RW Carbon's CS Front Lip Spoiler Installed W/ pics

[skalberti]

I love the new CS lip, but didn't like the price. Like everyone else, I was concerned with buying CF and not knowing the quality and fitment I was getting until after I purchased. After seeing a few friends with RW's CF on their cars, I ordered the CS front lip. When I received the parts, they were well wrapped and packaged. Upon inspection the weave was perfect and the clear coat was smooth as glass. I'm OCD and couldn't find a flaw anywhere. I went ahead and had the pieces covered with Suntek Ultra PPF since the lip is low to the ground and will take a beating with road debris. I also ceramic coated on top of the PPF as well. During the install everything lined up perfectly. It's a two man job. Fasteners were provided, but I opted to buy stainless steel 1/4" bolts that were 1" long fine thread and non self tapping. I started with the 2 outer bolts first to position the lip flush with the sides of the front bumper cover. 2 of the factory bolts line up and are used on the spoiler next to the last outer bolt on each side that I installed first. I pre drilled before screwing the bolts in by hand with a drill bit about half the size of the bolt. I also added a washer to distribute the pressure on the mounting point. In all there's 12 bolts that hold the lip on. 10 bolts that I drilled and installed and 2 bolts that were factory.

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[Aapparition90]

Car is looking immaculate mate

[espressoo]

Are your pics unedited and your bumper has PPF? It's unbelievably clean for a white car that usually shows dirt against any seams/edges of PPF. How much did it cost to PPF the lip?

[nano10]

That looks super clean, nice job! Do you know how many inches the lip adds in reference to getting lower to the ground?

[uniqueMR]

Looking perfect, Nice

[prodigymb]

sorry for off topic post but can you post more pics of the car on those wheels. I am on the fence about ordering a set.

[skalberti]

Originally Posted by espressoo

Are your pics unedited and your bumper has PPF? It's unbelievably clean for a white car that usually shows dirt against any seams/edges of PPF. How much did it cost to PPF the lip?

The pictures are from a 36 megapixel camera. The only edit was to lighten the shadows so you can see the detail in the CF. The whole front nose, hood and both fenders as well as the CF lip all have Suntek Ultra PPF. You really have to stare up close to notice it's on there. The nose was done in one piece so there's no cut outs for the park sensors or reflectors.

[skalberti]

Originally Posted by nano10

That looks super clean, nice job! Do you know how many inches the lip adds in reference to getting lower to the ground?

Only comes down about an inch below the car (my car is stock height). However, it extends about 2" out in front of the car so that can affect clearance as far as angled driveways and such.

[skalberti]

Originally Posted by prodigymb

sorry for off topic post but can you post more pics of the car on those wheels. I am on the fence about ordering a set.

https://flic.kr/p/Wnkafi

[skalberti]

Originally Posted by prodigymb

sorry for off topic post but can you post more pics of the car on those wheels. I am on the fence about ordering a set.

Signature forged wheels SV104 20x9.5 on the front with 265/30/20. 20x11 with 295/30/20 on the rear. Brushed black tinted is the finish.

[MasterP]

I saw the RW lip at a meet this weekend. The owner was not sure it had the metal chassis supports or not. Does the RW have them?

[Colinv6]

Looks awesome! I’ve ordered an oem CS lip just waiting on it to arrive at the dealers

Was this a bumper off job to fit?

[skalberti]

Originally Posted by MasterP

I saw the RW lip at a meet this weekend. The owner was not sure it had the metal chassis supports or not. Does the RW have them?

Yes it does

[skalberti]

Originally Posted by Colinv6

Looks awesome! I’ve ordered an oem CS lip just waiting on it to arrive at the dealers

Was this a bumper off job to fit?

No I didn't use the beam that you have to take the bumper off for. I custom made my own bracket.

[ptper]

Looks great OP. I'm deciding between this and another. Can you elaborate on the hardware provided? What made you decide against using them? Did you not think the fastners would do the job?

[espressoo]

Originally Posted by MasterP

I saw the RW lip at a meet this weekend. The owner was not sure it had the metal chassis supports or not. Does the RW have them?

Originally Posted by skalberti

Yes it does

I think he's referring to this metal bracket shown below. What you circled is the threaded center mount. To the best of my knowledge RW doesn't provide these brackets. At least it didn't come with mine. It's an OEM bracket so you can order it thru a dealer or one of the vendors on this site. I think unless you're tracking your car or regularly drive 100+ there's already a dozen screws to hold the lip onto the bumper cover. Some 3M VHB tape is added insurance or just make a custom bracket out of a piece of aluminum stock.

Also, in order to install the OEM brackets, the bumper cover needs to come off. If you install without the OEM brackets, you can avoid this step. Installation without bumper removal would take you about 2 hours or less if you sort of know what you're doing. With bumper removal and OEM brackets it would double the install time.

[OtisF80M3]

Car looks mint. Really like the lip and the signature wheels! 20" looks perfect.

[JibSTir13]

The OEM CS lip comes with three brackets which secure the lip to the frame.

Is it necessary to attach the lip to the frame? I think so simply because that is how the lip is designed.

Someone posted a picture of the M Performance lip installed without a bracket - the center of the lip sags and pulls away from the bumper because the bracket was not installed.

To be sure, the photo was taken on a track (don't know what speed the car was traveling at), but my point is to emphasize parts should be installed the way they are designed and not cut corners.

[skalberti]

Originally Posted by JibSTir13

The OEM CS lip comes with three brackets which secure the lip to the frame.

Is it necessary to attach the lip to the frame? I think so simply because that is how the lip is designed.

Someone posted a picture of the M Performance lip installed without a bracket - the center of the lip sags and pulls away from the bumper because the bracket was not installed.

To be sure, the photo was taken on a track (don't know what speed the car was traveling at), but my point is to emphasize parts should be installed the way they are designed and not cut corners.

The factory brackets are not included with the RW lip. Those could be ordered from BMW if you wanted to use. The RW lip has the mount locations for the factory brackets as well.

I wouldn't say I'm cutting corners. There's 12 bolts across the front holding it up. My concern with the factory brackets are, if your lip happens to grab something on the road and gets pulled down under the car, I want the lip to break away from the bumper cover. If the metal brackets are in place, it could possible do damage to your bumper cover and what the metal brackets are bolted to.

[espressoo]

Originally Posted by JibSTir13

The OEM CS lip comes with three brackets which secure the lip to the frame.

Is it necessary to attach the lip to the frame? I think so simply because that is how the lip is designed.

Someone posted a picture of the M Performance lip installed without a bracket - the center of the lip sags and pulls away from the bumper because the bracket was not installed.

To be sure, the photo was taken on a track (don't know what speed the car was traveling at), but my point is to emphasize parts should be installed the way they are designed and not cut corners.

I would agree if you had an OEM CS lip you should install it with the provided brackets. This however is not an OEM part and does not come with the supplied brackets. Should you go the extra mile and buy the OEM brackets? Possibly but I don't think the the CS lip (replica or not) will sag like the OEM M Performance lip made of ABS. It's a pretty solid piece of CF that will not flex. Plus it has 12 screws that are spaced appropriately throughout the length of the lip. Once you sandwich the lip to the bottom of the bumper, it adds more strength to the combo. Unlike the M Performance lip that has that gap but due to the center mounting point it adds a lot of stress to the lower bumper mid-section without a bracket attached to the frame used. Hence the picture you reference that I cannot find.

Can the CS lip it come apart at track speeds without using the OEM brackets? Yes, it certainly can given the right circumstances and installation methods. Bottom line is, if you want to do it right, pony up and get it professionally installed with the brackets. If you want a 95% solution do what the OP and many others have done and use 12 screws with VHB tape for added security.

[JibSTir13]

Originally Posted by espressoo

I would agree if you had an OEM CS lip you should install it with the provided brackets. This however is not an OEM part and does not come with the supplied brackets. Should you go the extra mile and buy the OEM brackets? Possibly but I don't think the the CS lip (replica or not) will sag like the OEM M Performance lip made of ABS. It's a pretty solid piece of CF that will not flex. Plus it has 12 screws that are spaced appropriately throughout the length of the lip. Once you sandwich the lip to the bottom of the bumper, it adds more strength to the combo. Unlike the M Performance lip that has that gap but due to the center mounting point it adds a lot of stress to the lower bumper mid-section without a bracket attached to the frame used. Hence the picture you reference that I cannot find.

Can the CS lip it come apart at track speeds without using the OEM brackets? Yes, it certainly can given the right circumstances and installation methods. Bottom line is, if you want to do it right, pony up and get it professionally installed with the brackets. If you want a 95% solution do what the OP and many others have done and use 12 screws with VHB tape for added security.

I agree that whether or not one should obtain the brackets to install the replica lip is a personal decision.

Regardless of whether or not the brackets are included, the replica replicates the OEM part, which means the OEM design/engineering still applies. The OEM lip is also secured to the bumper with numerous screws but that doesn't mean the brackets should not be installed. Simply because the replica does not come with the brackets does not mean the brackets are unnecessary.

How close does one get to the OEM lip install and functionality using only screws and is unknown - it could be 95%, it could be 20% (in all likelihood, it is probably somewhere in between). Really, what is being asked is what the role of the brackets are in relation to the lip being secure and functioning properly versus the screws.

[ptper]

According to RW, you can install to the frame, but it's not necessary. Their version just installs with screws and is 'plenty strong'. They've tested it up to 140 and it was good to go. Again, this is talking about the RW version.