Slonik (Slon) Carbon Fiber CSL Trunk Review

[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.

[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.

[fattycharged]

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

[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.

[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.

[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.

[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

[Obioban]

Video of the returned trunk being installed:

[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.

[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.

[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

[Nate047]

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

[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.

[lvm3sm46]

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

[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).