M3 CS Carbon Fiber Front Lip - RW Carbon

[Bleser]

Ever since I bought my M3 last August, I knew I would be putting some sort of front lip on it. I wanted to take my time to see what all was out there before pulling the trigger and not rush as the car really does look fantastic in stock form.

After perusing these forums for months and collecting photos of everything I liked, it was down to a painted combination of the M Performance setup or the M3 CS lip. What did me in was finding Arcades build thread where he added an OEM M3 CS lip the the CRT-theme body-color stripe across the front (take a look at this thread; fantastic car). This was it!

I nearly pulled the trigger on the OEM piece from iND until I started reading more and more about how people were scraping/breaking/tearing off their front lips. I realize most of these folks were lowered (I am not and will not be), but given this risk I started to look at RW Carbon. I found a few members who had installed their replica version with success and it looked 100% the same to me for about 1/3 the price, thus lowering the risk.

I went with the RW Carbon piece and found a local custom body shop to add the Yas Marina Blue CRT-themed stripe to complete the look I wanted. It turned out just how I wanted.

Installation worried me as there is much discussion on this lip about lining up the rear portions with the wheel arches. Looking at photos of the OEM setup (and closely inspecting an actual M3 CS at a local Cars and Coffee last Fall), you can see how the lip ends about 1/8-1/4" ahead of the arch. This is just the way it is so I knew going into it I'd have some form of this gap but knew there was some play. I ended up being able to bolt in the lip with what I think is the perfect fitment - minimal wheel arch gap and the body line of the wheel arch lining up perfectly with the lip as well as the "front blades" of the OEM bumper cover lining up with where the lip starts to thin out.

For installation, I used the two OEM mounting bolts along with the supplied self-tapping screws (about 14 or so). To add extra security, I applied 3M VHB tape across the front portion of the lip and the two areas where it meets the side blades, right across the screw holes so the tape would be nice and sandwiched in, forming a good bond. The temperatures the day I installed were warm so it cured well. It's ROCK solid on the install and though folks have talked about the brackets that the OEM installation uses I am really not worried at all - plus I don't track my car so it won't see anything over 90 MPH.

I have an appointment on Monday for my buddy to wrap it in PPF (as is the rest of my car) so I've been driving it minimally to avoid damage (especially the highway), but this has been hard as I think it has really transformed the presence of the car!

Thanks for reading and enjoy some photos of the install + finished product - I'll be getting some DSLR photos likely later next week!

My son helping out!




All you have to do is remove the two splash guards prior to install. Mine were filled with mud and rocks, forming an almost concrete-like substance that I cleaned out. My entire underside has had A LOT of rocks stuck in all the panels; I think the first owner lived on a gravel road or something. When completed, they get re-installed, and I had to trim the outer edges by about 2".


Guards removed and read to install.


Tape not yet perfectly pushed down; I installed it after I had the side OEM mounting bolts in place.


First shot of the installed lip!


This shot exaggerates it a bit, but you can see the balance between trying to line up with the wheel arch and where the lip thickness falls away; I'm 100% happy with my install.


The bit of fraying you can see in this image isn't the lip, but rather some damage to the PPF on my bumper from the prior owner.


Installation complete!

[M3Diaz]

Looks great.

[AuggieM]

I was really hesitant about pulling the trigger on this but I think you just convinced me. Looks amazing!

[White340]

I literally installed mine last night after having it sitting in the basement for 9 months. I diy wrapped it in 3m scotchguard pro a couple weeks ago. Installing PPF is a pain in the arse around the curves. My film was not precut but as a result I was able to wrap the lip including part of the top and bottom. The annoying bit was bubbles that formed even though they weren't there when I squeegees they out initially.


Anyway, the install was pretty straight forward. I also used 3m tape on the top just for additional adhesion. For the protectors I just sawed off part of the plastic that overlapped with the new lip. It's only a couple inches as you mentioned. I left the original rubber flap at the bottom in tact if I ever have to remove the lip.

Anyway I love the way the lip looks, too! Im a bit worried driving around with it since it extend and lowers the front bumper clearance but will just have to be more careful. This is also the reason I didn't want to buy the OEM lip. From my research this looks and fits as well as OEM especially compared to the eBay replicas.


OP: why didn't you get it PPFd before the install?

[Bleser]

Originally Posted by White340

OP: why didn't you get it PPFd before the install?

Glad yours installed well too!

I don't have a great reason for not getting the PPF installed first. My buddy owns a shop that does tint/PPF and can do it either way but prefers to do it after install so he can stretch the material tighter. He did this with my trunk spoiler too and it has been perfect w/o seeing any lines. He does a really good job cutting it. I'm also mainly looking to protect the forward lip (where I had it painted) which is plenty exposed for wrapping.

[White340]

Originally Posted by Bleser

Glad yours installed well too!

I don't have a great reason for not getting the PPF installed first. My buddy owns a shop that does tint/PPF and can do it either way but prefers to do it after install so he can stretch the material tighter. He did this with my trunk spoiler too and it has been perfect w/o seeing any lines. He does a really good job cutting it. I'm also mainly looking to protect the forward lip (where I had it painted) which is plenty exposed for wrapping.

Do you know how much he charges for the install for regular customers? I will admit I took a while to install it. I did it as a learning experience rather than cost savings because the film was already 50 bucks retail. It ended up looking pretty good on the areas that show. I would say 8.5/10 overall but I learned a few things for next time.

[FastM3CT]

Completes the look in the front... Perfecto

[mike@x-ph.com]

Congrats

[Bleser]

Originally Posted by White340

Do you know how much he charges for the install for regular customers? I will admit I took a while to install it. I did it as a learning experience rather than cost savings because the film was already 50 bucks retail. It ended up looking pretty good on the areas that show. I would say 8.5/10 overall but I learned a few things for next time.

I'm guessing it will be about $100-$150, but will find out Monday.

[Bleser]

I wanted to provide a quick update - I got the lip protected today with PPF and it turned out beautifully. The shop used the OEM M3 CS cutouts and they were a perfect fit, further showing how good of a piece this is from RW Carbon.

Charge was a bit above $100 but that included a bunch of trimming to my existing PPF that is getting old/dirty around some of the exposed edges.

Very happy with the result!

[Bleser]

I had my first issue with the new front splitter last night - an obnoxiously large speed bump at a local soccer park would have ripped it right off. Had to back out into the grass, let traffic go by, and then head back on a one-way street in the wrong direction.

...and I am NOT lowered, just standard M3 ZCP. You have to pay to play!

[whatnotsomuchf80]

Originally Posted by Bleser

I had my first issue with the new front splitter last night - an obnoxiously large speed bump at a local soccer park would have ripped it right off. Had to back out into the grass, let traffic go by, and then head back on a one-way street in the wrong direction.

...and I am NOT lowered, just standard M3 ZCP. You have to pay to play!

Haha worth it though it makes the look so much more complete

[ShawnOST]

Looks great! I have been looking at this lip for my ZCP as well. Your pics really help, this just moved to the top of my list!

[Dawg1998]

That's really gorgeous especially with the matching paint trim line....I'm going with the m performance mat version so I don't go crazy when I mess it up or a rock hits it. I'll have the lip wrapped in gloss black (piano) and if it's gets scraped up, I can easily have it re-wrapped. I did spend the money on the M Performance splitters after a horrendous experience with cheap AutoBon CF splitters that lack QA....and don't fit worth a damn.

[Bleser]

ShawnOST - glad I could help!

As an update to my original post, it has been about five months and the install/PPF is holding up perfectly; it looks as good as the day it was installed. No rock chips, no damage, and the screws/tape are holding really well.

[bmwmdistrict]

Looks amazing. I went for the M Performance style RW Carbon front lip and splitters and I'm really satisfied with the fitment and quality. I had everything installed at a shop and did the PPF as well and they had similar compliments for the quality and fitment.

[Bleser]

Thank you bsm.m4 ! I agree the quality has been good. I think I will go with their side skirt extensions at some point as well since the front lip turned out so well.

[behindthen0thing]

did you use the CS brackets to attach it to the chassis?

[Bleser]

Originally Posted by behindthen0thing

did you use the CS brackets to attach it to the chassis?

I did not - it does have the OEM mounting point, complete with threads - I just didn't use it. Some guys have done it with custom brackets but if you get a good bond with 3M double-sided tape + all the self-tapping screws it is rock solid.

If you find a thread with the user espressoo you'll see him talk about mounting it that way.

[thebmwm4]

Has anyone tried XPH's CS Lip? Lots of pictures for their other lips but non for the CS.

[mike@x-ph.com]

Originally Posted by thebmwm4

Has anyone tried XPH's CS Lip? Lots of pictures for their other lips but non for the CS.

We just released the CS style a few weeks ago, that's why.

We guarantee fitment on all our products, if you are not happy with fitment, let us know and we will take it back (if its new we'll cover shipping as well)

[Groganrocket]

Originally Posted by mike@x-ph.com

We just released the CS style a few weeks ago, that's why.

We guarantee fitment on all our products, if you are not happy with fitment, let us know and we will take it back (if its new we'll cover shipping as well)

Link?