Ill-Fitting Front Splitters, worth making them fit?

[RP3340]

Hi - I bought some front splitters off of EBay from China because they were actually offering painted splitters for around $80. I took a gamble and they really don't seem to fit very well.

The paint job is ok, and matches pretty well, but they really don't fit flush against the bumper and leave an ugly gap.

My question is, do you think it would be worth it to try to make these fit (somehow) or just buy a different pair?

My bumper is pretty chewed up on the bottom so I was thinking some nice splitters would look cool and let me put off re-spraying the bumper.

[san]

I don’t have experience with splitters but pics would help other who do...


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[RP3340]

I don’t have experience with splitters but pics would help other who do...

Pics below. I would love to see if anyone has photos of the actual clubsport splitters so I can see the difference. I wonder if they made a mold based on the originals that would require some dremel work / drilling.

https://i.imgur.com/bdG4gna.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/ZfrgH35.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/wm7OEMI.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/zqdF6nG.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/kkzP3kF.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/NAoS8eb.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/U6ev7f8.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/ej6UV1f.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/7Ihu4Rq.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/IzrAa2t.jpg

[Sockethead]

All the ones from china fit crappy, You just have to play with them to get the closest, best fit. Some of those gaps will disappear once you screw them in. Luckily, all the screws go in from the bottom. Use big stainless steel fender washers on the screws, that will help tighten it up a bit. You can get them at Lowes in the specialty drawers in the hardware section.
When I put mine on, I didn't use any double sided tape on the upper edge because it could be seen with them on and made the gap a little worse. The bottom screws with fender washers were enough to hold them tight.

[RP3340]

Great! Thanks. I was also considering using plastic rivets with the idea that if they did take a hit maybe the rivets would fail before destroying the whole bumper; however, this would also complicate the install. I'm going to give the screws and washers a shot without the tape on top, and see if I can't get them to fit properly.

[Sockethead]

Are you talking about the rivets you install with one of these? That would work..

34282

I used stainless steel sheet metal screws. Drill the smallest hole possible to get as much bite as possible from the screws

[Johnmadd]

All the ones from china fit crappy, You just have to play with them to get the closest, best fit. Some of those gaps will disappear once you screw them in. Luckily, all the screws go in from the bottom. Use big stainless steel fender washers on the screws, that will help tighten it up a bit. You can get them at Lowes in the specialty drawers in the hardware section.
When I put mine on, I didn't use any double sided tape on the upper edge because it could be seen with them on and made the gap a little worse. The bottom screws with fender washers were enough to hold them tight.

This. An extra set of hands to help push the splitters tight to the car while the drilling is being done helps a lot.

[RP3340]

UPDATE: So I attached the splitters using four sheet metal screws as well as a few plastic rivets (I used the BMW OEM rivets). They fit ok - only now I am getting some cracking where they wrap around the fender into the wheel well.

The reason I bought these in the first place were to cover up some unsightly curb rash and for looks. I'm thinking if I bother respraying the bumper, I could attempt to bondo or maybe fiberglass blend these into the bumper? It would be a lot of sanding, but it might look the best in the end.

What do you guys think? would it be worth the effort?

[sillieidiot]

iono if it's worth the effort. Are those FG? My splitters were thick ABS plastic before I molded them to my bumper. After molding, one hit and they will just break if they are FG lol I would just modify those splitters more to fit the bumper imo. Then when you break them, get new ones that fit better.