cpo

This isn't really a DIY post...maybe it is...either way it is informational in motive. It is also an opportunity for me to seek advice on installation.

If money were no object, the easy solution would be to just buy OEM straight from BMW, take it to a body shop, and pick it up a week later with the new look. First, money is a factor for me. Second, it takes away from the hobby side in me who likes to tinker. I'll outsource big projects, but I do enjoy some DIY time every so often. I priced the OEM and tried to compare it (as best as I could) against the much cheaper alternatives. In the end...I decided to take a chance on a sub-$100 pre-painted and shipped spoiler. It is *just* a spoiler. It's not a very complicated part. Through my research, most people seemed to be happy with their ebay spoilers, so it seemed like a reasonable choice for me.

I ordered from an ebay seller named bmwchop168. I hadn't seen any info on other 5-ers who bought from this seller, but my assumption is that it's highly likely that most of these sellers are the same, related, or at a minimum, get their parts from the same source. Pre-painted was important for this DIY project. My car is Jet Black...so it's not a hard color to match. : )

The link for my purchase is here: http://www.ebay.com/itm/320850985834

I know from my own research that that link may not be around for someone to visit in the future... so I grabbed a couple of screen shots.





I placed the order on March 3, and the item arrived at my doorstep on March 13. 10 Days isn't bad for an international purchase with free shipping!

Here is what showed up:















It also came with an installation booklet, some adhesion promoter, a cotton swab, and an alcohol wipe.



The underside has red double sided tape.











I'm not sure when I'll get around to installation. It depends on time and weather. When those two align, I'll make it happen.

Any feedback from those that have done this is much appreciated. I plan to clean and clay the trunk lid before starting. I'm also going to strap it down after install for it to set.

Questions:

What the heck do I do with the adhesive promoter? Does that go on the trunk lid at all? The instruction booklet doesn't say anything about it. I'm not sure what the product does (other than how it's named).

Should I leave that pre-installed tape on there or should I pull it and put fresh 3M tape?

I'll still be poking around at DIYs before I get started. There is just so many variations of how to do this. I'll pick one and go with it. I'll post back here with more pics as I progress. It may be a while before I get started tho. The main thing I wanted to do what share the pics of the actual item since buying from foreign eBay sellers can always be a little frightening.

harcorshe

Well, slap that puppy on there and let's see how it looks!!

What is your impression of the quality other than fit (which we haven't gotten to yet)?? Color match?

Please update as the process proceeds.

cpo

Well...

My impression of quality is good. Paint is good and as I would expect it. Unfortunately, my car is getting the windows tinted and a clear front mask...so I don't have it at the moment. I'll have it back next week and will know more about color match and overall fit. Black is black, tho, so it seems right without the car.

Ragtop Steve

Nice, it has come from the same place my new one cam from, they are good and the paint is spot on, although mine was damaged in transit so waiting for another one....

1 - dont remove the red tape untill your ready to fit the spoiler
2- Like you said, wash, clay and polish the boot before installing
3 - The adhesive promoter / glue activater, place the spoiler down so you can see where its sitting
Get the adhesive activater and rub this along the boot where the tape is going to land on the boot lid and hay presto, its gona stick like a whores nickers

Basicly the liquid activates a chemical in the tape and makes the glue work quicker and better. you just need to make sure its on right 1st time.

Tip 1: do one end 1st, about 10" making sure its all in place, once thats down carfully lift the other end and remove the tape, apply the activator and then slap the rest on.

Tip 2: Warm up the area where its being stuck to and also warm up the spoiler

3: then put up loads of pics of your handy work

leese8080

Thanks for sharing the link and pictures. Now, I'm considering getting the ACS rep one. I'll write a review once I get to install them. Glad that two people can vouch for the paint quality. $92 shipped for replica of M5 spoiler or rep ACS spoiler painted is very cheap in my opinion.

cpo

On an impulse buy at the auto parts store, I picked up a roll of 3M double sided tape. My thought is this: While the tape that came pre-installed on the spoiler is red and 3M-like, I have speculation that it is not really 3M tape. That gives room for a potentially inferior product. I come to this realization after noticing that 3M tape has the label "3M" printed on the red backing. The product that came pre-installed on the spoiler does not say "3M'. Unless someone has information that suggests what came with my spoiler is in fact some version of unbranded 3M tape, I figure it's safest to just remove that and put what I know to be the real deal on there. I figure it adds a little time to my project, but not much. I would rather spend a little up front time rather than find my spoiler coming off because of some no-name tape. Does anyone else have any experience with this situation? I haven't pulled the original tape off yet...but I'll probably work on it this week. Here is the tape I bought today:: Super Strength Molding Tape #03614



Thanks!


EDIT:

After a little further poking around, I believe that what is pre-installed on my spoiler *is* 3M tape...but I think it is the Scotch version -- "Exterior Mounting Tape" instead of the Super Strength Molding Tape. The Exterior Mounting Tape only has a 5lb holding capacity...and i believe would be not sufficient for spoiler attachment. Maybe I am wrong. It does have the red backing, but doesn't have 3M written on it.

cpo

I am back home now and able to compare the 3M molding tape with the pre-installed tape. I'm just a layman here, but it seems like it's the same stuff. The pre-installed stuff may just be a bit thinner in width (not thickness) but that's the only difference I can tell. I tried removing some of the pre-installed stuff to see how hard it would be...and that stuff is on there GOOD! Based on the effort it took to pull just a 6 inch section, I am trying to decide if I really want to remove it all or just replace what I removed and go from there. I actually am thinking I may put a row of the new 3M right next to the pre-installed tape and just double it up. It's the same thickness, so it should just be added insurance. Thoughts?

I never would I thought I would have gone so technical with double-sided tape!

harcorshe

I would note that "Scotch" is owned by 3M.

leese8080

I purchased the ACS replica spoiler from the ebay seller mentioned above. They actually painted the spoiler in A07 (Mystic Blue) for me at the same cost of $92 shipped. On the seller's link, only the metallic black is shown, but I reached out to the seller and requested it to be painted in A07, which he agreed. The paint matches well and the fitment is good, but not perfect, which was not expected. Can't beat $92 painted/shipped. Further, the package only took 12 days to be delivered from Taiwan.

I used the super strong 3M molding tape and the 'blue masking tape -used for interior painting' purchased from home depot to hold it down for 2 days. There is a small gap in the corners but I don't think the spoiler would fall off.

All in all, I am very happy with it. Pardon the poor quality phone camera.

harcorshe

Nice. Thanks for posting pictures. The OP seems to have gotten side-tracked.