Euro Rear Bumper Conversion
04-03-2010, 02:47 AM
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Euro Rear Bumper Conversion
Hey guys. I did this Euro rear bumper conversion a while back which gives you better look and 11 lbs of weight loss from the butt.
Here is the write up for our rennlist members
I was never a fan of the US version Porsche rear bumper with the two 5 mph 'humps" starting from the 911 in the 70's all the way to now. I really like the clean Euro rear bumper look and decided to do a conversion. I was naive in thinking it's a straight swap of the plastic cover until I found out there was these two bony humps behind the plastic cover which prevent the Euro bumper from being installed lol
Initially, I was just going to Dremel off the two humps but decide against it. I gave folks at Suncoast Porsche a call and placed an order for both the Euro bumper and the aluminum brace. Interesting the aluminum brace came with the heat shield attached. I was surprised how light it was. It was not until I took off the US rear bumper brace that I realized the gain was not merely cosmetic but also a significant drop in weight!!
OK, here is what I did. First of all, let's take off the US rear bumper. This is a simple task. Just take off the lights on each side and remove couple T-27 screws around the bumper (there is a screw at each end of the bumper behind the wheel well best access with rear wheels off). Disconnect the license plate lights and pop out each end of the bumper by clearing the wheel well/heat shield brace and gently pull the bumper back and out
Now the US rear bumper with two 5 mph bumper stopper are exposed
Loosen the two screws connecting the heat shields on each side and remove the two bolts holding down the brace to the rear bumper mount and notice how much heavier the US aluminum brace is compare with Euro brace
Here is a comparison of the US aluminum brace to the Euro version. Noticed how the Euro version has cut outs on the back side. I weight each and the US aluminum brace weigh 16 lbs and the Euro version weigh merely 8 lbs!? WOW, a whopping 8 lbs reduction just in the aluminum brace
Another benefit is the location of the tow hook. Now the tow hook is outside of the license plate and you don't have to remove the license plate each time to install tow hook for track
Initial look of the Euro bumper after install
My man Tony at TNT Autobody did a great job with color match and paint. He did couple more clean up after install. Remember these cars have water based paint and not every body shop is trained in doing this. Make sure you find a quality shop to spray the paint. These bumpers look the best if it is only spray once
Out of Curiosity, I also weigh the plastic bumper. I was surprised that US rear bumper weigh 14 lbs while the Euro rear bumper weigh 11 lbs painted which is 3 lbs lighter!? This add up to a total of 11 lbs weight reduction with the Euro rear bumper conversion considering the 8 lbs lost with the aluminum brace and 3 lbs lost with the plastic bumper cover. Now I got rid of the unsightly 5 mph humps and lost 11 lbs from the very end of a rear weight biased car. What can be better than this
Here is the write up for our rennlist members
I was never a fan of the US version Porsche rear bumper with the two 5 mph 'humps" starting from the 911 in the 70's all the way to now. I really like the clean Euro rear bumper look and decided to do a conversion. I was naive in thinking it's a straight swap of the plastic cover until I found out there was these two bony humps behind the plastic cover which prevent the Euro bumper from being installed lol
Initially, I was just going to Dremel off the two humps but decide against it. I gave folks at Suncoast Porsche a call and placed an order for both the Euro bumper and the aluminum brace. Interesting the aluminum brace came with the heat shield attached. I was surprised how light it was. It was not until I took off the US rear bumper brace that I realized the gain was not merely cosmetic but also a significant drop in weight!!
OK, here is what I did. First of all, let's take off the US rear bumper. This is a simple task. Just take off the lights on each side and remove couple T-27 screws around the bumper (there is a screw at each end of the bumper behind the wheel well best access with rear wheels off). Disconnect the license plate lights and pop out each end of the bumper by clearing the wheel well/heat shield brace and gently pull the bumper back and out
Now the US rear bumper with two 5 mph bumper stopper are exposed
Loosen the two screws connecting the heat shields on each side and remove the two bolts holding down the brace to the rear bumper mount and notice how much heavier the US aluminum brace is compare with Euro brace
Here is a comparison of the US aluminum brace to the Euro version. Noticed how the Euro version has cut outs on the back side. I weight each and the US aluminum brace weigh 16 lbs and the Euro version weigh merely 8 lbs!? WOW, a whopping 8 lbs reduction just in the aluminum brace
Another benefit is the location of the tow hook. Now the tow hook is outside of the license plate and you don't have to remove the license plate each time to install tow hook for track
Initial look of the Euro bumper after install
My man Tony at TNT Autobody did a great job with color match and paint. He did couple more clean up after install. Remember these cars have water based paint and not every body shop is trained in doing this. Make sure you find a quality shop to spray the paint. These bumpers look the best if it is only spray once
Out of Curiosity, I also weigh the plastic bumper. I was surprised that US rear bumper weigh 14 lbs while the Euro rear bumper weigh 11 lbs painted which is 3 lbs lighter!? This add up to a total of 11 lbs weight reduction with the Euro rear bumper conversion considering the 8 lbs lost with the aluminum brace and 3 lbs lost with the plastic bumper cover. Now I got rid of the unsightly 5 mph humps and lost 11 lbs from the very end of a rear weight biased car. What can be better than this
04-03-2010, 07:36 PM
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I can picture one of these Euro bumper on your RS
Don't blame me for making you spend more money on your RS
It will be alot easier to blend white paint on your RS compare with my signal green
OK, here is the price break down of my Euro rear bumper with parts diagram. These prices are from 1 year ago so it might differ slightly.
- Euro rear bumper #1: $1172.89
- Euro rear bumper aluminum beam #17: $447.35 (mine came with heat shield #22)
- Center Exhaust Heat Shield - #5: $42.01
- Air outlet frames #30 and #31: $48.22 each x 4 = $192.88
- Decorative RS side strip: $19.95 each x 2 = $39.90
- Shipping to business location (your body shop) approx $250 depend on location
- Painting: My shop at Sacramento charge around $450. Price vary so shop around
Total: $2595.03. Not bad for a Euro rear bumper conversion
Last edited by mikymu; 05-03-2010 at 06:32 PM.
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04-04-2010, 02:23 AM
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