"In this journal entry, the professionals get to work on fitment of the OEM+ widened carbon fenders.

In this Special Series about the CSL'ification, I document the logistics, unboxing impressions, fitment attempts and review of the final fitment & required hardware on most CSL parts. I also looped this into my Restoration entries. "

-Matt

A refresher. 

In the previous entry I provided my DIY fitment feedback and overall impressions.

A quote from the previous article: 

"This is where professional work will be required. As I documented in the CSL diffuser final review, my E46 M3 was shoddily resprayed. 

The consequences of this is most evident on the side-flasher trims. The respray added considerable paint thickness to the trim. 

This requires a tight fitment and it just doesn't work. We'll have to sand the trim down along with the fender's gel coat to get a proper fitment."

October 2022: my quick DIY fitment before storage. 

 

The hypothesis. 

The previous shoddy respray was done without sanding the paint down to metal - not even primer. All trims and panels were kept on the car. 

In essence, it was a clear-coat spot repair: the cheapest paint job of them all, across the entire car!

It added thickness across all gaps, causing fitment issues. 

Still, I believed [...]

After many years in body shops, I've gotten to know perfection when I see it out of the box. 

I knew I'd get heat from the usual Alibaba catalog buyers and hustlers boasting about their 200$ diffusers: they're predictable fools. 

Many members were understandably disappointed about the fenders' side trim fitment. 6x of you trusted my word and ordered the fenders during the limited introduction special.

Thanks for the vote of confidence!

because I know people that know.

Jonathan, owner of Exclusiv Automotiv, is a long time friend and somebody that gives it to people straight. He runs a custom paint & body shop specialized in complete restorations and color change for 1990s and 2000s era of JDM and Euro cars.  

We've built SEMA show cars together and traveled to Asia to paint cars "together" - well, I mostly watched. 

He made a bold claim: these were the best fitting aftermarket body panels he had ever seen.  

 

But, first, more primer. 

The fenders come delivered in a white gel coat primer that is deemed ready to spray. 

Considering we're doing a complete color change on the E46 M3, we sanded it down and straight from a base Jonathan has experience it. 

The fenders got meatier with a darker coat of primer. 

Beefy!

The carbon work being superb, we couldn't let overspray mess it up. 

Tape, paper, patience, more tape. 

Pro-Fitment. 

We briefly fitted the fenders without the side trims installed. The goal was to display what made the side trims fitment weird: the side trims themselves! 

Look for the tape alignment and body lines. 

 

OEM, across all gaps and alignment. 

We got to this fitment purely holding the fender with painters' tape, indicating there is a lot of wiggle room to get these adjustment perfectly when bolting it down. 

The meatiness potential! 

 

"Convinced?

Some will be. If you want your set, it's right here. 

Others will still doubt. I understand: paint & body is a world on its own. 

I'll loop back on the panel fitment notes once it's painted and bolted. 

I'm excited to explore the wheel & tire fitment potential later this Spring."
- Matt