GB for SLON Workshop CF Rear bulkhead, which can (optionally) be a back seat delete

[timmo]

Yeah, I was asking since apparently DHL is super backed up at their German hub, so I had thought these bulkheads were coming through there from Russia. I was curious since I just ordered an OE tow hitch from Germany, for my cross-country move end of September. I had assumed this would be more than enough time, but seeing some of the horror stories on Reddit on ridiculously long shipping times got me a bit worried

[Tonggi]

Yeah, I was asking since apparently DHL is super backed up at their German hub, so I had thought these bulkheads were coming through there from Russia. I was curious since I just ordered an OE tow hitch from Germany, for my cross-country move end of September. I had assumed this would be more than enough time, but seeing some of the horror stories on Reddit on ridiculously long shipping times got me a bit worried

I thought so but I didn't see the yellow DHL van/truck or even a uniform. Just some random dude.

[heinzboehmer]

Got mine yesterday and figured I would do a mini first impressions review.

Starting off with the unboxing pics, it came super well packed:






I ordered mine in 1x1, but it looks like it's just the final layer of the piece that's in 1x1. The back and M logo are 2x2. I'm assuming this is because of structural reasons:




The weave itself is great. Not entirely sure if this is wet-layed or prepreg + autoclave or whatever, but there was only one part I could find where the weave was a little wavy. It's the 1x1 layer, so purely aesthetic:


The rest of the weave looks pretty much all like this:


It's also way thicker than I expected. I measured it to be ~3mm thick right by the "bead rolled" sections. Feels incredibly sturdy, which is great since that's kinda the point of this thing:


I also weighed it and it came in at right around 4.5 lbs. Not crazy light, but I really wasn't expecting it to be either.

Driving impressions will come sometime, probably not for a whiile though. I want to get better on track before I install it, so that I can actually feel the difference.

[usdmej]

looks to be a well built piece!

[Epoustouflant]

It's a great product and you can feel it's tensile strength. I dropped mine while unpacking it, not a dent in sight. I'm just not a fan of Slon's business ethics.

The manufacturing process is vacuum infused. It's much better than handlaid, but not quite pre-preg & autoclaved.

[jet_dogg]

Ethics?

[Epoustouflant]

Ethics?

Unfortunately, yes.

We had a 50x + BBK Group Buy approved for SlonWorkshop's retrofit BBK for the E9X M3. We were given the run around about PayPal issues and his accounts being locked for months. I attempted to work with him for months to find alternative payment solutions, I was always met with half truths and lies about how difficult it is in Russia. In a slip of the tongue moment, he admitted to having 7x different PayPal accounts and to just not wanting to do the BBK GB as he felt that was too risky - that was in May. The majority of us had planned our track season around the delivery of this BBK.

There were also enormous delays in manufacturing of the few kits that managed to be paid, and the shipping was also atrocious. Those delays were experienced in the oil pans and carbon wall gb as well - for all to see in this thread evidently.

This had happened in a previous E9X M3 BBK Group Buy he ran on his own on M3post and offered too many customization options per my discussions with him. I had hopes I could help him with that as we streamlined the buying process and removed many options, unfortunately it went sideways as Mikhail is who he is at this point. There's definitely a big cultural & language gap when dealing with him. Ultimately, he also chose to not honour our agreements on 800$ worth of commissions we had in place after having sold 60,000$ + worth of his products - including the CF wall discussed here. When I pushed him to honour his commitments, he went silent.

Having received the MDCT oil pans and the carbon wall, I can attest to his products being high quality and uniquely engineered. Unfortunately, products are also an experience - and the buying process with Slon is crap at this stage. I can only hope he hires someone internally with business acumen to manage international sales; you can't drag your name through the mud at repetition these days and expect people to support you.

[jet_dogg]

I see, two things come to mind.

First, Russia. I don't understand how anyone can think transactions would be smooth sailing. Fedex can't even guarantee delivery to Russia, they say ship at your own risk.

Secondly, I think pretty much every group buy I've ever witnessed has gone to shit. That's why I'm surprised people keep getting lured in by low prices. Thankfully I've never participated.

To add, I dealt with him and it was pretty smooth. I didn't find language to be a barrier any more than others in Europe and I received my goods faster than expected. In fact, everyone I've dealt with on that continent has mostly been a pleasure.

Sorry to hear about that but I'm not all that surprised to be honest. This is why I laughed when I read the expectations in the SS thread.

[Obioban]

I see, two things come to mind.

First, Russia. I don't understand how anyone can think transactions would be smooth sailing. Fedex can't even guarantee delivery to Russia, they say ship at your own risk.

Secondly, I think pretty much every group buy I've ever witnessed has gone to shit. That's why I'm surprised people keep getting lured in by low prices. Thankfully I've never participated.

To add, I dealt with him and it was pretty smooth. I didn't find language to be a barrier any more than others in Europe and I received my goods faster than expected. In fact, everyone I've dealt with on that continent has mostly been a pleasure.

Sorry to hear about that but I'm not all that surprised to be honest. This is why I laughed when I read the expectations in the SS thread.

Lots of GBs go smoothly. Moreover... customers are terrible and feel entitled to everything. I suspect retail transactions have just as many "issues", just unseen.

[jet_dogg]

Lots of GBs go smoothly. Moreover... customers are terrible and feel entitled to everything. I suspect retail transactions have just as many "issues", just unseen.

To disclaim I was not part of m3f but I suspected someone would chime in with that. I guess there's always the good with the bad with a huge variance between them.

[Epoustouflant]

I see, two things come to mind.

First, Russia. I don't understand how anyone can think transactions would be smooth sailing. Fedex can't even guarantee delivery to Russia, they say ship at your own risk.

Secondly, I think pretty much every group buy I've ever witnessed has gone to shit. That's why I'm surprised people keep getting lured in by low prices. Thankfully I've never participated.

To add, I dealt with him and it was pretty smooth. I didn't find language to be a barrier any more than others in Europe and I received my goods faster than expected. In fact, everyone I've dealt with on that continent has mostly been a pleasure.

Sorry to hear about that but I'm not all that surprised to be honest. This is why I laughed when I read the expectations in the SS thread.

I agree to Obio's point, many customers are entitled - and I agree to your point as well, group buys can have additional delays. The vast majority of Group Buys I've organized with the Connex have been smooth sailing, and that pain point is something I'm looking to specifically address with the Connex.

None of this adresses Slon's bait and switch on his ability to handle transactions - which is the crux of my differences with him.

It's all about setting expectations and he is balls when it comes to anything outside of product engineering.

[gorilla69]

Anyone drove their car after installing it? Reviews?

[Tonggi]

Anyone drove their car after installing it? Reviews?

Im also curious if anyone else has installed it. I am waiting for hte winter to work on it and install this somewhat permanent piece on.

Any ideas how to remove it once its epoxied on? Obioban

[heinzboehmer]

Any ideas how to remove it once its epoxied on?

High heat will kill the lap shear strength of most epoxies. Just the other day, I tried using a heat gun on the structural adhesive that I used for my VinceBar (Araldite 2014) and after heating it up, it was pretty easy to peel off with just my hands.

Here's a graph of lap shear strength vs temp for Araldite 2014. You can see how it drops off sharply at higher temps:


Took that graph from here: http://www.farnell.com/datasheets/1696452.pdf

I would think the actual bulkhead itself will get destroyed if trying to remove though. You'll also probably need to deal with repainting the metal it was bonded to to avoid rust.

[Tonggi]

High heat will kill the lap shear strength of most epoxies. Just the other day, I tried using a heat gun on the structural adhesive that I used for my VinceBar (Araldite 2014) and after heating it up, it was pretty easy to peel off with just my hands.

Here's a graph of lap shear strength vs temp for Araldite 2014. You can see how it drops off sharply at higher temps:

Good to know my cf roof wont come off. Florida roofs get to 126 F. but thats stone or ceramic, never to 140 so I doubt my actual roof will ever get close at all.