Slonik (Slon) Carbon Fiber CSL Trunk Review

[WestBankM4]

If I didn't buy my Karbonius trunk during Epoustouflant groupbuy, I would have went Slonik stuff. I guess I'm a fanboy but I like to keep all my parts from the same manufacturer if possible, so Karbonius it is. For Slon's unique stuff I'll go this route, I knew after reading the OP's Pavel's thread that it was user error. It's never a "plug and play" for any carbon fiber or fiberglass part, expect to do trimming, shaving, and fitting. The difference you look for is quality and a mold that hasn't had 1,000,000 parts pulled from it which leads to warps, etc.

I still think Slonik stuff is great, I've seen the reinforcement trunk wall in person, the quality is there.

[Maxima SE]

This is a long thread and I have not read all of it but I always take these trunk fitment reviews with a grain of salt. If it is some chinese $500 trunk then yeah it will fit like crap but if you can't get the higher end stuff to fit decent then I partly blame the user for not being able to make it fit perfect. If you guys think OE CSL trunk is perfect then you are mistaken too. I got an OE one about 8 years ago and even that took me 5 hours to get close to perfect and let me tell you, the lines still do not line up perfectly. Anyone that has installed one will tell you that if you line up the trunk lights with the rear taillights then the curved ducktail won't line up with the body and vice versa. If you look at pictures of CSL cars, you'll see that the trunk sits slightly lower than the body of the car just to make the lights line up perfectly. Then there is the challenge of making the sides flush with the rear 1/4 and the front fitting perfectly with the glass. It is a challenge to pull off and my conclusion is that worn/bent trunk hinges will prevent you from a perfect fit too. You can spend hours and hours with the OE CSL and still not get it 100% perfect.

[Fresh6390]

Just now seeing this thread. I was the 2nd person in US to get a Slon trunk. I'm sure I posted on another thread but I love the quality of it, especially after I had and had to return a status gruppe one due to extremely poor quality.

I have no real body work experience and I was able to get Slon trunk to fit great in probably less than an hour time. Love the weight saving aspect; only running one shock on hinge because so light.

Whoever runs Slons Instagram was great/prompt in communication with me as well.

[fattycharged]

Well damn, Slon just mic dropped the f out of this thread...

[TosM3]

I'm thinking of getting a slon but hes selling it for 2.6 which is the same price as Karbon so idk. Has anyone else got slon csl trunk since then.

[jet_dogg]

If this dude was sent two trunks that he couldn't fit it's pretty obvious it was user error.

I feel bad for business owners who have to deal with customers sometimes.

[Cronenberged]

I'm thinking of getting a slon but hes selling it for 2.6 which is the same price as Karbon so idk. Has anyone else got slon csl trunk since then.

You can't go wrong with either Karbonious or Slon.

[Altaran]

You can't go wrong with either Karbonious or Slon.

Karbonius has autoclaves in house and is ISO9001 certified. Between the two, Karbonius would clearly be my first choice.

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[Sharocks]

Karbonius no question.

OE is best but they're kinda heavy.

[Obioban]

I just want one with a trunk opening button.

OE is best but they're kinda heavy.

I'd say that negates it from being the best.

[bigjae46]

Here's the difference. BMW uses some sort of metal tooling (steel or aluminum I'm guessing) to make the parts. Metal is more stable and durable but costs a lot more and is heavy - need machinery to move and handle the tooling.

Everyone else will use a composite mold - typically fiberglass with polyester resin. Lower cost and easier to handle. Every time polyester resin sees a heat cycle it can very slightly change shape. The mold may eventually make parts that won't fit or at least fit as well and not to mention the pattern on the reinforcement (fiberglass) will print through the gel coat finish at some point.

You can make a more durable composite mold from carbon fiber and epoxy which won't have this issue. Again - will cost about 5 times as much. Makes sense for someone like Karbonius to use an epoxy/carbon mold if they plan to produce a lot of parts.

So this is one possibility of why a run of composite trunks made from a composite mold will fit and others won't.

[bavarian3]

Fitment alignment aside, does anyone have feedback on the actual shape of the trunk? Do the Karb and Slon actually look just like the OE? You know what I'm talking about when you see a cheap knockoff and it just looks off.

Other concern is paint matching. Can you actually paint match one of these pieces, and not have the physical aspects of the weave show through?

[jet_dogg]

Karbonius has autoclaves in house and is ISO9001 certified. Between the two, Karbonius would clearly be my first choice.

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I like karbonius and I have several of their parts but the impression I get is the Russians are more precise and technical with regard to all details.

How many times have you heard of issues with karb boxes over the years (sealing issues, one of the fittings), improper fixes and various fitment issues/modifications of the trunks that people have posted reviews of here. Granted there are more karbonius pieces in the field but you don't hear of these oversights, or at least I don't, with slon. Plus karb has the corny ass m badge recess on the underside.

[Cronenberged]

Fitment alignment aside, does anyone have feedback on the actual shape of the trunk? Do the Karb and Slon actually look just like the OE? You know what I'm talking about when you see a cheap knockoff and it just looks off.

Other concern is paint matching. Can you actually paint match one of these pieces, and not have the physical aspects of the weave show through?

There was a great thread on CSL trunks comparison. Slon and Karb will be closest you can get in terms of OE look. Status did use a OEM CSL trunk for their molds but they have QC issues.

A good body shop should be able to paint match which also requires blending adjacent panels with the trunk. Make sure you vet whose doing the work.

[WestBankM4]

Plus karb has the corny ass m badge recess on the underside.

The badge is pretty homosapien but I'll deal, was actually happy I didn't need to reuse my OEM tool kit in that area, I'm missing quite a few pieces.

Can't wait to get to the exterior of this car.