DIY Evo-R front CF fangs?
 

I just got the evo-r CF front fangs and they do not fit right. I've searched threads, but can't find any pertaining to the installation of this. I have tried to force it on there and it is scratching my pearl white paint! Anyone have tips/advice on this or point me in the right direction, plz? :confused:

thanks in advance,
cmad

Mine had a small issue, is it happening at the bottom?

With mine, basically it was too snug. It would not slide completely on and would not sit flush against the fang area (also scratching up my paint)

I drove like that for awhile but then got tired of how bad it looked so finally tried something. I shaved about an inch off the bottom part, this allowed it to sit flush and look perfect. Where you cut is the underside, so you wouldn't see its a bit shorter unless your car is up on a lift

that fixed my problem

Yeah, it's too snug on mine, too. I will try and shave the bottom & see if that works. thanks, great one

Also another issue, how do you prep the inside of the CF for the mounting tape to stick? The inside is so rough, the tape won't adhere. Should I be using something other than 3M HD mounting tape? Should I sand the inside completely smooth? Please advise...

I used A LOT of 3M tape.

To be honest I didn't really sand or rough up the inside but thats not a bad idea to do.

Actually I used a combination of 3M and also "no more nails" brand tape also, looks the same but I feel it holds really well.

Instead of strips across I think I went North to south, I also feel that works better for items with so much curvature to it.

Thanks, i'll keep that in mind. I just had an idea to paint a thick clearcoat on the inside to make the surface smooth, and therefore, have more surface area to adhere to...

that actually would work really well and I'm sure better than the current texture of the inside. Wish I thought of that before.

You'll need to double up on tape in some areas. I used alcohol to clean the underside. I also taped up near the vents on the bumper where the fangs would touch so it wouldn't scratch.

as long as the very bottom is stuck to the bumper real well chances are it wont' fly off.

its hardly a perfect fit but it goes on. if your car is any color other than black, be prepared to touch up the paint that peeks out from the vent area. youll know wat i mean after you install it. lol

good to know, thx

When I installed my fang cover, I also scratched my paint up. A trick I figured out was to use some thick heavy duty duct tape and stick it to the inside of the fang cover, leaving some spots exposed so I could lay down some 3m double sided tape. That way, there was no surface of the carbon backside exposed that could scratch the paint, and there was still enough 3m tape to hold it super tight.

Also, another trick for non-black Z's - I spray painted some plastidip down on the bare paint, masking off the bumper and the forward section of the fangs, so that it only laid down a strip of plastidip nearest to the parts that would get exposed. When you put the fangs on, you'll see what is exposed. If you lay some plastidip, you'll never see it. It's lasted a long time too!

^^ good tips! :tup:

**UPDATE**
So last night I trimmed the underside of the CF fang cover. It ended up being about 1-1/2" that I had to cut off since the evo-r did not fit the fang profile perfectly. I also just buffed out the scratches that were made with the dry fitting I tried earlier, then covered all those areas with the 'frog tape' masking tape, which comes off very easily. That allowed me to dry fit the evo-r without scratching the paint. After three rounds of cutting, it finally slid on there. I think I'm just gonna completely cover the fang area with the frog tape before I mount the cover for good. This way it will come off clean if I ever want to remove it. I will post pics and stuff when I mount it, but the weather should be over 70 degrees for proper adhesive, so it may be a week or so.

1-1/2" is a huge amount for a perfect fit...QC needs to be re-looked at...

yah, they made that based on a base without the sport deflector and never updated the dims, i suppose.

i used a metal cutting disc on my rotary machine to cut. took a while. wear a nose/mouth mask cause the dust can do damage to your lungs. use water to cool it and keep dust low.

then get some clearcoat and paint over the exposed cf so that it doesnt absorb moisture.