85 323i grey market euro - M tech 1 build.

[kronus]

You're going to need to cut down the ridge between the long bit that goes behind the bumper and the outside of the end by at least an inch to get them to fit. Or, cut the bumper.

[reelizmpro]

Found the bolt I lost the other day hiding on my lawn and got the apron mounted today. The trim looked pretty beat so I shot it with some SEM trim paint.








So, on the euro rear bumper the trim is secured by 15 metal clips. When installing the M tech apron however, they are replaced by "T" bolts and nuts that sandwich the apron between the trim and the bumper. I made the mistake of not ordering enough "T" bolts. Unlike the front, the rear trim is soft rubber and will not lay flush with the bumper unless all the bolts or clips are present. I'll have to see if I can reuse the clips on the 5 remaining slots with the apron on. Hopefully it'll work fine and I won't need to order more "T" bolts but we'll see.

The trim appears to be long enough to reach the end caps. We'll have to see after I get the caps on and the bumper installed on the car. Another thing to note is the CEP rear apron doesn't protrude up along the wheel arch like the original does. Same thing with the front. Maybe this is done to make reuse of the non m tech end caps easier?

Tomorrow, the bumper goes on and I start messing with the side skirts, wheels, suspension, etc. I've only been able to spend a few hours a day on it. Hopefully, I can get an early start.

[kronus]

Ah, that may be true. Kinda smart of them to do that, since mtech end caps are in obtaining now. In retrospect it would have been easier to cut my original apron than to chop away at the end caps..

[robrez]

Turning out great!

[BUDNUNTA]

I really want to get one of these now,the quality actually looks alright

[reelizmpro]

I really want to get one of these now,the quality actually looks alright

It's not too bad and few will notice if the prep is done well. If it's worth it, depends on condition and cost of what you can get an OEM kit for. At the time, junk kits were selling for $2k+ now we have a few more international sellers offering more kits cheap. There was a white one minus rear spoiler for $1200 shipped! That's a good deal. It would have bolted right up and was already painted my color. I wish that deal was around when I was looking. After I get this kit fitted I will give my full opinion and decide if I must go OE BMW.

[reelizmpro]

Welp I installed the side skirts today and confirmed the fitment is shitty due to the way they molded the skirt NOT to attach like stock but to simply be glued on top. The problem is they don't use one continuous lip like the original, just 4 tabs. If you look carefully you can see them and the gap they make between the skirt and the black sills. It's not a matter of holding pressure until the glue bonds either. It's all in how they molded the skirt.








Not too thrilled with them. There's no trim to hide the edges here...they need to be straight. I may go with the flared OEM skirts if i decide to change them. I kind of like them better anyway. Can anyone with original M tech skirts comment on the installation? specifically the alignment?

I may use white caulking or something to fill the gap so it won't be as noticeable.

[BoxDriver86]

I have the OEM front and rear and the CEP side skirts since my kit was pieced together. I came across the same issues you did in mounting the skirts. I also had issues where the driver's side skirts had too much material and had to be trimmed to fit around the front fender area.
The OEM skirts have slots along the top to place clips that snap into the rocker panel, similar to the is skirts. I finally found a set that should be here early December and can take a few pics if that helps.

On another note, my from MT1 spoiler is trashed. I bought a CEP as a backup and I think I'm going to go ahead and throw it on. I'm not dropping another $500 on trashed parts.

[kronus]

Pretty sure the oem skirts go a little higher than that. I have a spare flared set if you're interested..

[reelizmpro]

Pretty sure the oem skirts go a little higher than that. I have a spare flared set if you're interested..

I've looked at tons of pics and they are all right under the body line. Since the CEP skirts don't mount on top like OEM and are not perfectly straight the gaps show. I just filled the gaps with white caulking and it looks much better. Didn't take much but the result speaks for itself.




Saw this guy the other day lol...

[kronus]

hm, maybe the gap was affecting what i was seeing. looks better now!

is the rear that high normally or do you have it jacked up?

[jeenyus]

I'm guessing a respray is in the future as well for color matching?
great progress regardless!

[reelizmpro]

I'm guessing a respray is in the future as well for color matching?
great progress regardless!

LOL yeah, I think the paintshop sprayed it Alpine II since my M3 was that color. I told them Alpine I but you know how these things go. Also, the car is filthy and hasn't been washed. A fresh detail is in order then I'll see how off the colors are. I got a good deal so I'm not stressing it.

hm, maybe the gap was affecting what i was seeing. looks better now!

is the rear that high normally or do you have it jacked up?

The previous pictures show how it's not perfectly straight (gaps). With the gaps filled, you can't even tell now. The rear is high because I had the car jacked up when I installed the skirts.

[reelizmpro]

Today was productive....I shot the side mirrors and grills with SEM trim paint and installed a minty set of H1/H1 Hella's with city lights.

[2mAn]

What did you decide for wheels?