Review Autokits Sideskirts and V2 Diffuser for the Coupe
09-15-2011, 06:39 AM
#1
Autokits Sideskirts and V2 Diffuser for the Coupe
Hey guys, so here's my actual review of the Autokits Sideskirts and V2 Diffuser. I already put pictures up so I will simply link to my picture thread. Here you go: https://www.myg37.com/forums/picture...-pictures.html
Big thanks to Eric (Weiboy718) for helping me out with some of my problems. He knows his sh**.
The sideskirts:
Overall, I'm satisfied with the sideskirts. It is a very clean look, many people think its OEM but at the same time I think it gives it a little more aggressive look. Here are the things I liked about the sideskirts. The design of the sideskirts allow you to use the emergency jack points near the pinch welds under the car. The sideskirts fit and line up very well. However, the passenger side was actually shorter by only a few mm, which almost made it a tight fit. A little bit of material trimming was also needed to be done near the door jamb area to make it fit. It was nothing serious and any bodyshop can take care of it easily.
Now here are the main issues I ran into. I wasn't familiar with the design of our OEM sideskirts and how they are held onto the car. There are bolts on the underside of the OEM sideskirts and then clips on the sides. The Autokits sideskirts uses the holes for the clips but does not use the bolts except for the ones at the end towards the fenders. For those of you who don't know or aren't informed about our sideskirts, DO NOT JUST POP THE SIDESKIRTS OFF. Use a panel popper and rotate the clips and then pull the skirts off. If you just pop the sideskirts off you will basically break the clips. These clips are extremely delicate and cost $3.20 PER CLIP at a dealership. And also, the brackets on the OEM sideskirts that hold these clips are delicate too, they will break if you pop the sideskirts off the car too many times.
The Autokits sideskirts have their own set of these brackets to hold clips in. We originally tried using the OEM clips to install the Autokits sideskirts in. Using the OEM clips, the clips along the door jamb would not go in and stay clipped. They are simply too short and we pulled the sidekirts out once or twice to see what the issue was. This resulted in 2-3 of the brackets on the Autokits skirts to break. We could not figure out what the issue was and I had to blue tape the sideskirts along the door jamb to keep it stabilized. I then contacted Alex@Autokits and discovered they had forgotten to send me their own clips that they used for the install.
The clips came two days later and they worked like a charm. I put them into as many brackets as I could (I did not dare pulled out the OEM clips that were already clipped into the holes). These clips were longer than the OEM clips, and allows for a much easier install. The sideskirt install is basically cake with these clips that came from Autokits. I just really wish I was sent the clips along with the sideskirts so I didn't have to suffer 3 broken brackets which result in my sideskirts being slightly off.
There are a few things that I wish Autokits may improve on. I understand the brackets are made like OEM brackets, very delicate and if you decide to pop off the sidekirts 2-3 times, they WILL break guaranteed. If there was any way to be able to improve on it or make it better than OEM, then that'd be great. This is only a suggestion and I'm not talking bad on the company if it seems that way.
The diffuser:
The diffuser looks amazing and looks very aggressive. I actually get more compliments on the diffuser than I do the sideskirts. I painted the diffuser myself. The diffuser needs to be prepped (as with most fiberglass parts). The install is very easy. It utilizes two of the clips that are used on the underside of the rear bumper. I opted to use a bolt/nut/washer that I bought from Home Depot instead of the clips. The clips are harder to put in if the holes from the diffuser bracket to the bumper are not aligned perfectly. The double sided tape provided stays on very well. Just remember to clean and prep the area to be taped first before installing the diffuser.
I have the MXP exhaust so I made sure to adjust my tips and pull them out more before I installed the diffuser. Once you install the diffuser it'll be very hard to adjust the tips, you'll must likely have to take the diffuser off to do so. I'm not sure if I'm the only one with this issue (because I've had certain adjustments made to my exhaust to make certain rattling issues go away), my left exhaust tip is aligned perfectly. However my right exhaust tip actually touches against the the diffuser. Minor issue that I will fix eventually as it does not bother me too much.
Sorry about the wall of text. Just my short review of two nice products from Autokits. I'm not exactly a great reviewer either but this is my experience from these products and hopefully it'll help other people in the future.
Big thanks to Eric (Weiboy718) for helping me out with some of my problems. He knows his sh**.
The sideskirts:
Overall, I'm satisfied with the sideskirts. It is a very clean look, many people think its OEM but at the same time I think it gives it a little more aggressive look. Here are the things I liked about the sideskirts. The design of the sideskirts allow you to use the emergency jack points near the pinch welds under the car. The sideskirts fit and line up very well. However, the passenger side was actually shorter by only a few mm, which almost made it a tight fit. A little bit of material trimming was also needed to be done near the door jamb area to make it fit. It was nothing serious and any bodyshop can take care of it easily.
Now here are the main issues I ran into. I wasn't familiar with the design of our OEM sideskirts and how they are held onto the car. There are bolts on the underside of the OEM sideskirts and then clips on the sides. The Autokits sideskirts uses the holes for the clips but does not use the bolts except for the ones at the end towards the fenders. For those of you who don't know or aren't informed about our sideskirts, DO NOT JUST POP THE SIDESKIRTS OFF. Use a panel popper and rotate the clips and then pull the skirts off. If you just pop the sideskirts off you will basically break the clips. These clips are extremely delicate and cost $3.20 PER CLIP at a dealership. And also, the brackets on the OEM sideskirts that hold these clips are delicate too, they will break if you pop the sideskirts off the car too many times.
The Autokits sideskirts have their own set of these brackets to hold clips in. We originally tried using the OEM clips to install the Autokits sideskirts in. Using the OEM clips, the clips along the door jamb would not go in and stay clipped. They are simply too short and we pulled the sidekirts out once or twice to see what the issue was. This resulted in 2-3 of the brackets on the Autokits skirts to break. We could not figure out what the issue was and I had to blue tape the sideskirts along the door jamb to keep it stabilized. I then contacted Alex@Autokits and discovered they had forgotten to send me their own clips that they used for the install.
The clips came two days later and they worked like a charm. I put them into as many brackets as I could (I did not dare pulled out the OEM clips that were already clipped into the holes). These clips were longer than the OEM clips, and allows for a much easier install. The sideskirt install is basically cake with these clips that came from Autokits. I just really wish I was sent the clips along with the sideskirts so I didn't have to suffer 3 broken brackets which result in my sideskirts being slightly off.
There are a few things that I wish Autokits may improve on. I understand the brackets are made like OEM brackets, very delicate and if you decide to pop off the sidekirts 2-3 times, they WILL break guaranteed. If there was any way to be able to improve on it or make it better than OEM, then that'd be great. This is only a suggestion and I'm not talking bad on the company if it seems that way.
The diffuser:
The diffuser looks amazing and looks very aggressive. I actually get more compliments on the diffuser than I do the sideskirts. I painted the diffuser myself. The diffuser needs to be prepped (as with most fiberglass parts). The install is very easy. It utilizes two of the clips that are used on the underside of the rear bumper. I opted to use a bolt/nut/washer that I bought from Home Depot instead of the clips. The clips are harder to put in if the holes from the diffuser bracket to the bumper are not aligned perfectly. The double sided tape provided stays on very well. Just remember to clean and prep the area to be taped first before installing the diffuser.
I have the MXP exhaust so I made sure to adjust my tips and pull them out more before I installed the diffuser. Once you install the diffuser it'll be very hard to adjust the tips, you'll must likely have to take the diffuser off to do so. I'm not sure if I'm the only one with this issue (because I've had certain adjustments made to my exhaust to make certain rattling issues go away), my left exhaust tip is aligned perfectly. However my right exhaust tip actually touches against the the diffuser. Minor issue that I will fix eventually as it does not bother me too much.
Sorry about the wall of text. Just my short review of two nice products from Autokits. I'm not exactly a great reviewer either but this is my experience from these products and hopefully it'll help other people in the future.
09-15-2011, 10:12 AM
#3
I also have the side skirts and v2 diffuser. I love mine. Everything lined up great. I did have the same issue with one of my exhaust tips touching but barely. Alex and AutoKits are great to deal with. Good write up.
09-15-2011, 05:57 PM
#6
Ahh please post pics of the diffuser mounted!
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09-15-2011, 07:12 PM
#8
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Great review! Car looks great! Also, I'm not too sure but I think I read somewhere that the Autokits side skirt sits about 1 inch lower than oem, is that true?
09-15-2011, 08:04 PM
#9
Pics in Lucas' link 
. But if you would like more shots of the diffuser let me know. I can try to take better ones.
Thanks man. I actually didn't measure it because I forgot to do so before putting on the sideskirts. However, they are definitely lower than OEM. Many of my friends thought I lowered my car more but it was only cause the sideskirts sit lower.
. But if you would like more shots of the diffuser let me know. I can try to take better ones.Thanks man. I actually didn't measure it because I forgot to do so before putting on the sideskirts. However, they are definitely lower than OEM. Many of my friends thought I lowered my car more but it was only cause the sideskirts sit lower.
