Aero side skirts installed

[dekaliber]

Not too hard, but removing those rivets can be a real bitch! I took my time and spent probably an hour and a half on it.




I positioned my camera on a tripod and tried to take a before/after from the exact same perspective to show the difference, but the way the reflections changed with the aero skirts resulted in portions towards the back getting completely obscured in shadows, and made the comparison useless.

Pictures really do this mod no justice. The sides, especially towards the back, stick out considerably more, and the wider stance is all the more aggressive. Very appropriate mod for the M -- honestly I don't know why it didn't come this way from the factory to match the modified front and rear bumpers.

[Diokaef]

Very NICE!!!

[TelfordZ4M]

I really wish I could see this in person some day because when you see them in pictures it's really hard to see much of a difference. Considering i've only ever seen one other coupe in my life I guess the chances aren't good...

[Finnegan]

Damn those look good. Totally agree, should have come this way from the factory!

Painted? Tisher?

[Skelekitty]

OMG OMG OMG OMG

Krissi WANT!

[epbrown]

Originally Posted by Finnegan

Damn those look good. Totally agree, should have come this way from the factory!

Painted? Tisher?

They look really good on Imola Red, in no small part because they're easier to see. You buy them from Tischer (or any dealer) and have them painted.

Dekaliber, how did you end up trimming that front bit we talked about? This is motivating me to finally fix mine. And are you happy with the paint match?

[ssummers]

IMO if there is only 1 mod you do to your car this should be at the top of the list.

To me the flat skirts are just ho humm, but the aero skirts really finish out the lines of the car. As stated they should have been standard.

[RBull]

Looking good dekaliber.

[Blind32]

Originally Posted by TelfordZ4M

I really wish I could see this in person some day because when you see them in pictures it's really hard to see much of a difference. Considering i've only ever seen one other coupe in my life I guess the chances aren't good...

Thats the way I feel as well. I see the pictures and I barely notice a difference but I don't think pictures can do this mod justice. I do know what the OEM stock flat ones look like and I imagine having them pop out and flow with the rear hips would look pretty amazing.

[inTgr8r]

Here's one of my old car.
The light hits the top edge, so maybe it shows a little better.

FWIW.. I absolutely loved these on my roady, but on the coupe I prefer OE sides.
They are a LOT wider than the OE sides towards the rear wheel well.
They are also very flat lined along the bottom edge, whereas the OE sides have more bottom edge curve.

[psygnosis]

The picture isn't so great, but here's my car with a nice reflection on the aero sides.

[dekaliber]

I ended up drawing on my before picture to outline where the aero side skirt's edges should be and created an animated gif showing before/after from the same perspective.



As inTgr8r said, it adds a good amount of width in the back (to the point where the back of my leg often bumps against the side skirt as I'm exiting the car) and the bottom edge becomes much straighter vs. the rather curvy OE skirt. The OE skirts also slope in towards the bottom of the more.

Originally Posted by epbrown

Dekaliber, how did you end up trimming that front bit we talked about? This is motivating me to finally fix mine. And are you happy with the paint match?

I ended up just using a razor blade and trimming down that front piece to more or less match the OE skirt. The material is pretty soft and was pretty easy to cut into without cracking, but it's awkward to hold and there was a lot of potential to slice the hell out of my hand if I slipped, so be careful.

As far as the paint match, I was initially pretty pleased but after washing my car, there's a subtle but noticeable reddish cast when I put a halogen inspection light to it. I haven't really been able to notice it otherwise, so I was going to wait for it to get sunny later this week before I make an issue of it. A little disappointing nonetheless, as I went there TWICE to have them confirm paint color. Here are some pics showing the seam between the door and side skirt if someone else wants to tell me I'm crazy:



This, compounded with a couple of other small issues, makes me think I should take the pieces back. There is some drippage on BOTH sides on the inside edge which is visible when you open the door. You can easily feel it, and it can be pretty visible depending on the light.



Also, one of the corner was a little chipped and they didn't do a great job of smoothing it out. It arrived with this minor damage, so I don't know if the pre-painted option from Tischer would have been better, but given that I was charged for the standard 1.6 hours of refinishing labor on each skirt, I would have assumed that they would make it perfect.

The rear left side where it meets up with the rear quarter panel:


Compared to good right side:


All small picky things, but I went out of my way to take my parts to these folks based on their reputation, and paid top dollar expecting perfection.

[inTgr8r]

I would talk to them about fixing those runs as well.
If they were on the bottom, no biggie;
but you will look at that paint run every time you get in & out of the car.

[apexstrafer]

I agree. Those runs are unacceptable.

[TelfordZ4M]

Thanks for the 'gif'. Gives a much better idea of a before and after.

As far as the finishing goes - I wouldn't accept that at all. Very poor job on their part.

[AWM3]

Originally Posted by dekaliber

I ended up just using a razor blade and trimming down that front piece to more or less match the OE skirt. The material is pretty soft and was pretty easy to cut into without cracking, but it's awkward to hold and there was a lot of potential to slice the hell out of my hand if I slipped, so be careful.

The part that has to be trimmed - is it visible or hidden? What I'm asking is if I need to trim the part before having it painted, or if it can be done after painting. Thanks for any help.

[inTgr8r]

Originally Posted by car62

The part that has to be trimmed - is it visible or hidden? What I'm asking is if I need to trim the part before having it painted, or if it can be done after painting. Thanks for any help.

Have a look here;
Aero side sills DIY

[AWM3]

Originally Posted by inTgr8r

Have a look here;
Aero side sills DIY

I did, and thank you very much for the information. It is still unclear to me if the part must be trimmed before painting, or not.

[inTgr8r]

Did you see post #24 in there.
There are some detail pics for what needs trimming.

[Starscream]

Originally Posted by epbrown

They look really good on Imola Red, in no small part because they're easier to see. You buy them from Tischer (or any dealer) and have them painted.

Dekaliber, how did you end up trimming that front bit we talked about? This is motivating me to finally fix mine. And are you happy with the paint match?

+1 I agree they make the most impact on a Imola car

Pics of mine, Really suit the Z4M, Def should have come stock




From the sides,

[inTgr8r]

Imola does look good

The one thing I'm not crazy about is that the the bottom door edge becomes another mid panel cut line.
This more apparent with lighter colours.