Lokari inner wing guards

Post in this forum for topics relating to the exterior. This includes body, windows, and accessories

Moderators: GRNSHRK, ron, bfons

Post Reply
User avatar
olympia57
Platinum Member
Platinum Member
Posts: 1389
Joined: Thu Sep 13, 2012 1:47 pm
Location: Ireland

Lokari inner wing guards

Post by olympia57 »

Has anyone fitted these to their E24 ?
I recently ordered a pair to suit my early e12 based e24 .
When they arrived I was surprised to find that two of the securing staples for the rubber seal had not pierced the alloy allowing the seal to detach itself when the guard was placed into position. Easily rectified but poor quality control.

Today I attempted to fit the LH item and immediatly found that although I had ordered the correct early version the units supplied are for a non spoiler car . The profile differs greatly . No with or without option exists on their ordering system.
The main problem is though that the fit is abysmal . The instructions state that the guard has to be pushed into place with the rubber seals pointing downwards to create a run off. When this is done there are several gaps at various points in particular at the top of the wheel arch ,gussets behind the strut tower and as said , adjacent to the OE spoiler. These are large enough to allow the ingress of road muck thus defeating the purpose of fitting them.
Even with substantial " manipulation " with a hammer they could never fit properly. Even the slot for the brake cooling duct is smaller than the actual width of the plastic duct.
I've contacted Lokari and am awaiting on their response but in the off chance that they have supplied an incorrect profile I thought I'd ask if there were many successful installations to my bad one .
Image
Image
wattsmonkey
Platinum Member
Platinum Member
Posts: 1649
Joined: Mon Jul 16, 2007 2:58 pm
Location: Cheltenham, U.K.

Post by wattsmonkey »

Hi Don,

I'm really sorry to see how poorly they fit: they are obviously intended for the non-spoiler car as you say. I feel embarrassed at my wholehearted endorsement of them seeing this.

Like yours, the "series 2" or E28-based guards do not protect the gusset which sits behind the strut tower (the return flange of the "trumpet"), but have offered excellent protection to the outer wings over the last eight years and 30,000 miles. As per our conversations, they don't fit perfectly, and had to be re-aligned (with a hammer) to accommodate big 17" Alpina wheels.

I realise the series 1 and 2 cars are different in the inner wing area, but is there similarity in the protection offered to the outer wing?

I hope you get this sorted soon, I dare say you had to wait long enough to get them in the first place!

Rob
"Most of it necessary; all of it enjoyable." LJKS
'84 635CSi, dogleg...itbs and supercharger????? Eaton Mess
User avatar
olympia57
Platinum Member
Platinum Member
Posts: 1389
Joined: Thu Sep 13, 2012 1:47 pm
Location: Ireland

Post by olympia57 »

Hello Rob
You've no need to feel any responsibility for their poor fit .You are , so far , the only person that I know has them fitted to the e24 . I asked Lokari if they could furnish photos of their guards fitted to the E24 but they conveniently avoided producing any. I googled them and several images can be found of perfect installations on a wide range of marques ,all looking exactly as I would have wished.
This one in particular of the e23 inspired me to place the order .

Image
I guessed it was a bit of a gamble in purchasing them but felt comfortable in that many other marque clubs had fitted them and spoke highly of the fit and finish.
I returned to them last night with a fresh approach and the possibility that I could add some material to the front spoiler area to reprofile it to fit but alas the poor fit elsewhere was still very evident and as i said unless the guard was massaged with a hammer it would never fit in the way the photos showed .
However, last evening I sent polite and hopefull e mail to Lokari explaining what I had found and the problems I was experiencing plus the fact that the guards were for a spoilerless car .
Much to my surprise I got a curt reply at 0.52 am telling me to return the guards and they would give me a full refund . No discussion ,defence or suggestions so they clearly accept the incorrect spec. and very poor fit.
It'll cost me significant postage to return such a large package to Germany but I'll involve Paypal in the equation now and seek full reimbursement .

After failing to install the damned things I returned to a pair of plastic liners that I had started to modify to fit from a GM Omega /Catera and within 20 minutes had a better all round fit using these than the Lokari's offered .
I'll return to this concept and feel sure that I'll be able to adapt a later model liner to fit the e24 to my satisfaction .
Don
User avatar
olympia57
Platinum Member
Platinum Member
Posts: 1389
Joined: Thu Sep 13, 2012 1:47 pm
Location: Ireland

Post by olympia57 »

Thought I'd complete the saga and thread.
After further increasingly bullish e mails from Lokari insisting that they had supplied the correct item and were only prepared to accept the return of the liners as a "favour " and reimburse me the cost of the items and not the shipping charges , I had to prove to them that they were in the wrong.
A selection of photos , OEM parts diagrams and a brief history of the E24 soon proved my point and they eventually ,albeit grudgingly , accepted that the liners were the wrong fit and profile for the spoilered E24.
The liners were returned to Lokari in Germany and they quickly issued a full refund inc. return shipping cost ,which to be fair was a very honourable thing to do .
I think their design template for the E24 is old and although the design and fit of the later versions of their classic alloy liners seems to be better they don't seem to have revisited the E24 design and bettered the original " fits where it hits " concept
:roll:
User avatar
olympia57
Platinum Member
Platinum Member
Posts: 1389
Joined: Thu Sep 13, 2012 1:47 pm
Location: Ireland

Post by olympia57 »

Well after playing about with plastic liners from other modern cars and spending too much time trying to get them to fit I gave up and went back to Lokari .
After getting a lot of help from Rob on here ( wattsmonkey ) it was apparent that the liners for the later phase 2 cars were the ones I needed as they have the front spoiler profile required for my car .
I have to say that Lokari were very helpful when i was asking them if they could confirm that that was the only difference between the phase 1 and 2 to the point where they offered to make a set up to my own template at no additional cost and sent me comprehensive instructions as to how to achieve the correct shape.
Anyway , I decided not to reinvent the wheel and went with phase 2 items .
Fitting was interesting as the two sides were different for no apparent reason and the LH item required 10mm trimmed off the edge adjacent to the spoiler.
I found that the supplied brackets were no good as they were not long enough for the profile of the liner and they wouldn't retain the liner rigid enough to prevent it creeping away from the sealed edge.
I decided that the best way was to bolt them direct to the bodywork as you can see in the photos. This keeps them in the desired position , crude maybe , but effective .
They didn't just "pop " in as the instructions suggested and had to be bent ,shaped and as I said, trimmed to fit as tightly as I wanted. A rubber mallet is essential for tailoring them and quick release clamps to retain them in place whilst positioning them .
The brake cooling ducts on the phase 1 car interfere with the front lower lip ,they could easily be modified to allow them to be retained but as the liner effectively blocks them off they are really redundant so I'll be leaving them off.
I have to remove them again to complete the rustproofing up and under the liners as I didn't want to be fitting them onto a very messy waxy oily surface. When they are refitted I'll use plastic nuts and bolts and place plastic washers between the steel body and alloy liners to prevent electrolysis .
So , are they any good ?
They certainly will prevent spray and muck getting up into the front wing frontal cavities and that really is their primary function. The areas around the spring are not sealed and no amount of " persuasion " could solve that . I'd say that they are probably 2 inches too short to get the profile up tight against the lip around the strut ,I intend to fit some additional contoured plastic from the liners that I attempted to modify to better seal that area and it should be simple to do.
All in all I'd give them 8/10 for protection but for what they cost and will prevent ,I'd say 10/10 for peace of mind on a wet day.......
I'm running 8x16 et16 wheels with 225/50 tyres and there is only one spot rubbing on full lock , that'll be fixed with the mallet :lol:
Don
Image

Image[/URl

[URL=http://s162.photobucket.com/user/olympi ... v.jpg.html]Image
1981 635 series 1
User avatar
sharkfan
Platinum Member
Platinum Member
Posts: 2235
Joined: Tue Sep 28, 2004 3:14 pm
Location: Guildford, U.K.

Post by sharkfan »

Huge thanks for posting this and for yours and Wattsmonkeys work with Lokari to get these somewhere near a useful shape.

Will you be back in touch with Lokari to report, confer and confirm on the extra material needed around the spring?

Could someone post or PM me Lokari's details as I think I could be the next to order some of these.
2001 Alpina B10 V8 Touring (1 of 12 rhd)
1997 Alpina B12 5.7 L (1 of 2 rhd)
1995 Alpina B10 4.6 Touring (1 of 1 rhd)
1985 BMW M635CSi (1 of 524 rhd)
1982 BMW 635CSiA (1 of 100's left from the 1000's made and still valiantly fighting against a rusty grave)
wattsmonkey
Platinum Member
Platinum Member
Posts: 1649
Joined: Mon Jul 16, 2007 2:58 pm
Location: Cheltenham, U.K.

Post by wattsmonkey »

Just to add to the above, I recently removed the liners from my 635. They've been on there for seven years and have done a superb job of protecting the outer wings (indeed, there were dry-as-a-bone cobwebs under there).

They do not protect the inner part of the trumpet section, or around the square spring mounting reinforcemnents which sit inboard of the plastic seal.

To be fair, keeping this part clean is easy with a hose, just like hosing the crap out of the rear arch lips.

As a very minor point, the steel staples which secure the plastic lip rust.

I sprayed dynax s50 everywhere before mounting them and there has been NO reaction between the aluminium and the steel.

Like Don's experience, the brackets are useless, but then I did have to remount everything to fit 17" Alpinas (big wheels will hit the liners).

To sum up though, I am absolutely delighted with the protection they've given the six and I am fitting them to the M.
"Most of it necessary; all of it enjoyable." LJKS
'84 635CSi, dogleg...itbs and supercharger????? Eaton Mess
User avatar
olympia57
Platinum Member
Platinum Member
Posts: 1389
Joined: Thu Sep 13, 2012 1:47 pm
Location: Ireland

Post by olympia57 »

sharkfan wrote:Huge thanks for posting this and for yours and Wattsmonkeys work with Lokari to get these somewhere near a useful shape.

Will you be back in touch with Lokari to report, confer and confirm on the extra material needed around the spring?

Could someone post or PM me Lokari's details as I think I could be the next to order some of these.
I'm pleased it was of use .
Good point about giving some feed back to Lokari and I'll do that . I wasn't too enamoured with them first time round but to be fair they were very helpful this time . I think the poor fit is down to the design being an early one of theirs as other photos I've seen of their liners are much , much better in fit .
Whether they'll revisit the design .......?
I'll pop off an e mail tomorrow and let you know if I get a reply.
Cheers
Don
1981 635 series 1
Pod
Platinum Member
Platinum Member
Posts: 4492
Joined: Tue Mar 16, 2010 8:32 pm
Location: usually in the barn, Kent, England.

Re: Lokari inner wing guards

Post by Pod »

I jumped across from the "carbon fibre" posting. Did you ever hear from Lokari again?
User avatar
olympia57
Platinum Member
Platinum Member
Posts: 1389
Joined: Thu Sep 13, 2012 1:47 pm
Location: Ireland

Re: Lokari inner wing guards

Post by olympia57 »

Pod wrote:I jumped across from the "carbon fibre" posting. Did you ever hear from Lokari again?
I got an Xmas greetings e mail ...... :lol:

I sent them an e mail with photos showing the installation and a drawing with dimensions suggesting that the liner would fit much better and close the small gaps around the strut if it was profiled as suggested and 60mm longer between points shown on the drawing .
I didn't get an acknowledgement or reply .
As said Lokari don't actually manufacture these classic liners ( A Finnish company do ) so I guess the effort involved in accepting what I suggested , forwarding it to the actual manufacturer ,having the original template altered and then fitted to a car to confirm is just too great for the quantity of sales involved .
The design of liner for the E23 and E9 looks as if it has been designed long after the E24 item . These look to be a neater more snug fit going deeper into the areas around the strut / spring and therefore giving a better level of protection.
I've since removed mine again to add another layer of epoxy and waxoyl and when I refitted them I cut some sections of flat plastic sheet ( opened up 25 Lt plastic drum ) which was attached to the liner to enhance the splash areas.
Better but still not as good as the E23 photo shown earlier or the E9 in this link .
http://www.e9coupe.com/forum/showthread ... ght=lokari
I'm sorry I have no better reply for you.
Don
1981 635 series 1
Post Reply