Bodykit (4.8) from E-bay arrived. Some pics
 

The bodykit from E-bay (Latvia) arrived last night. They're made out of fibreglass, and are primed (white). There are some rough edges I will have to sand, fill and re-prime in certain spots. No big deal. Price was 650$ + 125$ shipping (US).
Here are some pics - from top to bottom: bumper add-ons, fender moldings and eye-brows for headlights, which I find tacky and will not be installed (I don't think they will look good):

http://i380.photobucket.com/albums/o...ps9f3a4126.jpg

Shot of rough edges:

http://i380.photobucket.com/albums/o...psb37d9e39.jpg.

I will post pics once the kit is finished, painted and mounted.

does it seem strong for fiberglass? looking forward to updated pics and impressions, i was considering the 4.6 kit from Latvia for my pre-facelift

How do the eyebrows attach? Are you selling?

I don't know how they get installed. They are still wrapped. Yes, I can loose them.

For the eyebrows you just need 3M double side tape or silicon.

Awaiting the installation and see how it look.
Does the fender flares include both front and rear?

Definitely want to see it all finished. I'll admit I have a bit of a phobia when it comes to using fiberglass for body pieces because it's not nearly as forgiving as something like ABS. A little bump can leave you with a cracked or busted lip (no pun intended :)).

Can you PM me with some details. (dont want to break any forum rules)

It will take some time. I have some maintenance work to do, then I will jump on the aesthetics. Just finished replacing the waterpump & T-stat. The OEM WP had the plastic impeller, and the bearing started to wobble a little. I Found out about this when I had the WP in my hands. Replaced it with a Graf unit made in Italy, with metal impeller. I also changed the transfer case fluid. I still have to change the sparkplugs, I need to do an oil change, air & cabin filter, new belts (and maybe pullies). I have a new fuel filter on my hands as well. Then I will have to open & clean (inspect) the 2 CCV valves, and some minor sh*t.

And yes the kit includes both front & rear fender flares.

Body kit
 

Hi Doru, I used the same kit on mine when I had it, minus the wheel arch flares, I didn't trust the glass, so I purchased Lemans flares from Kelowna BMW ( Canada ) If you need any advice on preparation and fitting, happy to help. Cheers.

So you have the fiberglass kit installed on yours? I still have to check the fitment. Was it OK?

I am not concerned if the kit is fiberglass or polypropylene, or whatever it is - I don't hit curbs, etc. The X5 is much taller then the 530 I daily drive, which is sitting pretty low, and I yet have to hit the bumper. The fender flares are still packed, and to be truthful, I start being also curious if they are fiberglass or a different material.

Having more work to do in the garage, I will unwrap the stuff, and let you guys know what the material of the flares & brows is.

Fitment is very good, as the front spoiler is a very tight fit it cracked the small wrap arounds on the ends that sit inside the wheel arch, so I reinforced them with a little more f/glass, this is the only place I glued either spoiler and had no further issues. I used plastic rivets in the ceiling of the small bottom grill also which worked well. Cracking in f/glass is usually due to flex so its important to have a very secure fit. Cheers.

Good to hear about the fitment, Doru I'm subscribed for your impressions after install, maybe 4.6 kit for me after all :)

So here are the pics of the fender flares & the brows.
They are all fiberglass. The brows are grey colored, the flares are the same shade of black, or close, as the ones on the SAV. Not sure why I have 6 pieces for the flares. Thought I should have only 4.

http://i380.photobucket.com/albums/o...pse774b17d.jpg

http://i380.photobucket.com/albums/o...ps457f83a7.jpg

http://i380.photobucket.com/albums/o...ps0b38a99e.jpg

http://i380.photobucket.com/albums/o...psd92d8392.jpg

They sell the same kit without the fender flares for $400

My friend Fmugur who is on this board, installed the OEM kit. Started with the front & rear bumper skirts, then attached the flares. First he installed the flares on one side. At that moment, comparing side-to-side, you could tell the side without the flares looked incomplete - awkward. You don't need a trained eye to see something is missing.

0.02

Please dont fit the eyebrows:yikes:
You have 6 flares because,2 are for the front,2 for rear wheelarches and 2 are for bumper.
How do you plan to fix them on?I suggest windscreen black adhesive mastik for a permanent fitting.:thumbup:

thats nice

I never intended to use the eye brows.
Thanks for the suggestion how to attach the flares.

How will those fender flares look, compared to original? I've seen some 4.6 and 4.8is' where the fenders look weird, and the ends (especially the rear end) of the running boards didn't look wide enough for the flares to blend in properly. Is it supposed to look like this?
If these glue-on fiberglass parts look close to original, I'm really considering the whole kit. I don't have ~$900 to spend just on the OE-flares.

I'm good at making things look good, but if it's a lot of work to make them fit properly and they still look fake, I won't bother.

Oh and my car is a 2004 X5 3.0d

I would love to have just the front flares for my 4.8iS

They seem to look fine ,just not sure about the colour,but you can correct that easily with a textured spray can for plastics that will look just like the OE flares.
The big advantage of these apart from low cost ,is that they are so much easier to fit than the "real thing" as they are just pigback on existing flares.
The OE bumper insert flares are a pain and you need to drill bumper and make sure you get it right.
I got the OE extended flares because I work a dealer and with discount,no point in getting fibregass !
Dont be put off by these fibreglass extended flares,with a little work and the essential textured spray,once fitted, they will look OE.:thumbup:

Thanks! That made it a lot easier :)

The thing I'm most worried about gluing on, is the parts on the rear bumper. How it will keep up with small rocks getting rocketed out by the tires, snow and slush splash in the winter etc. But I guess I'll find out :p:

I bought the same exact kit off ebay 2 weeks ago as some fkers stole my trim parts right off my 4.8is at 3am in queens and I just had the parts installed Thursday :) you need screws plus fiberglass glue to do the install.. Of course diffuser needs prime/paint -- but after install looks just like the Originals from dealer at 1/4 the price... Installation cost: 267$ from RKL of astoria/queens... plus I just bought the rear parts of the kit ONLY the wheel arches and rear diffuser (no front fender flare/bumper trim) for $450 -- with install a little over $700 and dealer wanted $1800 eck!!!! :) finally my baby looking like stock again

So finally I have some time for this kit. The rough spots that need filling are actually minor. Here are some shots of ALL the rough spots:

http://i380.photobucket.com/albums/o...ps46d9245a.jpg

http://i380.photobucket.com/albums/o...ps207a9570.jpg


http://i380.photobucket.com/albums/o...ps9313c96e.jpg

And here are the spots filled:

http://i380.photobucket.com/albums/o...ps393db326.jpg

http://i380.photobucket.com/albums/o...psb8e6501c.jpg

http://i380.photobucket.com/albums/o...ps1e6eb58a.jpg

I also did a fit-test to see how they look/if they fit. They fit pretty good. At first, I could not mount the front bumper, but then I tried fitting it from the driver side, and it went in pretty easy. The fitment is very snug, both front & rear. I will keep this post updated. Next is sanding (again), priming where necessary and sanding again. Here is how they look just placed on the bumpers. The fender flares I will tackle after I'm done with the bumper moldings.

http://i380.photobucket.com/albums/o...ps7a2dea7a.jpg

http://i380.photobucket.com/albums/o...ps75962606.jpg

When you get this on the truck...are you planning on doing rear wheel arches?

I've been wondering what the 4.8 lips would look like on my truck....but flat out refuse to install those hideous arches!!

Once I'm done with the bumpers, I will fit-test the flares and see how they look.
Actually, on Fmugur's car, we had the opportunity to compare both sides of the vehicle, with the bumper moldings on, and only one side with flares. Curious enough, when compared as such, the flares actually make the lines flow. At first I also thought the flares are sticking out, but when compared side-to-side with and without flares, I must admit that without, you can see a breakage in the cars curves. But that's just me. When I will reach that point, I will take some shots to have for comparo.

It sucks that you have to put in extra work to make it perfect...that's why i always hate working with aftermarket parts - there is always something that requires tweaking...

regardless - looking forward to the end result - should look really nice!

I'd definitely look forward to some pics!

True, I agree! But this looks like it needs very minor work.
And if you compare the cost of these parts and the OE ones, the OE "kit" would be far far more expensive. Even though it fits perfectly, it would still have to be painted.

When looking at the Norwegian prices for the parts, the OE kit would cost close to $4000 painted. The fiberglass kit would be a total cost of around $1400 painted, as long as I do all of the prep work myself. ...Or make that a total of $1500, including mounting parts like screws and glue. :p:
And who doesn't want to save $2500, by doing a nights work of filling and sanding? :)


I've seen many aftermarket bumpers which looks a lot worse than this. This actually looks pretty good (judging by the pics), compared to much else. I've seen twisted bumpers, bumpers which are several centimeters too wide or too narrow etc. I have friends who have dropped aftermarket bumpers off at the paint shop, and had it come out more expensive than the original ones because it didn't really fit at all, and was just too rough. So much for saving money on buying cheap aftermarket parts :p:

But as I said, these look very good. And the fact that it's a perfect fit, makes it almost unique! I'll be buying this kit, as soon as I get my tax-return :D

Any tips for what kind of texture paint I should use on the flares, so I get the OE texture look?

There isn't a lot to choose from here, and it seems like almost all textured paint is special order only. Special order is expensive, so I need to get it right the first time.

Thanks!

Hi. I am contemplating painting the black part of the bumper and the door strips with plasti-dip. Here is the link. The price is not prohibitive and the end result looks good. It also withstands very well the environment, temperature swings and does not chip. It does not fade. If needed, you can always re-apply if minor damage done to it. The OEM textured paint is harder to source, but it also chips. On my car, there are few spots at some corners, where it started to chip. I will have to scrape off the damaged/flaking spots, fill them in, sand, prime then plastidip the black part of the bumper. Not hard, but time consuming and some elbow grease required. And if you mess up, you just peel it off and re-start. Eventually you'll get it right. With the textured paint, if you mess up, it's hard to remove and re-start. Not that it couldn't be done, but it's more difficult.
Not that I'm expert, but this is my opinion.

Thanks.

The problem people around here have experienced with plasti dip, is that you can't use regular degreaser on it. That's a problem, because of the enormous amounts of salt used on our roads in the winter time. During the winter (Late October - March) it usually is between minus 15 and plus 5 degrees celsius (5-40F) I stand no chance at all cleaning my car in the winter, without good amounts of heavy duty degreaser, after driving on the roads covered in brown salty slush.

Plasti dip would be a very good option if I did live somewhere with less salt. But unfortunately I don't, so I have to use regular textured paint.

But thanks for the tip anyway :)

Hey, Rolfi, the texture black paint for bumpers is SEM 39853. Google it and you will find who will be able to ship it to your location. It's about 18-19 $ for a spray can.

Doru,
Are you planning on painting the body kit bumpers black or matching to your car color?

The body kit bumper "wraps" will be the color of the car (Kalahari Beige). The bumpers are black, and have some minor imperfections - some paint has chipped away in some corners where it mates to the front grill, and some minor scratches, leaving the plastic bare, with the scratch marks. I intend painting the black original bumper to revive the original color. Also, I think I will pull out the strips/molds around the doors to match the "new" color and also paint them black how they originally were. The same for the flares (black).
Hope this makes sense?

I just received an e-mail from the person I purchased the 4.8 body kit. Now I see they have a 4.6 body kit as well, which is cheaper. The 4.8 body kit is 650$ and the 4.6 kit is 590$. Both have the front & rear bumper covers and the flares. Not sure why the price is different though. What would be different between a pre facelift and a post facelift 4.4 (the bodywork - not the grill and lights)?

I think the higher value car --> higher accessories price.

Can someone post a link to the kit perhaps? I did a search on Ebay and all I can find is a kit that's 1500 bucks, says its from lativa tho, has the price gone up?

BMW E53 x5 4 8IS Body Kit | eBay

I ordered the same kit off of ebay UK yesterday.

Now I just need to get a set of 4.6 or 4.8is-wheels and execute my exhaust plan. I'm cutting off the rear mufflers, welding on a Y-pipe on each side and going for the OE 4.6/4.8is exhaust tips. Daamn, I can't wait! All of this will make my car look and sound awesoome :pulp:

My "X" X5 is on page # 97 of "Show us your X5" if anyone wants to see the end product. I spent a considerable amount of time in prep before painting to get them perfect, I think that's the important part. ( Flares are plastic ) I purchased mine through an Agent in AUS so I don't have a link sorry Lowblock.

The link posted by Rolfi is correct.

Here is the one that is cheaper (the 4.6 bodykit)

yeah, I ended up finding them last night, So the 4.6 kit is for the pre, and the 4.8 isn't correct? The kit does require a little bit of finish work before installing right? Hows the fit, its good? I have gone through a few front bumpers for my e39 because the aftermarket cant seem to get it close enough to not have gaps...how is this kit?

There is a bit of prep work to be done. The fit is very tight but bang on. I haven't checked the flares yet. I am still at the painting/sanding/clearcoating of the 2 bumper covers. I am working slow. I don't like painting & stuff.

I recieved my kit today. Do I really have to glue the flares on to the original ones? The fit is too tight, I don't have a chance fitting them over the existing flares.

They are textured btw. So I won't be needing texture paint. Great! :D

Now an update on this.

After a while on google and youtube, it seems like the flares would fit after all. Even original, they look like they're just retrofitted on top of the original wheel arch trim. Well.. That's not how I thought it would look from factory...
Example here: http://www.xoutpost.com/attachments/...oto-0134_1.jpg

I haven't decided yet, if I want to fit them like the original ones are fitted, or if I want to fit them to look like I thought they were supposed to be. If I go for number two, it would involve a great deal of irreversible work.

I just bit the bullet and bought a full 4.8is kit (front spoiler, back and flares) from Latvia off Ebay. I think I got a fairly good deal - it came to $690 AUD ($640 USD) delivered. I'm fairly sure paypal exchange rates aren't the best either.

I'll post some updates when it arrives. I'll definitely be adding a little fibreglass to the corners of the front spoiler for extra support.

Does anyone have any tips on installing the flares? Or painting with a textured paint?

Update time: The kit arrived today. I unwrapped the flares and they are textured already, like the oem flares! The quality is excellent. All I need to do is paint them. They don't seem particularly strong.. so I might look at some way of reinforcing them. Does anyone have advice on how to attach them?

I also unwrapped the rear spoiler. It of great quality. All it will need is a little sand on some of the edges. The imperfections on the edges are so tiny, you'll never see them when painted.
I'll unwrap the front spoiler tomorrow. Overall, very impressed!

Installation instructions here: https://translate.google.com/transla...36%26mid%3D234

Translated from Russian :)

Thanks Rolfi, appreciate the instructions.

So I've run into my first big problem. There are no cutouts for the grille. The photo below shows what I'm taking about. I'm not particularly happy about this, as I'm not sure how I'm going to perfectly cut out the holes for the bars in the grille.

Also, the fibreglass is very weak and thin. Looks like I might have to do a lot of reinforcing.
http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/d...614_102319.jpg

You need a dremel. Test fit it carefully, and mark with a pencil or something where you want the cutouts. Then dremel it :) Take your time and cut/grind off smal pieces at a time. It's better to do it this way, than run the risk of cutting/grinding off too much.

I think maybe the one I got was another type than yours. Mine had the cutouts and it felt really sturdy. I was never afraid of it going to break.

hello friends x5, as you asked your body kits? by ebay or the company website? I need information. Greetings and sorry for my translation.:thumbup:

I've installed the rear 4.8iS lower spoiler with no flares anywhere and it looks sensational. no pics to provide tho.

To be honest, I haven't had a great deal to do with fibreglass in the past, so perhaps I'm being a little harsh on it. It is extremely flexible, which will probably help stop it breaking with little bumps and knocks.

Thanks rolfi. I'll tape it up to the car, carefully mark out the grille cutouts and give it a go this weekend!

jabata - ordered the kit off ebay from Latvia. Search 'e53 body kit' and there are a number of manufacturers/distributors.

Could it be that you got the pre-LCI " is " kit ?

With grille
http://img.tapatalk.com/d/14/06/17/ahyqu2e5.jpg

Without
http://img.tapatalk.com/d/14/06/17/tehebuma.jpg


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

It's definitely the newer 4.8is. I emailed the seller and apparently they sell it without the grille cutouts so that people with pre 2004 cars can also install it.

Interesting statement by the seller,but cant be right!You cant fit the face lift spoiler on a pre-facelift without hacking away and filling it !Eventhen ,you still need the cut out for the grill!So,what the seller is saying doesnt make sense!Think he just forgot to cut the grill cut out before he sent it to you.
Think you can claim a discount ,mate :)

Really! Are you sure the 4.8is front spoiler doesn't fit on the pre facelift? If so, I definitely feel like the seller has tried to trick me.

Quite a few have fitted the pre-facelift lower spoiler om facelift but not vise versa,since the upper part of the facelift bumper is different ,as you can see from the pics!It can be done but you would need to cut/reshape the top of the pre-facelift bumper,quite easily!Anything can be done ,even fitting facelift grills on the pre-facelift ,but again you need to cut and reshape;)

The seller should send you the right part for your car..

Where did you find the picture on the left? The hood and the grilles are not the original prefacelift model. They have been modified. It looks cool with the big kidney grilles though. Look at the hood lines and you will see what I am talking about. The guy modified the hood somehow, I guess he cut it to make room for the big ones.

Good catch!

Stock pre-facelift 4.6

You have to cut the width of the holes in the hood of the original grills to make room for the wider facelift grills.The height is left untouched.When you cut ,you need cut some 5mm to be bent back for sturdiness and also for you to be able to fit the inner grill.
Think the facelift grills on the older model loook better than on the facelift :D

most of you where you bought the kit 4.8, that site exactly? thanks and regards:thumbup:

This pic really helped me see difference in the front bumper alone about which kit will fit onto my 01. I've been debating a handful of things:

1) paint all the textered black in blue to match the body
2) leave the textured black and install one of these kits in blue
3) vinyl wrap the textured plastic in the new wet look carbon fiber wrap that's out now (which means I'd have to smooth the current rockers and bumpers)
4) do number 3 and install one of these kits.

I'm not really into the flared fenders because my iForged 20's have the perfect offset already and are dead flush w/ the fenders. If I installed the flares then I'd feel I needed to run spacers in the rear...and I'm all over the highway in regards to how I feel about the safety of spacers when driving the car hard that weighs as much as this.

Okay! So I've emailed the seller and he said that apparently they have made this front lip so that it will fit both models. This is even more concerning, as I'm dubious it's going to fit well on both pre and post face models. I'll cut out the tabs this weekend and see how it fits.

Is the only differences between the kits is the bumper design on the front...sides and rear don't change?

4!Get the full kit and sell the flared fenders ;)

You have the facelift and it should fit your car,but if you look at the shape on the ends of the bumper that go up, of both,the prefacelift is squared and the facelift is round,so dont see how it would fit without mods!:dunno:

I got the idea after seeing this.

Looks mean!
Some quick photochopping :)!What you think about doing this to your front bumper?
Widen the lower grill and fit a honeycom net similar to the X5M:D

Wow. Since my front spoiler doesn't have the cutouts, I might look at doing a custom mod like this.

Edit: Is that a custom grille, or did a model actually come like that?

I definitely like it, something different that could compliment the stock 4.x eBay kits.. It'd be cheaper overall than a few of the conplete bumper replacement kits I've also been randomly looking.

On a lesser scale, I could potentially only cut out the vertical bars in the bumper and put a full mesh grille behind there. The new front spoiler should cover the holes where the bars were.

I've been eyeing this Photoshopped image with a front bumper from an X5M that I found on Google Images for quiet a long time, but getting it produced is another story.

I did something similar to this on my 91 MR2 turbo where I cut out the vertical slats. Doing this would require some plastic weld, but it seems very doable.

srs-tec.de/cars/product_info.php?language=en&products_id=11&XTCsid =e6701

This is the only other kit I'd consider, but I'm not set on how low the front and rear overhangs are, then the sides don't get touched, so it screams bodykit too much from the sides since it's not a multiple piece kit w/ side skirts.

At this point I'm going to look into opening the grill like in the picture, smooth out and carbon wrap all the plastic like jn the X6M picture I attached, then get that 4.6is kit and call it a day. Not overkill but enough to be noticeably better.

As I've got the 4.8is front spoiler without the grille bar cut outs, I don't think I'll need to plastic weld anything. I'll cut the bars out and the grille should slip straight over the top. I'm not sure if those bars are aesthetic or reinforce the bar. If used for reinforcement, I may have to add some horizontal supports.

Easier to just buy a 4.8is :D

What are the spoiler cut outs ?:dunno:
The grille in the pic is off an X5M E70 but its "photochopped".Its widely available
as universal and you cut it to size.Its called "honeycomb" because the hole effects.

:bustingup

Most fibreglass 4.8is spoilers have little 'cut outs' for the lower grille vertical bars so it sits right up against the grille. The one I purchased doesn't have these cut outs. You'll see these in photos on previous pages in the thread :)

I've seen this on eBay , is available not photoshop


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Link on eBay and for pre facelift?

Sorry,I was a bit slow!I got it now:)
I have the 4.6is front spoiler and that has cut outs too.
Been checking that Latvia seller where you get you kits from and the pic on their website ,of the 4,8is fr spoiler has cut outs ...look:-

He is right!Its supposedly available and for the pre-facelift ,eventhough on the website they have a pic of the facelift and say its for 99-02 X5!!:dunno:

The bumper still looks definitely photochopped to me and not very convincing.They say its an M6 bumper ahahahaa :D
but heres the link and you can pop a question!

FRONT BUMPER BMW X5 99-02 style M6 - Tuning Carbon Hoods Shop

They should have used a proper photochop ,with a pre facelit,a bit like this!

I showed this pic and a few real X5M/X6M's to the GF lastnight and she said she didn't like it because it looks too mean...so that means I should get it, no foo foo cars for me :D I've written then an email asking for more pics from different angles because they're photo looks incredibly Photoshopped, asked for price shipped, so we'll see what they say.

In the meantime I'm still leaning towards carbon wrapping all the black and then the 4.6 kit...keeps the factory clean look while still being modified.

After a closer look of that pic, it does looks fake specially the driver side , also the bumper in the picture is not a X5M/X6M that's a X3 M sport . Which could easily be found here and just have a body shop fuse it with existing bumper since the dimensions of the e53 are familiar with the X3 http://img.tapatalk.com/d/14/06/21/6a4ubege.jpg


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

No, it's actually an X5M/X6M one since the opening below the grill is in a different location. Nevertheless, grafting and all that mess would really drive up the cost of doing this, above and beyond what I'm willing to pay. Even if the company linked above sold that bumper, there's always the risk of fitment issues and whatnot down the road. Threads like this posting of real world experience are invaluable, it looks like these 4.6/4.8 kit have great fitment, so that's why I'm leaning more to my original idea.

Actually the place I bought it from is different. Their pics aren't great and in the pictures there are no cut outs. I didn't realise this would be an issue... until it arrived and didn't fit properly. The seller failed to tell me. I did some cutting and modifying yesterday... getting there slowly.

Any updates mate?

Any updates, mate?

Yep! So It turns out the tops of the bars need to be cut out quite a bit, whereas the bottoms only need to be cut a tiny bit. I'll take some photos when it goes on the car.

Unfortunately I cut a little too much off the bottom.. So I had to get handy with fibreglass last weekend.

The front and back spoilers are currently being painted as we speak. I hope to get them back today or tomorrow. I'll post up some pics before they go on the car.

Look forward to seeing the update, I am looking at a 3.0d as I can't justify the fuel in a 4.8is - but I still want it to look like one!

Picking them up today! I hadn't had a change to get them sooner. Will throw some pics up, unfortunately it will be dark, but I'll see what I can do.

Wicked - no rush on the pics - but when you get the chance to get some glamour shots I'd be keen to see them.

Also be interested to hear how much prep work was required for painting and rough cost to get the job done.

Okay! I put it all on today. Check out the link for a few photos. More to come in a few days.

The front was particularly hard to put on as the moulding wasn't quite right. Where the number plate usually sits, there's a huge gap between the new fibreglass kit and the body. I used a LOT of sikaflex and pushed the kit up against the car with pieces of wood against a wall.

I also made chocks to put between the lower grille to push it out.

I used screws under where the plastic number plate holder sits and plastic rivets in the wheel arches and under the front corners.

The back wasn't too bad as it sits quite well against the body without glue, I put two screws in either side and plastic rivets under the kit of the car.

X5 Bodykit Photos by wogboy_9000 | Photobucket

Man that's not cool. Looks like the molds are past their use by date. Or they mass produced in 1 month warping the molds.

To be honest, I think that's just how they are. I didn't expect much more from an aftermarket fibreglass kit from Latvia. I'm surprised manufacturers haven't started making these kits in ABS plastic.

Overall, the finished look is great, the only issue is it has taken a lot more time and effort than I would have liked.

Latvia lol. I make bodykits aswell and just by you pics they look bad lol. Iv made so many one off kits too that the plugs look better than these finished articles. Was the fitment tight in areas? Glass thicker than usual in other areas? And a bad fiberglass ear always primes or paints their articles sometimes on both sides, the Gelcoat should be the only colour on top of a good item and the glass and resin on rear neatly sanded

There are a number of manufacturers in Latvia (either that or they all come from the same factory). Strangely, it's impossible to find any made of ABS, or even any manufactured in other companies. I haven't had a great deal to do with fibreglass, but it's extremely flexible, and most of the kit fits 100%. The gelcoat is on the front only, which is quite well done, however the back is pretty rough (doesn't matter much as you don't see it).

The front needed a bit of fiddling around but the back fits well. Hopefully the wheel arches do too. As a bonus the wheel arches are textured already, so I don't need to find a textured paint.

All in all, it's cost me just over $1000 AUD in total for the front and rear, painted and installed by myself (including wheel arches which I haven't yet put on - or painted).

Hello everyone, I purchased the same fender flares, by themselves, from ebay from the same manufacturer in Latvia. I purchased them approx. one year ago, and I never got around to installing them because of how they needed to be installed.

I have gone to three body shops all telling me that they won't work on it because the fender flares do not seem to be oem (how much bull is that?). They told to buy some extreme 3M double sided tape and do it myself. I didn't think that with the tape I would get the oem-look I want, for the 3m tape is foam adhesive tape.

So I have been pushing them off and even considered tossing them until I came across this forum. I can't wait to see them installed. Has anyone actually installed them yet? I like the idea of using black windshield adhesive. My only concern is the bottom, where the fender flare is stretched to fit snuggly on the original fender. Would it look bent?

And would the procedure for installing them with the black windshield adhesive be as easy as covering all the edges with the adhesive, pushing the fender flares on, taping them with scotch tape, wiping the excess adhesive off, and wait for it to set?

Cheers from Georgia, USA.

bump

Royawood, without seeing them it is hard to tell, but yes that is probably how you fit them. You could try the thin 3m double sided adhesive first as it is very easy to remove if you don't like the results.

But whatever you do, don't toss them. Someone else might be interested in them.

Yes we need pics

Long awaited pics. Sorry for the delay.

http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/d...224_172841.jpg
http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/d...224_172845.jpg
http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/d...224_172852.jpg
http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/d...224_172859.jpg
http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/d...224_172911.jpg
http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/d...224_172928.jpg
http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/d...224_173050.jpg
http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/d...224_173110.jpg

Okay, so here they are. Overall verdict, good from afar, but if you're quite fussy, you won't be happy with the overall outcome. Especially considering how much time you've spent on it.

You'll notice the back spoiler is great. Fits well, went on easily. The front, not so much. You can see in one of the photos the gap between the black plastic and the spoiler where it doesn't fit properly. This was pressed hard up against the plastic, but over the last few months has pulled away. I'll just have to fill the gap with black silicone.

You'll also notice, that on the driver's side (RHD) there's a bump in the fibreglass. This is from too much manipulation trying to get it to fit perfectly onto the car (which is impossible as you can see).

Overall, as you can see from the pics taken a couple meters away, it looks great and really improves the look of the car. Would I do it again? Probably not.

Flares still to come :)

I agree it looks great from a short distance away. I like the look and the color of your X5. I would say it is worth it. Before using black silicone I would ask a body shop what they would do. Your problem is not unusual to them.

I reckon its passable, only because the alternative is a full 4.8is front bar replacement from a wrecker, and they are just rare as hens teeth in Australia - and even if you did find one, the cost would be heavy - I reckon $1500 unpainted.

Unfortunately I don't think the story is going to get any better with the flares. I just can't see how they could be fitted neatly....look forward to seeing your progress though.

I don't know how or when it happened but I found a nice scratch on my tailgate today that is all the way down to bare metal and beyond something I could fix myself. Considering I'd have to get a shop to sand, spray and blend it, I just gave myself another reason to get this kit. My question is what are the differences between the two kits in the links below other than a $75 price? Both are for a pre-facelift.

BMW E53 x5 4 8style Bodykit for All E53 Models Front Bumper Rear Bumper Arches | eBay

BMW E53 x5 4 6IS Body Kit | eBay

I'm also curious is someone w/ Photoshop skills can make me a monochromatic in estoril blue as I'm debating having all the black smoothed and painted, which will not be cheap. I've found facelifted E53's and X5M's with it done in pics, so they're my motivation.

Estoril E53 X5 4.6is Part Out

https://www.flickr.com/photos/83728243@N04/14057383741/

http://www.xoutpost.com/bmw-sav-foru...like-best.html

If you look at the front spoiler pics, the 4.6is and 4.8is are differernt.
The 4.8is looks a lot better. I will warn you though, there's a fair bit of work involved to get these on. They are pretty poor quality.

Oops, don't ask me how I missed facelift vs pre-facelift. Ironically the pre-facelift is more expensive :-/ I've got a pre-facelift so hopefully my fitment will be better since it doesn't have to follow the curves where you've got fitment issues.

Update to my last post - ends up the cheaper seller makes his prefacelift kit to look much like the facelift kit, but then I worry about fitment issues much like in post #105. I've said the same thing to the seller and linked him to this thread, so we'll see what he says.
seller and linked him to this thread, so we'll see what he says.

So in trying to determine which kit to get, why there is an $81 price difference between the two, both are from Latvia, so I've asked each seller about the other and they can't get their stories straight. To be honest, I prefer the pre-facelift on the prefacelift bumper, then just like post #105, I don't wanna risk anymore than needed by having mold issues. I just don't wanna pay $81 more for less fiberglass :D



AIKTuning - BMW E53 x5 4 8style Bodykit for All E53 Models Front Bumper Rear Bumper Arches | eBay
Me: The pictures in your ad show a bumper kit for the "facelift" X5 that came after 2003, yet the X5 from 1999-2002 have a different bumper and headlights called "pre-facelift". Do you have pics of the kit for the pre-facelift model?
Them: I know what are you talking about, The bumpers are quite the same on both models so we adjusted our mold to fit great on all x5 e53 This set fits all e53 models years and engines, Please find pictures from our customer in KZ attached, prefacelift with facelift addons :)
Me: (they sent me pics of a facelift kit installed onto a prefacelift) You should really post those pics on your ad to clear up any confusion. They look nice from a distance in the pics you posted, but I'm concerned about close-up fitment like in post #105 - (sent them a link to this thread)
Them: Hello, Thank you for the link, The parts you talk about are not from us, there is a seller bodykit.lv on ebay - those are from him, Please if you can make a post there to let people know that we are a different company and i asure you that quality is much better, kind regards


Car-Styling-UK - BMW E53 x5 4 6IS Body Kit | eBay
Me: Trying to figure out why your kit is $81 more than this one. I see they only have pics of facelifted X5's but they assure me that have pre-facelift kits as well. BMW E53 x5 4 8style Bodykit for All E53 Models Front Bumper Rear Bumper Arches | eBay
Them: Good day, This guys located 30 min out of our city. They buy all parts in our shop, then they make copy of it and selling it here...So the quality is not good. Why they selling for cheaper price! Have a nice day!

Anyone else buy this kit and have this problem too?

http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/d...224_173050.jpg

Bodyshop should be able to fix that with some urethane glue and/or heat gun prior to painting

I tried both... trust me, neither works. The fibreglass isn't strong enough to be heated and manipulated and even the expensive automotive sikaflex I bought couldn't keep the kit up against the car.

if you were to buy it, your best option would be to fill the gap with black silicone.

You right:thumbup:You cannot heat up fibreglass ,it will soften and loose rigidity!Abs you can ,but in this case the spoiler is already fitted and its too big !
You solution to resolve this is to cut the sikaflex around the spoiler that is bulging out ,just enough, to have access to the back of it and trim off the bumper so the spoiler will then fit.Then you obviously need to silkaflex it again.
Those who have bought one and about to fit it,should trim the back of the spoiler and the bumper ,for a perfect fit.This is how I have done them !In this case you need to remove material,but in most cases with these fibreglass panels parts,I usually need to fill them in .
Suppose,some will not want to trim the bumper ,but its not as if you are ever going to remove the spoiler !This is cheap fibre glass but will give you an excelent finish ,just needs more work than your OE spoiler.
A good spray job with the added flex mix to the clearcoat and it will be like OE :)