[gaifaun]

I'm going crazy with all the reviews I'm doing lately but that just means more mods right?

Matte black grilles are the standard mods that anyone should do and I'm no exception so these are a must! However, i thought matte black is too aggressive and i wanted something more OEM, and classy because I think matte black could look out of place for my car especially it is in AW and non mtech. So i went ahead and attempted to convert these to gloss black grills!




Service and packaging:
As usual, Derrick's fast response in PM's and quick work style allowed me to receive these in a week's time from PMing him for a price quote to receiving the package.



Upon opening the lid of the box, i find a pack of business cards, some peanuts, and bubble wrap of the grills! I am excited! but wait... what's that smell? i smell car freshener when i opened the box. O well, the box or the stuff inside must have contacted the squash scent before it got sent to me.



WAIT! a freebie! so that's where the pleasant smells coming from! Nice touch Derrick made my experience in opening this package that much fonder.

Conclusion: 10/10




Product:

enough squash, onto the product. This is really nice ABS plastic. the matte color is brilliant. not too lustrous, and is really smooth to the touch. feels sturdy and well put together too. Very OEM like in terms of quality. The tabs which i feared were flimsy were in fact as strong as the OEM tabs!



Conclusion. 9.5/10

Color Conversion: (OPTIONAL)
Since I am looking to find Gloss black grills at more than half the price off of the OEM set, I turned to E92-Lighting and decided I can try to spray a coat of clear on it to get the results. After doing much research, i find that because this is a matte finish, I do not need to prime nor sand the surface in order for my clearcoat to stick on.

so i went out and only bought a can of Duplicolor Clear Lacquer spray paint (for automotive applications) found at local Canadian Tire or any automotive supply stores.

seperation of the grill from the slats is simple and straight forward, just unclip multiple tabs around these grilles and they come off!

1) seperate grill from slats
2) thoroughly clean grilles
3) prop them up on some wood
4) close your garage door (so no dust can stick on your wet grilles)
5) apply even WET coat of clear in slow sweeping motion around 6 inches away from the grilles.
6) repeat step 5 two times
7) rub the grilles with paper towel to buff it (removes gritty specks without scratching the surface like sandpaper)
8) apply a few coats of polish




In the process of clear-coating



DONE! Zaino'ed my grilles . I used ZPC, Z-AIO and 2 coats of Z2


Overall I am satisfied with my work being my first time doing something like this I didn't know what to expect. But this is near to what OEM has to offer.


Conclusion: 8/10



Install:
Install is really simple. at first it took me a while but then i can now remove a grille in 20 seconds.

1) you take off the torx screws on the top of the bumper right above the grilles. There is 4 in total.
2) lift up the bumper to reveal the top removal tabs for the grill.
3) stick flathead screwdriver into the gap and push down on the tab while pulling the grille loose
4) with the top loose and unclipped, stick middle finger inbetween slats and locate the bottom tab and lift up and pull.
5) grilles come off
6) replace with matte black grilles, they just snap on
7) screw the torx screws back on



the small gap revealing the upper tabs of the grilles after removing the torx screws.




depress tab with screwdriver and push outwards



snap new grilles on, make sure they are locked on.



Yes! you only need ONE tool for the whole job-- flat head screwdriver, even for removing torx screws because I can't afford one



Tools required: Flat head screw driver
Install time: 30 mins (first time doing it and i had to figure out the removal process)
fitment: 9.5/10
difficulty: easy


Conclusion: 8.5/10


proud finished product!









These are really nice grilles to begin with and my decision of painting them is merely a personal decision as color preference is a subjective matter. You won't regret getting these grilles, matte black or whatever color you wish

why wait! the install is so simple, 1 tool is enough if you have the right flathead. install is so simple even a noob like me can do it

Thank you Derrick @ E92-Lighting!
Please feel free to post any questions or comments below!

[Javier]

good write up! looks good

[svntwosix]

Now you gotta do the lower grills to make them match better

[zesus-3]

Good write up...unfortunately you can tell it was done from a can a mile away.....And they dont match the bottom....looks odd....

[mathu.bala]

Nice job.

[OwnAge]

whoaa, thats pretty sweet.

[gaifaun]

thanks! im gonna do another review soon. this time something different

Originally Posted by zesus-3

Good write up...unfortunately you can tell it was done from a can a mile away.....And they dont match the bottom....looks odd....

yeah color preference is a personal matter and whatever floats your boat man. The sun was hitting directly at the grilles making it look off but i've taken more photos for you to see.

by not matching the bottom you mean the bottom should be gloss black too?

i'd think that would look odd because OEM performance grilles look exactly the same to me, i've handled the real part and my painted part and they look exactly the same.

you can see what i mean here. OEM performance grilles Tischer sells. the bottom grilles are matte from the factory. Exactly what i did



and here: http://www.e90post.com/forums/showpo...46&postcount=2

oh and heres some of my shots taken from a meter away, not a mile. You be the judge.









this was done from less than a meter away... please tell me how you can tell its from a can.

[gaifaun]

Originally Posted by OwnAge

whoaa, thats pretty sweet.

you're LCI is still sweeter than mine!! im looking for some awesome wheels.

[donsgolf2012]

Car Comes with one in the tool kit, the tool to remove the screws in the bumber FYI


Yes! you only need ONE tool for the whole job-- flat head screwdriver,[/SIZE] even for removing torx screws because I can't afford one

[bavarian19]

Not bad, but I would have saved the effort and energy to get the OEM ones.


I have the OEM ones on my E92, and love them!

[mathu.bala]

OP, did you paint the line that is connected to fog lamp?

[bdardashti]

Originally Posted by mathu.bala

OP, did you paint the line that is connected to fog lamp?

No the 335i comes with it in silver.

[OlivaresAnthony]

Looks good

[328i]

In the pic of you installing with good lighting on them you can really see the orange peel from the spray. Why didnt you just try spraying your OEM grills black and then clearing them? You'd probably get a smoother finish that way.

[just4kickz]

looks good +1 on the finisher rods tho

[gaifaun]

Originally Posted by mathu.bala

OP, did you paint the line that is connected to fog lamp?

nope, thats how it was from the factory, but i plan on getting black finisher rods after i get back from vacation.

Originally Posted by 328i

In the pic of you installing with good lighting on them you can really see the orange peel from the spray. Why didnt you just try spraying your OEM grills black and then clearing them? You'd probably get a smoother finish that way.

my cars a lease and i have to revert it back to stock later on so i cannot alter my stock grilles. yea there is slight orange peel from the clearcoat but for $10 of spraypaint its good enough. this is my first time doing it and i didnt know how to sand down and refine the coat to its perfection.

i asked the body shops for a professional paint job and it wasnt worth the money.

it really is not that bad, cant really tell unless you go up close to the car. it matches my car's orange peel paint too


thanks again to Derrick from E92-Lighting! his grilles are top notch, very OEM like.

[rogerdiaz]

thanks for this excellent write up. E-92 Lighting provided the great product. easy install.

[gaifaun]

My pleasure! I'm glad you liked it