redclk430

I'm thinking of changing my front bumper to one I found on streetconcept.com. I've installed a front bumper once on a older RX7 so I know that there is always some work to do to get things to fit properly.

I'm considering this:
http://www.streetconcept.com/2671.html

I think it looks fine but I've never bought anything like this online and had to deal with shipping and all that. Any comments or advise on this product would be great.

Thanks

gregory13lil

DAMN that bumper looks bad *** BUT I am a little impartial to that bumper!

The only warning that I can give you is that there are quite a few aftermarket sellers that copy that Carlsson front but most of them have HUGE issues with proper fitment. I would ask them for some type of fitment guarantee or something. The other option (more expensive) is that you can actually mold that bumper onto your original bumper (upper part). This way you can ensure PERFECT fitment and a nicer look.

Greg

Big City

RedCLK430,

I actually have that same bumper from Street Concepts on my 430. My experience with the company was good. The customer service was fine. I had mine shipped from California to New York for $275 + $125 s&h. It arrived in good condition and in decent time.

As Greg (gregory13lil) said, the bumper looks great (once you get it properly installed).

The Bad: 4 Issues

(1) The tabs that hold the mesh grille are very flimsy. I didn't think that they would last too long and I was right. Several of them broke and I ended up losing the grille someplace in the Bronx. It's now been run over by 6 million Livery cabs. Not a big deal. You can buy the mesh gutter guards at Home Depot (2 for $4.38). They are about the same thing. I haven't reinstalled the grille yet but I plan on mounting it to L-brackets that I will rivit onto the bumper out of sight. I decided not to paint the mesh grille. I like the metal look much, much better.

(2) The finger-like tabs that mount the bumper up at the headlights needed some modification. The right side was fine if I remember but the left side needed some work. Again, nothing major but still a decent amount of bodywork.

(3) Mounting the fog lights: There is absolutely no setup on the bumper to mount the foglights, no slots, no brackets, nothing. I actually pm'd Greg to ask him how he mounted his. He has a different setup though because he used aftermarket foglights that match the round hole on the bumper better. I wanted to use the stock oval headlights. The stock foglight brackets actually had to be riveted to the bumper. The rivets were countersunk into the bumper and then covered with filler, as to not be visible. The foglights can still be removed because the only "permanently attached" part is the bracket from the stock foglights.

(4) The sides of the bumper (area on the sides directly in front of the wheels) are very flimsy. My car has been lowered and if you bottom out at the corner the bumper will crack at the sides. I know from experience (both sides cracked and had to be repaired). What I did to keep this from happening again (besides raising the suspension a bit) was to have the sides of the bumper cut down. If you notice on the Street Concepts picture, the lip at the corners is lower than the rest of the bumper. I had it cut down so that mine is even all the way around the bottom of the bumper. I had a metal strip installed onto the lip at the sides. It was bonded lying flat against the lip. A metal bracket was then attached to that and then mounted onto the radiator support. The sides are now solid like a brick.

The Good:

IT LOOKS GREAT.

After all of that, would I recommend the bumper to somebody else? "Yes." if they don't mind paying somebody to do the job well or if they can handle it theirself...and "No." if they are looking for a quick swap of their stock bumper.

Once it is installed properly, in my opinion it is one of the best looking bumpers so to me it's well worth the hassle.

redclk430

Thanks for the awesome replies guys I really appreciate it

I took gregory13lil's advice and contacted them about some sort of fitment guarantee. They got back to be pretty quick but then told me they no longer have any of those bumpers because the company that makes them went out of business. What a bummer..... They don't know if or when they'll have more. I guess I'm going to have to rethink my bumper project.


Big City,
I love the look, That's just about what I'm going for on mine, of course mine is red, I have almost the same grill and I was planning on purchasing those lights pretty soon.

Again, thanks for the input guys.

Big City

Wow, that stinks! I'll see if I can locate one for you. Thanks for the compliment.

Peace!