Bodykit Questions

[Slammed0]

I am looking to get a bodykit for my Eclipse. I know alot of you don't like them, but I do. Anyways, I wanted to know how hard it is to install a bodykit?? Do they just bolt up where the stock bumpers do? I do understand it isn't as easy as 1-2-3, but I would appreciate any heads up on anything I can expect.

Also, kits are CHEAP on Ebay, but is it a you get what you pay for type deal? A pile of crap maybe?

Thanks guys!!

 

[HighPsi92GST]

Okay, for starters, the quote that I usually say when someone asks how hard they are to install -

"If you have to ask how hard they are to install, most likly you aren't going to be able to do it yourself."

Second -
Ebay kits are cheap....so are there quality. They are usually thinner then other kits, and sometimes have REALLY bad fitment problems. However this is not always the case

Third -
Almost no body kit will be "just bolt it on". They almost always have some fitment problems, and almost always need a little bit of work to fit. This may include cutting, re-fiberglassing, and stuff like that. And you usually end up having to make som custom brackets of some sort.

Fourth -
You should expect to get a kit that isnt going to line up and look great in one shot.

Iv installed alot of body kits, never had one that fit right on. Some are alot worse then others, but all needed a little bit of work to fit.

Good luck

 

[Boxer269]

I just recently purchased a full blitz bodykit from DSM trader (will post pics soon...) and the only real problem i thought i was going to have is that the sides stuck out. well fortunatly it didnt crack (fiberglass) when i squeezed the sides in when i mounted it today. so far ive only done the front bumper but i did it my self and it looks pretty good for my first bodykit.. it is a bit** to do it though, i broke all but 2 rusted bolts on taking off my stock front bumper and im afriad to take out my headlights when i swap them in fear of breaking those bolts too anyways its not tooo hard just be ready for some broken bolts and have some one who you can contact with questions on the phone if you need to. hope this helped out. Rob

 

[HighPsi92GST]

iv never removed a stock bumper without breaking bolts off to be honest. the bolts are so small and always rusted pretty bad. I just take a drill and drill them out the same size as what they are (destroys the threads though) and then use a standard (not metric) self tapping bolt when i put the bumper back on. This taps in new threads in a now slightly larger hole.

 

[heavypedalmuzic]

i my case i bought a blitz urethane bumper and it came without the holes, and the bumper support will have to be removed for it to fit. so to replace the support im have a pipe and some brakets to fit it up. i hear some people shave the stock support down, but i dont know much about that. i would at least ask when ordering if the bumper comes with the holes...even though its not really a biggie you jus measure where the stock one are and drill the holes.

 

[wannaspoolRS]

Ok...i have taken off my front bumper lots of times. I have installed body kits...a lot of em...i did five body kits on all of my friends cars. Things that cause bad fitment for a body kit are:
-Has your car been in an accident?
If it has you will probably have tough fitment, this is mostly for the front. This occured on my friends lancer. He had a front end collision on the right front, and the hood was offset to the left by about 1/4cm. The rear fit like a glove.
-Did you buy fiberglass or a polyurethane body kit?
Fiberglass is a lot thicker and stiffer with almost no flex. Polyurethane is thinner and has much more flex if you bottom out on those damn gutters backing out of your driveway. If there is poor fitment w/ polyurethane set it out in the sun to heat up and it bends into place a little easier.

As for the headlights, dont be afraid, use penetrant...if you break a bolt take 'er to a body shop and have them use a torch heat that up and rip 'er out. They are an easy install. Use bondo to make it a flush body kit if you dont like how it fits.... GOOD LUCK!!!!!

 

[CPHunter]

i got my kit off Ebay,but i picked it up myself, i looked good to me, got it installed,and fit just right excepted for the Side skirt witch doesn't fit at all,but i got the guy who sold it to me to change it for me, my front bumper is Cracking already but then again i do have a 2/12 inch drop all around , oh and i got the Drifter kit

 

[HighPsi92GST]

Things that cause bad fitment for a body kit are:
-Has your car been in an accident?
If it has you will probably have tough fitment, this is mostly for the front. This occured on my friends lancer. He had a front end collision on the right front, and the hood was offset to the left by about 1/4cm. The rear fit like a glove.
:

yes and no. sure damage from a previous accident will make it harder to get a kit to fit right, MOST cars that are getting kitted have never been in an accident and the kits still dont fit. the problem is in the kit itself, not the car.

 

[MDAdams1186]

all the companies I talked to said the body kits aren't direct fit because they are all shipped over from Asia where the safety rules and regulations are different along with the cars in general. Kinda weird if you ask me, why doesn't someone in the US just build body kits around the cars manufactured here?

I find that VIS kits fit pretty well and if you pay attention on ebay at what they advertise they are not 2 bad either. Look for the companies with phone numbers to call for customer service...they are much more reputable and honest.

 

[endlessMyk]

you get what you pay for. my friend got the drift for his 1g and we had a helluva time getting the side skirts to fit. Everything else was pretty close, looked good once it was molded.

 

[Travisr138]

I got a bodykit off ebay and like they said, you get what you pay for. The more expensive the better the fit is what i have seen over the years of this. My kit (drift) had some horrible fitment probs. Luckily my friend I are good with bodywork. The back was so off, and the side skirts were a half inch to short. We had to cut and lengthen the side skirts, the back we worked on for a few days and in the end had to mold it so it would fit the car. Then I added braces to strengthen the back and to push out the passenger side to make it stick out where it needed to be. The front and z3 fenders we're a sinch. Also i broke off almost all my old bolts too, I just drilled and replaced them.

ebay kits

 

[Slammed0]

Cool, well the bodykit I want isn't as easy to find as some. Its newer and is the Evo5 front end. I was looking at visionautodynamics and body-kitz websites. The whole kit is about $700.

 

[chris97pittman]

Trust me I have a kit and I do regret it but I know that have to have it kinda thing, so if you MUST get a kit at least make sure you get polyurethane it will come without the holes but that's better because instead of saying oh no it doesn't fit it's your fault if it doesn't fit because you didn't drill the holes right, it might be a little more expensive and you might not be able to find your kit in poly and if not I suggest finding one that you can because say the kit is 700 for fiberglass, plan on spending about 1500 before it fits right and is painted so you might as well have bought polyurethane in the first place, and that's step 1, that's not even the hard part, getting the mesh to stay there will be a long, tedious, annoying process. Good luck