Aesthetics 101: What No One Tells You About Aesthetic Car Upgrades

When you’re building your ride, you want everything to go smoothly. By verifying your parts fit your vehicle, you can eliminate most of the guesswork, but there are other things you should expect when making aesthetic upgrades to your build. Let’s take a look at common challenges, mistakes, and good-to-know tips about mod installation that can save you time in the garage. 

Fitment May Not Be Perfect

We know carbon body panels and aero upgrades are awesome, but they don’t always fit perfectly. When it comes to aesthetic upgrades, installing the piece is not as simple as swapping out an OEM part. You should expect to have a bolt hole or clip or two not line up perfectly. This can lead to trimming the panel or body piece to fit your vehicle. It’s common for carbon pieces to require more TLC than an OEM counterpart, you just have to roll with the punches and make adjustments when necessary. 

Brands like Seibon and APR Performance have very good track records when it comes to the fitment of their products, and minimal to no adjustment has been required in our experience. 

Carbon Fiber Hoods Should Have Latches, Usually

Consider adding hood latches when installing a carbon fiber hood. The clasp that secures into your hood latch is typically not as robust as the metal clasp on an OEM hood, and so comes with a risk of failing while the car is at speed. If that happens, your brand new carbon hood flies up and smashes your windshield. Nobody wants that! 

Get some quality latches, like those from Aerocatch, take your time with installation, and thank yourself later. 

Carbon Fiber Always Looks Cool, But There Are Other Weight-Saving Mods

While many carbon replacement body panels do offer weight savings, some are nearly identical to OEM, and in some cases could be heavier than OEM parts. Don’t write off carbon fiber parts just yet. Weight savings comes down to the construction of an individual part, whether it’s carbon-on-fiberglass or carbon all the way through, the construction quality, and whether the brand is focused on aesthetics performance first, these factors play a part in whether an aero piece or body panel will reduce your vehicle weight. 

If you want carbon fiber parts because they look cool, great! If you’re looking for weight savings first with a sleek aesthetic upgrade, you should do some research to make sure it’s lighter than the stock counterpart first. 

Installation Pro Tips

If you haven’t installed aftermarket parts before or you need a refresher, here are some simple tips that will save you time and reduce confusion while you’re in the garage. 

Plan Your Project: Make sure you have all the tools you need for this installation and accurately estimate the length of time it will take to complete the installation to avoid headaches and know what steps you need to complete before you can call it a day.

Verify Fitment: Ensure the parts you buy are the exact fit you need for your vehicle. If you’re buying carbon fiber parts, verify it’s designed for your vehicle and has the proper measurements for the installation space you need. 

Inspect Your Parts: Before you start, open the box and inspect the parts you’re going to install to make sure they are intact, in working order, and free of blemishes, especially if they’re an aesthetic add-on. 

Keep Old Parts: If you realize a part isn’t working properly or just doesn’t fit the look you want, you can swap them out with the stock part for efficiency and reliable performance. 

Shop Carbon Fiber Upgrades at MAPerformance

Ready to build your car your way? Shop our collection of carbon fiber upgrades to give your ride a fresh, new look. Contact our team if you have any questions about our parts to ensure you find the parts that you need. Check out our blog for more installation tips, fitment guides, and other helpful information.