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      09-03-2018, 03:50 PM   #1
rantarM3
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Mode Carbon GT4 Lip Installation - Alignment Questions

I am beginning the install for my Mode Carbon GT4 lip and was hoping some of you could give me some pointers/assistance regarding the lip's alignment on the bumper. Specifically, I was wondering about the lip's positioning front-to-back on the bumper.

My first question is whether the outermost holes in the bumper should line up with the outermost bolts on the lip. I've marked the holes and bolts I am referring to in the photo below.

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It seems that if I align those bolts and holes, the lip will end up too far forward on the bumper. If they are not aligned, the bolts on the lip would seem to be very close to the edge of the bumper, and perhaps even behind it.

Any help and photos would be greatly appreciated!
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      09-03-2018, 06:21 PM   #2
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This was a bitch for me to install, I just hoped for the best and still wasn’t good enough
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      09-04-2018, 10:52 AM   #3
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Route 16 View Post
This was a bitch for me to install, I just hoped for the best and still wasn’t good enough
The protruding bolts are what make it so difficult. It would be easy if instead they were not fixed in position. I'll write to MC and see what they say.
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      09-04-2018, 10:54 PM   #4
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I've installed GT4 Lips several times. The ones with the studs are actually doing. You a favor.

Get some modeling clay and put them on the studs. You can start the nuts on the studs if it helps you.


Then lay the bumper on top and the clay will leave greasy marks on the bumper where you'll drill.
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      09-05-2018, 01:47 PM   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by MasterP View Post
I've installed GT4 Lips several times. The ones with the studs are actually doing. You a favor.

Get some modeling clay and put them on the studs. You can start the nuts on the studs if it helps you.


Then lay the bumper on top and the clay will leave greasy marks on the bumper where you'll drill.
Thanks for the tip. I am still wondering about how far back to put the lip and whether the rearmost bolts should go through the rearmost holes in the bumper. Do the felt undertray boxes on either side of the car stay in place or do they stay uninstalled?

Hopefully I’ll hear back from Mode Carbon soon.
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      09-08-2018, 05:05 PM   #6
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Can anyone help, please?
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      09-08-2018, 09:19 PM   #7
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its hard to give a definite answer to your question. i had a cheap ebay lip with no bolts and it was still difficult. you're going to have to align the bolts as best you can and make vertical elongated holes for adjustment. measure to the front of the lip to the bolts then make a hole at that location. use metal and rubber washers to help prevent movement after adjustment.
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      09-09-2018, 10:31 AM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by roastbeef View Post
its hard to give a definite answer to your question. i had a cheap ebay lip with no bolts and it was still difficult. you're going to have to align the bolts as best you can and make vertical elongated holes for adjustment. measure to the front of the lip to the bolts then make a hole at that location. use metal and rubber washers to help prevent movement after adjustment.
Thanks for the information, Roastbeef. Regarding the elongated holes, I've determined that the front and over-the-duct holes have to be drilled farther forward than the contact points. The reason being that these bolts have a rearwards tilt and therefore, if you drill where they make contact with the bumper, upon installation the lip will move too far towards the rear.

Even though I was told that no modifications were needed to the undertray, it seems that you need to cut holes in the two side felt boxes to allow room for the ducts on the lip. An alternative would be to trim the ducts flush with the rear of the lip itself (which is what I'll probably end up doing).

Also, the bumper itself seems to be wider when unmounted; in other words, when you mount the bumper to the car, the two sides get pulled in a bit and that would change the way the lip fits on the bumper - especially the two outer bolts. I'm thinking about making a quick template to locate the drilling points on the bumper, and checking fitment both with the bumper on and off the car.

On your installation, how do you access the two bumper screws that are directly over the air ducts on the lip? It seems these holes will be entirely inaccessible once you mount everything up - and won't be able to get screws in there.

I'm surprised vendors provide no documentation regarding installation. As long as there is consistency in their product, the installation should be largely the same and just require thoroughness and patience. And maybe that's just it, their batches are so inconsistent that instructions would be useless.
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      09-09-2018, 08:56 PM   #9
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take the front felt off and attach it to the bumper. is there any specific reason why you're opposed to putting a hole or two into the felt? it is relatively durable and won't be compromised with a few holes.
yes, the ducting runs right into the front felt "fangs" you could say. you will need to cut a ducting hole in them if you want to run legit ducting. as stated, fit the felt to the bumper while it is off the car and you might find that you don't need to trim the lip ducting.
mounting the felt will prevent the bumper from flexing and seeming to be wider when it is off the car. this also gives the bumper correct size for fitting the lip.

pickup a few of these (this is a pack of four);
https://www.amazon.com/IRWIN-Vise-Gr...icegrip+clamps

these will help keep things tight as you work on the flexable bumper the felt will add some rigidity, but these were invaluable when fitting body/aero parts. if you're a handy guy, you'll find other ways to use them around the house that you didn't imagine. they come in handy if you have to do things by yourself every once in a while.
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      10-03-2018, 09:03 AM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by roastbeef View Post
take the front felt off and attach it to the bumper. is there any specific reason why you're opposed to putting a hole or two into the felt? it is relatively durable and won't be compromised with a few holes.
yes, the ducting runs right into the front felt "fangs" you could say. you will need to cut a ducting hole in them if you want to run legit ducting. as stated, fit the felt to the bumper while it is off the car and you might find that you don't need to trim the lip ducting.
mounting the felt will prevent the bumper from flexing and seeming to be wider when it is off the car. this also gives the bumper correct size for fitting the lip.

pickup a few of these (this is a pack of four);
https://www.amazon.com/IRWIN-Vise-Gr...icegrip+clamps

these will help keep things tight as you work on the flexable bumper the felt will add some rigidity, but these were invaluable when fitting body/aero parts. if you're a handy guy, you'll find other ways to use them around the house that you didn't imagine. they come in handy if you have to do things by yourself every once in a while.
I appreciate all of your insight and was finally able to perform the install, although it took quite some doing. I was a bit disappointed with the quality of the lip insofar as the mounting points (i.e., not symmetrical and bolts were not consistent insofar as their direction, heavy with resin and filler, some areas have a black coating that comes off with just the green automotive tape, uneven ducts, etc.). I ended up trimming the ducts so that when the lip is mounted, they terminate directly in front of the felts.

Had I known this, I would have probably acquired a lip from Germany instead, or even a cheap eBay lip. In any case, it turned out well after a lot of work, and even then I decided to fill the gap between the lip and bumper with a small bead of black silicone.

Here are some photos of the final product:
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      10-03-2018, 09:26 AM   #11
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Looks pretty good!
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      10-04-2018, 08:45 PM   #12
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Well done!
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      10-10-2018, 12:18 AM   #13
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Looks to me you did a great job considering.

95% of the GT4 lips I've seen have off fitment . Gaps etc.

Like you've proved the best chance to eliminate this is taking your time, using adequate hardware (sometimes different then provided), and have a set of 2 hands to keep things aligned.

Good job OP
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      10-10-2018, 04:50 PM   #14
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I go through a lip every 2 years. I just get the eBay ones or a used one off here. Fitment is all over the map. I've got fender washers on mine since no two lips seem to use the same exact stud or nut placement.

I've added safety wire to a few locations just to make sure it stays where it's supposed to.
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      10-11-2018, 06:14 PM   #15
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Quote:
Originally Posted by roastbeef View Post
Looks pretty good!
Quote:
Originally Posted by TTony View Post
Well done!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Exclusivs View Post
Looks to me you did a great job considering.

95% of the GT4 lips I've seen have off fitment . Gaps etc.

Like you've proved the best chance to eliminate this is taking your time, using adequate hardware (sometimes different then provided), and have a set of 2 hands to keep things aligned.

Good job OP
Thanks for the complements!

Quote:
Originally Posted by MasterP View Post
I go through a lip every 2 years. I just get the eBay ones or a used one off here. Fitment is all over the map. I've got fender washers on mine since no two lips seem to use the same exact stud or nut placement.

I've added safety wire to a few locations just to make sure it stays where it's supposed to.
I don't think the price of this lip correlates with its quality so an eBay lip seems to be a much better idea. Fitment issues are due to the crappy molds, lack of quality control and procedures, etc. I made some carbon fiber washers to give the nuts a larger area over which to spread the force. It seems pretty solidly installed. I should have ordered this one instead as it looks much better made:

http://www.mk-motorsportteile.de/M3-...litter-e90-e92
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