Slonik (Slon) Carbon Fiber CSL Trunk Review

[Tbonem3]

More food for thought:

[old///MFanatic]

Slon you keep making excuses but was the inadequate packing not 100% your company’s fault? I’m responding to what was shown in this thread pics and that was poorly executed. Moving on.

As for both parties to get a professional body shop installer involved was what I said “I” would have proposed. Didn’t say you should have nor was it negligence on your part for not offering. *(as it would not account for possibility the car in question having unforeseen irregularities). Although outcome would show both of you it doesn’t fit and then immediately make a return label and refund. It’s what I see as a quick decisive answer for both parties.

As for your most recent rebuttal, “do i really need to create ?teaching video? of installation tricks?”
You directly said it was Your Idea. You are now complaining about your own idea and proposal to customer. And never could/would fulfill after 3-4 weeks of customer waiting. You don’t see how just not doing or telling customer you weren’t going to do this anymore would make him or anyone else just be done dealing with your company at this point of waiting and hassles??
“after first pics from Pavel, and his messages about fitment issues, from my side, i had an idea to make some guide for him. and when we started our "tryings" in our workshop to make some guide (video), how to adjust it with the best results”

[IamFODI]

Guys, let's try to keep the focus on actionable constructive feedback. That tends to get better results than trying to convince someone that they've said something stupid.

[chalaka]

hope OP got this trunk experience resolved ..
knowing OP's frustration, yet, also kind of appreciate Slonik to jump in to defense his own product ..

i probably had one of the early made Karb trunk .. (or maybe the 1st buy?)
i think the fitment is GOOD. (Very satisfied )
installation experience was fast for me because i was coming from the Lower quality / cheaper mad FRP rep.
(sort of knowing where to tweak and tune already)

For me, also judging from the picture, i don't recall having the "middle touching glass" issue.. line looks normal to me..
so couple factors from my Karb experience, also treat it as a competitor's reference for Slonik ..(maybe there are something positive for Slonik to copy and keep improving your fine work as well

Karb trunk:
1. 1st impression, reply was fast, spot on, shipping cost, time were all as promised (shipping cost was HIGH though)
2. packaging was REALLY good. that box was really high quality. well protected, professionally done, so it built just that much confidence in their products. (value up)
3. finish is good, closing sound is firm, not flexing like my old rep.
4. screw holes are good and tight
5. BAD: bumper stop hole for the rubber thing is no use, i skipped this since it closes well, so minor issue to me
6. edge tip pressed into the windows corner tight from initial install (requires slight adjustment to move toward rear end)

Before i made the purchase from Karb,
also consider Slonik's .. from OP's pic and their IG, i believe it's a nicely made piece as well
so, hope Slonik can figure out which process went wrong..

meanwhile, that packaging can really take some improvement, especially you guys take pride on your hard work.

[Icecream]

If we all keep bitching like this soon there will be no aftermarket parts for this platform at all. I get it sucks to deal with these fitment issues but I do think a professional shop could tweak most of it. And if not, seems most companies, this one included, will replace or refund. They sent you another trunk and now they offered to refund and pay return shipping, what else could they do?. Sucks but they can only do so much. I don't have a race in this horse, just hope we don't collectively piss off all the manufacturers still making cool stuff for our cars. It Is a great thing to still have companies build carbon parts like this with as much attention to detail and passion, even if it is not perfect everytime. I'll slowly walk out of the room now.

[Altaran]

We have fitment issues with aftermarket parts because nobody wants to pay the price for a "perfect" fitting part.
For the most part it is cheaper to have a body shop make the adjustments than to pay 2x or 3x for an OEM quality piece.

Gesendet von meinem LON-L29 mit Tapatalk

[Obioban]

If we all keep bitching like this soon there will be no aftermarket parts for this platform at all. I get it sucks to deal with these fitment issues but I do think a professional shop could tweak most of it. And if not, seems most companies, this one included, will replace or refund. They sent you another trunk and now they offered to refund and pay return shipping, what else could they do?. Sucks but they can only do so much. I don't have a race in this horse, just hope we don't collectively piss off all the manufacturers still making cool stuff for our cars. It Is a great thing to still have companies build carbon parts like this with as much attention to detail and passion, even if it is not perfect everytime. I'll slowly walk out of the room now.

I do hope people don't write off Slonik because of this single thread/single person's experience.

Slonik is making some of the most innovative products for this chassis in a decade (not the CSL trunk, obviously), historically their stuff has fit quiet well, and I've certainly seen good packaging from them in the past-- their rear wall was one of the best packaged car parts I've ever received.

Slonik has some REALLY cool stuff in the pipeline for our chassis that they haven't shared publicly yet, that are unlike anything we've seen before. Assuming it goes to plan and fits well, we'd all be worse off if they're thrown off course by a poorly fitting trunk (assuming not install error).

[lvm3sm46]

I was willing to buy the undamaged one and make it fit. Would have been perfect from 5ft away.

[Casa de Mesa]

I do hope people don't write off Slonik because of this single thread/single person's experience.

Agree with this. Like I said, my roof panel was perfect. The carbon roof bow was perfect. I know these are nowhere near the complexity of a trunk (trunks are enormously complex pieces), but the quality was absurdly good with both of them.

I took this picture a little while ago because I couldn't believe how deep the reflection was in the carbon panel. The cell phone camera was focusing on the garage door opener reflection... in a carbon panel.

[Nate047]

I feel like some people have too high an expectation for what is basically a race car part.

[Epoustouflant]

I do hope people don't write off Slonik because of this single thread/single person's experience.

Slonik is making some of the most innovative products for this chassis in a decade (not the CSL trunk, obviously), historically their stuff has fit quiet well, and I've certainly seen good packaging from them in the past-- their rear wall was one of the best packaged car parts I've ever received.

Slonik has some REALLY cool stuff in the pipeline for our chassis that they haven't shared publicly yet, that are unlike anything we've seen before. Assuming it goes to plan and fits well, we'd all be worse off if they're thrown off course by a poorly fitting trunk (assuming not install error).

If cut out foam impresses you, I have a lot of things to sell Ian

[Epoustouflant]

I do hope people don't write off Slonik because of this single thread/single person's experience.

Slonik is making some of the most innovative products for this chassis in a decade (not the CSL trunk, obviously), historically their stuff has fit quiet well, and I've certainly seen good packaging from them in the past-- their rear wall was one of the best packaged car parts I've ever received.

Slonik has some REALLY cool stuff in the pipeline for our chassis that they haven't shared publicly yet, that are unlike anything we've seen before. Assuming it goes to plan and fits well, we'd all be worse off if they're thrown off course by a poorly fitting trunk (assuming not install error).

I do hope people don't write off Slonik because of this single thread/single person's experience.

Slonik is making some of the most innovative products for this chassis in a decade (not the CSL trunk, obviously), historically their stuff has fit quiet well, and I've certainly seen good packaging from them in the past-- their rear wall was one of the best packaged car parts I've ever received.

Slonik has some REALLY cool stuff in the pipeline for our chassis that they haven't shared publicly yet, that are unlike anything we've seen before. Assuming it goes to plan and fits well, we'd all be worse off if they're thrown off course by a poorly fitting trunk (assuming not install error).

If cut out foam impresses you, I can find many brands that have products to sell Ian

RE: Slon's main issues

The issue with Slon will always be this: whatever he does, we can get cheaper and more reliably made locally.

Everything he claims needs to have a fat asterisk next to it.

RE: His price gouging

There's a brand about to come to market with US made covers using the same design at 230$, instead of 650$ he charged.

That DCT pan he claims as best on the market is being retro-engineered here and will be sold for 50% the price he listed it at - just like his S65 VANOS covers.

RE: If it's innovative, patent your stuff.

If he wants to learn anything about his S65 V8 shenanigans, it's to properly register IP for his product designs he feels are innovative - and then back up his claims properly.

Supersprint patents their headers, why doesn't he?

Patents supporting a premium price point.

He wants the cake and eat it too - and then whines when people replicate his parts.

RE: Prove your stuff Mikhail

Further more to my point of Slon overhyping this products; he goes to great lengths to say his heightened walls in the pan improving flow. .

It's all bollocks and proven by fluid engineers actually doing the testing with his pan. Some guys are actually doing something innovating and working on a baffled quasi-dry sump pan for our DCTs.

There is little supporting evidence to anything he does - and that includes the chassis wall.

For as much as we wish it does anything, his documentation Carbon-Fiber Strengthening Wall.docx is all theoretical using the latest spaceframe from the Audi A8 as evidence.

It's deductive engineering at best.

Maybe that's why there is no patent to anything he does.

RE: His chassis dyno.

His chassis dyno is home-made and certified by who? Just like a wheel power dyno, he can have it spit out the numbers he want to suit his narrative.

I had his V8 wall in hand, chatted with various motorsport carbon manufacturer with actual Motorsport experience supporting OEM GT3 and VLN teams.

Hey, if it doesn't do anything at-least it's a great looking rear seat delete piece!

They all laughed the idea off.

He's preying on our documented E46 chassis fears, just as he preyed on the S65 owners fears.

We can't put that beyond him considering his track record of inflated and now disproven claims.

He is no Bob Collins / BE Bearings.

RE: The elephant in the room

Unfortunately for Russians, I suspect access to raw materials and technologies required to make these parts and maintain the types of equipments needed to do anything, ever more so supporting our chassis will be forever dwindling.

What bothers me most about Mikhail's is his entire inability to learn from his mistakes - he's made it clear that he doesn't see them as mistakes as is evident by this thread.

We're just whinny US customers he milks.

He doesn't dare answer any of my messages.

Why this community absolutely murdered Streamline and keeps Haimus Racing on a leash yet we should offer clemency to Slon is something I personally find totally incoherent.

One of these two went 150,000$ into debt to cover a recall campaign and own up to his mistakes - the other is inferring OP / Pavel is about to steal his trunk and can't store it right.

RE: We deserve better

Our cars increasing in value will only help bring quality, reputable manufacturers back to this platform taking a fresh look at it.

I've seen this happen to the V8 and V10, and we're seeing it now with the E46.

We should have higher expectations.

[IamFODI]

Looks like this thread has run its course. We've expressed opinions and debated, and now we're into much broader and more contentious topics. Let's all take a breather for now.

Any feedback on how we run the forum is welcome in the feedback forum or in PMs to mods/admins.

[Obioban]

Video of the returned trunk being installed:

[fullyflaredd]

Video of the returned trunk being installed:

Well not to bring back a dead thread, but good to know that the Slon trunk does actually fit well as advertised and this was a case of user error. Seen a few posts online and this thread was the first complaint. Now I make the tough choice of who I throw my money at