How to: Front Type-S Aspec on Base '07-'08 bumper

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Old Oct 12, 2011 | 11:46 PM
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How to: Front Type-S Aspec on Base '07-'08 bumper

I bought my 07 with an Aspec lip kit already installed. Like most, I envied the aggressiveness of the Type-S Aspec.

After searching for days on here and trying to figure out whether not I could fit a Type-S front lip on my base 07, I finally just ordered one to find out myself. I read alot of "the bumpers wont work, the foglights are angled differently" yet, one guy posted about how his fits with slight modifications. Unfortunately, he never replied back to say what was modified or how he did it. I compared my bumper and foglight location with a Type-S and they didnt look much different, other than the obvious angled housing.

First things first, remove the front bumper. I used the video from the garage and it took me about 10mins to do in the parking in front of my apartment. Here how it looked fresh off the car.



The new minty fresh Type-S aspec front lip ($260shipped from AckTL05)


Front lip removed



I installed a new Type-S grill as well



Quick test fit on the aspec lip (sorry its a bit blurry)


I started off my attaching the two screws in the middle first



The edges line up fine, but the mount points for the Type-S are higher up. The base aspec mounts are intact in this picture but you can see where the Type-S holes are up higher. Simply move the mount up and redrill!


Bottom mounts line up just perfect


Heres where I spent quite a bit of time. I tried mounting the Type-S lip with the lower grills in place, but it was hitting the lip and not letting it lay flush. After a bit of researching, I guess this was common? I removed the lower grills and it fit like a glove.





With the grills removed, I noticed that I could see the white color through the lip grill. I decided to just cover up most of the white area with some harmless black tape.



Here was the hardest part. On the Type-S lip, there are 4 straps that need to be secured to the bumper. On the base lip, there were 2. The Type-S has 2 extra straps towards the center of the bumper. Since this is a base bumper, there were no pre-marked holes. I spent alot of time measuring/guessing where to drill my holes. It paid off as I didnt have to drill any holes twice I didnt take any pictures of this process but its pretty straight forward.


Here it is with the straps tightened down, double-side tape peeled, and some painters tape to keep it in place for extra peace of mind.







I installed it back on the car but it was too dark to take any really good pics. I was really happy with the results. I will take some close ups of the foglights as well as I am sure that is the biggest concern. The only negative that I am noticing is that the top portion of my foghlight beam is covered by the lip. I looked closely and Im pretty positive my lip isnt hanging lower than it should. I'm not sure if I accidentally aimed my foglights down, but they arent projecting like they should. I really dont think the fogs are lower on the Type-S bumper but I could be wrong. I will investigate this furthur this weekend. I have 3000k fogs, ZKW-R lenses, and clear USR diffusers on the way I hope this clears up alot of the confusion. My 07 WDP lip is for sale btw :P
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Old Oct 13, 2011 | 12:03 AM
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Nice write up and now people with 07-08 base can get a TL-S front lip.
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Old Oct 13, 2011 | 06:03 AM
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nice, wish i had an 07-08. but I can dream. Hey gonna do anything with that extra grill piece by any chance?? (top one)
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Old Oct 13, 2011 | 06:18 AM
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Awesome writeup!
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Old Oct 13, 2011 | 07:40 AM
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Originally Posted by pjillta
nice, wish i had an 07-08. but I can dream. Hey gonna do anything with that extra grill piece by any chance?? (top one)
its actually already sold
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Old Oct 13, 2011 | 08:56 AM
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We had rear type-S Aspec swap DIY and now we have the front
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Old Oct 13, 2011 | 09:16 AM
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3G Garage
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Old Oct 13, 2011 | 10:52 AM
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Pics of the whole car please!
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Old Oct 13, 2011 | 12:04 PM
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I went and snapped a couple quick pics while it was raining




Anyone know if they sell the license plate hole covers?
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Old Oct 13, 2011 | 04:18 PM
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nice writeup. how much did you pay for the type-s grill?
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Old Oct 14, 2011 | 03:02 AM
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nice. man how are soo many ppl in IL getting away with not having the front license plate!
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Old Oct 14, 2011 | 06:53 AM
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Originally Posted by pjillta
nice. man how are soo many ppl in IL getting away with not having the front license plate!
not me! haha. I had the plate on there but I took it off and buffed the area... then I didnt feel like putting it back on. Im currently trying to find a license plate relocator since I hate it being in the middle. I park at private parking lot at home and work, so unless I go downtown im good .
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Old Jan 6, 2012 | 03:45 PM
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Could you put this on a 06 base?
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Old Jan 6, 2012 | 05:42 PM
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Originally Posted by Bulldoggie15
Could you put this on a 06 base?
I don't see why not - you just won't have fog lights.

I remember a member on here did it with accord fogs.
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Old Feb 13, 2012 | 11:15 AM
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this is so helpfull.....im gonna install my Type S lip on my 08 base TL too...
thanks for the write up
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Old Feb 13, 2012 | 03:47 PM
  #16  
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Nice! Any gap where the lip meets the bumper?

Send DatboiDennis a PM... He sold me the license plate plugs for $10.50 shipped.
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Old Feb 14, 2012 | 10:34 PM
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any picture on the side???
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Old Apr 18, 2012 | 02:05 AM
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@tpham did you ever fixed the fog lights problem?
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Old May 15, 2012 | 09:46 AM
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Originally Posted by acydo
@tpham did you ever fixed the fog lights problem?
I second this thought...I am ready to do this myself but would like to know if you ever sorted that out...
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Old May 15, 2012 | 10:29 AM
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Originally Posted by guitarplayer16
I don't see why not - you just won't have fog lights.

I remember a member on here did it with accord fogs.
Uhhh. I don't think it's that easy. I thought it was damn near impossible to use the type-s front a-spec on pre '07 TLs...
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Old May 15, 2012 | 11:36 AM
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Great Job and Photo's
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Old Jan 3, 2013 | 09:35 PM
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Does the front lip come with the grills or do I have to purchase those as well?
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Old Jan 3, 2013 | 09:44 PM
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The Type-S lip has the bezels built in. You have to remove the stock bezel from the 07-08 base bumper in order for the lip to sit properly against the bumper. If you try and leave the stock bezels in, the lip will not align correctly.
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Old Jan 4, 2013 | 07:34 PM
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Excellent write up, going to mount my lip too when it stops snowing this year.
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Old Apr 27, 2013 | 12:28 PM
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Did you only have to drill 2 extra holes or all four for the straps?
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Old Apr 27, 2013 | 10:40 PM
  #26  
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Originally Posted by TegoTL
Did you only have to drill 2 extra holes or all four for the straps?
You have to drill 4 holes, 2 near the center and 2 near the edges. I had the base aspec on mine and I am not positive, but I am pretty sure they didnt line up. Therefore, I had to drill 4 new holes
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Old May 30, 2013 | 08:49 PM
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Will be attempting this tomorrow...wish me luck!
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Old May 31, 2013 | 05:18 PM
  #28  
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Awesome write up!!!



For finding the four holes, I mounted the lip on the bumper using all the clips and then put it back on the car. Dabbed a bit of toothpaste on the straps, press it against the bumper and there's your template. Make sure to measure both "templates" to make sure they're the same.
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Old Aug 4, 2013 | 12:14 AM
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Just order Ack05 few days back. Hopefully I can get it refresh my 07 look. Thanks for pics.
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Old Aug 4, 2013 | 10:21 AM
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Tego, that front end looks awesome. Makes me realize what my ASM could look like lol.
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Old Oct 29, 2013 | 09:18 AM
  #31  
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Originally Posted by The Machine
The Type-S lip has the bezels built in. You have to remove the stock bezel from the 07-08 base bumper in order for the lip to sit properly against the bumper. If you try and leave the stock bezels in, the lip will not align correctly.
take the stock bezel from 07 base and switch the bezel on the type s lip?
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Old Nov 19, 2016 | 09:21 AM
  #32  
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Did that $260 include the paint job or did you have to go and get it painted afterwards?
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Old Nov 22, 2016 | 03:37 PM
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^ Aspec already comes painted. Colors will vary now as they have been nearly discontinued.
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Old Nov 23, 2016 | 08:39 AM
  #34  
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Good to know! Thanks! I'll have to keep my eye out for one painted in Carbon Grey Pearl.
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Old Jan 17, 2021 | 09:03 PM
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I need one of these.

Originally Posted by tpham86
I bought my 07 with an Aspec lip kit already installed. Like most, I envied the aggressiveness of the Type-S Aspec.

After searching for days on here and trying to figure out whether not I could fit a Type-S front lip on my base 07, I finally just ordered one to find out myself. I read alot of "the bumpers wont work, the foglights are angled differently" yet, one guy posted about how his fits with slight modifications. Unfortunately, he never replied back to say what was modified or how he did it. I compared my bumper and foglight location with a Type-S and they didnt look much different, other than the obvious angled housing.

First things first, remove the front bumper. I used the video from the garage and it took me about 10mins to do in the parking in front of my apartment. Here how it looked fresh off the car.



The new minty fresh Type-S aspec front lip ($260shipped from AckTL05)


Front lip removed



I installed a new Type-S grill as well



Quick test fit on the aspec lip (sorry its a bit blurry)


I started off my attaching the two screws in the middle first



The edges line up fine, but the mount points for the Type-S are higher up. The base aspec mounts are intact in this picture but you can see where the Type-S holes are up higher. Simply move the mount up and redrill!


Bottom mounts line up just perfect


Heres where I spent quite a bit of time. I tried mounting the Type-S lip with the lower grills in place, but it was hitting the lip and not letting it lay flush. After a bit of researching, I guess this was common? I removed the lower grills and it fit like a glove.





With the grills removed, I noticed that I could see the white color through the lip grill. I decided to just cover up most of the white area with some harmless black tape.



Here was the hardest part. On the Type-S lip, there are 4 straps that need to be secured to the bumper. On the base lip, there were 2. The Type-S has 2 extra straps towards the center of the bumper. Since this is a base bumper, there were no pre-marked holes. I spent alot of time measuring/guessing where to drill my holes. It paid off as I didnt have to drill any holes twice I didnt take any pictures of this process but its pretty straight forward.


Here it is with the straps tightened down, double-side tape peeled, and some painters tape to keep it in place for extra peace of mind.







I installed it back on the car but it was too dark to take any really good pics. I was really happy with the results. I will take some close ups of the foglights as well as I am sure that is the biggest concern. The only negative that I am noticing is that the top portion of my foghlight beam is covered by the lip. I looked closely and Im pretty positive my lip isnt hanging lower than it should. I'm not sure if I accidentally aimed my foglights down, but they arent projecting like they should. I really dont think the fogs are lower on the Type-S bumper but I could be wrong. I will investigate this furthur this weekend. I have 3000k fogs, ZKW-R lenses, and clear USR diffusers on the way I hope this clears up alot of the confusion. My 07 WDP lip is for sale btw :P
I’m wanting to order one of these. Who has the best pricing right now?
Reply
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