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      02-12-2011, 11:06 AM   #23
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great, now I found your painted reflectors thread, and ordered the paint. Now it'll be another week while I wait for the paint to come in. Might as well while the front bumper is off though!
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      02-12-2011, 09:17 PM   #24
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Very nice write-up. Thanks again for organizing the group buy and putting the installation guide together.
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      02-12-2011, 09:34 PM   #25
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Got a pn for those fender liner push pins? I ordered the weird one time use ones that suck
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      02-13-2011, 05:52 PM   #26
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I now have the splitter installed.

Looks good and is very strong and no wobble....

One thing for others.

I don't like the 'washers used as shims' added to the dowels.

The longest dowels metal or plastic I can find at HomeDepot are 1" long.
I am looking for a long plastic dowel rod that I can custom cut to get ride of those extra small washers. Once I find it, then the install will be perfect..
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      02-14-2011, 02:40 PM   #27
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Roffle Waffle View Post
great, now I found your painted reflectors thread, and ordered the paint. Now it'll be another week while I wait for the paint to come in. Might as well while the front bumper is off though!
Haha,Good call.

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Originally Posted by E92M3Pilot View Post
Very nice write-up. Thanks again for organizing the group buy and putting the installation guide together.
no problem

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Originally Posted by Thisisdudewhoru View Post
Got a pn for those fender liner push pins? I ordered the weird one time use ones that suck
I found my invoice and updated the hardware list.
They are expanding rivets / BMW part # 51118174185
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Originally Posted by Shipkiller View Post
I now have the splitter installed.

Looks good and is very strong and no wobble....

One thing for others.

I don't like the 'washers used as shims' added to the dowels.

The longest dowels metal or plastic I can find at HomeDepot are 1" long.
I am looking for a long plastic dowel rod that I can custom cut to get ride of those extra small washers. Once I find it, then the install will be perfect..
,
Let me know what you find, this would be an improvement on the install I would like to do too. My local HomeDepot had 1/2 hollow aluminum round stock in 36" lengths that could be to length. 1/2" was just a little bigger than I wanted to use.
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      02-14-2011, 08:34 PM   #28
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So can you give me your opinion on through bolts vs screws. What I mean is, by drilling through the splitter completely, you've introduced the nuts or the bolt heads underneath the splitter. If you attached the splitter with self tapping screws, or with wood screws, then there might be more clearance underneath the car.

I haven't received mine yet, so I don't know how thick the splitter is and how much purchase the threads of the screw would have. And additionally, the bolts are so far back that do you think they would even strike anything you go over.

In the spirit of brainstorming, are there large rivets that work as well? I'm one of those people who may need to remove after track events because I won't be able to get it up the driveway lip!
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      02-15-2011, 08:45 AM   #29
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sipman,thats funny that we'll have 2 apr splitter cars in philly!

Id use the recommended method because the screws will loosen over time, and the bolt heads sticking out very slightly give you protection on the splitter when sliding over concrete

in terms of driveway clearance, I haven't driven on mine yet, but the issue isn't that the bumper is now 1/2" or so lower, its that its a few inches LONGER, reducing your front's angle of departure or something like that
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      02-15-2011, 09:04 AM   #30
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Great write-up. I had to use 3" bolts as the 2" were too short in the center. I also just bought the stock hollow rod to make my custom spacers. 1 3/4" is how tall mine ended up as.

Edit: I am probably one of the very few that did the install with the bumper cover on. Was easily accessible through the kidneys and wheel well. I just put the front on stands and shimmed the splitter in the realtime install location and mounted.
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      02-16-2011, 07:01 AM   #31
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I jizzed in my pants.....
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      02-16-2011, 07:58 AM   #32
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I jizzed in my pants.....
Thanks for sharing
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      02-16-2011, 09:52 AM   #33
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ScottinSSMD View Post
Great write-up. I had to use 3" bolts as the 2" were too short in the center. I also just bought the stock hollow rod to make my custom spacers. 1 3/4" is how tall mine ended up as.

Edit: I am probably one of the very few that did the install with the bumper cover on. Was easily accessible through the kidneys and wheel well. I just put the front on stands and shimmed the splitter in the realtime install location and mounted.
could you please share more on this proccess?
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      02-16-2011, 09:57 AM   #34
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ScottinSSMD View Post
Great write-up. I had to use 3" bolts as the 2" were too short in the center. I also just bought the stock hollow rod to make my custom spacers. 1 3/4" is how tall mine ended up as.

Edit: I am probably one of the very few that did the install with the bumper cover on. Was easily accessible through the kidneys and wheel well. I just put the front on stands and shimmed the splitter in the realtime install location and mounted.
Scott

Where did you get your hollow rod (Oh God, I just said that didn't I)?
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      02-16-2011, 04:26 PM   #35
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Hollow rod is with the althread materials at Home Depot or Lowes.

Concerning the install. I just lifted the front about 18" and set on stands. Then I came up with a stack of boxes, then used lawn bags as the compression between the box and the splitter. Did this at two points, right where the splitter and bumper stop before the first spacer. This compression allowed me to shift the splitter exactly into place and drill. Once I drilled and set the main screws on both sides from the wheel wells, I moved the boxes out and just put one in the center to keep the line straight. Going through the kidneys to install the washers and nuts. Snapped the kidney grills in and was done.
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      02-18-2011, 09:22 AM   #36
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Without question this is the most complete, well documented, and best laid-out DIY on the entirety of Bimmerpost. Well done Chris.
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      02-21-2011, 07:24 PM   #37
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Without question this is the most complete, well documented, and best laid-out DIY on the entirety of Bimmerpost. Well done Chris.
Thanks man, good to see you on the post
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      02-21-2011, 07:32 PM   #38
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Chris, I figured out one more method of attaching the rods internal without doing any cutting.

After you remove the bumper cover, pull off the Styrofoam bumper piece.

Now drill two holes through the bumper structure. Align the rods where you want them and mark the plastic undertray.

Now drill through the plastic undertray and the splitter. Bolt it up. I would use a fender washer on both sides...

This will allow a hard mounting point from the structure to the splitter that is hidden, but can be access through the kidney grills....

I like your idea of using the two existing radiator mounts but I don't like cutting the undertray. This way no cutting is involved and two holes in the bumper structure will not weaken it appreciably.

I have not done this. It's just a thought......
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      02-21-2011, 07:45 PM   #39
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Shipkiller View Post
Chris, I figured out one more method of attaching the rods internal without doing any cutting.

After you remove the bumper cover, pull off the Styrofoam bumper piece.

Now drill two holes through the bumper structure. Align the rods where you want them and mark the plastic undertray.

Now drill through the plastic undertray and the splitter. Bolt it up. I would use a fender washer on both sides...

This will allow a hard mounting point from the structure to the splitter that is hidden, but can be access through the kidney grills....

I like your idea of using the two existing radiator mounts but I don't like cutting the undertray. This way no cutting is involved and two holes in the bumper structure will not weaken it appreciably.

I have not done this. It's just a thought......
Nice, I like the idea.

Being able to adjust the rear support rods through the kidney grills and not cutting the lower engine cover would be a plus. The way I have done the installations I have to raise the car and remove the lower engine cover to make any adjustment. It works very well, but not something I could do on the fly @ the track.

Let me know if you go after it.
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      02-22-2011, 01:27 AM   #40
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This is the best DIY I have ever seen.Congrats crfine...
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      02-22-2011, 09:39 PM   #41
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This is the best DIY I have ever seen.Congrats crfine...
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      02-26-2011, 07:07 PM   #42
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First off thanks to crfine88 for the excellent DIY! It was a great guide! My install differed a bit. I ended up bolting the factory undertray to the front bumper and installed the bumper, APR splitter, and factory undertray as one piece. Let me tell you that even without any of the adjustable rods this thing is really strong. I don't have any pictures yet of the whole thing on the car but here is a pic of the APR splitter, front bumper and factory under tray all bolted together before I took it out to put on the car.


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      02-26-2011, 07:15 PM   #43
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Mine is essentially the same type of mounting. With the rods installed, the splitter is able to take a quick 150MPH.... no issues.. and continuous 125MPH also has no issues.

Track day one is complete.. Day two tomorrow.

The down-force is there. I am taking turn 10 at VIR (full course) much faster...
The negative, is that I now need to get that small lip for the rear to offset some of the front down force. I say this because I have never slid the rear around at turn 3 (NASCAR) but I did it today. Now I am aware of it so it has never happened again...much....
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      02-26-2011, 07:29 PM   #44
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Quote:
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Mine is essentially the same type of mounting. With the rods installed, the splitter is able to take a quick 150MPH.... no issues.. and continuous 125MPH also has no issues.

Track day one is complete.. Day two tomorrow.

The down-force is there. I am taking turn 10 at VIR (full course) much faster...
The negative, is that I now need to get that small lip for the rear to offset some of the front down force. I say this because I have never slid the rear around at turn 3 (NASCAR) but I did it today. Now I am aware of it so it has never happened again...much....
Glad to hear yours is working good. I think combined with my little OEM rear lip it might make a good combo. Next year I am gonna grab a second trunk lid and get an APR wing like Chris.

I took the car out for a little rip tonight and took it to my fav 90mph S turns and the front end def felt much more stable. My lip is a bit different then the APR lips everybody else ordered. Mine is a fair bit wider....it overhangs about 2inches on either side from the edge of the bumper.
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