FlyByNight

ok, got them today.

First impressions: Finally, silver CF for my silver biased E55! Getting people do to this is right up there with dragging an anchor through the desert, so color me happy. Quality: Paint: Average at best. CF: Excellent. The CF part is really nice. However, the painted area has some sagging paint (almost drip marks, but not quite)... see the photo. Like one of you noted, they paint the front strip silver (or black). That section is where all of the problems are... just a poor paint job. That said, the next time I have my bumper painted, you can bet I'll have my guy mask it off, wet sand it, and do it right.

I would guess at least half of you would probably send it back wanting it fixed and done right. Having the Carrlson lip this whole time, I'm now familiar with the reality: YOU WILL SCRAP THINGS, even if they are small. That said, those marks will be bigger and more noticable than any of these out of the box defects. The Carrlson lip is heavier and more durable, so they obviously use cheaper material.

But if you like this look, this is the only current viable option. I'd probably get the Brabus CF lip in black before this one in black.... but as a silver lover, I'm stuck here. I'm just happy to actually HAVE silver CF front and rear now. I cannot speak for the black quality. I would assume its better because they do it more frequently... the silver was a special request.

Here are some 800x600 pics. I haven't mounted them yet obviously... I'll do that later. But these pics allow you to see the silver against the silver hood. I'm putting in the one very very large closeup (it may take a while to display) so you can see the exposed portions (what you will see) of the CF. The other pictures are all reduced to 800x600 from 8 megapixels, so forgive any jagged edges in the pics. Overall: It is sweet, and exactly what I was looking for.

So, grain of salt time. A group buy gets this pair (or black) at about $600 before tax and shipping. Whatever the reputation was with PowerChips.com, etc, is old news to me, as I'm happy so far. I'm going to go and check fitament now... of course, that's the deal breaker... but my eyeball sizer thinks it will be fine. The rear pic you see here is just temporarily mounted with basic two sided tape... just for you to see...

Note... I will use two sided tape just like AMG... after looking at the fitting, it will be a lot better than messing with glue...

I'll post mounted pics soon...

Your faithful guinea pig,

Loren

dragonAMG

The rear CF piece looks nice. How did you mount it?

JamE55

Looks nice. How much and where'd you get it? Seems odd that the first pic it looks like it's regular CF and not silver.

FlyByNight

its just the sun and the exposure... very bright... the sideways pic is best for seeing color...

Dragon: I didn't mount it yet... literally grabbed a couple of two sided tape strips you'd use to mount a heat sink to a processor and temporarily put it on for the pic. It fell off 10 seconds after the photo.

I will use some nicer double sided tape soon when I permanently mount it...



Loren

vrus

I am not a big fan of Silver CF, but that looks pretty good! Blends in nicely with your car!

oblax4

Looks nice, Loren. And the price is right. Awaiting your impression of fitment (the back looks tight) and some pics of the mounting. Thanks for your work!

FlyByNight

Mine was $1000 for the pair at www.eurorev.com (you have to call them).

We were thinking of a group buy at $600 a pair if we got at least ten people... but we've been waiting to see how they look, how they fit, etc...



Loren

Rock

Loren:

Thanks for the "behind the scenes" work. I am interested to see the front lip mounted as well as your impression of fitment.

BenzoBoi

I personally like the black part on the rear bumper so I would like to keep that black or do it in a black cf...but regardless...

Do you have any pics of the front lip on the car? I absolutely love silver cf but I think black will be more of a contrast on silver...

dragonAMG

I bought the rear black CF diffuser (at $299 it is hard to pass up)... going to wait for Neal's front CF lip spoiler.

jangy

Got any pics on it? I'd like it, if it matches up with the Brabus front?? My ride is black, so..


Loren, you are looking sweet and I love the drive to silverize. Keep it up and let us know.

Are there any issues with the rear one protruding due to thickness? The OEM black bit is VERY skinny.

dragonAMG

Not yet, being that I just ordered it minutes before my post... LOL. Hopefully it will be delivered within a week or so. I will definitely post pics and comments.

FlyByNight

Update: The front lip fit perfectly in the space / holes the Carlsson unit did. That's also when I noticed the unit has a hollow section (also why its lighter). This did not affect mounting, and cranking down on the bolts to tighten things up didn't break or do anything other than pinch it very tight. Its an exact copy of the Carlsson, down to where the holes are drilled.

Damn, I hate removing the front plastic cover underneath the car... its such a pain to get back in under the radiator, etc... The hardest part of the job is putting that thing back on once you've mounted the lip.

It looks great. I'll post pics in the am when I have some sun...

As for the rear, its thicker and stiffer than the stock black plastic POS. And you guys are right.. if you like the black and silver contrast on the car, black CF will look sweet. Frankly, I'm not a Raiders fan and I like the all silver look (with Chrome).. or the all black look (with black chrome added for class). I've never been a fan of both on the same car, so taste rules ultimately.

They really did a poor job on the silver paint portion, but overall I'm really happy with the look. I'll never run into another E55 like mine, that's for sure...


Off to mounting the rear now... pics tomorrow...



Loren

dragonAMG

Can't wait for the pics

jangy

Is that no illegal? LOL. What would stop us from using the RENNTech CF intake and making an exact replica?


Hmmmmm, 15" EVOSPORT rotors.....

elbowyeish

sweet~

FlyByNight

nothing! Well, the only thing that could possibly get you into trouble is the premeditation in your permanent post I'm guessing! Talk about evidence in a civil suit...

SHHHHHHHHHHHHHh



Loren

vrus

hahahah.. exactly!

And.. the only real protection someone has is to file a patent or copyright on a product/idea. If it is not patented or copyrighted it's a free-for-all.

jangy

HAHA!!!! Why do you think I used EVO's rotors as the example?? Their price is already the lowest on such a nice set. I come from IP area, where such a thing would never fly. I never knew how the auto industry works. I guess there is nothing proprietery in a "look"?? I assume that getting inspired by something could be considered common knowledge at that point? Also, it is no different than someone taking an OEM part and using it as a template for making a CF part?

TASHO

Love the license plate

E55 RUSS

Who is going to do a group buy???...if these the quality is NICE...I am inn...

lkirchner

Unfortunately there is something called "Trade Dress". This is if something is copied that looks like another product and that look is an identifier with a specific company. A number of years back I was involved in a suit of this nature because the product that we made used a specific color on a part of our product that was similar to the company suing us. We lost!!!!!

jangy

Actually, it isn't unfortunate. I believe in R&D, since I come from Pharmaceuticals. If you do not protect those that pay for the R&D and allow them to reap its rewards, then stagnation will set in and we will all be hating it.

I have no issues with keeping up with trends and expanding on them, as that is the natural evolutional process. But, to simply wait for someone else to do the leg work and then "steal" a concept is not apprpriate.