PPF is just so that the paint stays looking as good as it does now. The painter did a better job painting the kit than BMW did painting the X5 and I want it to stay that way.

There is a gap there... maybe a half millimeter? I'm not concerned about it after removing it from the other truck. There is no damage to the vehicle after having the kit on for who knows how long. The donor vehicle has just over 200,000 miles on it and if you were to take the time to remove the tape residue and buff the truck it would likely look like there was never a kit on the truck.

Curious though, why would you be concerned?

LOL... I sincerely hope not. It stayed on the donor vehicle just fine. As long as my prep was solid it should stay on until long after the vehicle is in the junkyard. ;) Which will be long after I depart this blue/green marble if I have anything to say about it.

Very doubtful to have an issue unless not prepped/installed well, which I can tell you won’t be the case with CW’s attention to detail. You would be surprised how many manufactures utilize double sided tape for factory fitted parts such as spoilers, side skirts, etc. I remember a body shop telling me that Ford’s SVT vehicles were a pain to work on because of the way they installed their specialty aero add-ons....which was usually 2/3 screws and a bunch of double sided tape. They said usually most screws would be missing and customers never knew because of the tapes ability to keep everything form fitted. This is also true for dealer port installed parts. In the end, screws/fasteners make us feel warm and fuzzy for anything installed outside our vehicles, but double sided tape and betalink is nothing new to the industry.

The reveal - gap - just my OCD Detailing Kicking in. I'm sure dirt should stop where it meets tape, accumulate and it will get cleaned off on the next car wash. Any concern water or micro-water might potentially ingress and sit between the 2 panels ? You don't see salty areas so maybe NOT that much of a concern

Figured I would do a little update as to how the tape is holding up through 100+ degree days and 8 months of being on. I did have to re-do the driver's front fender flare as I had not prepped the paint surface well enough and it had begun peeling in the very front corner. Started peeling within a week of install (noticed it when I picked it up from Xpel wrapping). After removing that tape, cleaning, prepping, and reinstalling I have not had anymore issues anywhere else on the kit.

https://i.postimg.cc/0NctZPb1/20190629_125230_HDR.jpg

Here you can see the gap left by the tape. There is a small amount of space between the body and the kit on some panels but I have not had a hard time with dirt getting trapped there. Polish/wax residue will get pushed in there if using a large wool pad though. Had that happen after the painter polished the painted pieces out. It's not a real problem but something that might be noticed by an OCD owner. Fortunately it hasn't triggered my brand of OCD as the residue does come out with normal washes without spending a ton of time on it using a regular wash mitt.

https://i.postimg.cc/rwGZ0STm/20190629_125243.jpg

The pic above is the rear door where the 2 kit pieces meet. It looks like the tape is different thicknesses but it's not, just the way the mating surface on the body kit is molded. The pic below is the front left fender flare.

https://i.postimg.cc/sgC0gTtq/20190629_125300.jpg

"I thought I was running one of the most aggressive wheel/tire packages on here already! :yikes: Shoot over some ideas".

Finally an E53 these would look "right" on.....

https://www.ebay.com/itm/EXTREMELY-R...-/142252601436

This guy has had these listed for years. I made him an offer of $2500 a few years ago, '16 I seem to recall (they are refinished). Offer was denied.

That’s my wheel size.

Makes the truck look beefy!

Who ever gets these will definitely be satisfied.

Tiger claws would be interesting on an E53. 21" though takes a lot of the extra meat off the tires that I like to have.

There was a set of 19" tiger claws here in Austin for $700 I think it was. Was tempted to pick them up for my E61.

Yeah you definitely need to be on pothole patrol. Also, in my opinion you need tires with a solid rim guard.

Tires ain’t no joke for these, 2 to 3 grand installed.

whats size tires r u runnin on that beauty?

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285/40/20 front and 325/35/20 rear. Extra meat has saved the wheels from blemishes a couple of times. :D