Well this is frustrating, the only reason I chose the C-west front bumper is because I was told Evo IX bumpers are months away in japan I bought a authentic C-west front bumper because fitment problems were the my main concern, I was told that they fit perfectly.

NOW can someone tell me WTF this is?




There is a huge freaking tab on the headlight section of the bumper, now maybe I'm blind but I cannot find a single place this tab could tuck into. If it were to go under the headlight housing itself I would have a good half inch of gap between the bumper and the headlight. And the stock VIII bumper certainly doesn't have it. It is very obvious when test fitting that this is the source of my problem, I cant get it anywhere close to looking right. And I'm not going to push it and crack my brand new $800 bumper.

Has anyone else seen this before? I hope I'm not overlooking something stupid cause I spent a good hour trying to fit this thing on the front of my car, with no luck.

 

I assume you did'nt test fit the bumper before it went to paint? It's kind of hard to tell from the pic how high the tab sticks up. Install the bumper ( Headlights off ) and take a pic from straight on. It should be easier to tell if you have an issue that way.

 

takes some finesse lol i had one too but i had a body shop install it. it was pretty damn close took like 1/4" off so bit of bondo and it was good

 

If you look at this pic from a CWest bumper for sale it looks like the tab is pushed flat. I also had a similar tab on my Voltex bumper that was flat as well. Maybe you can warm it up with a heat gun and flatten it out?

 

The tab really is pretty flat, but even then... where does it go? I would take more pictures but Its at my parents house cause I dont have a garage to work in.

 

Don't know where it goes, under the headlight??? I think if it's relatively flat like the pic in the post above you should be OK. Like I mentioned, My Voltex bumper has a similar tab and it bolted up fine. I think worst case scenario if you do any damage to the tab on the install ( Which I'm not 100% sure ) no one will be able to see it as it's under the headlight. Not to be an a$$ but test fitting body panels before paint can be a savior if you run into small issues like this...I'm sure you've figured that out already. Best of luck, and if your still really uneasy the best advice I can give is to take it to the bodyshop and have them install the bumper for you.

 

there is a gap under the headlights with the bumper, its not a huge one but there is a gap and if i remember correctly it was slightly larger than the stocker...

 

Alright I'll use a little bit of muscle and give it a shot.

 

it notches in underneath the headlight to eliminate the gap. There is a small piece underneath the headlight that the tab sits on top of. This is normal. My cwest bumper fit perfectly

 

did you have to take off the front crash beam for the c-west to fit?

 

Mine was already off on the test fits, but I know you have to remove it anyways.

 

I didn't have to remove my tabs.

 

Well I'm going at it again right now, brought the camera forgot the memory stick.... It seems like the tabs I thought were at fault aren't the issue. When I bolt the 2 main front bolts the bumper wont clear the headlights. its about 1/4" high. Almost like the bumper was squashed just a little bit at some point and is now a little too concave. I cant physical pull the bumper down to clear the headlights without feeling like I'm going to break it.

Test fitting wasn't really top on my list, I had the bumper delivered to my appt address and from there had my roomate put it in the back of his subaru wagon to deliver for painting, I was 30 minutes away from my parents house, tools and a garage. I never expected to have any fitment issues at all with this bumper.

 

yeah i have fitment issues as well, the body shop i took it too didn't do the greatest job, there is a crack in the bumper from the headlight resting on it... whatever i guess. good luck getting it on.

 

post a pic of it on the car, when you're trying to fit it. Mine fit perfectly, i didnt even test fit it, just had it painted and threw it on. Good luck, hopefully it's not a defective one. Here's how mine looked right when i put it on: