awesome

im doing this tommorow, ive got an e92 so its a little differant.



whats a dyi? hahaha

looks like that one back fired.....
whats differant? hahah

anyone got any pics of alpine white?

Jlevisw.com sells pre made matte black grills for about 70 dollars or cf grills for about 170

Does anyone know if there is a difference for LCI E90?

I bought a matte grille from Jlevisw.com and installed it today. Very easy to remove and install the kidney grills, except for the left one (broke 2 clips off but still holds pretty snug) It didn't line up well so when i removed it and i broke one off from the middle, then putting it back on i broke another one, but now its all lined up better.

I got the same problem with the screws for the top plastic parts not coming out or going in. I got the black ones on and and they wont tighten up. I got one out and cleaned off the blue sealant they put on the screw and it went in like a charm.

Make sure to remove the Blue sealant on the torx screws before you put the top parts back on.

same problem with those damn screws! middle came out great. the rest are spinning. and they arent even stripped. will go buy a torx 20 screwdriver first thing at home depot. that better work! otherwise im gonna have to take it to a freakin mechanic to get 4 hex screws out lol.

got the torx 20 screwdriver and bit. still didnt work. took it to pepboys. they didnt have anything to get it out. last two options are bmw dealer or screw extractor.

just did it..looks excellent
thanks!

I have the same problem. I bought a matte black grille from BarvarianX. I went and got a 10 dollar set of torx screwdrivers, and got 5/6 screws taken out. However, the damn far left screw won't come out. It just keeps spinning and spinning. I could really use some help here, I don't know how to get the last one out.


Update: I'm pretty sure that it is the inner copper bit of the grill (the surfboard shaped part) that is warped. The torx screw will turn freely, but I can't get it out. I bought a screw remover, but that really didn't do anything for me, and muchos gracias to the the VERY helpful people at the auto-parts place :finger:.

I'm taking it in for service Friday, so hopefully they can help me out.

Nice instructions.

Personally, I just used wide black electrical tape. chip proof, and lasts forever (well, I typically keep my cars 7 years/150,000 miles). And, its completely reversible. Nice to know there are alternatives though!

The ones from JLevis SUCK! They are in no way a perfect fit to the stockers. I took ALOT of time lining them up an still had lots of troubles. You have to push bottom in first with top angled out and then push down to get top in. I broke one tab....and called to bitch about it to them. They basically told me we don't replace when you break tab on install...but, if we have one laying around maybe we will. They did and sent me a bill for $12.00 in freight. The item was nothing so, I think $12.00 in freight was a rip. Then they told me oh yeah it also has a broken tab. I did not even respond. I won't purchase from them again.

Note I did not PULL the grills out. I took out the 4 screws at the top of the bumper and put my hand behind the grills and pushed in on the tabs so, they popped right out. Worked great!

I bought the painted one from them. The paint wasn't a perfect match. You can tell it's a little duller in the sun.

Yep! I thought the same thing! I am going to buy the ones from Tischer when I get more cash. This mod will end up costing me $270.00!! I should have bought the ones from Tischer to begin with since they are OEM!

Does anyone have a solution for the hex screws that just continue to spin and not come out? Do you have to take it to the dealer?

+1...
Anyone find a solution?

I didnt use body color, but once I sanded down all the parts I used glossy black plastic paint...then re-sanded with wet 600 grit, put a few more coats of black and used clear coat matte spray that worked incredibly. I cant see how using a body color would be different unless ur asking an aesthetic question....it might look silly with glossy black on flat black.

this write-up is def well explained step-by-step

great write up!, a little tougher install than expected...but its done and looks great!

I am trying to replace my grille. The grille tops attached to the hood have the 6 Torx screws. Mine all loosened when I tried to unscrew them, but they will not unscrew (like when a bolt is stripped). Not sure what to do - any advice?

Thanks, Chris

To those who has problem removing any of the 6 screws, I had the same problem, what I did was, I drilled a small hole into the black plastic piece that sits directly under the chrome piece and stick a small screwdriver into it to try to stop the female part from spinning, took the screw out in five minutes. I did that to both sides, I got one stuck on each side. I don't think everyone will like this solution, but fill the hole up with some black silicone glue and it'll look perfect. Oh and I separate the chrome piece after taking it off the car, it's pretty damn hard not to break anything if you were to separate it before taking it off (I guess that's why some said it took them 45 min just to do that). I don't think I can separate the chrome piece before taking the whole thing off the car.
Anyway, I separate them so I can glue the female part to the black plastic so next time I take it off, it'll be easier.
Hope this helps.

Just install my first exterior mod - Bought the Matte Black Front Grill Set from Jlevis for $45 + S/H. I didn't want to paint mine and have it chip in a few months. The specs on the ones from Jlevis are:
High Quality ABS Plastic full replacement kidney grill
Matte Black Finish made of true Matte Black ABS Plastic
No chipping, unlike painted or chrome BMW front grills
Two-piece construction, demonstrating their flawless fitment and superior craftsmanship
OEM Slat Style
Flawless Fitment Guaranteed

So for a 15 minute job - I have a set of kidney grills that will last for several years to come. The only reason it took 15 minutes was because I spent 5 minutes detailing the car after I got the original chrome grills and then spent the last 5 minutes stairing at how beautiful it looks - I lot more aggressive.

Funny - I went from a 330i to a 335i and so far all my exterior mods are almost identical to my 330i. Let the mods begin.

P.S. I had no problems removing the 6 torx screws or re-installing it - but I did use a 25 torx bit and not a 20 torx bit. I'll take pictures tomorrow after I give my baby another coat of wax