Many of your concerns are misconceptions, misunderstandings and offset expectations from the realities of paint matched parts on a 20 year old car. I touched on these concerns previously with the intention to set up expectations for any diffuser from any brand in journal entries including here.
I had already noticed your YouTube video thinking you'd reach out - I unfortunately couldn't associate your username with your order. I truly wish you had reached out, René has corrected all paint defects, either local to you or back in Germany.
I'll argue your best intentions about not wanting to disparage a product.
Here's the framework under which the paint match service is offered.
My 0.02$
I previously stated my opinion about the color match service in my unboxing impressions.
My opinion hasn't changed.
I previously stated my opinion about the color match service in my unboxing impressions.
My opinion hasn't changed.
"1. If you are OCD, and know your car has been in an accident, resprayed or had aftermarket diffusers previously fitted, get the primer'ed version. Don't bother with DIY and drop this off at a body shop for paint & fitment.
2. If what you see here meets your goals (and your car wasn't due for the junkyard), get the color match option. It's less expensive, looks great, and is easily fitted."
2. If what you see here meets your goals (and your car wasn't due for the junkyard), get the color match option. It's less expensive, looks great, and is easily fitted."
See below for my issue-specific answers.
Originally posted by Tbonem3
View Post
Recently installed one of these (pre painted) diffusers, and am sharing my experience.
For frame of reference, these cost ~$1000
Box/packaging was amateur, though effective
Only 1 pinhole on this piece, but for the price paid, I still find it unacceptable
A couple of little issues with the bottom carbon portion (1st clear coat run, 2nd weave/layers), but luckily not very visible if the exh tips are blocking this area
This is non-issue. The folds are to be expected on complex curvatures. He hides the folds of the different pre-preg layers out of sight specifically to avoid this.
The main, visible portion of CF looks great
Correct.
This is the most disturbing part. Now I can't say for certain that the piece didn't already have this issue when I unboxed it, but I doubt it. I don't remember it, but I also can't see in any of the other photos. This piece was not dropped, and no tools were used. I literally was pushing it into place. Even stranger, and a compliment I was going to make about the install, is that the piece, with factory like tabs, is very easy to install - very factory like. Despite that, upon pushing this portion in, the paint cracked. I can't tell if there was an adhesion issue, but I can tell that the paint is very very thin.
Paint is always thin. It bears no bearing on its quality for the most part. You pointed it further down in your review, I'll come back on that.
Very disappointing that the paint could simply split like this with such moderate pressure applied (both by my fingers and by the rectangle that the tab inserts into *the split happened as it was being inserted). You can also see a hairline crack perpendicular to the vertical crack, at the bottom. I'm confused how the paint could crack in this fashion with such moderate pressue as I mentioned earlier.
Clear coat cracks for a variety of reasons: poor preparation, misapplication, mis calculations on drying times and unfavourable conditions for outgassing not being abided, etc.
Being applied on a flexible material like carbon makes it worst: flex agents need to be added to compensante - making paint application more finicky.
All of the holes on the underside lined up except for the farthest passenger side. I had to carefully make a semi-circle here for the plastic rivet to fit, not a big deal tbh, but a little concerning knowing how fragile the paint was up top at the tab. I filed only upwards so that the paint wouldn't peel downwards.
The diffuser is designed by BMW to be fitted from the top tabs first and foremost.
It's why they made the bottom-corner holes slotted.
If I let the diffuser sit outwards a bit, the hole lined up well enough, but then this was the resulting fitment:
This was due to the tab being a little too long. Perhaps Rene can rework his product so that the tab grabs a little sooner to pull the diffuser snug to bumper cover?
The tab is not too long. René paints the tabs to add some thickness to give you leeway in adjustments.
I had to file down the 2nd upper tab from the left.
I don't mean to completely disparage the part, it's obviously good quality in construction and overall fitment/install.
Not concerned at all with the paint match- you can't expect a great match; it's perfectly fine, but there wasn't enough orange peel (sanded too low or not enough to begin with; makes sense seeing how thin the paint was - the clear coat is even thinner) to match factory - though how many people can even notice that?
This is a clear example of the misconceptions you have on how paint quality is evaluated.
We had already went through this you and I here. I also suggested a primer version back then.
Age does make a metallic silver appear darker. Flakes burn out over time. Silver flakes will turn brown-red.
If you want a perfect paint match to compensate for aging, the primer'ed option is available.
The corner gap is dictated by your corner bracket & tab + lower push pin. That section is slotted.
Feel free to zoom.
It's a point I've also written about here.
You're essentially complaining the finish is too good. I'm unsure how valid this is for a color paint matched part from overseas.
This can also indicate an uncomfortable truth: your car's been resprayed. Looking at your rear bumper - it appears to be sagging over OEM fitment at the rear fender line.
A considerable number of E46 M3s have been in accidents, resprayed, love tapped and played with.
I know this from personal experience: my car has a clean title and has been resprayed with every part still on the car. When we pulled the bumper for the current complete color change, here's what we found.
Most of the brackets holding the diffuser brackets were broken off.
We had to re-apply epoxy and will need to readjust fitment of the diffuser.
Once installed, it looks very good.
Correct.
That crack pictured above is actually very small, and can't be seen from more than a few feet away.
The corner gap is a little better on the pass side than driver, but neither is as bad as earlier products pictured in this thread.
Also, the paint line between CF was very good, better than other pictured earlier ITT.
Correct.
In closing, I don't rate it much better than the taiwanese (AGT styling) one I got from happybuyitnow167 on ebay years ago (also pre-painted) for $275, but this one installs better/faster and the CF/paint line is better.
Mine is easier to get perfect fitment because you can use its metal tangs to pull it in tighter, and it didn't have any pinoles or clearcoat issues.
You can still do that - but then it's not an 1:1 rep anymore, and that's what owners wanted. Expectations were set up accordingly.
Now, of course our money has been so diluted lately that you're just not going to be able to buy a part like this for anywhere near $200-300 anymore, but I don't know about $1000.
For further reference, I also installed a MileEndComposits CSL diffsuer (JC in Canada) on member Good's car, and it was significantly better than both my ebay diffuser and this GB piece, but its cost, adjusted for inflation, was probably also fairly high like $800-1k (bought pre Covid).
MileEnd has no paint service. You installed a diffuser on another car.
This isn't a 1:1 comparaison.
No 2 cars are the same 20 years on - this diffuser has been the same across the 60x that were produced.
The only variations have been paint quality, and the car's condition.
The E46 is an old car with shoddy build quality in comparaison to modern standards. Yet even to this day, BMW M has body guys on the production line measure and adjust gaps across the car before it rolls out. Panel gaps on a diffuser are a game of millimetres across various brackets and adjustable slotted holes.
If you want perfection, you won't achieve on your own - professionals need to be involved.
Most SGT diffusers (and other parts like trunk) are pretty poor, but member ImolaM3's Tiag SGT diffuser is 9/10 somehow. He got lucky. Last I heard, you can't get a MileEnd piece anymore, or for a while you couldn't, and even now it's difficult. Point is, it's hard to get a good CSL diffuser, especially nowadays, so it's a shame that Rene's piece isn't better - hopefully he keeps improving it. 8/10 on its own, but less considering cost.
And that's where you make my point: the second unit ever delivered is to a member in this thread that previously had a SGT diffuser.
His comments:
For better or for worse, not a single car will fit the same.
For frame of reference, these cost ~$1000
Box/packaging was amateur, though effective
Only 1 pinhole on this piece, but for the price paid, I still find it unacceptable
A couple of little issues with the bottom carbon portion (1st clear coat run, 2nd weave/layers), but luckily not very visible if the exh tips are blocking this area
This is non-issue. The folds are to be expected on complex curvatures. He hides the folds of the different pre-preg layers out of sight specifically to avoid this.
The main, visible portion of CF looks great
Correct.
This is the most disturbing part. Now I can't say for certain that the piece didn't already have this issue when I unboxed it, but I doubt it. I don't remember it, but I also can't see in any of the other photos. This piece was not dropped, and no tools were used. I literally was pushing it into place. Even stranger, and a compliment I was going to make about the install, is that the piece, with factory like tabs, is very easy to install - very factory like. Despite that, upon pushing this portion in, the paint cracked. I can't tell if there was an adhesion issue, but I can tell that the paint is very very thin.
Paint is always thin. It bears no bearing on its quality for the most part. You pointed it further down in your review, I'll come back on that.
Very disappointing that the paint could simply split like this with such moderate pressure applied (both by my fingers and by the rectangle that the tab inserts into *the split happened as it was being inserted). You can also see a hairline crack perpendicular to the vertical crack, at the bottom. I'm confused how the paint could crack in this fashion with such moderate pressue as I mentioned earlier.
Clear coat cracks for a variety of reasons: poor preparation, misapplication, mis calculations on drying times and unfavourable conditions for outgassing not being abided, etc.
Being applied on a flexible material like carbon makes it worst: flex agents need to be added to compensante - making paint application more finicky.
All of the holes on the underside lined up except for the farthest passenger side. I had to carefully make a semi-circle here for the plastic rivet to fit, not a big deal tbh, but a little concerning knowing how fragile the paint was up top at the tab. I filed only upwards so that the paint wouldn't peel downwards.
The diffuser is designed by BMW to be fitted from the top tabs first and foremost.
It's why they made the bottom-corner holes slotted.
If I let the diffuser sit outwards a bit, the hole lined up well enough, but then this was the resulting fitment:
This was due to the tab being a little too long. Perhaps Rene can rework his product so that the tab grabs a little sooner to pull the diffuser snug to bumper cover?
The tab is not too long. René paints the tabs to add some thickness to give you leeway in adjustments.
I had to file down the 2nd upper tab from the left.
I don't mean to completely disparage the part, it's obviously good quality in construction and overall fitment/install.
Not concerned at all with the paint match- you can't expect a great match; it's perfectly fine, but there wasn't enough orange peel (sanded too low or not enough to begin with; makes sense seeing how thin the paint was - the clear coat is even thinner) to match factory - though how many people can even notice that?
This is a clear example of the misconceptions you have on how paint quality is evaluated.
We had already went through this you and I here. I also suggested a primer version back then.
Originally posted by Tbonem3
View Post
If you want a perfect paint match to compensate for aging, the primer'ed option is available.
The corner gap is dictated by your corner bracket & tab + lower push pin. That section is slotted.
Feel free to zoom.
It's a point I've also written about here.
The diffuser's paint is what my paint should be.
The properly wet sanded & polished diffuser has a much higher gloss level. It allows far more light to reflect off PY's metallic which lightens the color in direct sun light.
I knew this, I still ordered the paint match to document this knowing full well we would re-do the diffuser with the upcoming complete paint & body restoration.
The properly wet sanded & polished diffuser has a much higher gloss level. It allows far more light to reflect off PY's metallic which lightens the color in direct sun light.
I knew this, I still ordered the paint match to document this knowing full well we would re-do the diffuser with the upcoming complete paint & body restoration.
This can also indicate an uncomfortable truth: your car's been resprayed. Looking at your rear bumper - it appears to be sagging over OEM fitment at the rear fender line.
A considerable number of E46 M3s have been in accidents, resprayed, love tapped and played with.
I know this from personal experience: my car has a clean title and has been resprayed with every part still on the car. When we pulled the bumper for the current complete color change, here's what we found.
Most of the brackets holding the diffuser brackets were broken off.
We had to re-apply epoxy and will need to readjust fitment of the diffuser.
Once installed, it looks very good.
Correct.
That crack pictured above is actually very small, and can't be seen from more than a few feet away.
The corner gap is a little better on the pass side than driver, but neither is as bad as earlier products pictured in this thread.
Also, the paint line between CF was very good, better than other pictured earlier ITT.
Correct.
In closing, I don't rate it much better than the taiwanese (AGT styling) one I got from happybuyitnow167 on ebay years ago (also pre-painted) for $275, but this one installs better/faster and the CF/paint line is better.
Mine is easier to get perfect fitment because you can use its metal tangs to pull it in tighter, and it didn't have any pinoles or clearcoat issues.
You can still do that - but then it's not an 1:1 rep anymore, and that's what owners wanted. Expectations were set up accordingly.
Now, of course our money has been so diluted lately that you're just not going to be able to buy a part like this for anywhere near $200-300 anymore, but I don't know about $1000.
For further reference, I also installed a MileEndComposits CSL diffsuer (JC in Canada) on member Good's car, and it was significantly better than both my ebay diffuser and this GB piece, but its cost, adjusted for inflation, was probably also fairly high like $800-1k (bought pre Covid).
MileEnd has no paint service. You installed a diffuser on another car.
This isn't a 1:1 comparaison.
No 2 cars are the same 20 years on - this diffuser has been the same across the 60x that were produced.
The only variations have been paint quality, and the car's condition.
The E46 is an old car with shoddy build quality in comparaison to modern standards. Yet even to this day, BMW M has body guys on the production line measure and adjust gaps across the car before it rolls out. Panel gaps on a diffuser are a game of millimetres across various brackets and adjustable slotted holes.
If you want perfection, you won't achieve on your own - professionals need to be involved.
Most SGT diffusers (and other parts like trunk) are pretty poor, but member ImolaM3's Tiag SGT diffuser is 9/10 somehow. He got lucky. Last I heard, you can't get a MileEnd piece anymore, or for a while you couldn't, and even now it's difficult. Point is, it's hard to get a good CSL diffuser, especially nowadays, so it's a shame that Rene's piece isn't better - hopefully he keeps improving it. 8/10 on its own, but less considering cost.
And that's where you make my point: the second unit ever delivered is to a member in this thread that previously had a SGT diffuser.
His comments:
That color match looks better than expected. It's the truth, my buddy just bought a Status Gruppe one. He instantly regretted his purchase. He noticed it from 10 feet away.
It's cheaper upfront, more expensive in the end - and you get a perfect paint match with perfect fitment by a professional body shop.
You set up the framework to your argument that it was 1000$. Are you willing to pay 1,500$ + for perfection?
Only you can answer that.
For your current situation, send me an email with the images and we can chat solutions.
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