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That looks great they did a really good job. Are you going to put the liners back in?
Thanks! They certainly took their time on it and were dedicated to making me happy. Thankfully I was in no rush so it all worked out. Liners are back in, I just need to figure out a liner extension solution. Thinking about picking up a .090 plastic sheet material and maybe going with some sort of rivet+epoxy mounting solution to extend the OE plastic
Originally Posted by Tsxtx
I agree, @j.mart do you have a total cost you could share with us on the paint and body shop work? Obviously this will vary by region but any insight including maybe total hours they billed on it would be helpful?
are we talking $300 or like $800?
I wish we were talking $300 - $800! Was a solid four-figure job - paint/install was far more expensive than the fenders themselves. I can PM you more details if you'd like. I carried the fenders around to several different shops and the quotes were all in the same ballpark.
To be fair, I ended up getting full bumper + hood + door respray along with fender fit/paint on both sides. My car is a 2007 with 60k miles and it's been garaged its whole life, so paint was in great shape but wanted to make sure everything flowed really well. Plus no more rock chips (for now). They only initially quoted 4 labor hours to fit each fender, but they far exceeded that in the end to figure it out.
Man, the s2000 looks sweet without the side markers or fender badges....really clean. Love the aggressive fenders. Something I'll need to consider in the future. I'd like to see the fitment improve from the mfgr first, hopefully they can perfect their stamp.
Those are not downforce fenders. Downforce fenders don't have the vents on them. I have downforce fenders and they not have that gap near the windshield. I expect these fenders to fit as well as my downforce fenders and they were not the same. I have and ASM bumper that fit flawlessly. My top secret bumper is very good as well as were my downforce fenders. I've seen plenty of rep and auth body parts that don't hav these same fitment issues.
I'm glad you haven't experienced any fitment issues with your JDM products or Downforce, that just doesn't always seem to be the case. I suppose the fenders are technically EVS but they are from Downforce. Point being, there are often fitment issues and are much more difficult to address with fiberglass. You should see my buddies authentic Spoon hardtop. 100% real deal and the top isn't even symmetrical on both sides. The fact that these cars are at a minimum of 12 years old, there are going to be issues with fitment, even stock. Here's a variety of fender pics, just to give everyone an idea about how much variance there really is. The silver car is actually fully oem paneled and there is some issues with the body fit. This isn't to excuse the fit issues with the Vaikhari fenders, I have had some of the same problems as others too, but my shop managed to massage most of the issues out. There are just a lot of variables out there, skill of the installer, condition of the car, the mold that were used for the Vaikhari fenders, etc.
@j.mart, your car looks fantastic. Looks super clean.
Finally got my car back from the shop after roughly four months. Not 100% OE fitment but overall happy with the way it turned out. The shop struggled with the upper corner being low, similar to what you guys have seen. Overall it was like the fender was clamshelled closed and ultimately it seemed to be due (at least in part) to the extra wide inner lip which is designed to interface with the fender liner. The shop trimmed the inner lip back roughly 75% and suddenly it seemed to fit better. My liners are trimmed the usual way and I still need to rig up some sort of extension that will tuck behind the remaining lip.
Aside from the inner lip, there seemed to be excess material in many areas that required cutting (certainly no big deal, just full disclosure). The largest problem area ended up being the fender - bumper interface. Both sides required a bit of work to line up. They're now 100% flush, but at the slight expense of headlight fitment. This is my biggest issue with the fit and I'm already looking at aftermarket bumpers that I can have made to fit perfectly with the headlights.
This has been my first experience with aftermarket body panels so I didn't know what to expect. Initially I felt let down by the manufacturer since Vaikhari markets these as having "OE fitment". Ultimately, this was the first production run and the end result is a highly functional and durable setup...just very pricey to get here between fender + bodywork.
These are a couple quick shots taken on my cellphone before I'd had a chance to install my liners. I've since improved the bumper-fender fit inboard of the headlights, but this gives a general idea. I'll post some more pics when I get the chance to dust off the big camera.
Also just have to say...I was on the fence regarding the look of the tapered fender from the front. To me they look 100% better in person than they do in photos. The added aggressive look really adds to the front of the car.
That looks so damn good with the monochromatic/smoked headlights. JS2K diffusers?
Thanks! Actually it's the full JS2K custom quad projector treatment. The high beam is replaced with an HID projector and the whole housing is color matched however you'd like. I opted for rings slightly darker than OEM for on OE+ look. Added smoked diffusers at the same time. Quite the process, but worth it!
Ok actually did a little work on the car this weekend. I rolled the Vaikhari fenders. Pictures below.
Start
Midway
Done
Then I promptly put my downforce fenders back on so I have painted parts on the car until I can take it in for paint. This way maybe I can actually take it out for a drive occasionally until things start getting better.
Then I promptly put my downforce fenders back on so I have painted parts on the car until I can take it in for paint. This way maybe I can actually take it out for a drive occasionally until things start getting better.
03-20-2020, 09:23 AM
