How-To: RaideFab Bumper Fitment Solution for 1st Gen Mazdaspeed 3-Option2

****If you have ANY questions about the instructions, do not proceed until you contact RaiderFab! There is a chat option on raiderfab.com, email raiderfabusa@gmail.com, or message on social media, PRIOR to drilling holes or making any modification which cannot be undone.****


Over the last couple of weeks @Raider and I have discussed a revision to the GEN 1 kit in how the fender section is installed. The revision comes with 4 more pieces of hardware and does not cost anymore money!

First off, remove your bumper and head lights so you can access the areas we are going to be working in.

This is part of the issue we all know and are trying to correct.



Parts that come with the kit currently for both fender and headlight area.
Four Latches
Two fender brackets
Two fender studs
Two headlight studs
Four springs
Four spring retainers
Eight nuts
Eight washers
Eight lock washers



The updated kit is adding these parts:
Two 1 inch washers
Two 1/4x20x5/8 bolts

Now, you should go ahead and setup your brackets as I am showing, it really does not matter where the stud sits as you will have to adjust it later. Just get it on there tight as this will be used to mark the fender where you are going to cut.

This will now make the fender area hardware setup look like this if it where mounted to the fender


The bolt, small washer, large washer, lock washer and nut will now be used to mount the bracket to the fender. The hardware below is shown in order of how it goes through the bracket shown in the picture above and below.



How the stud looks mounted to the bracket. Instead of using two lock washers, we are only using one on the back side. This not only gives us more freedom for adjustments, but has less in the was of mounting the bracket to the fender. On top of that, the lock washer that is no longer used there, is now used to mount this bracket to the fender.

This should be done FIRST THING! before you cut or do anything else, put these together. again, you do not have to tighten it all the w


The most recent revision had you use the original fender "screw" and plastic base on the fender like this. Since you are relying on the plastic to hold that bracket in, there is a change the threads in that could strip out, that is exactly what happened to me and how I managed to modify the kit with four extra parts and using all of the existing hardware to make it a better kit.



I just happen to have a spare fender laying around so I was able to get the best pictures so everyone can see clearly how this is on there and what needs to happen to remove it.

This is the plastic base that you will be removing from the fender



this is going to give us a much stronger base for install of the bracket, but also give it more direct contact with the fender to prevent any potential tear outs or other possible damage.

Now you will install the bracket with the new added hardware and move to the headlight mounting point.

this is how the bracket will mount to the fender


That new large washer goes on the top of the fender


the bracket will now look like this from the outside.



This is what you should see by peeking through the headlight area. I used a ratchet through the headlight area and a wrench down below.



Now, the most recent revision shows you using two nuts on at the headlight mounting point. With this revision you only need one nut, one lock washer, and one washer. You will need to use a pair of vise grips to carefully thread the stud into this hole. You should use a heat gun to heat up the stud threads before doing this. The heat will help rethread the plastic for the stud without damaging it.

The stud will mount here

Once threaded in all the way with all hardware it will stick out about 1/4 inch from the back side here.






At this point you should have both studs installed, but not finally adjusted yet.

At this point, you will put the bumper into place and line it up where you want it. This is an area I was not able to get good pictures of, but I will try and explain it the best I can.

Using the stud itself as a means to mark where to cut, I set the bumper up to the fender about where i wanted it to sit. Me personally, I want it up close and tight. I pressed the bumper into the studs, this caused a external dimple to appear on the painted face of the bumper. I did that for both the fender and headlight area. I then used a 3/4" hole saw with a starter bit in the middle. I drilled out the dimples and put the bumper up to see how the fitment looked and this is what I got on the first try with minimal effort.



I then finished the holes off with the whole saw and spent the next 20 minutes adjusted the depth of the studs so the bumper would sit exactly where I wanted it.
This is the exact bit I used.




Final product looks fantastic, and is very sturdy in comparison to the previous revision.

I will get some better pictures of overall product tomorrow and upload in appropriate areas of this how to, that will also include new pictures of hardware once Raider assembles the updated kits in the next week ish.

If you have any questions please do not hesitate to ask.