Is it OEM?

[Japandrew73]

I am fitting a tech 1 front spoiler to my e30 and was presented with these pictures. Judging from the pictures, is it OEM?

Things to notice and take into account
1. fog lights filled in (good or bad?)
2. fog light mounting points ARE there
3. all 4 oil cooler holes are present (top two aren't filled in)(good or bad?)
4. in 4th pic, the stamping in the bottom left of the pic

So using your expertise, is this OEM or aftermarket?

[f4stjay]

It should have a BMW part number stamped somewhere (and something this size should have a pretty clear roundel on it). Hope that helps

[capri_rob]

I've never seen a Tech 1 front spoiler with the foglight holes filled in

as above if its genuine it will have a part number on it somewhere

[mrLEE30]

filled in fog lights will be a US spec thing, as they tend to hang the lights off of the bumper...very ugly in my opinion so look for some prefacelift fog lights on here, should not be expensive.

my old US spec tech 1 had both centre vents opened, this could mean your valance came from a car with A/C and/or an automatic.

in my opinion isa a genuine or very good copy (some copies i have seen do not have the tow hook hole, and the three ribbed lines at the bottom of the valance, and the brake ducts are just holes rather than proper mouldings... looks good so get it painted and fitted!!

mrlee

[Japandrew73]

Perfect! Having a US car, I have AC standard (rebuilt a year ago, blows ICE cold) so all the oil cooler holes cut out will work out great. The US bumpers had fogs hanging off the bumper but I have euro bumpers now and the tech 1 valence only fits with euro bumpers so I'll need to get some euro early fog lights.

Do I need to have a valence to mount the tech 1 front spoiler? Or Can I run no valence and just the tech 1 front spoiler?

filled in fog lights will be a US spec thing, as they tend to hang the lights off of the bumper...very ugly in my opinion so loom for some prefacelift fog lights on here, should not be expensive.

my tech 1 had both vents opened, this could mean your valance came from a car with A/C and/or an automatic.

in my opinion isa a genuine or very good copy (some copies i have seen do not have the tow hook hole, and the three ribbed lines at the bottom of the valance, and the brake ducts are just holes rather than proper mouldings... looks good so get it painted and fitted!!

mrlee

[oakey]

Fit it to fit 100% you need a pre-facelift 'euro' front valance and bumper brackets

[mrLEE30]

i must admit i never played with the tech 1 on my old sport, by valance i assume you mean the metal part under the bumper?? if so yes that must remain on there, i always assumed the tech 1 front spoiler just bolted to the lower part of the bumper (or behind the bumper) or to the metal valance.. but what i am not sure of is did the US spec cars have a different valance?? if so you will need a euro valance too - its only a bolt on/bolt off job!!

[clarko74]

I've bought a genuine one of these with the foglight holes filled in (apologies for the v bad pic):



They weren't there for long though, a bit of drilling and dremeling soon got rid of them.

The tech 1 spoiler fixes to the metal bumper, here's a another really bad photo of mine being test fitted:

[Japandrew73]

Thanks Clarko. I Love your car by the way. Good to hear about the filled in fogs. I'm going to go with that the spoiler IS in fact OEM.

So let me get this right, to fit the tech 1 front spoiler, I DO need the valence (metal part behind the front spoiler) in order to fit it? Or can I just remove the valence and bolt the front spoiler to the bumper?

The American valence is different than the euro valence so it would kind of suck to have to buy a euro valence just to be hidden behind the front spoiler

[TheRu]

I've not seen them with blanked out fog ports before, but will not question Clarko saying his is OEM...

The Valance must stay in place - and the fixing points are behind the Chrome bit of your bumper - a bit of a mare to get at (cut my wrists to shreds - but was well worth it!!)

There's one pretty clear pic of it here...
http://www.e30zone.net/modules.php?name ... c&t=139704

Hope this helps
Ru

[Japandrew73]

I've not seen them with blanked out fog ports before, but will not question Clarko saying his is OEM...

The Valance must stay in place - and the fixing points are behind the Chrome bit of your bumper - a bit of a mare to get at (cut my wrists to shreds - but was well worth it!!)

There's one pretty clear pic of it here...
http://www.e30zone.net/modules.php?name ... c&t=139704

Hope this helps
Ru

Ok I see what you mean. You can clearly see in this picture too



I can see the valence behind it in the oil cooler slot.

I actually have the factory installation PDF for the mtech 1 front spoiler and it says that some tech 1's didn't come with fog light holes and that they had to be cut out manually if you had fogs. So looks like the front spoiler in question is OEM.

There isn't any way around having no valence behind the tech 1 front spoiler? Isn't it enough to have it mounted to the bumper?[/img]

[oakey]

^ The skirt/spoiler does not attach to the valance at all. It is attached purely to the bumper so you could do without the valance I suppose. The valance makes up the area that is visible under the grills above the bumper though so it would look odd and your wings may flap about a bit when driving

[TheRu]

I dont think that it would hold very well without the valance - I did want to remove mine but gave up on it.

Also I had problems with the rubber bumper strip end caps - you'll need to mod them (cut the bottom lip off) so that they fit back on - OEM Mtech repalcements are about £60 so the mod although not ideal is often preferable.

[Japandrew73]

^ The skirt/spoiler does not attach to the valance at all. It is attached purely to the bumper so you could do without the valance I suppose. The valance makes up the area that is visible under the grills above the bumper though so it would look odd and your wings may flap about a bit when driving

Ohhh Ok I think there was a misunderstanding of wording hah. I'll obviously leave the part below the grills and above the kidneys, but I understand too, that the part where the foglights fit into and lips are attached, should be there or else the wings aren't held sturdily? Am I correct in saying that?

[oakey]

Am I being a dildo or are they not the same part?? I've only ever removed the front end from a facelift car and I'm sure the valance is all one piece up to the grill.

[TheRu]

Am I being a dildo or are they not the same part?? I've only ever removed the front end from a facelift car and I'm sure the valance is all one piece up to the grill.

The Mtech 1 Valance fits around the front of the chinless looking original one - the original is metal and th Mtech is fibre with cut outs that align so that everything still works - you do need to disconnect the fogs and they are attached to the Mtech valance but are still aligned with the original cut-outs.

Ru

[oakey]

^ Nonono. I meant that the area below the grill and the metal front valance are the same part?!

I have a tech one and have removed the bumper and skirt numerous times but I have never removed the metal valance behind

[Japandrew73]

^ Nonono. I meant that the area below the grill and the metal front valance are the same part?!

I have a tech one and have removed the bumper and skirt numerous times but I have never removed the metal valance behind

Nope. It may look like it but in this pic:

The top red part is separate from the bottom red part.

Refer to this thread page.
http://www.r3vlimited.com/board/showthr ... 116&page=3

Notice the top red part is still on while the valence (bottom red part) is off.

[TheRu]

Is it just cos I'm drunk that I can't understand what you'r on about.........................

[oakey]

Well in that case it shouldn't look too odd without the lower valance. Go for it.

[Japandrew73]

Ok Thanks for all your help everyone, I just have one more question for your tech 1 owners. If I don't have any euro fog lights at all right now, and I want to buy new ones, do I buy Part number 1 or 2 in this diagram?

http://bmwfans.info/parts/catalog/E30/2 ... og_lights/

[toecutter666]

You need number 2 and number 5, the lugs on either side of number 2 should locate straight on to the spoiler

[Japandrew73]

You need number 2 and number 5, the lugs on either side of number 2 should locate straight on to the spoiler

Thanks! I'll be sure to post pics once the front spoiler has been restored and installed