diffuser out. In fact, if you were to see tls1212's original 3M tape, he placed tape around all the edges of the diffuser. Fine on the top and sides. But on the bottom, it would be sticking to nothing because it overhangs the bottom of the bumper. See the top section of my MS Paint drawing.

So what I did was trace with a Sharpie the bottom edge of my bumper while my diffuser was mounted. I then unmounted it, and can now see where my bumper ends. So now I'm going to place the tape right on this line, so when it gets mounted again, my tape will be right at the edge of my bumper, preventing any gaps/openings, and preventing any air from making it's way between the bumper and the diffuser.

The other minor issue I had was that the diffuser was lifting in a few places along the middle area of the diffuser where it lines up nicely with the horizontal bumper indentation line. I blame this on certain high spots on the backside of the diffuser which I have since sanded down. Picture a perfectly flat panel getting mounted onto another perfectly flat surface. Now say this panel had a peanut shaped bump to it. You try taping the two pieces together, and of course, it's not going to be flush because that bump is forcing it to lift and not make it flush. Well, that's the problem I was having. Maybe a peanut is too large an example, but it describes the problem well. It was a very very minor lift, but I preferred to remove the diffuser, sand it down to make it 100% flush, and use a newer and stronger adhesive to bond it.

Hope this clears things up. I'm ready to reinstall my diffuser in another day or so. Once it gets a bit warmer here in RI.


Any more confusion/questions/comments?

Cintoman

Cintoman

I think my posting above will take up ALL of page 6 on this thread. Whew...Sorry so long.

Cintoman

FrankW

hahahaha....all good

awesome read and graph. I think the diffuser should work fine now after you changed the location of the tape as long as they have a proper grip on the diffuser and bumper it shouldn't come off.

pshek

Cintoman,

No comment other than if you ask for suggestions, expect them to come. Just my $ .02. People have a different way with troubleshooting problematic parts that don't fit quite right.

splinter

Ready when you are!

Cintoman

Understandable. I wasn't picking on your suggestions. I just wanted to make it clear what I was attempting to do and not make it sound like I was doing something else. Appreciate your $.02.

Cintoman

shivi1345

Any CF Pics yet?

BigBodyBenzC240

I am very interested in this diffuser. How much is it? Much appreciated on a long awaited part.

angel_estevez

im interested in a dual exhaust diffuser please pm with price for immediate payment. thanks

Mu9enx

damn it's tough putting that **** on. i just epoxied the **** outta it, but it doesn't seem to be working. will gasket sealant help?

cintoman, are you going to try and block the air flow to the fins? like the overhanging part of the diffuser, you really can't block the air from going to the fins because there's no area before the fins to put double sided tape.. let me know, i'm scared to drive over 80 with that much air resistance..

FrankW

if your front lip with crappy self tapping screws and rear spoiler with 3M tape not coming off, the rear diffuser with 3M will not go anywhere.

Mu9enx

lol, i don't know if that's a compliment or what, but i didn't get to use 3m tape. i had to use some **** by ace, and it definitely is different from the heavy duty ****. damn mission hardware not selling that ****. well i'm just waiting till tomorrow!

if it's a diss, EFF YOU FRANK

tudu

Now have diffuser's on my C55 and C200K Sport. Here's some pics of my C55 with diffuser painted black gloss. Many thanks Teo.

tls1212

look great TUDU thanks your comment

Cintoman

Mu9enx,
True, there's no area before the fins to put double-sided tape on it. I basically just marked off the leading edge of the bumper and ran a sharpie marker with the diffuser in place. That way, I knew where I should put the tape on the diffuser. I've gotten my car to >100mph, and haven't had any issues with airflow.

The problem I'm having now is still with the tape I used. I pretty much have the strongest tape 3M makes for this type of application (3M Acryllic Plus Black Tape). I also used 3M's adhesive promoter, which you apply to the diffuser prior to sticking the tape on, and also to the bumper prior to sticking the diffuser to it. WOrks great everywhere, EXCEPT in one area of the diffuser. The area I'm having a problem with is the area Teo placed a piece to block the exhaust opening on the right side. I have the single opening, so Teo modified the right opening by putting a piece of plastic/fiberglass to cover this opening. It does the job for us single exhaust people, but the problem is that it's pressing a little bit on the bumper even before fulling mounting the diffuser to the bumper. I tried sanding it down a bit (well, I sanded a bit too much, because it made a small cut all the way thru...grrr) to help make it more flush, but apparently there's still some resistance.

Well, I used the 3M tape, and actually ran 2 strips of tape along the whole top area of the diffuser (basically running one strip of tape along the leading edge of the diffuser, and another strip right below it, effectively making my 1/2 inch strip into a wider 1 inch strip of tape). Everything looked great, and lemme tell you, this tape and adhesive promoter makes the tape SUPER sticky. I'm sure it would be extremely difficult to remove. However, about a week or so later, I'm noticing a few areas where the tape is stretching away from the bumper. Not much, but you can notice a little bit of it pulling away. I continue to have 1 area by the rightmost fin where the diffuser line is bent a bit away. At this area (it's maybe 1/4 inch in length), the tape has fully detached from the bumper.

I've clamped these areas down last night, so we'll see what happens.

Which brings me to your C55 pics tudu....the gloss looks awesome on your black car. Very shiney. Just some questions for you....

I'm looking at your last pic. Because your car is glossy, as well as your diffuser, it looks like there's a small bead line of something between the diffuser and the bumper. Almost looks like the thickness of my 3M acryllic tape. Is that what this is, or is this the silicone you've suggested I use?

Also, again back at your last pic...it looks like there's some issues with this bead line directly to the left of the second fin, as well as to the left of the third fin. Is this the case, or just some reflections from the glossyness? See my modified pic of your last pic that I attached.


Finally, if you did use the silicone, how the heck did you get such a nicely formed bead line? This is especially noticeable in your last pic going towards the right from after your third fin and above your right exhaust.


Cintoman

LayLow

damn man the whip looks flawless all murdered out hey wanted to know if this diffuser will fit my car?

tudu

Which brings me to your C55 pics tudu....the gloss looks awesome on your black car. Very shiney. Just some questions for you....

I'm looking at your last pic. Because your car is glossy, as well as your diffuser, it looks like there's a small bead line of something between the diffuser and the bumper. Almost looks like the thickness of my 3M acryllic tape. Is that what this is, or is this the silicone you've suggested I use?

Also, again back at your last pic...it looks like there's some issues with this bead line directly to the left of the second fin, as well as to the left of the third fin. Is this the case, or just some reflections from the glossyness? See my modified pic of your last pic that I attached.


Finally, if you did use the silicone, how the heck did you get such a nicely formed bead line? This is especially noticeable in your last pic going towards the right from after your third fin and above your right exhaust.


Cintoman[/QUOTE]

As i said in all my earlier posts, i never used the double sided tape all that is required is to gently heat the diffuser to the bodywork with a hairdryer in order to ensure there are no gaps. When you are happy with the fit, place 1mm bead of black sealant all the way round the diffuser and attach it to the car once stuck make sure you wipe off excess with white spirit / turps. You will then need to duck tape the diffuser in place and let it completely dry overnight. Mask up all the way round the top half of the diffuser leaving a very small gap (1mm) and use black sealant with a gun and apply thin line where there are gaps and run it all the way round the diffuser. leave to dry for about 1/2 hour remove tape and you are left with nice beaded line, which looks and gives professional finish.

As to my diffuser those marks you have highlighted are reflections the beading is perfect all the way round. The only tips i can give is take your time line up and gently heat with hairdryer until you get an almost perfect fit to the bodywork. The rest of its easy with the black sealant, and the plus is it will never come off. Hope that helps.

Here's a couple more pics taken from the other angle.




Just noticed small gap by first fin where sealant has sunk. Thanks for highlighting will have to do that bit again probably wouldn't have noticed.

shivi1345

........I know SORRY

I just saw it in your sig

Where/how did you get them?

thanks.....and sorry again lol

tudu

The CF covers i brought off ebay, auto fold option was done by local STAR specialist. Also had to purchase new door memory kit in order to make mirrors fold.

PS Just found a link....

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.d...m=370080064617

Mu9enx

thanks cinto man.. i'm sad, my diffuser never fully touches the bumper, so i had to use double sided tape; that was the only way the diffuser actually touches my bumper physically. in the end, i epoxied the **** out of it, but that didn't go too well. now i have gaps all over, even then when i duct taped it it was fine. somehow it moved... and the epoxy is set!

Cintoman

Sorry to hear that Mu9enx. I'm sure you can't really tell unless up close. See, that's the problem I'm worried about if I were to epoxy/silicone the **** out of it. What if I didn't press it down for as long as I should have? What if it moves? What if I ever want to take it out? Things like that.

Well, with mine, what I ended up doing was clamping it down where it was lifting a bit. A few areas the clamp couldn't reach, so I backed my car up to my house foundation by my garage really close. Then, I protected the diffuser with some tissues, then wedged a strip of wood between the foundation and the diffuser, forcing the wood to press the diffuser super tight to the bumper. Left it overnight, then when I had to use my car, I promptly covered the edge with electrical tape. We're getting a ton of rain here, so I didn't want any rain to weaken the bond. Haven't had a chance to remove the tape yet to see if that'll hold it or not. We'll see.

TUDU..sorry about picking out certain areas on your diffuser. Thankfully, they were reflections, but I guess in doing this, I made you notice an area that needs to be redone. Sorry 'bout that. With mine, I'm sure 99.99999% of the population will never see this lifting up. But, because of the perfectionist in me, I'd like to get it as perfect as I can.

I'll see if I can take some pics of mine over the next day or so, and post them for you guys to see the slight lifting areas. Basically, I'm not worried about it falling/flying off, because I got 2 layers of tape like I mentioned in my previous post, effectively making it a 1 inch wide strip of tape. It's just that I like to see that cut line perfect on my car.

Cintoman

spyderpig

Wonder if it would fit if I cut bumper... not sure abour that coz of the rounder curve looking from top.

Mu9enx

i try to be a perfectionist.. well, try, LOL. i did the same thing, but i had to use a gas tank and i pushed it against the bumper for good measure. guess it wasn't good enough

that was my initial fear, but it made sure that my diffuser will never fly off. now i'll just follow frank's idea or arius' idea of useing black sealant or weather stripping. good luck, and i hope it turns out much better than mine!

there's no way to know.. unless you dooo etttttt!

floete

Hi,

I want to have a price quote for a diffuser in black for single exhaust for my C-Class including delivery costs to germany.

thx
please contact me

Jan-Kurzawa@web.de

tls1212

pls checked your msg