[hoonywise]

Hello, I searched everywhere but I could not find much information. I was wondering if someone had experience with the quality of Kies Phase One front lip and side skirts extensions compared to the OEM. I am mainly concerned with the quality and the color of the plastic. I have the OEM rear diffuser and I would like to know if the matte black plastic matches the Kies Phase One replicas, in terms of plastic type and color. I also have the OEM side decals, so I would like to know if the Kies side skirt extensions are of the similar quality as the OEM as well, so that they are well matched with the decals.

The reason I ask is that when I compared a popular ebay diffuser with the OEM, the OEM plastic had deeper matte black and the plastic quality was noticeably better, whereas the ebay one was more grey and shiny. Not to mention the fitment was way off.

Any input would be much appreciated, thank you.

[mike@x-ph.com]

Looks like it's FRP, we used to offer it for $229 shipped. But due to customer complaints, we stopped and now we are only offering the carbon fiber one.


FRP / ABS is easily damaged, its got nothing to do with the quality of the part itself

i recommend you ask Kies for a non-edited picture of the part so you can compare the finish to your diffuser

[Nickski06]

I bought a cheap one off ebay and out of the box it didn’t match my rear diffuser, but all I did was use Meguirar’s black plastic restorer on it and it gave it the same finish as oem. It’s held up great for me and I’ve only reapplied it once in the last 1 ½ years it’s been on there. I paid $109 for this one.

[hoonywise]

Originally Posted by Nickski06

I bought a cheap one off ebay and out of the box it didn’t match my rear diffuser, but all I did was use Meguirar’s black plastic restorer on it and it gave it the same finish as oem. It’s held up great for me and I’ve only reapplied it once in the last 1 ½ years it’s been on there. I paid $109 for this one.

Thanks for sharing your experience and posting the reference picture.

[BeFourSickDoo]

Not the easiest to see but I bought my front lip from Kies and my side skirt extensions on Ebay, i found that they match well. as far as the rear diffuser goes, mine is on the way but i can take a pic of it by my front lip before i put it on next week.

[hoonywise]

Originally Posted by BeFourSickDoo

Not the easiest to see but I bought my front lip from Kies and my side skirt extensions on Ebay, i found that they match well. as far as the rear diffuser goes, mine is on the way but i can take a pic of it by my front lip before i put it on next week.

It would be awesome if you can do a closeup picture between the Kies and the OEM rear diffuser. It will be very helpful!

[BeFourSickDoo]

Suvneer diffuser (not oem) next to Kies m performance style lip

[hoonywise]

Originally Posted by BeFourSickDoo

Suvneer diffuser (not oem) next to Kies m performance style lip

I appreciate the picture comparison!

[johnung]

Originally Posted by hoonywise

Hello, I searched everywhere but I could not find much information. I was wondering if someone had experience with the quality of Kies Phase One front lip and side skirts extensions compared to the OEM. I am mainly concerned with the quality and the color of the plastic. I have the OEM rear diffuser and I would like to know if the matte black plastic matches the Kies Phase One replicas, in terms of plastic type and color. I also have the OEM side decals, so I would like to know if the Kies side skirt extensions are of the similar quality as the OEM as well, so that they are well matched with the decals.

The reason I ask is that when I compared a popular ebay diffuser with the OEM, the OEM plastic had deeper matte black and the plastic quality was noticeably better, whereas the ebay one was more grey and shiny. Not to mention the fitment was way off.

Any input would be much appreciated, thank you.

Attachment 2740956

I've had a Kies rear diffuser on my F30 335i over three years. The stock diffuser panel was more of a grey. The Kies diffuser is a matte black. Fit and finish has been great especially for a $200 part.

[tnord]

what's going on the with BMW M Perf front lip, it's not available anywhere at the moment. Are they not making it anymore?

[toxik]

Originally Posted by tnord

what's going on the with BMW M Perf front lip, it's not available anywhere at the moment. Are they not making it anymore?

yeah, looks like it's discontinued, BMW may make additional batches in the future but they don't announce stuff like that.

I'm about to purchase the front lip and I'm not sure if I would pull the trigger on the OEM vs replica even if they were available. They go for like $600-700 when they are randomly available. Just a lot of money for something that's very likely to get damaged. but then again I have no experience with replicas fitment and quality either.

[johnung]

Originally Posted by toxik

yeah, looks like it's discontinued, BMW may make additional batches in the future but they don't announce stuff like that.

I'm about to purchase the front lip and I'm not sure if I would pull the trigger on the OEM vs replica even if they were available. They go for like $600-700 when they are randomly available. Just a lot of money for something that's very likely to get damaged. but then again I have no experience with replicas fitment and quality either.

Getbmwparts website is a great source for Genuine BMW parts and M performance parts at a discount. Those guys are actually the separate Internet sales arm of a BMW dealer in Maryland. They are an excellent source of information so you may want to email them to see if your part is available, out of stock or actually discontinued.

[toxik]

Originally Posted by johnung

Getbmwparts website is a great source for Genuine BMW parts and M performance parts at a discount. Those guys are actually the separate Internet sales arm of a BMW dealer in Maryland. They are an excellent source of information so you may want to email them to see if your part is available, out of stock or actually discontinued.

yeah i've dealt with tischer a bunch before. its one of the few items that they list as discontinued rather than out of stock.

I have a friend thats a parts manager at a NY dealership, I'll ask him to look it up for me when he has a chance. If there's still some around, I may just go with OEM depending on the price, just really hate paying so much money for a non-CF part that will get damaged inevitably.

[hoonywise]

I have recently ordered the front lip and side skirt extensions from BMWpartspros in early June and I am still waiting for the shipment to arrive. It seems that one of the side skirts was being made and shipped from BMW hq, at least that is what I was told by the vendor. So I am not sure if they are discontinued, but perhaps they are slowing down the production the aero parts.

[johnung]

Originally Posted by toxik

yeah i've dealt with tischer a bunch before. its one of the few items that they list as discontinued rather than out of stock.

I have a friend thats a parts manager at a NY dealership, I'll ask him to look it up for me when he has a chance. If there's still some around, I may just go with OEM depending on the price, just really hate paying so much money for a non-CF part that will get damaged inevitably.

Check with Kies Motorsports. They are meticulous about their carbon fiber parts.

[toxik]

Originally Posted by johnung

Check with Kies Motorsports. They are meticulous about their carbon fiber parts.

yeah I think if I went rep I'd go with Kies, they seem to have pretty good QC. I have a weird OCD issue with most reps I see, including the ones I've seen from Kies. The center post of the MP lip is way smaller and regressed further back than OEM. Even their stock photos on the website seem to not match the actual product that I've seen pictures people posted. Almost makes me think the Taiwan/China factory that produces these, changed their molds at one point and all the new reps have this non-OEM design for the center post.

[johnung]

Originally Posted by toxik

yeah I think if I went rep I'd go with Kies, they seem to have pretty good QC. I have a weird OCD issue with most reps I see, including the ones I've seen from Kies. The center post of the MP lip is way smaller and regressed further back than OEM. Even their stock photos on the website seem to not match the actual product that I've seen pictures people posted. Almost makes me think the Taiwan/China factory that produces these, changed their molds at one point and all the new reps have this non-OEM design for the center post.

A lot of the highest quality carbon fiber in the world is made in Taiwan factories. But that doesn't mean that everything from Taiwan is great or that quality control is consistent. US companies are often screwed when they receive bad carbon fiber. Too expensive to ship back around the world, and companies there aren't likely to provide a refund.

One of the Kies videos showed how they unpack every piece of carbon fiber, inspect it, remove any with defects, and then repack each perfect piece for sale. It's really time consuming for them to do but much better than accidentally shipping an expensive carbon fiber part that has a defect to a customer.

The first product that I bought from Kies about four years ago was a diffuser that arrived with a slight defect that I didn't spot until I was about to install it. Kies quickly learned by unpacking every diffuser that had in their NJ and CA warehouses that they had just received a bad batch that all had the defect.

They contacted the factory in Taiwan to fix the problem. A new batch went by ship to the US. But so that I wouldn't have to wait, Kies paid for the factory in Taiwan to FedEx the first one from the new batch directly to me in NJ. Kies didn't know me at the time and I didn't ask for this treatment. This is just an example of Kies's exemplary Customer Service culture & attitude. Great customer service is very unusual in today's business climate. I very much appreciate it.

[toxik]

spoke to a parts manager from BMW, there's no stock in the US, but the front lip is not discontinued. would need to be special ordered from Germany and then who knows how long until there's more stock... for anyone looking to get one right now.

[madmortar]

10/4 I really want a rep but trying to track down one that looks OEM with the center piece pushed out. When it is pushed back..I dont think it looks as good..

[tnord]

Originally Posted by johnung

Getbmwparts website is a great source for Genuine BMW parts and M performance parts at a discount. Those guys are actually the separate Internet sales arm of a BMW dealer in Maryland. They are an excellent source of information so you may want to email them to see if your part is available, out of stock or actually discontinued.

I've been ordering stuff from Tischer/getbmwparts since I got my e46m3 in 2010, and I just ordered the rear wing, rocker decals, and a replacement grill for the tri-color one that came on my car.

I know the M-perf stuff is expensive, I've just seen so many brands pop up over the years that claim OE fit quality, and it's really not. Karbonius is really the only one that has been able to make that claim

I'm not sure what I'll do if the MPerf front lip is NLA. If there's a suitable substitute available then fine, but I'd rather have nothing than some ill-fitting junk.

[johnung]

Originally Posted by tnord

I've been ordering stuff from Tischer/getbmwparts since I got my e46m3 in 2010, and I just ordered the rear wing, rocker decals, and a replacement grill for the tri-color one that came on my car.

I know the M-perf stuff is expensive, I've just seen so many brands pop up over the years that claim OE fit quality, and it's really not. Karbonius is really the only one that has been able to make that claim

I'm not sure what I'll do if the MPerf front lip is NLA. If there's a suitable substitute available then fine, but I'd rather have nothing than some ill-fitting junk.

See if Kies has an aftermarket piece that you like. They only sell stuff that fits. They are sticklers for that.

https://kiesmotorsports.com/?aff=22

[tnord]

Originally Posted by johnung

See if Kies has an aftermarket piece that you like. They only sell stuff that fits. They are sticklers for that.

https://kiesmotorsports.com/?aff=22

I found somebody that claims to be able to get an OE one from Germany, but as mentioned above, it's $600+.

Pretty big premium over a $250 one from Kies. bumping this back up for any additional feedback on fit/quality of Kies vs OE.