To ensure a perfect 10/10 fitment we highly recommend dropping your E46 M3 off at a competent body shop which is fluent with aftermarket modifications.  That being said, a high percentage of our customers do the installs themselves with no issues whatsover.  We do not and will not accept returns on parts damaged while they are being installed, most body shops take responsibility for damages on their clock, so if you have never done body modifications we recommend taking your car to a shop.

Method 1 for 10/10 fitment.

Your bumper is high flex plastic, it should be removed or loosened up so it can flex around the diffusor for 10/10 fitment.  Since both the diffuser and your bumper have a bit of flex to them, you will be able to perfectly line up the two parts together.  Only hand tools are needed for this installation process and most of our customers have done it this way with great results.  We highly recommend bumper removal to get the best fitment.

This only takes about 15-20 minutes if you’ve removed your bumper before, if you take your time and don’t get flustered you will get OEM fitment easily and save however much your local shop decides to charge.  The diffuser is high quality and can flex decently as long as it’s not around freezing outside, same with the bumper, so you have quite a bit of ‘leeway’ while installing it wihtout it breaking, cracking, or becoming damaged.

Method 2 for great fitment.

Using basic hand tools and a floor jack, slightly loosen the bumper, but keep it on the car, and install the diffuser.  Our diffuser uses OEM mounting points so it’s very easy once you have the bumper loosened up and you can see even a few inches below the car.

Method 3 for easiest installation.

Remove your OEM diffuser and replace it with our CSL Style Carbon Fiber Diffuser without removing or loosening up the bumper.  A few of our customers have done this and we feel that by using other processes the over all fitment is much better.  Doing it this way will get the diffuser on your car but without increasing the flexibility of the bumper, you may not be satisfied with the final apperance.

Other installation information:

As with all aftermarket modifications, a bit of time may need to be put into fitment to give it an OEM appearance, most of the time these diffusors go on and fit perfectly, but sometimes ten or so minutes invested will make it perfect – nothing that you will spend hours upon hours on like our competitors Diffusers.

Our standard Interior Xenon kit is as bright as kits offered on eBay, Bimmian, and other sources.  This kit blows all of those out entirely. These LED are designed to be everlasting and radiant beyond any you have eveer experienced. They contain festoon/peanut/panel LED all in one ready to install kit. – Umnitza’s Website

What! Showing up to the market over a year and a half late on a product and just because you claim it to be the best it is?  We are going to order a kit of his and ours and put the bulbs next to each other in our testing unit and post up pictures, we can discuss how ridiculous his claims/product is in the mean time.

E46 LED Interior Kit (Khoalty) vs E46 LED Interior Kit (Umnitza)

Price: Khoalty $43.50 vs. Umnitza $99.98
Bulb Qty: Full Replacement Kit vs. Full Replacement
LED Type: Latest SMD LED including optional 12/18 LED panel (43.50 includes that panel) vs. Older style LED and 8 LED Panel.
Time at market: Pretty much same low cost kit but upgraded to always be on the edge over a few years vs. new entire release once a year or so, dropping support for the old product and re-branding it with a new ‘V3′ or ‘V4′

Don’t be fooled by the ‘contains festoon/peanut/panel led in one ready to go kit’ because that’s what our kit has been since we released it, what else would it be?  Also remember that there are multiple bulb types for each bulb fitment, you can have directional LED, single high powered chip LED, multi chip array LEDs, etc.

We have tweaked ours over time to make sure it’s the brightest possible ( as you can see by a blog post from 3 weeks ago) , instead of just throwing in some directional LED’s and saying it’s ultra bright.. Well maybe directly in your face it will be but the interior is supposed to have ambient and uni-directional lighting, not just a projector beam directly in your eyes!

Looking at the picture they have, they have two LED panels shown, but where would they go? We're going to order it and see, because this is the housing with our LED panel in it, and you can see there is only one place for a panel. If they replace the map lights with panels, what goes in the center dome spot?

This is a unique to Umnitza brand of LED chipset. – We don’t have the comparisons up yet, but trust us, LED bulbs are LED bulbs, nothing is truly unique and if you look hard enough and travel over seas you can find any LED bulb, big, small, colored, etc.  You just have to know the proper manufacturers to get direct pricing and high quality products. There are good bulbs and bad bulbs, SMD and non, etc. but ours are the latest, we always update our products when something new comes out, which is why weeks and weeks ago we upgraded to the LED panel interior dome light, where as other guys are picking up on it just now and for way more in price.

Obviously there is either a difference between the prices we buy for or a difference in what we feel is fair between us and every other vender out there, because we are not here to take all of your savings away and then over talk our products online.

We sell for honest pricing and sell honest products.  Thanks for the support, everyone!  You’re why we keep our pricing low!

Check out our new E46 LED Interior Kit today!

We’ve sold a ton of our plug and play kits, the panels are a tiny bit more time consuming to install, but it’s the same amount of difficulty that everyone else’s takes to install, except ours is over 300% brighter with our huge LED panels.

The rest of the interior kit stays the same, the same amount of bulbs, the same higher powered SMD LED’s, that we’ve been selling all year.

Check out our new E46 LED Interior Kit today!

Using their knowledge of manufacturing and modern styling trends, StealthTechnik are able to produce and supply the industry with only the highest quality and most current black out BMW modifications, from grilles to emblems, and more!

We currently sell StealthTechnik through Khoalty, be sure to check them out here: Khoalty: StealthTechnik

Gallery of StealthTechnik Grilles

Why do we say that?  Scroll through this price comparison on the top 3 most commonly sold bumpers and find out.

BMW E46 M Tech II Front Bumper

This is a high-quality all fitment replica of the E46 ZHP M-Technic front bumper spoiler kit, which came on the Performance Package (ZHP option) 330i and 330Ci. The bumper itself will fit any Non-M3 BMW E46 right out of the box.

• Khoalty $175

  (Save 50% through us!)

• JleviSW $549.99
• ModBargains $399.00
• Umnitza $329.97

BMW E36 M3 Front Bumper

Gives all non ///M E36 cars the look of the E36 M3. Conversions that lower the look of the car and add an aggressive appearance are what people are looking for. Take out the bumper (Doesn’t matter if you have an M3 or a non-M E36!) and replace with our bolt on bumpers.

• Khoalty $99

  (Save HUNDREDS with Khoalty)

• BavAuto $629.95
• ModBargains $174.99
• Umnitza $149.99

BMW E90/E92 M3 Front Bumper

Give your E90 E92 a facelift just like the real M3. These are bolt on units that is a fraction of the cost of the OEM piece. The bumper comes with grill, tow hook cover and fog lights.

• Khoalty $340

  (Save at LEAST 13% )

• JleviSW $499.00
• ModBargains $459.95
• Umnitza $399.99

There you have it, tons of savings for the same bumpers, no coupon codes, no limited time offers, no strings attached.  Great service at great prices on all popular BMW bumpers.  You have to think, if we can survive on our prices, how much money are the other guys making?  They must all drive exotics by now!

Shop BMW E46 Angel Eyes by Helios

Helios Angel Eye Features

• Confidence in quality – Included 5 YEAR warranty and any issues in 6 months we will buy them back.
• Remote on feature – Angel eyes fade on and off when you lock and unlock your vehicle.
• Simple DIY install – Using our guide, install with 1/10 difficulty.
• Innovative – Brightest SMD LED available enclosed in a unbreakable high gloss ring.
• Perfect fit, every time – Halogen and Xenon fitment, modular clip system, no tape required.

Here are several examples we see floating around.
If you drive a 1999-2001 BMW Sedan, 323i, 328i, these are the corners that will match your car.

Part number: 444-1506P-AE-C for clear corners and 444-1506P-AE-S.
If you do a quick search on google or ebay, you will see most of the retailers sell them for 29.99 – 49.95 plus shipping which should be around 10.00 – 12.00 depending on location.  Our pricing 24.95 plus shipping which is around the same cost as well.

Here is another example:
Coupes cars will be the example this time.
We have the typical popular crystal smoked corners in two fitments.
1999-2001 Slide in Version as well as 2002-2005 Screw in Version.
Part Numbers: 444-1507PXAE-S and 444-1512PXAE-S

Do a quick google search, you will find out forum retailers as well as some ebay sellers retailing these out for 34.95 plus shipping, our pricing will be 26.95.  For something that is so subtle, we charge so little for it.  Same parts, same item, same same same.  There really is no other way around it than you are getting ripped off for not looking around for the best pricing.
We do offer the ribbed type smoked corners that many retailers will not sell due to the item not selling for them as they can not touch the awesome pricing we give for them.   Please see below for pictures.

Before you buy, please do yourself a favor and search so you get a little more bang for the buck.

Pricing Comparison

We see vendors selling E90 blackout grilles and E92 blackout grilles for more than 70 dollars which is the same items we sell for 45 dollars.

Several other examples would be our BMW E90 LED interior kits and BMW E92 LED interior kits that are high powered.  We were one of the first to have LED kits in the vehicle that would not shut off after 5 minutes of driving.   We are selling the product for 70 dollars whereas vendors online with the forums are selling these for 90+.

Our most famous product as of date is the M3 Bumper, everyone is selling them for 475, while we are selling them for 340, this is a HUGE amount of money saved.  Why spend the extra money when you can pocket the item and use it on something else, such as food or more mods, or paint

in summary

We just wanted to share some of the things we saw with various forums where it pays to price shop around for the same item.  Why pay more when you don’t have to is what we feel.

Unlike some of the others, all of our items are in stock and ships from our warehouse, there is no drop shipping so you can ensured to get your items in a timely manner.

A fresh out of the box BumperMW M3 Bumper

This bumper will fit all E90 3 series that are pre-lci.  The models that will fit this vehicle would be 325i, 330i, 335i in the years of 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009.

This bumper also gives the whole car a different aggressive look without breaking the bank.  We are sure many vendors will not undersell what we sell it for that has it in stock.  Please take a look on E90post and you will see we are the ultimate price leader as well as shipping service.  We take pride in finding the best products on the market as well as keeping the pricing low as possible.  Please see the picture below from one of our customers for proof.

See how incredible the fitment is on this BumpERMW bumper for the E90 BMW 3 Series

If you were to buy this bumper from an authentic M3, it will cost you an arm and a leg.   Here is the part number from the dealership, please have a look around what the cost would be as well as fender work.

Bumper part number: 51118046008

Here is a quick comparison on pricing from various retailers that sell this same exact bumper:
1. KHOALTY: $340.00 plus $140.00 shipping
2.Modbargains: $459.95 plus $120.00 shipping
3. Jlevisw: $419.00 plus $120.00 shipping

Our shipping is slightly higher to due us not playing with the price of the bumper to trick the customer that is the price that needs to be sold.  Our bumper prices will not be undersold by other retailers in the market that sell the same item.

For more details of the aftermarket E90 M3 bumper:

http://www.khoalty.com/bmw-e90-e92/exterior/e90-m3-front-bumper.html

Buy E60 Black Out Grilles Now!

The grilles are priced affordable because we don’t feel it is right to rip the customer off.  These small changes to the grilles makes the biggest suttle change to the car.  If you were to go to the dealership for performance grilles, they will be charging you at least 100 per side.  Here is the part number to verify.  51712155447 / 51712155446

For more information in regards to the E60 Blackout Grilles.

http://www.khoalty.com/bmw-e60/exterior/e60-e61-black-grille.html

Bmw M3 CSL Diffuser in Carbon Fiber

For more details of the BMW CSL diffuser style for the M3 that fits for the years of 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, competition (ZCP) M3 as well as standard M3, please click on the link below.

http://www.khoalty.com/bmw-e46/exterior/e46-m3-csl-diffusor.html

ModBargains tries to look like better than they are by making up ‘list prices’.. we can’t find anyone anywhere selling for their ‘list price’, then they put a price below it to make the products look like they are a bargain, misleading hundreds of customers every day.

Our REGULAR prices are better than their DISCOUNT prices, here’s a few examples, hit up our store for more proof of our incredible deals and modbargains incredible markup!

Chrome Amber turn signal bulbs (Stealth bulbs) for BMW E46

Modbargains (sale price): $19.95
Khoalty: Regular Price $7.00

Buying from us saves you 13 dollars, and that doesn’t include their flat rate shipping.

Smoked/Clear Turn signals for BMW E46 (+ stealth bulbs) by DEPO

Modbargains: 69.90
Khoalty: $30.95!
Save over 50%!

You can Seriously buy two pair of corners for your M3 for the price of one pair at ModBargains. We know around what their cost is for the corners, we know where they get them as they’re all made by DEPO, what they’re doing is just unfair.

BMW E46 LED Tail Lights

Modbargains (sale price): $249.95
Khoalty: Regular Price $145.00

$5 More and you’re at free shipping with us, whereas with ModBargains (even with a coupon code) you’re at over a hundred dollars more than us, AND add shipping onto theirs!

BMW E90 Black Line Tails (by DEPO)

Modbargains (w coupon) $239.95
Khoalty (ships free) = $185.00
Save over $70!

Yep, another instance of ModBargains having some pretty crazy DEPO pricing! We even offer free shipping since the product is valued above $150, saving you over 50 bucks! How do they even call themselves ModBARGAINS??

We think this is misleading as all heck, so aside from comparing commonly sold mods above from Khoalty to ModBargains, we are comparing pricing on coupons and ‘specials’ for the same exact products below! (Updated soon!)

Sorry to put a fellow industry vendor on blast here, but customers ask us why our prices are so low compared to ModBargains, it’s because we are actually here for the community, instead of for making a ton of money. Don’t believe us? You should by now!

We will update this more later, especially when we start comparing ‘coupon’ codes between us and them, you will really see that they are not a ‘Bargain’ place to shop for mods! They’re nearly 40% higher than us over all, and more often than not over 50% more expensive!

It’s optional to remove steering wheel, makes it easier but not completely necessary. Unscrew screws and lift out instrument cluster upwards slightly and pull forward as far as steering column. Caution! Place cleaning rags on steering column to avoid scratches in glass of instrument carrier.

Push levers on connectors forward and take out connectors. Installation: When inserting a connector, lever must be in forward position. Recode instrument carrier if you are replacing it, not necessary if you are plugging back in the same one.

(Compact or TI only) Unscrew screws and lift out instrument cluster upwards slightly and pull forward as far as steering column. Caution! Place cleaning rags on steering column to avoid scratches in glass of instrument carrier.

(Compact or TI only) Push forward levers on connectors and take out connectors. Installation: When inserting a connector, lever must be in forward position.

Final step: Unscrew button for light switch and pull out instrument carrier sideways.

Once you have your cluster out..

Now you should have the unit out of the car. Bring it inside or somewhere with good light and go get your T10 torque screw driver. There’s 5 screws, as shown by this image of the back of the cluster. Two up top, one on each side, and one deep screw in the very middle.

Now look at the faceplate half of the unit (the top half in the picture above). There are three unique, german engineered, “finger screws” holding the faceplate against the glass. It’s the round black circle knobs on each side, and one in the top middle. To unscrew these, simple twist the white part the direction they will move to free the face plate. Here’s a close up of one of the finger screws:

Push them in, when you’re done scroll back up and reverse all the steps, enjoy your sick nasty new gauges!

Sharpie Mod:

All you have to do is take a red sharpie and do one coat of it on the needles, in the end it’ll look like this (obviously do this before you put the gauges back in!!)

This guide is good for:

• BMW 3′ E36, M3 (S50) SAL
• BMW 3′ E36, 320i (M50) CONVER
• BMW 3′ E36, 325i (M50) CONVER
• BMW 3′ E36, M3 (S50US) COUPE
• BMW 3′ E36, M3 (S50) COUPE
• BMW 3′ E36, 318is (M44) CONVER
• BMW 3′ E36, 318i (M43) CONVER
• BMW 3′ E36, 328i (M52) CONVER
• BMW 3′ E36, 323i (M52) CONVER
• BMW 3′ E36, 320i (M52) CONVER
• BMW 3′ E36, M3 (S52) CONVER
• BMW 3′ E36, M3 (S52) SAL
• BMW 3′ E36, M3 (S52) COUPE
• BMW 3′ E36, 318i (M42) SAL
• BMW 3′ E36, M3 (S50) CONVER
• BMW 3′ E36, 318i (M42) CONVER
• BMW 3′ E36, 325is (M50) COUPE
• BMW 3′ E36, 325i (M50) COUPE
• BMW 3′ E36, 320i (M50) COUPE
• BMW 3′ E36, 318ti (M44) COMP
• BMW 3′ E36, 323ti (M52) COMP
• BMW 3′ E36, 320i (M52) COUPE
• BMW 3′ E36, 328i (M52) COUPE
• BMW 3′ E36, 318is (M44) COUPE
• BMW 3′ E36, 316i (M43) COUPE
• BMW 3′ E36, 316i (M43TU) COMP
• BMW 3′ E36, 318tds (M41) COMP
• BMW 3′ E36, 318ti (M42) COMP
• BMW 3′ E36, 316i (M43) COMP
• BMW 3′ E36, 316g (M43) COMP
• BMW 3′ E36, 318is (M42) COUPE
• BMW 3′ E36, 323i (M52) COUPE
• BMW 3′ E36, 316i (M43) SAL
• BMW 3′ E36, 318is (M44) SAL
• BMW 3′ E36, 318i (M44) SAL
• BMW 3′ E36, 320i (M52) SAL
• BMW 3′ E36, 320i (M50) SAL
• BMW 3′ E36, 325tds (M51) SAL
• BMW 3′ E36, 325td (M51) SAL
• BMW 3′ E36, 318tds (M41) TOUR
• BMW 3′ E36, 318i (M43) SAL
• BMW 3′ E36, 318is (M42) SAL
• BMW 3′ E36, 316i (M40) SAL
• BMW 3′ E36, 318i (M40) SAL
• BMW 3′ E36, 318i (M43) TOUR
• BMW 3′ E36, 328i (M52) SAL
• BMW 3′ E36, 316i (M43) TOUR
• BMW 3′ E36, 325tds (M51) TOUR
• BMW 3′ E36, 323i (M52) TOUR
• BMW 3′ E36, 318tds (M41) SAL
• BMW 3′ E36, 323i (M52) SAL
• BMW 3′ E36, 320i (M52) TOUR
• BMW 3′ E36, 325i (M50) SAL
• BMW 3′ E36, 328i (M52) TOUR

Our BMW Fog lights fit the E36 series all the way through 1992 to 1999 and are plug and play for all including the E36 M3. More pictures and write up is coming soon, but check out this video, it goes through the issues you may have, and also the installation towards the end of the vid.

Valid for:

• BMW 3′ E36, M3 (S50) SAL
• BMW 3′ E36, 320i (M50) CONVER
• BMW 3′ E36, 325i (M50) CONVER
• BMW 3′ E36, M3 (S50US) COUPE
• BMW 3′ E36, M3 (S50) COUPE
• BMW 3′ E36, 318is (M44) CONVER
• BMW 3′ E36, 318i (M43) CONVER
• BMW 3′ E36, 328i (M52) CONVER
• BMW 3′ E36, 323i (M52) CONVER
• BMW 3′ E36, 320i (M52) CONVER
• BMW 3′ E36, M3 (S52) CONVER
• BMW 3′ E36, M3 (S52) SAL
• BMW 3′ E36, M3 (S52) COUPE
• BMW 3′ E36, 318i (M42) SAL
• BMW 3′ E36, M3 (S50) CONVER
• BMW 3′ E36, 318i (M42) CONVER
• BMW 3′ E36, 325is (M50) COUPE
• BMW 3′ E36, 325i (M50) COUPE
• BMW 3′ E36, 320i (M50) COUPE
• BMW 3′ E36, 318ti (M44) COMP
• BMW 3′ E36, Z3 coupe (M52) COUPE
• BMW 3′ E36, 323ti (M52) COMP
• BMW 3′ E36, 320i (M52) COUPE
• BMW 3′ E36, 328i (M52) COUPE
• BMW 3′ E36, 318is (M44) COUPE
• BMW 3′ E36, 316i (M43) COUPE
• BMW 3′ E36, 316i (M43TU) COMP
• BMW 3′ E36, Z3 coupe (M52TU) COUPE
• BMW 3′ E36, 318tds (M41) COMP
• BMW 3′ E36, 318ti (M42) COMP
• BMW 3′ E36, 316i (M43) COMP
• BMW 3′ E36, 316g (M43) COMP
• BMW 3′ E36, Z3 coupe (M54) COUPE
• BMW 3′ E36, 318is (M42) COUPE
• BMW 3′ E36, 323i (M52) COUPE
• BMW 3′ E36, 316i (M43) SAL
• BMW 3′ E36, 318is (M44) SAL
• BMW 3′ E36, 318i (M44) SAL
• BMW 3′ E36, 320i (M52) SAL
• BMW 3′ E36, 320i (M50) SAL
• BMW 3′ E36, 325tds (M51) SAL
• BMW 3′ E36, 325td (M51) SAL
• BMW 3′ E36, 318tds (M41) TOUR
• BMW 3′ E36, 318i (M43) SAL
• BMW 3′ E36, 318is (M42) SAL
• BMW 3′ E36, Z3 (M43TU) ROADST
• BMW 3′ E36, Z3 (M52TU) ROADST
• BMW 3′ E36, Z3 (M52) ROADST
• BMW 3′ E36, Z3 (M43) ROADST
• BMW 3′ E36, Z3 (M54) ROADST
• BMW 3′ E36, 316i (M40) SAL
• BMW 3′ E36, 318i (M40) SAL
• BMW 3′ E36, 318i (M43) TOUR
• BMW 3′ E36, 328i (M52) SAL
• BMW 3′ E36, 316i (M43) TOUR
• BMW 3′ E36, 325tds (M51) TOUR
• BMW 3′ E36, Z3 (M44) ROADST
• BMW 3′ E36, 323i (M52) TOUR
• BMW 3′ E36, 318tds (M41) SAL
• BMW 3′ E36, 323i (M52) SAL
• BMW 3′ E36, 320i (M52) TOUR
• BMW 3′ E36, 325i (M50) SAL
• BMW 3′ E36, 328i (M52) TOUR

Removing and installing left or right front turn-indicator lights (complete)

1. Lever out retaining clip from top and pull turn-indicator light forwards.

2. Unlock and take off bulb holder. Caution! Only take hold of bulb on base or on glass of bulb with a clean cloth or packaging of bulb.

Installation note: If applicable, clean hollow throat (1) and affix a foam-rubber strip (approx. 5 mm wide). You don’t have to fix this in our corners, but your factory ones might be getting water or condensation in them.

When pushing the corner light back in, be sure that ‘stock’ on the corner light fits into the small hole in the fender, and lines up with the headlight clips, if you push it in too hard you are likely going to break the corner light plastic slider piece, be careful, be soft, and be gentle, most vendors don’t send replacements if you are the one who broke the part upon installation.  We found that some customers loosen up the headlights before sliding a new or old corner back in, OR if it is cold, heat up the plastic parts with a heat gun or blow dryer, this gives them more ‘room’ to bend.

What is this guide good for?  Are you sure you want to ask?

• BMW 3′ E36, M3 (S50) SAL
• BMW 3′ E36, 320i (M50) CONVER
• BMW 3′ E36, 325i (M50) CONVER
• BMW 3′ E36, M3 (S50US) COUPE
• BMW 3′ E36, M3 (S50) COUPE
• BMW 3′ E36, 318is (M44) CONVER
• BMW 3′ E36, 318i (M43) CONVER
• BMW 3′ E36, 328i (M52) CONVER
• BMW 3′ E36, 323i (M52) CONVER
• BMW 3′ E36, 320i (M52) CONVER
• BMW 3′ E36, M3 (S52) CONVER
• BMW 3′ E36, M3 (S52) SAL
• BMW 3′ E36, M3 (S52) COUPE
• BMW 3′ E36, 318i (M42) SAL
• BMW 3′ E36, M3 (S50) CONVER
• BMW 3′ E36, 318i (M42) CONVER
• BMW 3′ E36, 325is (M50) COUPE
• BMW 3′ E36, 325i (M50) COUPE
• BMW 3′ E36, 320i (M50) COUPE
• BMW 3′ E36, 318ti (M44) COMP
• BMW 3′ E36, 323ti (M52) COMP
• BMW 3′ E36, 320i (M52) COUPE
• BMW 3′ E36, 328i (M52) COUPE
• BMW 3′ E36, 318is (M44) COUPE
• BMW 3′ E36, 316i (M43) COUPE
• BMW 3′ E36, 316i (M43TU) COMP
• BMW 3′ E36, 318tds (M41) COMP
• BMW 3′ E36, 318ti (M42) COMP
• BMW 3′ E36, 316i (M43) COMP
• BMW 3′ E36, 316g (M43) COMP
• BMW 3′ E36, 318is (M42) COUPE
• BMW 3′ E36, 323i (M52) COUPE
• BMW 3′ E36, 316i (M43) SAL
• BMW 3′ E36, 318is (M44) SAL
• BMW 3′ E36, 318i (M44) SAL
• BMW 3′ E36, 320i (M52) SAL
• BMW 3′ E36, 320i (M50) SAL
• BMW 3′ E36, 325tds (M51) SAL
• BMW 3′ E36, 325td (M51) SAL
• BMW 3′ E36, 318tds (M41) TOUR
• BMW 3′ E36, 318i (M43) SAL
• BMW 3′ E36, 318is (M42) SAL
• BMW 3′ E36, 316i (M40) SAL
• BMW 3′ E36, 318i (M40) SAL
• BMW 3′ E36, 318i (M43) TOUR
• BMW 3′ E36, 328i (M52) SAL
• BMW 3′ E36, 316i (M43) TOUR
• BMW 3′ E36, 325tds (M51) TOUR
• BMW 3′ E36, 323i (M52) TOUR
• BMW 3′ E36, 318tds (M41) SAL
• BMW 3′ E36, 323i (M52) SAL
• BMW 3′ E36, 320i (M52) TOUR
• BMW 3′ E36, 325i (M50) SAL
• BMW 3′ E36, 328i (M52) TOUR

Removing and installing or replacing left or right taillight (sedan/coupé/convertible)

Open your trunk and rotate clip through 90° and remove black lamp cover.

Pull off connector. Unscrew nuts and remove taillight assembly by pulling out.

Install is reverse, pretty easy huh?

This guide is for the following BMW’s:

• BMW 3′ E36, M3 (S50) SAL
• BMW 3′ E36, 320i (M50) CONVER
• BMW 3′ E36, 325i (M50) CONVER
• BMW 3′ E36, M3 (S50US) COUPE
• BMW 3′ E36, M3 (S50) COUPE
• BMW 3′ E36, 318is (M44) CONVER
• BMW 3′ E36, 318i (M43) CONVER
• BMW 3′ E36, 328i (M52) CONVER
• BMW 3′ E36, 323i (M52) CONVER
• BMW 3′ E36, 320i (M52) CONVER
• BMW 3′ E36, M3 (S52) CONVER
• BMW 3′ E36, M3 (S52) SAL
• BMW 3′ E36, M3 (S52) COUPE
• BMW 3′ E36, 318i (M42) SAL
• BMW 3′ E36, M3 (S50) CONVER
• BMW 3′ E36, 318i (M42) CONVER
• BMW 3′ E36, 325is (M50) COUPE
• BMW 3′ E36, 325i (M50) COUPE
• BMW 3′ E36, 320i (M50) COUPE
• BMW 3′ E36, 320i (M52) COUPE
• BMW 3′ E36, 328i (M52) COUPE
• BMW 3′ E36, 318is (M44) COUPE
• BMW 3′ E36, 316i (M43) COUPE
• BMW 3′ E36, 318is (M42) COUPE
• BMW 3′ E36, 323i (M52) COUPE
• BMW 3′ E36, 316i (M43) SAL
• BMW 3′ E36, 318is (M44) SAL
• BMW 3′ E36, 318i (M44) SAL
• BMW 3′ E36, 320i (M52) SAL
• BMW 3′ E36, 320i (M50) SAL
• BMW 3′ E36, 325tds (M51) SAL
• BMW 3′ E36, 325td (M51) SAL
• BMW 3′ E36, 318i (M43) SAL
• BMW 3′ E36, 318is (M42) SAL
• BMW 3′ E36, 316i (M40) SAL
• BMW 3′ E36, 318i (M40) SAL
• BMW 3′ E36, 328i (M52) SAL
• BMW 3′ E36, 318tds (M41) SAL
• BMW 3′ E36, 323i (M52) SAL
• BMW 3′ E36, 325i (M50) SAL

This CSL Trunk lid installation guide was found on e46fanatics, read through it in it’s entirety before going through with the install, as some parts are /more/ difficult than others, so be sure to read it through and make sure you entirely understand the full install.

This is my first attempt at a DIY and my first trunk install so hopefully the solutions I present will help some of you in the same position.

Mart and Paul at Euro-Spec.net really came through with a quality product. As we all know aftermarket parts aren’t always going to fit 100% like OEM, with that in mind the guys at Euro-Spec are right around that 98% mark.

I recently installed my CSL Fiberglass trunk on my 2000 323i pre-facelift sedan. I was planning on just taking it to the shop and having them do the whole thing since they were painting my whole car anyway. I’ve always been an avid DIY’er so I decided to tackle this one myself. There were only a few fitment issues that I had come across, but nothing a trusty dremel couldn’t fix!!

To answer any of the obvious questions first.

1) No I don’t know if this will work the same for a coupe lid. (pretty sure though. just check your trunk with the pics in the DIY)

2) No I don’t know if this will work for facelift coupes or sedans. (pretty sure though. just check your trunk with the pics in the DIY)

3) Yes I am in the military and Yes that is a real gas mask. (you’ll see.)

Any other questions or comments please feel free to give feedback. If there is anything that I might have left out then please let me know. Again this is my first trunk install and DIY so don’t rip me to shreads too quick.

I am available in the San Diego area for any one on one help, and in the LA area on a special case by case basis.

ENJOY!

==================================

Car used: 2000 323i – Sienna Red

Estimated time to complete: 1-2 hours depending on skills

You may need to do a few adjustments that can be done yourself, instead of having to pay a body shop to do it. The following is a DIY to get all of the little kinks and fitment issues out of the way before you bring it to the shop to get prep and paint. Most of the fitment issues for handles, lights, locks, and other parts are mostly due to the fact that Fiberglass is thicker than sheet metal.

Tools Needed:

1 Dremel (or other rotary cutting tool)
2 Drill bit or cutting bit
3 Cutting wheels (dremel)
4 Sanding wheels (dremel)
5 Straight grinding bit
6 Angle grinding bit
7 Sand paper (I used 60 grit)
8 Sanding Block (Lowes or Home Depot)
9 Respirator or face mask (FG is NOT good to breathe in)
10 Safety glasses or goggles

Tools Recommended:
11 Flex shaft for Dremel (makes things a little easier)
12 Rag to wipe away FG dust
13 Vacuum to suck as much dust as possible while cutting

I’m in the military so I happen to have my Gas Mask around and used that. The face mask doesn’t keep everything out.

Trunk Removal

This DIY’s main focus is adjusting your CSL trunk, so I will not go into detail with pictures on how to de-trim your trunk. Here are a few quick steps.

1. Remove trunk tool box
2. Remove trunk liner
3. Unplug trunk light connectors
4. Unplug trunk latch connector
5. Unplug trunk handle connector
6. Unplug trunk lock connector
7. Remove trunk lid lights
8. Remove trunk handle
9. Remove trunk latch
10. Remove trunk lock
11. Remove rubber grommet for wires and feed wire bundle through hole (careful not to snag connectors)
12. Remove BOTTOM Torx bolts
13. Loosen TOP torx bolts
14. Slid trunk lid up and off of mounts.

Install is the reverse.

** PLEASE ADHERE TO ALL SAFTEY OR CAUTION STEPS IN RED TEXT **

**REMEMBER** make sure you have a way of opening your trunk either manually with key, access to latch rod or by electric trunk handle. Valet key does NOT work on trunk!! There is a step where you disconnect your battery so make sure you don’t lock your keys in the trunk if you don’t have fold down seats!! I don’t have a remote release switch to my trunk so to be safe I just left my right trunk lid light off during this whole process so I had access to the lock and latch rod.

1. Trunk Light Fitment: My trunk lights were not lining up straight with the edges of the trunk so I had to sand the sides down a little bit. The original trunk line were where the yellow lines are. I used the Sanding Block and the 60 grit paper. It’s trial and error. Sand, Fit, Sand, Fit, etc . . .

I don’t have pictures of before but as you can see the lights now line up really well with the lines of the trunk

2. Trunk Light Fitment 2. I also had to cut part of the trunk away to fit the left trunk light. I used the dremel cutting wheel. The yellow area is where the FG use to be. My trunk lights are Ebay lights so I’m not sure if you need to do this for the stock.

3. Trunk Lock. The FG is too thick where the trunk lock is installed at. I used a flat sanding wheel to thin out the FG where the lock installs at. I also had to enlarge the Lock opening on the outside using the straight grinding bit. I used the angle bit to make the rubber grommet fit better (more detail in step 9). I installed the sandpaper wheel upside down so the sand was facing the Dremel. I then put the wheel in the hole and used it to sand down the back side of the fiber glass all the way around the opening. I went through approx 10-15 sanding wheels. They are really crappy paper circles and “burn-out” quick. You might want to stack up 2 together to make them a little stiffer.

If the mounting holes on the lock don’t line up, then you have to cut away apart of this notch so that it will turn all the way.

4. Trunk Latch Rod. One thing I noticed was there was a FG wall where the plastic latch rod was supposed to pass through. Not a problem, a little bit of attention with the drill bit and straight grinder fixed that right up

5. Trunk Latch Mount. Two of the holes where the latch mounts up to, were off. The one on the left was fine. The right was just a little off so I just enlarged it. The bottom one was a little high so I had to drill a new hole.

Right Hole

Bottom Hole

6. Trunk Handle Mount The square holes in yellow had to be enlarged a little bit to accept the square plastic screw “anchors.” The hole in Red had to be enlarged using the straight grinding bit or drill bit. This is where a circle tab fit. I think it was to help in aligning the handle. For the square holes I used my cutting wheel bit (not the wheel but only the bit) wrapped in some sandpaper to fit inside the hole. It probably would have been best to use a small flat file, but I didn’t have one, so this worked fine.

I haven’t picked up my trunk roundel or my License Plate mounts but I’m pretty sure they might have to be enlarged also.

7. Rubber Trunk Bump Stops The rubber Bump Stops that are on the left and right sides of the trunk latch are just big rubber screws. On the CSL trunk the right hole for the bump stop was not large enough in the little “keyhole” slot. I just used the straight grinder bit to enlarge it.

8. Installing and aligning trunk: There are 8 bolts used when aligning the trunk. 4 torx on the lid and 4 hex on the trunk frame. Put torx bolts in the top mount holes but don’t thread them down all the way. Lift trunk and slide onto trunk mounts. Thread bottom torx bolts through mount holes and into trunk, and tighten down about 85%. Run the existing wire bundle from the trunk, in between the weather stripping and the back window to ensure that you don’t damage the wires when opening and closing.

BEFORE CLOSING ENSURE YOU HAVE A WAY TO OPEN TRUNK AGAIN. DO NOT LOCK KEYS IN TRUNK!!

Notice how I removed the left trunk shock. I removed it because the trunk is a lot lighter than the stock and with both shocks on it opens very fast. You have to use a LOT more force in closing with both shocks on. With one shock you have to use a little bit more force than the stock trunk when closing but not enough to notice. If your trunk sits high on one side also try removing one shock as this might help remedy that problem. To remove them use a flat tip screwdriver to pry up the clips on the tops and bottoms of the shocks and pull off.

Aligning the trunk can be done by the torx bolts on the lid and by the hex bolts on the frame.

Aligning the trunk is just trial and error. The bottom hex bolts allow you to move the trunk up and down vertically, tilt it back and forth and slide forward and back. The torx bolts allow only forward, backward, left and right alignment. It took me about 6 fitments to get everything right. Just close, check alignment, open, loosen bolts and adjust, tighten again, close, check alignment . . . . Once you have everything done we’ll be running the wire bundle back into the trunk and hooking everything back up.

9. Trunk Light Connectors and grommet. The next thing I had to do was enlarge the hole where the wires enter the trunk. I also had to remove the trunk light connectors to fit through the hole. The last thing I had to do was angle the cut of the FG so that the rubber grommet will fit snug.

DISCONNECT NEGATIVE CABLE FROM

BATTERY BEFORE CONTINUING

Unclip white tabs on trunk light connector

Remove white cover of connector

Use a small screwdriver to push pins out

(Careful not to break them)

REMEMBER WHICH PINS GO WHERE FOR

THE LEFT AND RIGHT LIGHTS. I would suggest

marking them with tape

Connector Disconnected

After your done removing the connectors tape all of the loose connectors to the wire bundle so nothing gets snagged. Feed the bundle through the hole and position connectors where they go. Don’t forget to re-assemble the trunk light connectors.

As for the rubber grommet that the wires pass through, you have to enlarge the hole and thin out the FG so the grommet will fit snug.

*CAUTION: CAREFUL NOT TO GRIND THE WIRES WHEN DOING THIS*

You can enlarge the hole and thin it out without the wires run through already. I found it easier to run the wires and grind around them, so I didn’t have to feed the wires through every time I would test fit it. The inset is a crosscut drawing of the hole. Notice what shape grinder I used and how the grommet fits better in the hole with the angle cut.

This is what the Rubber Grommet looks like

After completing this reconnect all of the connectors and battery. Check the operation of the trunk and all lights. Open and close trunk a few more times to make sure nothing comes loose. Slam the trunk down a few times just for that extra measure.

If all alignments are good and you are satisfied then send it off to prep and paint at your local body shop, unless you’re doing that yourself too. LOL

Source: http://forum.e46fanatics.com/showthread.php?t=451941

Note: For perfect OEM style fitment continue reading and be sure to check out the pictures, courtesy of BMW TIS.

Engine hood was fitted and bolted in an unfinished body shell.

Unpainted surfaces become visible after subsequent movement.

These surfaces must be touched up with paint in the body color.

The rear lid is adjusted to fit with built-in gas pressure dampers and a built-in rear lid seal.

If turning adjustment screws or subsequent machining of adjustment
screws exposes surfaces which do not match the car color, touch up
these surfaces in the appropriate color.

Protect bright surfaces against rust.

41 62 014	Adjusting trunk lid to fit
	- Preliminary work:If necessary, press ejectors into detent buffers and turn slightly to left in this position with a Phillips screwdriver.This locks the ejectors in the detent buffers.
	Unscrew detent buffers from left and right sides of trunk lid.
	Check fulcrum pads on lower section of trunk lid lock for damage and replace if necessary.
	Remove protective caps from trim panel at rear.
	Loosen screws on lower section of trunk lid lock until it can just be moved, enabling it to center itself.The lower section of the trunk lid lock must not scrape against the upper section.
	Check stop screw of rear lid:
	- Stop screw with round plastic head:If a stop screw with a round plastic head is fitted, remove this plastic head (otherwise there may be grating noises).Cut or grind off round plastic head, taking care not to damage adjoining body parts. If necessary, remove stop screw and then remove round plastic head. It is not possible to fit a protective cap on a screw with a round head!
	The stop screw thus has a flat head, enabling the protective cap to be fitted.Use the adjustment instructions for the stop screw with protective cap.
	- Adjustment instructions for stop screw with protective cap:If a stop screw (2) with protective cap (1) is fitted, the following adjustment instructions apply:
	Remove protective cap (1).
	Stop screw with a flat head must be fitted.
	Screw in stop screw (1) to measurement (A).Measurement (A) = 10 mm.
	- Adjusting rear lid to fit at sides:Unfasten screws (1 and 2) on left and right sides until trunk lid is still just able to move.Note: If the adjusting range is not sufficient, release rear lid hinge mounting bolts on body and adjust hinge on body.
	Caution!Before closing the trunk lid and when closing the trunk lid, ensure that the body and/or trunk lid are not damaged.Close trunk lid.
	Adjust gap dimensions and position of trunk lid relative to the other fittings on the body,refer to 41 00 …
	Tighten left and right screws (1 and 2).
	- Adjust lower section of trunk lid lock:(Screws of rear lid lock lower section released until adjustment is possible)Close trunk lid, holding down the lock button to prevent the trunk lid lock from engaging. This enables lower section of trunk lid lock to adjust itself correctly. Adjust gap measurements and position of rear lid (height) relative to other fittings on body, refer to 41 00 …
	Tighten screws on lower section of trunk lid lock.
	Check adjustment of trunk lid and trunk lid lock, repeating adjustment if necessary.
	Screw in detent buffer until left and right sides of trunk lid locate against detent buffers when closed.Caution!Trunk lid must not protrude above side panels otherwise height adjustment can be distorted!
	Gently twist ejector in detent buffers to right with Phillips screwdriver. This unlocks the detent buffers, enabling ejector to emerge.
	- Adjustment of stop screw of rear lid hinge:Stop screw (1) set to measurement (A).Measurement (A) = 10 mm.
	Place a strip of paper (normal writing paper) (1) between stop screw (2) and stop on rear lid hinge.
	Close trunk lid.While doing so, make sure paper strip remains between stop screw and stop on rear lid hinge.The stop screw is correctly adjusted when the paper strip (1) can be pulled out “with suction”.
	This adjustment is made by turning the stop screw.
	If the paper strip can be pulled out “with suction”, screw in the stop screw (1) by measurement (B).Measurement (B) = 2.5 mm, corresponding to 2.5 turns.The material thickness of the protective cap is compensated for when the stop screw (1) is screwed in.
	Fit protective cap (1) on stop screw.Check that rear lid is in correct position; correct setting if necessary.Excessive force should not be needed to close the rear lid.

before and after photo

I started out first at one end of the reflector with a tiny flat head screwdriver wrapped in a shop paper towel (as to not scratch any of the paint) and worked it behind the corner. Once it was pryed back a slight bit I worked it out moving forward along the top. With the first screwdriver still behind it I used another from the opposite end and worked it behind the reflector and popped the top out. The reflector comes up and out, the clips are on the bottom that hold it in.

It was immediately obvious that the new clear reflector was not going to fit easily. The overall shape was too large to fit in the hole in the bumper cover.

first the bottom tabs looked too thick, I sanded the thickness down to about half of what I began with. At this point the bottom fit great but the top would not snap in because the corners had ruff edge/burr on them that needed to be sanded off. After this was done it looked like it would fit perfect.

I still could not get it to snap into place. I wanted it to have a tight fit just like the factory ones had. I wasn’t going to sand anymore off of them and risk the fit being sloppy. So the next idea came to mind…. I took some dish soap and rubbed it around the hole in the bumper to help the reflector slip into place.

I angled the bottom in first then snapped the top into place. with a fair amount of pressure on the top it snapped right in. The soap helped alot.

here’s some more photos of the finished install.

figured this may help some of you, or atleast give you guys an idea what they look like on your car.

Found this thread on the yet again epic e46fanatics forums, ours fit better than this DIY states but hey, incase you have any problems you can see how to perfectly install them!  View the full thread here: http://forum.e46fanatics.com/showthread.php?t=744675

Found this guide on E46Fanatics DIY section, you can see the full post here: http://www.e46fanatics.com/howto/howtodetail.php?howto_id=7 but know that it contains much more than simply the sidemarker install (which is why we pulled it apart)

14. There are two ways this can be done, with a credit card, and by hand. I recommend doing this by hand to minimize the risk of scratching the car. Using both hands grab onto the side indicator. If you are using a credit card slide it under the rear of the indicator.

15. Push indicator forward to compress the retainer clip.

16. Grab the rear edge of the indicator and pull it out.

17. To fully remove the indicator from the fender turn it 90 degrees so it is pointing up and pull it out.
18. Disconnect the bulb socket by turning it. Leave the socket connected to the wire. If you are replacing the bulbs now is the time to do it.

19. Insert the bulb into the clear indicator and lock socket in by turning it.
20. Insert front of indicator with metal clip in the fender hole, push forward and snap the rear of the indicator in, it will snap in.

Or check this one out, directly from BMW themselves:

63 13 200	Removing and installing/replacing front left or right additional turn signal lamp (saloon/sedan, touring)
	Special tools required: 64 1 020
	Up to 09/2001: Lever out additional front turn signal lamp ① with special tool\~ 64 1 020 in direction of arrow. Pull out additional front turn signal lamp ① up to bulb holder, turn through approx.\~90° and feed out.
	From 09/2001: Unclip additional front turn signal lamp ① in direction of arrow and remove.
	All: Disconnect plug connection ① and remove additional front turn signal lamp ②.

MAKE SURE THE PLASTIC IS PROPERLY ALIGNED BEFORE PUSHING IT IN, FOR BEST RESULTS AND OEM FITMENT, WE RECCOMEND TO REMOVE HEADLIGHT ASSEMBLY ALTOGETHER

63 13 150	Removing and installing/replacing complete front left or right turn signal lamp
	Open hood.Press down retainer ① through bore in side panel and slide turn signal lamp towards front.
	Installation:Make sure bonded rubber seal ① is correctly seated on trim ②.
	Open hood.Loosen screw (1).Installation:Observe tightening torque, 63 13 2AZ . Note: Secure front turn signal lamp ② against falling out. Slide out front turn signal lamp ② in direct of arrow.
	Installation:Make sure nut ① is correctly seated on headlight housing ②.If necessary, when screwing front turn signal lamp into place, secure nut ① with screwdriver ③ against turning.
	Installation:When sliding in front turn signal lamp ①, make sure guides ② are correctly seated in headlight mounts ③.Make sure bonded seal is correctly seated under front turn signal lamp ①.
	Disconnect plug connection ①.Note:Turn signal lamp, front left:To release, turn bulb holder ② clockwise. Turn signal lamp, front right: To release, turn bulb holder ② counterclockwise. Turn bulb holder ② and remove turn signal lamp ③. Installation: Make sure seal is correctly seated between bulb holder ② and turn signal lamp ③.

Pulled this amazing and well detailed DIY off of a poster ‘schnitzer323ci‘ on e46fanatics, see his original thread here: http://forum.e46fanatics.com/showthread.php?t=437178 otherwise continue on!

I ordered a set of the new DOT approved Eagle Eyes LED tails… these are great lights for guys who don’t want to drop close to or more than $1000 on OEM couple LED tails + LCM reflash….

Before you start make sure you have 2-3 hours to dedicate to installing these. They come with resistor boxes and assorted wiring attached to them so you have to hide all this stuff. The ONLY way to do it right is to remove the black trunk panel and both sides of the carpet lining (this can be folded back out of the way actually).

Also before you start, just unplug your factory lenses and plug in the new led ones to test to make sure everything functions and you get no bulb out lights on the dash. Nothing worse than completing an install and finding that the units were faulty to begin with… yes it’s happened to me more than once. So here’s what you are starting with:

Now first thing to do is to remove the tail lights you have on the car currently… there are just 3 nuts on the back, very easy.  Next pull out the trunk bottom carpet with the contoured black bottom thing. Then pull back the trunk’s side carpets. If you have a friend you can have him hold those out of the way but I just put something heavy in front of them so they wouldn’t come forward. Now you can start removing the long black plastic liner on the back side of the trunk (shown in the bottom of the picture at the very back of the trunk). There are 4 screws underneath covers, and 5 push pin retainers.

It really helps to have one of those interior clip/panel removers to pull all the clips off, but it can be done with a screwdriver and some patience. After you pull off the plastic panel you can start putting in the new lights.

FYI… mark all the clips with a sharpie or something so you remember which ones go to which. Don’t try to install the lenses with all the guts hanging off the back of them… it will make your life very hard and frustrating.

Also you have to use the black trim things off your current lights and move them to your new ones. These are a b*tch to remove if you have never done it before. The easiest way I could do it was to insert a small flathead screwdriver between and pry up gently. You could try spraying WD-40 on the fins that clip and then sliding it off… but I don’t know how well that would work. I went with the screwdriver. Getting these off your old lights and onto your new ones is probably the toughest part aside from pulling all the panels off the car. You can see the black trim I am talking about on the outside of the trunk on the left side of the picture.

When you are installing the lights don’t put that third nut on the bolt until you are ready to install the black panel back into the car. You can see I only have 2 of them on in the pic… the other you have to put on after the black panel is on.

Once you have the lights in you can reattach all the guts to the back of them. Just match up the plugs you marked in the beginning, that little cubby underneath the lights that you see all the wires going into in the pic below. All 3 boxes are in there and fit nicely.

Now plug in the lights and test all the functions again. Also try to attach the interior trunk light to the back of the light. This takes awhile to tuck all the wires in a way that it doesn’t interfere with the light. But better to do it now than when all your panels are going back on and in the way. Once you get everything where you want it… time to put those panels back on. This is self explanatory so I won’t go into that.

below are a bunch of my completed install pics. As for a complete review… I am VERY happy with the lights. They are every bit as bright as the OEM ones and function just as well so far.

Passenger side interior:

Driver side interior:

Poor light output (in a very dark garage with no flash):

Found this guide on E46Fanatics forum, once again from the epic DIY-er ‘sillieidiot’, original thread here: http://forum.e46fanatics.com/showthread.php?t=609544

***Note: Follow this at your own risk. I am not liable for any damages or injuries that may have resulted or caused by this DIY.***

Tools needed:

- A pair of brand new bulbs (d2s is the size)

- Latex gloves (or any other kind) – It’s not really needed, but I would have it to keep you from accidentally touching the bulb
- Small hands LOL (if you don’t have small hands, i would consider moving the headlights forward or take them out to make life easier on you)

First, you would want to take off the plastic back cover that keeps the dust and other harmful stuff out. It’s just held on by a tab and 2 little prongs. If you were doing it on the car, you would push down on the tab, remove it away from you, and pull up.

Here is what the cover looks like:

Next you would remove the igniter. It’s a black/red piece connected by a couple of black wires (which are connected to a module inside the headlight). To remove, all you need to do is twist it a quarter turn to the left (or to the right if you are working on the car). Then pull straight out.

What it looks like from the back:

From the top:

Next would be to remove the bulb holder (which is a black plastic ring pretty much). Same thing with the igniter, quarter turn to the left (or right if you’re working on the car), and then pull straight out while holding the bulb in place with a finger. Else you’ll damage the bulb or drop it.

As you can see, there’s the word “Top” on the bulb holder to tell you which way the holder should be facing when you put it in, so you don’t have to guess.

To remove the bulb, just pull straight out, carefully else you’re going to break the ceramic return wire (which will greatly reduce the bulb’s life). There’s very little room in there, so be careful.

Well there you go, we are halfway done. Most people will just stop their DIY here and just say do the reverse. It’s not really a complete DIY i guess lol, but I thought I’d just keep going for the sake of answering questions that will arise from that.

To put back the bulb, carefully push it back into the headlight. There are 2 notches (one is a square, the other is circular) to line it up to. Also make sure that the return wire (the ceramic tube you see running along side the bulb) is facing down.

Here’s a picture of the projector and the 2 notches:

While holding onto the bulb with a finger (like when you took out the bulb holder earlier), put the bulb hold back in. Make sure the word top is actually on top. There are slots here for the bulb holder to go in, so when you get it in, you will feel it come down, then turn it right (left if you’re working on the car) and you will feel it “click.”

I couldn’t take a picture of that like I did when taking it apart, but here is what it should look like when you’re done:

Next push the igniter back on. You probably already noticed it, but the igniter itself has some slots/notches that go onto the prongs on the bulbs. push that on, and turn it right (left if you’re on the car), and it should click into place.

Finally, put that dust cover back on. Slide the 2 prongs into the slots on the headlight, and click it in. And you are done.

You can thank ASAed330 for the DIY. Even though he didn’t ask for it LOL

rear ones: if you have the ones that you are going to put it, you can see there is a tab at the top. line it up with the oem ones and stick a flat head screwdriver right between the reflector and the body. now twist 90 degrees. the body is flexible enough to get pushed up and you can pop the reflector out (much easier than the front ones)

thanks to phildo @ bimmerforums!

You’ll need two small flathead screwdrivers. And I mean small, like almost the size of the ones you use to tighten your glasses.

You should see two tabs along the bottom of your gill. You’ll need to squeeze under the plastic and pop those two tabs out. It might be really difficult to get under that bottom plastic piece to reach the tabs, so I used a razor utility knife. If you use that, then you have to be very careful not to scratch the paint (or the clear bra in my case).

Once you pop those two tabs up, then you can slide the bottom out first and then the top. To put replacement gills in, just slide the top in first and then the bottom until you hear/feel the tabs click into place. Let me know if you have any questions.

-DruC5s (E46fanatics)

Separate those pieces, you’ll see how it works (hopefully), if not keep reading. Go to your car, open your hood, remove your existing grill by finding those /same/ clips and take the back out, remove the front.

For installation, really all you need to do is put the front on your hood and rest it in there, align the back piece as best you can and slowly but firmly press the clips together, dont do them all at once, go side to side, as though you are putting wheels on a car, make sure the hood latch fits through and you’re done!

The video we had embedded here via YouTube was removed because the person who posted it doesn’t want others embedding the video, yet they refuse to disable embedding.  Feel free to look it up- thanks

Use this video, this is the best video we’ve found and it explains it perfectly:

62 21 000	Removing and installing complete instrument carrier
	Note:Steering wheel remains installed. Shown without steering wheel for purposes of clarity. Unfasten screws and fold instrument carrier forwards.
	Pull off connectors.

Here is the best DIY guide we could find online for installing ours (or any) LED Interior light kits for the BMW E46 3 series sedan and coupe. The convertible is the same, just a few less steps. You really don’t /need/ this DIY as you truly can just look at each interior light and pop the cap off and switch the halogen to LED, but incase you have any issues here you go! (This DIY is written by the amazing E46fanatics member ‘sillieidiot’ and was only modified slightly to be true to our plug and play option. You can read the original DIY thread: http://forum.e46fanatics.com/showthread.php?t=640683)

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Tools needed:
- BMW screw driver (or any flat head and phillips screw driver)
- A precision screw driver (or something really thin and strong, you’ll see in my DIY why)
- Gloves (optional really, i didn’t use them because i couldn’t find them)

First, we are going to replace the vanity mirror lights. These are so easy, you don’t even need to you tools. If you do, go do some finger exercises now. You want to place your hand like you are going to open the glove box (with the thumb on the long side facing you, and the rest of the fingers on the other side) and dig your fingers into the gap a little bit and pull on it like you were opening the glove box.

Here’s a picture of where your fingers should go (without the thumb in position):

And voila:

Yea I know, Xenon interior bulbs FTL. Thank god I replaced them with these

Find the bulb that matches the length of these. It should be the longest one:

How it looks in the housing:

Keep in mind. The LEDs are polarized. So if you put them in and it doesn’t work, flip them 180 degrees and it should come on. So don’t start crying when it doesn’t work. The bulbs are not defective.

Also to note, you need to have your key in the second position in order for the vanity mirrors to light up. And make sure the visor isn’t bent all the way back or else it won’t come on.

Put it back. Test it out, make sure it works. What do you think?

**They aren’t this blue, it’s just my camera. There are more like pure white, I would say they are about 5500k in color**

Repeat steps to do the other side.

Now for the dome light. You will need a flat head screw driver for this. You want to wedge it in at the side where the buttons are. About 1″ to 1.5″ from the side. Here you will be pressing some metal prongs in and them pull it down. Takes little force really.

Picture of where to put the flat:

Here’s what you are pressing (circled in blue):

Now you have it out. Just unplug it. There’s 2 small tabs on the plug. Nothing too bad.

If for some reason yours doesn’t fit from the back, just go at it from the front with the same method describe above. Should look like this when you’re done:

Yes I know the middle one is still blue, I didn’t do it in the order I am writing the DIY. Plug it in and check to see if all the lights are working once again, now put it back. You want to place the side opposite of the buttons in first and then push up on the side with the buttons. Here’s a refresher picture in case you were too lazy to scroll up:

Next we move onto the footwell. You’ll need a flat head for this. Well not really, but it’ll just make it easier still. There’s a small notch on the side for you to put in the flat, just stick it in and pry it out. It should pop out with ease.

Picture of the driver’s side footwell:

Unplug it and take it out. On the back you will see a metal piece. It has arrows on it to tell you how to slide it. Just slide it to open, it will only let you go one way (depends on what orientation you are holding it, it will slide left/right)

Here it is with the metal piece slid open:

The festoon you need is the shorter, blockier one. You may need to bend the prong out to fit it in, then bend it back a little to make it stay fit. Should look like this:

Plug in, and check. If it doesn’t come on, flip 180 degrees and try it again. Then put it back. Now you are done with the front. Gather all your tools and head to the back seat, now for the hard part. Ok not really, but you’re going to have to put a little more effort for these.

For the rear, you’ll need a flat head. You’ll want to put it on the little notch (it’s not really a notch, but if you look at it closely, you’ll see a space for the flat head to go) and push on it and pull it out. Again you will be pushing on one of those metal prongs. There’s 2 of those places (circled in blue). What I did was start on the side facing the front of the car, pop it out a little bit, then take my finger and hold the housing there. Then go to the top notch and pop that out. It make take you a little while to get this, so take your time. Don’t do it too hard, you might dent/scratch the surrounding carpet.

Placement of flat head:

Close up. You see the rectangular indentation looking spots?

Whew, that was hard work huh? Take a look at the housing, most likely you sorted bent the metal prongs. Just take a pair of pliers and bend it back into shape. The prongs should look like this:

You still with me? I hope so, because we are almost done. Again, the 194 bulbs won’t fit through the back of the housing, so we will have to open the covers. That’s not a problem.

There are 2 plastic clips that you will need to pop up and push off. One side is the easy side where you can you your regular old flat head, the other side is where that precision (or what every thin, strong tool you got [in my case, i used a sharp knife lol. I don't recommend you use a knife though] flat head will come in handy. What you want to do is pop the clip up (circled in blue), then use the screw driver to push on the tab (while keeping the clip up) forward (direction shown with blue arrows). You should see the cover start to create a gap. You want to do this to both sides.

Easy side:

Harder side:

You want to push them enough so that both sides have an even gap and big enough so that your fingers can fit in. Then pry them apart with your fingers. It’s a little harder than all the others, so use more force. It should snap apart (well you’ll kind of hear it, and you’ll know once it’s apart).

You should have 2 pieces when you’re done:

Again, like the method used for center dome light. Twist off the bulb and bulb holder, take the bulb out, and put the holder back on. Then put in the 4 194 bulbs. Plug them in and test to make sure they work before snapping the covers back on. Then put them back in, you want to put the side facing the rear windshield in first and then push the other side in.

Now you are done with interior

Oh yea, I forgot about the glove box Well that’s easy. Just like the footwell, take a flat, put it in the notch and pop it out. Then just replace it, you may need to bend the prong. Sorry I don’t have any pictures for this.

Ok, you’re not totally done, you need to do the ones that light up your trunk. Pretty easy. Just like with the footwells, there’s a notch (circled in white), just stick a flat in there and pop that out. and replace the bulb. The 2 remaining long festoons goes here. You might want to take the whole black piece out, might be easier. I was lazy so I just did it while it’s in there.

Here’s the final product for the trunk:

Ok now, you are officially done. Now go have a beer or whatever you want to drink. It shouldn’t take you too long. It took me like an hour because I had to stop and take pictures for you guys long the way.

The problem is the LEDs draw so little power the car thinks there are no bulbs installed therefore sends no power to them. To fix this you either need to install the 2 stock footwell lights back but since that was the main place I wanted I said f that. Another option is to buy 2 higher powered LEDs for the footwell lights, these should be strong enough to draw enough power to all of them. Another option is to buy the resistor on khoaltys website and install it on one of the footwell lights, I think it’s $4.50 and is by far the cheapest solution. Hope this helps!

To remove the shift knob in the E46 3 series:

Pull up on the shift knob, its difficult, but it’ll come off. You may have to straddle the center console to get the proper power.  By straddle I literally mean put one left in the driver seat and one in the passenger seat and crank up as hard as you can, just make sure your sunroof is open and your neck/head are tilted back as far as you can, otherwise you will smash your own face with your own shift knob

Seriously, it will come off, if you have a 10+ year old car and the shift knob is OEM it’ll be on very, very, securely.

To remove the emergency brake handle in BMW E46:

The ebrake (emergency brake) handle pulls off, it does help to put a twisting motion into it.

We found this incredible video from Bentley showing you how to remove your headlight assembly from your car and the seals and clips required to replace the lens.

A few pictures of the install below, once your corners are out you’ve got to pull the headlight out of the car for the easiest install:

63 13 150	Removing and installing/replacing complete front left or right turn signal lamp
	Open hood.Press down retainer ① through bore in side panel and slide turn signal lamp towards front.
	Installation:Make sure bonded rubber seal ① is correctly seated on trim ②.
	Open hood.Loosen screw (1). Installation: Note: Secure front turn signal lamp ② against falling out. Slide out front turn signal lamp ② in direct of arrow.
	Installation:Make sure nut ① is correctly seated on headlight housing ②. If necessary, when screwing front turn signal lamp into place, secure nut ① with screwdriver ③ against turning.
	Installation:When sliding in front turn signal lamp ①, make sure guides ② are correctly seated in headlight mounts ③. Make sure bonded seal is correctly seated under front turn signal lamp ①.
	Disconnect plug connection ①.Note: Turn signal lamp, front left: To release, turn bulb holder ② clockwise. Turn signal lamp, front right: To release, turn bulb holder ② counterclockwise. Turn bulb holder ② and remove turn signal lamp ③. Installation: Make sure seal is correctly seated between bulb holder ② and turn signal lamp ③.

63 12 034	Removing and installing/replacing lens cover for left headlight (halogen headlight)
	Unclip cover strip from outside to inside.
	Unclip all retainers.Remove lens cover. Installation: If necessary, replace headlight seal. Contact point of headlight seal is situated on radiator side (high beam headlight) in area of clip.

Basically you bought part #1 from us, part 9 slides off the front very very easily, and everything but 15 (part number 63128380210 that you really should replace too!) you really won’t even see, it’s best to clean up the inside of the housing at this stage, and I’m sure you bought your clear or smoked corners from us, now is a good time for those too, oh yeah, and angel eyes, hahaha.

Do you really want to know what this DIY / Guide works for? Don’t say we didn’t warn you:

•    BMW 3′ E46, 318Ci (N42) COUPE
•    BMW 3′ E46, 318d (M47) SEDAN
•    BMW 3′ E46, 320d (M47) SEDAN
•    BMW 3′ E46, 320Cd (M47TU) COUPE
•    BMW 3′ E46, 318i (M43TU) SEDAN
•    BMW 3′ E46, 320Ci (M52TU) COUPE
•    BMW 3′ E46, 323Ci (M52TU) COUPE
•    BMW 3′ E46, 320i (M54) SEDAN
•    BMW 3′ E46, 325i (M54) SEDAN
•    BMW 3′ E46, 328Ci (M52TU) COUPE
•    BMW 3′ E46, 330i (M54) SEDAN
•    BMW 3′ E46, 330xi (M54) SEDAN
•    BMW 3′ E46, 325xi (M54) SEDAN
•    BMW 3′ E46, 316i (M43TU) SEDAN
•    BMW 3′ E46, 318d (M47) TOUR
•    BMW 3′ E46, 320Ci (M54) COUPE
•    BMW 3′ E46, 325i (M56) SEDAN
•    BMW 3′ E46, 316i (N40) SEDAN
•    BMW 3′ E46, 320d (M47TU) SEDAN
•    BMW 3′ E46, 316i (N42) SEDAN
•    BMW 3′ E46, 318i (N42) SEDAN
•    BMW 3′ E46, 330d (M57) SEDAN
•    BMW 3′ E46, 330xd (M57) SEDAN
•    BMW 3′ E46, 328i (M52TU) SEDAN
•    BMW 3′ E46, 323i (M52TU) SEDAN
•    BMW 3′ E46, 330xd (M57TU) SEDAN
•    BMW 3′ E46, 330d (M57TU) SEDAN
•    BMW 3′ E46, 316i (N45) SEDAN
•    BMW 3′ E46, 318d (M47TU) SEDAN
•    BMW 3′ E46, 325Ci (M54) COUPE
•    BMW 3′ E46, 330Ci (M54) COUPE
•    BMW 3′ E46, M3 (S54) COUPE
•    BMW 3′ E46, M3 CSL (S54) COUPE
•    BMW 3′ E46, 318Ci (M43TU) COUPE
•    BMW 3′ E46, 316Ci (M43TU) COUPE
•    BMW 3′ E46, 316i (N46) SEDAN
•    BMW 3′ E46, 318i (N46) SEDAN
•    BMW 3′ E46, 320i (M52TU) SEDAN
•    BMW 3′ E46, 318d (M47TU) TOUR
•    BMW 3′ E46, 325i (M54) TOUR
•    BMW 3′ E46, 318Ci (N42) CONVERTIBLE
•    BMW 3′ E46, 323Ci (M52TU) CONVERTIBLE
•    BMW 3′ E46, 320i (M54) TOUR
•    BMW 3′ E46, 318i (N42) TOUR
•    BMW 3′ E46, 330d (M57) TOUR
•    BMW 3′ E46, 318Ci (N46) CONVERTIBLE
•    BMW 3′ E46, 330xd (M57) TOUR
•    BMW 3′ E46, 320Ci (M54) CONVERTIBLE
•    BMW 3′ E46, 320d (M47) TOUR
•    BMW 3′ E46, 330i (M54) TOUR
•    BMW 3′ E46, 320d (M47TU) TOUR
•    BMW 3′ E46, 325i (M56) TOUR
•    BMW 3′ E46, 330xd (M57TU) TOUR
•    BMW 3′ E46, 330d (M57TU) TOUR
•    BMW 3′ E46, 318i (N46) TOUR
•    BMW 3′ E46, 316i (N46) TOUR
•    BMW 3′ E46, 325xi (M54) TOUR
•    BMW 3′ E46, 316i (N42) TOUR
•    BMW 3′ E46, 330xi (M54) TOUR
•    BMW 3′ E46, 325Ci (M54) CONVERTIBLE
•    BMW 3′ E46, 330Ci (M54) CONVERTIBLE
•    BMW 3′ E46, M3 (S54) CONVERTIBLE
•    BMW 3′ E46, 318Ci (N46) COUPE
•    BMW 3′ E46, 316Ci (N45) COUPE
•    BMW 3′ E46, 328i (M52TU) TOUR
•    BMW 3′ E46, 330Cd (M57TU) COUPE
•    BMW 3′ E46, 323i (M52TU) TOUR
•    BMW 3′ E46, 325Ci (M56) COUPE
•    BMW 3′ E46, 320i (M52TU) TOUR
•    BMW 3′ E46, 316Ci (N40) COUPE
•    BMW 3′ E46, 318i (M43TU) TOUR

• BMW E90 Black Line Tail Lights
• E90/E92 M3 Replica Wheels

• E90 Blackline DEPO Tail Lights
• E90 Black Kidney Grilles (Matte Finish)
• OEM Splitters
• M-Tech Rear Bumper