W204 Build thread: "All In"
#26
MBWorld Fanatic!
Join Date: Jun 2008
Location: Los Angeles
Posts: 8,067
Received 2,849 Likes
on
1,680 Posts
2012 P31 C63 Coupe Trackrat, 2019 GLE63S Coupe Beast
Any update on the body kit?
#28
Junior Member
Thread Starter
Still pending delivery. Christmas period delays were kind of expected. current ETA is mid-Jan.
Otherwise stock. Rear shocks part no 24-141857; Front strut assembly part no: 35-141846.\
Fitted the rear tailights today. Pretty easy, direct plug and play, no error codes. 3 LEDs on the right hand unit were defective so the seller is shipping a replacement for that unit. Only quirk to the install was my OEM light was always poorly spaced, and the new ones had the same issue, Some adjustment to the mounting points allowed for better fitment, just had to widen two of the bolt holes that keep the light in place, now the lights line up perfectly.
Will post more images once the replacement arrives, but for now here's a few showing the before/after
Fitted the rear tailights today. Pretty easy, direct plug and play, no error codes. 3 LEDs on the right hand unit were defective so the seller is shipping a replacement for that unit. Only quirk to the install was my OEM light was always poorly spaced, and the new ones had the same issue, Some adjustment to the mounting points allowed for better fitment, just had to widen two of the bolt holes that keep the light in place, now the lights line up perfectly.
Will post more images once the replacement arrives, but for now here's a few showing the before/after
Spoiler
#29
Member
Wow lots of interest, I'll get to finishing the write up I started later today. Thanks for the warm welcome.
HBs are for sure getting done just a matter of when. Since the car will be in bits for at least 8 weeks or so and doesn't get used in the winter I have it lower on the list. By the time summer comes around they'll be on.
Harness for the wiring from a store called dmpcardesign. Based out of malaysia but great shipping speed. not the best quality (they sand/grind the plastic connector by hand I think) but works well and the only vendor with any kind of rep.
@Texas E63 I think I bought some parts from you on marketplace! Good to see you're still around.
The center console with leather has yet to go in PA Grille is PFL only as far as I can tell and also non-63 only but can be modified to fit and get good decent fitment. Top has pins/bumps that needed grinding down, the hood of the 63 has a two part grille as well so the upper level needs removal, then it's within 3-4mm of extra gap on the hood -> bumper panel and grill -> bumper panel. Asking the bodyshop fitting my bodykit to see if they can adjust it to be exact fitment, but for now the hood still fully latches and closes comfortably and 3-4mm is totally unnoticable from >2ft away so I'm happy with it. Got it from dmpcardesign as well IIRC but amazon and ebay have equivalents too.
@SatelliteMan The kit is from a company in Montreal called Yomato carbon. Their other stuff has good reviews despite this kit not having any so I took a risk, ~5k or so without the hood and with the carbon fiber bits. Link with pics (mine is the 4dr kit though they PM'd me pics of that on instagram and it looks just as good.) https://yomatocarbon.com/collections...mg-sedan-coupe
Ordered LED Tailights with sequential orange turn signals today, should be here in 2 weeks.
HBs are for sure getting done just a matter of when. Since the car will be in bits for at least 8 weeks or so and doesn't get used in the winter I have it lower on the list. By the time summer comes around they'll be on.
Harness for the wiring from a store called dmpcardesign. Based out of malaysia but great shipping speed. not the best quality (they sand/grind the plastic connector by hand I think) but works well and the only vendor with any kind of rep.
@Texas E63 I think I bought some parts from you on marketplace! Good to see you're still around.
The center console with leather has yet to go in PA Grille is PFL only as far as I can tell and also non-63 only but can be modified to fit and get good decent fitment. Top has pins/bumps that needed grinding down, the hood of the 63 has a two part grille as well so the upper level needs removal, then it's within 3-4mm of extra gap on the hood -> bumper panel and grill -> bumper panel. Asking the bodyshop fitting my bodykit to see if they can adjust it to be exact fitment, but for now the hood still fully latches and closes comfortably and 3-4mm is totally unnoticable from >2ft away so I'm happy with it. Got it from dmpcardesign as well IIRC but amazon and ebay have equivalents too.
@SatelliteMan The kit is from a company in Montreal called Yomato carbon. Their other stuff has good reviews despite this kit not having any so I took a risk, ~5k or so without the hood and with the carbon fiber bits. Link with pics (mine is the 4dr kit though they PM'd me pics of that on instagram and it looks just as good.) https://yomatocarbon.com/collections...mg-sedan-coupe
Ordered LED Tailights with sequential orange turn signals today, should be here in 2 weeks.
The following users liked this post:
iamthe0ne23 (01-01-2020)
#31
Junior Member
Thread Starter
I got my kit from Yomato as well. You will be pleased with the quality! Hit me up when you get it if you have any questions. I've already installed my fenders, hood, and rocker panels so far and have prepped my rear bumper for install after my shop installs the rear quarters for me (I didn't want to do the cutting.) There are only 3 flaws I found with the kit but very minimal modifying involved. Everything so far has been plug and play. The only thing I will tell you is be prepared to possibly buy a new front grille because it is prepped for a BS front grille assembly. I just placed an order for one. Excited for you though brother gl!
Hoping the panamericana grille I have will work, even if I'll be modifying it to fit - I just like the look of this one too much lol. Was the fit issue that the stock one stuck out too far for the bumper? if so I might be in luck, as I had the opposite issue with this one! Great to hear the quality is good though!
Ride time on the rear > 1yr, no issues. On the fronts ~3months, still not 100% sold as it compromised the ride comfort a bit, though I'm suspecting that may be the alignment kit that's on the car so I'll be having that removed when the kit is done and new wheels are on to validate the theory.
#32
Member
Nice! Any chance you can share what the few issues you found so far were?
Hoping the panamericana grille I have will work, even if I'll be modifying it to fit - I just like the look of this one too much lol. Was the fit issue that the stock one stuck out too far for the bumper? if so I might be in luck, as I had the opposite issue with this one! Great to hear the quality is good though!
Hoping the panamericana grille I have will work, even if I'll be modifying it to fit - I just like the look of this one too much lol. Was the fit issue that the stock one stuck out too far for the bumper? if so I might be in luck, as I had the opposite issue with this one! Great to hear the quality is good though!
1. The rear tow hook is not flush and sits un even to the bumper line. I will have to round out the corner but not sure what to do with the bottom area. ( Dont mind the muffler tips. It was being pressed against my bumper stand. Hence why they were sticking out more.)
2. On the front bumper where it meets with the fender on the drivers side it doesnt fit flush compared to the passenger side.
3. The rocker panels were a pain in the *** to try and install. They leave a gap that leaves the tabs visible where they are connected to the door jams. Dont have a pic of this unfortunately
But here are some pics of how the fenders, hood, and rockers look.
One thing to note: I noticed it had chinese lettering on the packaging. So I’m curious if they are just dropshipping 🤔
The following users liked this post:
iamthe0ne23 (01-02-2020)
#33
MBWorld Fanatic!
Join Date: Jun 2008
Location: Los Angeles
Posts: 8,067
Received 2,849 Likes
on
1,680 Posts
2012 P31 C63 Coupe Trackrat, 2019 GLE63S Coupe Beast
They are definitely just drop-shipping but it appears to be a quality supplier at least. Thanks for posting your thoughts. Looks like a great buy, good luck on the install.
The following users liked this post:
Fhast (01-02-2020)
#34
Super Member
Just delete the rear tow hook, that way you don't have to worry about getting it right and it would look cleaner anyway.
No need to have it in North America.
No need to have it in North America.
The following users liked this post:
iamthe0ne23 (01-02-2020)
#35
MBWorld Fanatic!
Join Date: Jun 2008
Location: Los Angeles
Posts: 8,067
Received 2,849 Likes
on
1,680 Posts
2012 P31 C63 Coupe Trackrat, 2019 GLE63S Coupe Beast
Couple of quick questions about this Yomato kit.
Does everything just “bolt right up” except for the rear flares?
I get that every kit will likely be a little different and there will be imperfections and gaps etc to correct prior to paint. But how much surface finishing is required here? I’ve heard some horror stories about prepping FCP kits.
Did either of you get the carbon option (flics, side skirts, front lip, diffuser), and if you did how was it?
And does this kit consist of just rear flares, or whole new rear quarters?
Thanks
Does everything just “bolt right up” except for the rear flares?
I get that every kit will likely be a little different and there will be imperfections and gaps etc to correct prior to paint. But how much surface finishing is required here? I’ve heard some horror stories about prepping FCP kits.
Did either of you get the carbon option (flics, side skirts, front lip, diffuser), and if you did how was it?
And does this kit consist of just rear flares, or whole new rear quarters?
Thanks
Last edited by BLKROKT; 01-02-2020 at 07:46 PM.
#36
MBWorld Fanatic!
Couple of quick questions about this Yomato kit.
Does everything just “bolt right up” except for the rear flares?
I get that every kit will likely be a little different and there will be imperfections and gaps etc to correct prior to paint. But how much surface finishing is required here? I’ve heard some horror stories about prepping FCP kits.
Did either of you get the carbon option (flics, side skirts, front lip, diffuser), and if you did how was it?
And does this kit consist of just rear flares, or whole new rear quarters?
Thanks
Does everything just “bolt right up” except for the rear flares?
I get that every kit will likely be a little different and there will be imperfections and gaps etc to correct prior to paint. But how much surface finishing is required here? I’ve heard some horror stories about prepping FCP kits.
Did either of you get the carbon option (flics, side skirts, front lip, diffuser), and if you did how was it?
And does this kit consist of just rear flares, or whole new rear quarters?
Thanks
#37
Member
Couple of quick questions about this Yomato kit.
Does everything just “bolt right up” except for the rear flares?
I get that every kit will likely be a little different and there will be imperfections and gaps etc to correct prior to paint. But how much surface finishing is required here? I’ve heard some horror stories about prepping FCP kits.
Did either of you get the carbon option (flics, side skirts, front lip, diffuser), and if you did how was it?
And does this kit consist of just rear flares, or whole new rear quarters?
Thanks
Does everything just “bolt right up” except for the rear flares?
I get that every kit will likely be a little different and there will be imperfections and gaps etc to correct prior to paint. But how much surface finishing is required here? I’ve heard some horror stories about prepping FCP kits.
Did either of you get the carbon option (flics, side skirts, front lip, diffuser), and if you did how was it?
And does this kit consist of just rear flares, or whole new rear quarters?
Thanks
#38
Junior Member
Thread Starter
Update; my kit arrived last week and is getting installed starting the 27th. In the meantime, fitted the rear lights - had an issue with one (three burnt LEDs in the indicators) but the seller was great and shipped a replacement ASAP with no charge or need to return the defective unit. A+ for DMP on that.
Got some more bits arriving in between now and the kit install (side mirrors facelift style, e63 shifter) as well as maybe starting the dash test fit. Will update on the weekend with pics of the kit pre-install, LED Taillights and any progress I make on the others.
Got some more bits arriving in between now and the kit install (side mirrors facelift style, e63 shifter) as well as maybe starting the dash test fit. Will update on the weekend with pics of the kit pre-install, LED Taillights and any progress I make on the others.
#39
Junior Member
Thread Starter
Went to see my shop guy today and check on progress. Unfortunately I was less lucky with my kit, the front has significant fit issues on the quarter panels and bumper, so the body shop will have to break/remold some areas w/fiberglass to get the fit to OEM level. The headlight areas and good to quarter panel in particular were very far off, could fit a whole finger thru it. Oh well. Picking out the new wheels and wrap color isn't making my wallet feel much better about all the extra labor hours either, but at least it's fun. Thinking satin blue or red...
#40
Member
Went to see my shop guy today and check on progress. Unfortunately I was less lucky with my kit, the front has significant fit issues on the quarter panels and bumper, so the body shop will have to break/remold some areas w/fiberglass to get the fit to OEM level. The headlight areas and good to quarter panel in particular were very far off, could fit a whole finger thru it. Oh well. Picking out the new wheels and wrap color isn't making my wallet feel much better about all the extra labor hours either, but at least it's fun. Thinking satin blue or red...
For the quarter panels are you referring to the flares? and best of luck to you, hope it all turns out smooth!
The following users liked this post:
iamthe0ne23 (02-17-2020)
#41
Junior Member
Thread Starter
Yup, mentioned it and showed your messages to the shop guy so he was aware. Adjustment of the lights helped a bit but still noticable, I'm fine to spend the extra for making it look stock.
The front quarter panel, the top edge (the one that lines up with the hood) was about an inch away from the hood line on the left side, and half an inch on the right. I think this one is me paying the price for not ordering the hood with the kit (prefer my custom headlights and no hood vents) but the fact one was so different to the other was quite disappointing. Even my shop guy said something along the lines of being excited because the kit looked awesome quality before the test fit and then when he put it all on was quite surprised.
On the plus side, the carbon on all the parts is A+ and the tailpipes are legit too, getting a custom Y pipe made for those as my existing exhaust had some incompatible mods. Sorry for the lack of pictures so far, I took a bunch but am travelling atm so no access to them.
The front quarter panel, the top edge (the one that lines up with the hood) was about an inch away from the hood line on the left side, and half an inch on the right. I think this one is me paying the price for not ordering the hood with the kit (prefer my custom headlights and no hood vents) but the fact one was so different to the other was quite disappointing. Even my shop guy said something along the lines of being excited because the kit looked awesome quality before the test fit and then when he put it all on was quite surprised.
On the plus side, the carbon on all the parts is A+ and the tailpipes are legit too, getting a custom Y pipe made for those as my existing exhaust had some incompatible mods. Sorry for the lack of pictures so far, I took a bunch but am travelling atm so no access to them.
#42
Junior Member
Thread Starter
Hoo buy, what a journey. Covid really slows getting anything like this done wayyyy down. I assure you, not dead, nor quitting - just didn't feel like posting "delayed two weeks" every two weeks lol.
Anyway, 4 months later, kit's on and mostly done. Overall, carbon is A+ great quality, no complaints. The base kit they made the carbon on though, while higher quality materials than your typical duraflex, fit REALLY poorly. Many panels needed to be spliced, modified, some even totally cut and rebuilt. Took a lot of labor (72 hours!) and time to make right, but the end result is about what I expect. All in was about 4k for the parts + 7k for the bodywork labor so far. Still some minor elements left for me to do personally because I'm OCD about fitment and the body shop guy was sick of seeing this thing I think ha;
Seam join the wide rear fenders to the door and quarter panel for a seamless look
the side skirts need raising to the door edge
the rear bumper is missing an internal clip from the stock one that I need to retrofit
the front bumper headlight washer flaps are currently just glued in - need to figure out how to mount the spring back into place)
Side fenders front left and right need extending similar distance to the door to meet the skirt properly
Then, electricals;
Lightbar in the headlight currently only turns on when the headlights are on. Need to make them pure DRLs.
Headlights need re-aiming after the bodywork changed the positioning.
Considering re-projectoring the headlights- either retrofit original Xenon projectors (is this even possible?) or getting some aftermarket ones - the current ones aren't spreading the beam wide enough for my liking. probably going to get a second set to experiment on rather than risk the current setup.
Side marker warnings drive me nuts (they were deleted with the kit, but circuits detect bulb out) - need to fit resistors or figure out something to get rid of these, even if it's just putting a bulb there with electrical tape covering them lol.
Maybe black paint for some of the internals / behind grille components? still 50/50 how I feel about the silver rad behind the grille (though it's much less noticable without a floodlight on it)
Exhaust muffler tips need to go back on (they're not connected atm)
Still todo- air suspension, wheels, wrap. Going for the Inozetek Metallic dandelion yellow if I can get my hands on some. for now, here's how she looks thus far.
Anyway, 4 months later, kit's on and mostly done. Overall, carbon is A+ great quality, no complaints. The base kit they made the carbon on though, while higher quality materials than your typical duraflex, fit REALLY poorly. Many panels needed to be spliced, modified, some even totally cut and rebuilt. Took a lot of labor (72 hours!) and time to make right, but the end result is about what I expect. All in was about 4k for the parts + 7k for the bodywork labor so far. Still some minor elements left for me to do personally because I'm OCD about fitment and the body shop guy was sick of seeing this thing I think ha;
Seam join the wide rear fenders to the door and quarter panel for a seamless look
the side skirts need raising to the door edge
the rear bumper is missing an internal clip from the stock one that I need to retrofit
the front bumper headlight washer flaps are currently just glued in - need to figure out how to mount the spring back into place)
Side fenders front left and right need extending similar distance to the door to meet the skirt properly
Then, electricals;
Lightbar in the headlight currently only turns on when the headlights are on. Need to make them pure DRLs.
Headlights need re-aiming after the bodywork changed the positioning.
Considering re-projectoring the headlights- either retrofit original Xenon projectors (is this even possible?) or getting some aftermarket ones - the current ones aren't spreading the beam wide enough for my liking. probably going to get a second set to experiment on rather than risk the current setup.
Side marker warnings drive me nuts (they were deleted with the kit, but circuits detect bulb out) - need to fit resistors or figure out something to get rid of these, even if it's just putting a bulb there with electrical tape covering them lol.
Maybe black paint for some of the internals / behind grille components? still 50/50 how I feel about the silver rad behind the grille (though it's much less noticable without a floodlight on it)
Exhaust muffler tips need to go back on (they're not connected atm)
Still todo- air suspension, wheels, wrap. Going for the Inozetek Metallic dandelion yellow if I can get my hands on some. for now, here's how she looks thus far.
The following users liked this post:
mcderpa (07-21-2020)
#43
Super Member
My C350 has factory xenon with auto leveling. I replaced both lens with Morrimoto and I'm very happy. Plus the center line in the lens is gone...
Q1. Where did you get the W205 headlights from?
Q2. How is light output compared to Xenon?
Q1. Where did you get the W205 headlights from?
Q2. How is light output compared to Xenon?
#44
Junior Member
Starting with the most recent project since it's the freshest in my memory; the front headlight setup.
End result:
Parts list used:
Headlight pair (~330USD) (comes with the canbus resistors and H11/H9 halogens)
Xenon -> Halogen Harness (90USD, only needed if you have stock Xenon package)
Morimoto HID kit, H9 / H11 style (150USD): Optional, but honestly the yellow from the halogen really ruins the look of these IMO so I'd advise you get them
Katana LED Highbeams (40USD) : Same reason as the Morimoto but you don't want Xenon for highbeams so LED is the way to go. Honestly could even keep halogen here since it won't affect the look at all unless you use the highbeam which is pretty rare.
Zip ties or Mounting Frame for Morimoto HID Kit (optional, only if you use the HID kit)
Overall mod rating: 9/10. Really happy with the end result so far. 1/10 removed for what a PITA it was to find the Xenon->Halogen harness online, without it these headlights can't be used if you have Factory Xenons. Also reliability TBD, had them 2 weeks so far and no errors or weirdness yet but we'll see
Process:
Plenty of guides online for removing the headlights, so follow one of those. Bumper off, three bolts holding each headlight, easy peasy.
Next, The connector that was going into the headlight needs to come apart. In theory the harness fits on it without doing this but I broke one when I tried that so what I ended up doing was removing the plastic surround for the plug from the car by using a flat screwdriver and levering the connector's innards out. Don't use too much force or it'll snap, but it's not going to come out easy either. It'll look kind of diagonal if you did it right and the back of the plug will be recessed on one side. Do the same on the other side and it'll pop out. Now insert this into the harness you bought online, make sure it's firmly seated. THEN push the original plastic housing over the new housing to seal it up and you're good to go.
The end of the new harness has two connectors, one looks similar to the stock connector and will fit directly to the new headlight unit. The other is a 9006 style connector, so you'll either need an adapter to adapt it to H9 (easy to make or cheap to buy) - but if you're using a HID kit you'll be drilling the housing anyway to make that work, so just buy the H9 kit to make your life easier.
I wanted the HID ballasts angled downwards and away from high heat sources, so they're behind the headlights to the far right and left of the engine bay. Drivers side gets REALLY crowded when you have the aftermarket bulb resistors, the HID ballast, igniter and canbus power source, and the 90$ harness. You have to be careful where you mount everything to ensure you still have access to bolts and adjusters for the headlight or you'll struggle to get good fitment.
Some pics below of the install process (inconsistent quality because they're mostly for my own notes as I was working since it only occurred to me to write this up and share the day after I was done)
Any questions let me know, but overall once you know what to buy it's fairly simple to put together. All in all maybe 8 hours work if I had to do it again from scratch now (including the 3 hours spent re-aligning the headlights lol)
End result:
Parts list used:
Headlight pair (~330USD) (comes with the canbus resistors and H11/H9 halogens)
Xenon -> Halogen Harness (90USD, only needed if you have stock Xenon package)
Morimoto HID kit, H9 / H11 style (150USD): Optional, but honestly the yellow from the halogen really ruins the look of these IMO so I'd advise you get them
Katana LED Highbeams (40USD) : Same reason as the Morimoto but you don't want Xenon for highbeams so LED is the way to go. Honestly could even keep halogen here since it won't affect the look at all unless you use the highbeam which is pretty rare.
Zip ties or Mounting Frame for Morimoto HID Kit (optional, only if you use the HID kit)
Overall mod rating: 9/10. Really happy with the end result so far. 1/10 removed for what a PITA it was to find the Xenon->Halogen harness online, without it these headlights can't be used if you have Factory Xenons. Also reliability TBD, had them 2 weeks so far and no errors or weirdness yet but we'll see
Process:
Plenty of guides online for removing the headlights, so follow one of those. Bumper off, three bolts holding each headlight, easy peasy.
Next, The connector that was going into the headlight needs to come apart. In theory the harness fits on it without doing this but I broke one when I tried that so what I ended up doing was removing the plastic surround for the plug from the car by using a flat screwdriver and levering the connector's innards out. Don't use too much force or it'll snap, but it's not going to come out easy either. It'll look kind of diagonal if you did it right and the back of the plug will be recessed on one side. Do the same on the other side and it'll pop out. Now insert this into the harness you bought online, make sure it's firmly seated. THEN push the original plastic housing over the new housing to seal it up and you're good to go.
The end of the new harness has two connectors, one looks similar to the stock connector and will fit directly to the new headlight unit. The other is a 9006 style connector, so you'll either need an adapter to adapt it to H9 (easy to make or cheap to buy) - but if you're using a HID kit you'll be drilling the housing anyway to make that work, so just buy the H9 kit to make your life easier.
I wanted the HID ballasts angled downwards and away from high heat sources, so they're behind the headlights to the far right and left of the engine bay. Drivers side gets REALLY crowded when you have the aftermarket bulb resistors, the HID ballast, igniter and canbus power source, and the 90$ harness. You have to be careful where you mount everything to ensure you still have access to bolts and adjusters for the headlight or you'll struggle to get good fitment.
Some pics below of the install process (inconsistent quality because they're mostly for my own notes as I was working since it only occurred to me to write this up and share the day after I was done)
Spoiler
Any questions let me know, but overall once you know what to buy it's fairly simple to put together. All in all maybe 8 hours work if I had to do it again from scratch now (including the 3 hours spent re-aligning the headlights lol)