F30 BMW M Performance Parts Black Out Grill DIY

[tim330i]

The first of many F30 328i and 335i DIYs to come from F30Driver.com. I picked up a set of F30 M Performance Parts black out grills from our friends at Turner Motorsport. The grills from Turner are $129.90 and are well worth the money and make a stunning visual change to the front of the car. Turner installed the first set in the country on their alpine white F30 335i and we got the second set in the country installed on our project F30 328i. I can't wait to do another photo shoot of the car with the grills blacked out, it is so much more aggressive now!

Tools needed

• T20 torx bit
• T30 torx bit
• Pick or small screwdriver

1) Pop the hood and removed the front hood seal by pulling up. It is a friction fit and pulls off easily.



2) With the seal removed you'll see the 6 T30 torx screws. Remove these and set aside.



3) Remove the two T20 screws, one on each side that screw into the top of the headlights.



4) Gently pry the top of the bumper up and forward so you get access to the back of the grills. Wedging a flash light into the gap will give you room to work and light to see the clips on the back of the grills.



5) The grills are held in with three clips across the top, one on each side and three on the bottom. Use a screw driver or pick tool to push in the release tabs on the grills while gently pulling out on the grills. Go slow and work your way from inside to out one clip at a time.



You can see the clips clearly with the grill removed



6) With the first grill removed you can remove the second one by working through the grill opening. This is considerably easier then working from the top. Again work one clip at a time while pulling lightly on the grill from the front. Work your way around until the grill pops out.



7) With the grills removed the hard part is over! Unpack your new F30 M Performance Parts black out grills from TMS and pop them in. They snap right in.



8) With your grills snapped in place we need to reconnect the top of the bumper. In addition to the torx screws removed above there are four metal clips that hold the bumper in place and two tabs on the headlights. Make sure you slid the top of the bumper under these clips and tabs.



9) The hood seal has a U groove on the back that snaps onto a ridge on the bumper. Work your way across snapping the grove onto the ridge. The seal also snaps on the headlights.



10) You're done. Stand back and enjoy the new look of your F30!



Thanks to Turner Motorsport for the parts and Jay and Derek for the installation help.

[BMW_DK]

Sounds like a lot more work than on the E46!

But it looks good. Looking forward to see before and after pictures and also pictures further away, to get the complete look.

[tim330i]

Originally Posted by BMW_DK

Sounds like a lot more work than on the E46!

But it looks good. Looking forward to see before and after pictures and also pictures further away, to get the complete look.

It is more work then the E46 for sure but it still only takes about 20 minutes. I'll get more photos soon!

Tim

[jbaier]

Nice write up Tim! Wish we did them before the photo shoot. Next time!

[phoenix155]

You know, maybe it's me, but I really like the grill with the 11 slats instead of the 8. I think that 11 is even more aggressive looking than the 8.