Your thoughts on fiberglass bodykits...
 

Just posting the question. If you had a choice between fiberglass or Polyurethane. Suppose the front bumper only comes in fiberglass, would you keep the stock rather than go aftermarket?

I'm a stickler for OE fit and finish. That said, I would not go with a fiberglass panel as they would be more prone to cracking compared to urethane/etc. (as used OE). From what I've seen in other car scenes, fiberglass panels generally don't fit as well as OE panels do.

Fiberglass:
Who needs air? (Better Quality) - YouTube

Like Deserion stated, fiberglass is not forgiving like poly bumpers are... and a lot of the aftermarket fiberglass bumpers are lower to the ground or stick out more than the factory poly bumpers and are begging to be damaged by drivers like me (you may be more consciencious, I don't know).

With that said, there's a couple of bumpers I have looked at on eBay that I'm dying to put on my car and they're made from fiberglass!

BTW, a body shop can fiddle with fiberglass bumper covers endlessly to get them to fit beautifully; not so on a poly bumper. Of course, you pay per hour for the work they do that the manufacturer was too lazy to do themselves before they sold it to you.

Long time no see Captain

I've decided to go FB on my kit car here. Hundred times easier to prep for a perfect & flush installation (a-la-factory-perfection!). Poly comes as-is and complicated to adjust if the fit is not 100% perfect. And they cost twice more if I'm correct. FB is easily repairable in case of a minor accident, poly is also but not as easy and cheap as the FB.

Unless you know the poly product fits like a glove and you have seen it, go for poly. If you only have a confirmation from the seller (but haven't seen it in person), drop the poly idea and go for FB for that "100% certain" perfect fit.

At last, FB is "heavy". If you go this way please buy from a reputable manufacturer only. No-no cheap ones (those are the heavy/thick ones)

PU material is definitely better and more durable but having said that unless it's genuine parts, which we all know are mega expensive, there is no guarantee that the fit is any better than fiberglass. If budget is a concern then fiberglass is obviously the way to go.
I am in no way connected with the vehicle bodywork trade but the pics below show that if you take your time, are prepared to take the kit off and out it back on, again and again, making small adjustments where required until you get the fit bang on, then the fit can be as good as OE.
Time must be taken to make sure that the the fixings used are up to the job and you use enough of them, unlike the car in the you tube video, how that kit ever stayed on at high speed is beyond me!!
Using the correct fittings and enough of them will reduce the amount of flex the fiberglass goes through and thus there is a lot less risk of cracking.
To sum up, for me the cost of PU was out of the question, so lots of hours getting the fit right, when your happy, take just the kit to the paint shop, get it painted then enjoy fitting the kit to your pride and joy for the last time and take pleasure in the fact the kit cost a fraction of the PU option but looks just as good. OH!! and be carefull near the Kerbs LoL
http://986forum.com/forums/uploads01...1402515767.jpg

During the fit, not good enough yet!

http://986forum.com/forums/uploads01...1402515956.jpg

Rear bumper complete


http://986forum.com/forums/uploads01...1402516058.jpg

Front, rear and side skirts, fitted painted and a personal sense of acheivement.

Hey Fred...do you or anyone else have any experience with Techart?

i got a techart front bumper and the fit was just ok . I told the body guy it was made in Germany and he said it looks like it was made in China . Techart stuff is big $$$$$

Where have you been? Freelancing for Air Bermuda Triangle Airline?

TechArt do their stuff the same way as the others. No advanced manufacturing required for these parts as we all know, they will need adjusting and fitting by a bondo professional at some stage anyway ;)

I think TA does very well in the area of design. Their organic design style combined with modern/futurist is hard to beat. Big wroom$ but they are the nicest modded pcars on the planet

(imo) TechArt

It's vacation season for the tourists here on the Gulf Coast so I have been flying a lot. I'm looking into a Techart part and wanted some opinions of their products.

Your biggest challenge imo is not the part itself, but finding a good/experienced body shop to install it. Have a go at this before buying any aftermarket panels for the car

Fly High bro, stay safe