Autotechnica

JBSpeed CF rear spoiler fitment was OK, not great. There were gaps and the epoxy clear coat on the CF was a bit wavy. Mounts with 3M red tape. However, right side of the spoiler corner does not contact the trunk properly, so eventually it will peel off completely. Certain parts of the spoiler did not contact the trunk properly. I would recommend buying the CF spoiler from Gary.

JBSpeed fiberglass front spoiler I purchased from a member here for a good price. It came primed. There were quite a few pits and hairline cracks. It took a few hours worth of body work and sanding which I did myself. I sprayed it flat black with bumper trim paint. Overall finish was pretty good, not wavy and fitment was acceptable, not great. Mounted by drilling holes through the spoiler and bumper, used 6 nuts/bolts. Easy fitment.

Ebay (unknown brand) CF rear diffuser. I suspect this is the same one that everyone has been purchasing off ebay. I absolutely hated installing this peice. First of all, it was completely straight and not curved towards the contour of the rear bumper, so fitment was poor. It requires A LOT of force to bend it and make it flush. Silicon or glass glue as recommended by the seller will not work. It hurts, but you have to drill holes into the CF inorder to properly mount the peice. CF quality is good, no waves, peice is very strong. It took me hours to make it fit properly. You will become frustrated mounting it over and over again until it flushes properly. This was the best I could do. Sorry for the poor pics, took them with my Blackberry. I ended up using 2 nuts/bolts on the bottom middle section and 2 of the passenger side corner, and 1 on the driver side corner. I did not use silicon or any glue as I felt it was pointless and unnecessary. There is a tiny gap on the top middle section which I think I will leave alone. I doubt silicon or glue will fix the problem. However, I will consider remounting the price with silicon to see if I can close up the gaps a bit. Will report back with results.

Bry

Any questions ask.

arekux

looks nice

MIKESV8

that diffuser looks really good. i wish someone with a c55 could put a pic. of theirs on here.i really wanted to do that since i decided to not get the front lip. i'm too low as it is

Autotechnica

Thanks.... that gap in the middle is really starting to **** me off though. If there were a better quality peice out there, I wouldn't mind paying for it. There's only 2 different guys selling these on Ebay now, and they're both the same ones. boo..

Quicktwinturbo

Luv the spoilers!!
I have a mixed feeling about your diffuser though.. I'm a fan of more aggressive designs..

AMGC

does anyone else make the rear diffuser? I was about to purchase one, but I know Id go crazy about that gap too and wouldnt want to drill carbon fiber

Autotechnica

Since it's not a replica of some original design, I'm guessing that regardless of who sells them, they all come from the same factory/shop. I know there was a guy on here selling a different 3-fin diffuser, but that was quite a while ago and only a couple guys had that. I'm not sure if the fitment was any better.

I just used 2 C-clamps to see if I could close the gap. It barely budged and only closed in slightly. I guess I have to live with the way it looks. From a couple car spaces back the gap is barely noticeable. It's not noticeable at all from the side corners. You would really have to be looking at it dead on and quite close up. Either way, when I have time I'm going to see if I can do anything else to fix it.

MIKESV8

what space? lol nothing a little apoxy can't take care of. what did it mount to, or did you just use that double side 3m stick stuff that's on our spoiler?

Autotechnica

Just bolts. I avoided using any glue/silicon if I didn't need to. I had the intention of using silicon. After mounting it with just bolts, I tried to close up the rest of the gaps with C-Clamps to see if it would do anything. It didn't do a thing. I don't see any point in bonding the peices together. It's already mounted rock solid.

MIKESV8

so we've come to agreement that it's the fault of the manufacturer. i'm really interested in the 3 fin, just scared about fitment now.

Autotechnica

I may just take it to my body shop to see if they can do anything.

Lenin

Cannonball55 used to make a 3 fin w203 carbon diffuser. Not sure if it is still available. Send him a PM.

wawy

I have the 3 fin Teo one that was big in the w203 forums awhile back. It's not exactly what I would call a fantastic fit and for that very reason its been sitting in my basement. If I put it on I'm pretty sure I'll have to use 2 screws for each end. Other than that, it does look nice -- especially with the carbon fiber. I believe Neal? from EuroTek had talked about the possibility of making some for us W203 guys however this never transpired. Perhaps if there is enough interest EuroTek may do this for us. I think I would be interested since I know people are pretty pleased with their products and the fit is top notch...

gt4awd

My diffuser did not have a gap like that in the center after install. Used 3M tape, and a screw on each end. It's also not actual carbon fiber. It's an overlay on fiberglass.

Autotechnica

Is there carbon fiber that isn't made of fiberglass? I'm pretty sure all CF has to use some sort of base, otherwise how do you roll the cloth ontop of it? Most of the time, what's questionable isn't the base or how many layers of CF are actually used, it's the heating/baking process that makes carbon fiber. Without the proper baking process it's really just a roll of cloth over fiberglass and it's missing the "carbon". All CF hoods I've seen including Gemini, VIS, etc all have either fiberglass frames or steel frames. Fiberglass is just a roll of cloth too. What makes carbon fiber stronger is the baking process.

Anyways, I could close up the gap in the middle, but that would mean the left and right sides would be mounted too high. It wouldn't flush on the edges. I chose to have the edges flush and leave a small gap in the middle. BTW, I'm not sure if we have the same one. I remember you posted a thread and said who you bought it from. I wasn't able to find that same vendor. I wouldn't be surprized if there was an issue with quality control. Especially because they are made from a mold by hand, there could easily be differences in each peice made.

Bry

gt4awd

Yes, there is solid carbon fiber, and no it isn't all an overlay. Solid carbon fiber is actually very strong material. Basically the entire body on the Lexus LFA is carbon fiber to save weight. As more and more molds are made the fitment quality will degrade.

Autotechnica

I don't mean to argue with you, but is that a fact or just what you think? I've seen how carbon fiber is made. It starts off as nothing but a roll of cloth. It's not a strong material, it's literally cloth until you bake it at high temperatures. That's what makes it's strong. There must always be some sort of base to start with, there is no strong material that is just carbon fiber, it has to be made by applying it to some sort of base to form a mold. As I said earlier, fiberglass is used as a base for almost all carbon fiber peices. The frame or structure must be made of something. There is always some sort of base, and it isn't made of carbon fiber. I don't understand what you mean by overlay either. All CF peices consist of overlays. The quality and strength of carbon fiber comes from the layers of CF and the baking process, nothing more. Fiberglass is basically a roll of cloth with epoxy resin. Carbon fiber is the same thing, but includes a baking process that strenghens the material.

Most cheap poorly made peices of CF you see for sale have few layers and have excluded this baking process. It's basically a thin layer of cloth with epoxy resin. However, just looking at the peice of CF made, you would have no idea what it consists of. Odd that you would use the LFA as an example. I've spent a good amount of time with a crashed Ferrari F40 in Hong Kong in person and I've seen a real light car that's been made with Carbon Fiber more than 20 years ago.

FrankW

IMO drilling attachment for the rear diffuser is the best way to hole it in place sucks for those that don't like it, but one can make them/rivets look good if you go with some polished rivets and space them correctly creating a different feel to the look.

gt4awd

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbon_...forced_polymer

Not the rolls of cloth you're thinking of...

kasper

here u can see mine...
https://mbworld.org/forums/c32-amg-c...installed.html

FrankW

actually Autotechnica is also correct. carbon fiber is nothing but strands of fiber material weaved together and becomes a fabric like cloth.

and the product we are talking about here are usually laid with the CF cloth first and then with fiberglass backing as well resin into a mold. it's the typical wet-lay process.

carbon fiber overlay is when you have a piece that already has the shape you want and then overlaying a layer of CF on top with the resin. i.e. you see them on some ppl's car that they had their interior piece overlay.

Autotechnica

GT, sorry but posting a wiki link doesn't prove that you have any knowledge or understanding of the material. I can post wiki links too. That wiki link just further proved my point. The only thing is they said that sometimes aluminum or kevlar is formed into the weave. Aside from that, they even said that epoxy or fiberglass is used to form the material. It even says in the first paragraph that carbon fiber is like fiberglass, exactly what I said. Do you know how fiberglas is made? I have a lot of experience with it because I've made fiberglass body panels before. It's a roll of cloth with epoxy.

If you are suggesting that the diffuser is infact just a sticker overlay, you are incorrect. It is real carbon fiber. Maybe a thin layer with fiberglass backing, but it's still real carbon fiber. Just because the "fiber" can be made from different materials doesn't mean it's unlike fiberglass. Fiberglass can use different types of fibers as well. If made properly, fiberglass can be very strong.

Anyways, don't want to get into a pissing match, so we will just leave it at that. The Diffuser is carbon fiber. Quality is debatable, but it's real.

chris.bachman

I have one of these diffusers, it's mostly constructed of fiberglass, however, the portion of the diffuser that is visible after installation has a few layers of carbon fiber weave. So to clear things up, no it is not a solid piece of carbon fiber but it does have legitimate carbon fiber overlay on one side.

Edit: This is pretty much what they do.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6rTWaV1imzs

Autotechnica

The method you are describing is missing the "carbon" process though. It's basically just a roll of the fibers as you mentioned without the baking process, which is what makes the fiber strong. Without this process, it's just a roll of cloth. At any rate, there's no reason to make interior trim peices strong. It's impossible to tell whether or not these cheaply made CF body peices have gone through this baking process since the strength of the material cannot be tested without breaking it. I'm guessing that it hasn't been baked. I would say most aftermarket CF body panels are made for looks more than anything else. It's obviously lighter than steel or aluminum, but stronger? I doubt it, unless properly made, to save weight you may as well just use fiberglass.

FrankW

correct, that's why the typical wet-lay processed front lips or any thing are prone to crack and break.

so far the only CF products that are made through high heat baking process that are available are those Dry-carbon fiber stuff and those Dymag CF rims.