M Performance front grills

If anyone is thinking of getting these, just some info....I'm about halfway through the install. I had figured it would be a simple job like every other BMW I've owned, but it absolutely is not easy. The whole front bumper has to come off - which is a massive pain.

Unless you are pretty handy and/or have a lift, it might be worth having a bodyshop install them for $100 or so. They do look nice.


There might be a way to get the old ones out without pulling the bumper, but I can't see how without risking damage to the paint of the bumper.

Do you have a Pic of the grills?

I'll take some once I wash the car, it's a mess.

I have very little experience with BMW DIY, but from what I've seen from looking around the car, it seems like they go out of their way to make it difficult to do stuff yourself. I don't know if it's to make sure they get the money for any work you have done or prevent novice "mechanics" from messing with their complex cars and screwing them up (or a combination if the two), but very little of the car is accessible without a sizable effort. I think the lack of a jack pretty well illustrates this. Yeah, OEM RFTs are standard, but come on! I won't buy the lack of a jack saves weight line.

Very interesting!

I figured it would be similar to the F10 an F30, and those come out without bumper removal. The funny thing is, I just bought a Torx wrench kit so that I can do the grille swap, thinking it would be very similar to the F10 and F30.

Not buying the whole not wanting people to mess with their "complex" cars. These are basic external parts that should be easily swapped by the owner. So you have to go to the shop if one of the grille slats breaks and you need to replace? Horsesh*t if you ask me. The money thing for service/labor sounds about right.

I'm gonna yank 'em out. I heard success stories about doing it that way.

I think if you do it carefully, you can pull out the old ones without removing the bumper. They will be ruined though for sure.

This is not a case of BMW not wanting people to "mess" with their cars. The front nose design is simply very different than an E92, and that forces no easy access to the back of the grills. I would imagine this is likely due to all those new European regulations on front hood design for pedestrian safety.

I was actually a bit surprised at how overbuilt the F12/F13's are. I had removed the front bumper on my E92 to make it easier to install several mods at once, and that was a cakewalk compared to this. Far more screws and various other types of devices for airflow, fit between the panels, etc.

Just to make sure (I haven't tried it yet) but you definitely can't remove the top Torx screws and just tug on the bumper out slightly from the top to access the grilles for behind like the F10 guys are doing?

Not unless your hands are about a quarter of an inch thick.

Unreal!!!

Anyways, greatly appreciate the heads-up. Looks like I gotta allocate more time for a stupid swap that should really be no more than 20 minutes.

By the way, is yours an M-Sport?

yup

Anyone going to post pics? Or do I just get to read about the not so fun install?

Wonder if a small prying tool can get to the attachment clips through the front of the grilles while they are still on the body.

Originally Posted by JONNYCHIRO

Anyone going to post pics? Or do I just get to read about the not so fun install?

Speaking of which, do you know how your guys did the paint? While it was in the car or did they remove them?

They definitely removed them to paint.

Originally Posted by JONNYCHIRO

They definitely removed them to paint.

I figured. Wonder if they know a better way.

BMW removed the grille and trim, sent out to be painted and then put it all back.

Originally Posted by JONNYCHIRO

BMW removed the grille and trim, sent out to be painted and then put it all back.

Ahh yes that's right. I'm pretty sure you mentioned that back when you had it done.

Pics?

Originally Posted by Hofstet

Pics?

Dying to see the pics!!!