[tjbuggy2b]

Intro
For various reasons that I now don't recall, I opted for the Monaco Motorsports M Performance Style Carbon Fiber Front Lip & Splitters. Something to do with inconsistent reviews of others, like RWCarbon and Ikon, etc. I don't remember, now.

Packaging: 9/10
Packaging was adequate but not outstanding. The box it came in was thick cardboard with ample bubble wrap and/or foam sheeting. It likely wouldn't be damaged but if it was struck firmly by a sharp corner, I could see bad things happening.

Fit and Finish: Lip: 9/10; Splitters: 1/10
There are some small imperfections that probably won't be noticed unless you have your face right up next to it. I'm a bit anal about this sort of stuff and it can't see it, now that it's installed. There was also some white (what I can only assume is) casting residue that needed to be cleaned off.

The biggest issue is with the splitters that go under the side grills. They are somehow too big and too short at the same time. As you can see from this picture, there is a gap between the back edge of the splitter and the grill, but there is also a gap between the front of the splitter and the bumper cover. It wouldn't sit back any farther than this.

I opted not to use them, anyway. After thinking about it, it seems dumb in principal to use carbon as a mere overlay. The point of CF is to be light. So, unless it's replacing the thing it's covering up, you're just adding weight.



Assembly: 8/10

Here's a tip, just go ahead and remove the center front underbody panel. It'll make your life easier.

The lip and splitter ships with screws and 1/4" 3M tape. I opted to purchase 1" 3M tape to give a little more adhesion. The lip really only contacts the bumper cover at the mounting holes and the last 10" or so at the ends of the bumper. So, there isn't really any need for 3M tape anywhere except the ends of the lip, and the center "pillar mount" locations.

Basic attachment uses factory mounting points, except for the center pillars. These are meant to be secured with the self-drilling screws that came with the kit. I wasn't satisfied with that, and opted to use a spare set of stainless screws and nylock nuts (with washers) that I had laying around. Mine were SAE (not sure size) but M5 screws/nuts would probably work fine. It's really tough to get your fingers in behind the bumper cover but it's doable. I used some duct tape on the back of an open end wrench to hold the nut in place, so I could reach up inside the bumper cover.

I found that the factory mounting hardware really isn't up to the task. For one thing, the plastic rivets are not long enough to engage the lip completely, and... well, they're plastic. One bump on the nose, and I'd have no confidence it would hold.

Also, the 4 screws that are used for the corner underbody covers only leave a thread or two exposed, once the lip is in place. So, they don't get a lot of purchase on the plastic screw clips the OEM uses. I purchased these M5-2.12 x 19mm T25 fender screws, which I just realized is not what was delivered to me. Instead, they sent me hex head screws with floating washers instead of the torx head that was advertised. It's all good, though. Those hex head screws with floating washers worked better, anyway. The washer is larger in diameter than the torx head screw face. So, try to find M5 hex head screws with floating washers.

Replace these...


With this...


These will slide into the opening for the plastic rivets, too. It's tough because the plastic is body piece behind the bumper cover is much thicker than what these clips are meant for, but creative use of a flat head screwdriver helps.


Critically, the little clippy nut thing (I don't know what the correct word is for it) needs to be long enough. The clips in this set were about 10mm from the center of the hole to the back of the clip. This was probably the limit on how short it could be and still work. As you can see in the pics, the clip holes didn't line up well with the OEM holes. However, with the floating washers, there is latitude to over-drill the holes in the lip to allow the screw to move around a bit to get lined up with the clip. I think I used 5/16" drill, but don't quote me.



Final verdict: 8/10
I'm only including the lip in this rating. As a package, it's hard to rate it anything higher than 1/10, since the splitters don't fit. Maybe if you fooled around and ground down the edges, but I'm not trying to fill my garage, face, and lungs with carbon fiber dust.

Once installed, the front lip looks like it should. There are no discernable issues visible to my eyes. The reason it gets dinged is because they should just send appropriate hardware for it. For the price I paid, they can throw in the $5 worth of hardware that actually works.

[JSKS76]

Thank you for this. This is exactly what I was looking for. I'll study this in details. Thanks again!

BTW, can you elaborate on how you were able to get behind the bumper cover? It looks like you removed the center guard/skid plate, and loosen the two side pieces from the front and force/slip a wrench in the gap side ways and tighten the bolt?

[JSKS76]

Ah never mind, I see what you did. You didn't use bolts and nuts but used the Amazon package instead. Never seen those before. I'll have to hunt some down. Thanks again for the write up!

[tjbuggy2b]

For the lip's center pillar up front, I did use nuts and bolts so I could put a decent sized washer behind the plastic. I used duct tape on the back of and open end wrench to hold the nut on it, and reach up in there. It's REAL finicky, but you can get it to work.