September 12, 2023
What's being installed: Autotecknic Carbon Fiber Mirrors
I think we all have a little bit of a carbon obsession when it comes to cars. I love the contrast it provides in certain areas and it gives the car a much more detailed and aggressive look. Is it necessary? Absolutely not, but neither is a 444hp German saloon.
I am an avid believer that adding too much carbon to a car can cheapen the overall look. I've been in the car scene long enough to know when it has been done right or not. With that said, I do think there are certain places where carbon is justified. One of which are mirrors. For whatever reason it may be, carbon mirrors are something I always gravitate towards. I did it on nearly every previous car so I knew the M3 mirrors were going to get some surgery soon.
Naturally, went right to the BMW OEM M Performance mirror's but had a very hard time justifying spending the $1k on mirrors just to achieve the look I am after. Don't get me wrong, I love spending too much on car parts, but carbon mirror caps are pretty easily replicate with very high quality for a much cheaper price. Will I ever go with the OEM M Performance ones down the line? Maybe... but for now, I was determined to find something as good as the OEM pieces for a fraction of the price.
Autotecknic is a brand I have used in the past on my e46. The quality, fit, and finish was top notch, so as soon as I saw they offered mirrors... it was a no brainer for me. And these were only $350! Much lower cost than OEM, but was I about to find out if the "pay for what you get" motto was true?
NOPE! The quality of the mirrors were 100% there. It was a true dry carbon piece, so not some plastic piece laid with a carbon sheet on top. It was the real deal. Weave looked perfect and no abnormal pulls or strains in the weave. I think the only place I could see a skimp in quality were the edges around the mirror. They were sharp and abrupt were the OEM ones have a rounded and smooth finish. However, that is just me nit picking. And to be honest, I would buy these over and over again if it meant saving an extra $650 bucks!
Popped the OEM Mineral Grey covers off and popped the new ones on. And to my surprise, these things clicked in just like OEM. No weird buldges or places where the clips weren't going into place. Nothing! Gaps are all perfect and looking great. Small pieces like this are one of the few times I do not mind going aftermarket over OEM. They are very easy to mimic and recreate that the chance of screwing it up is very low.
Since my car is Mineral Grey, the carbon accent works very well. It's not too in your face where it stands out from the rest as it almost blends in. Which is exactly what I was after. The small details that get noticed when you take a second to look around the car.
If anyone is looking for a high quality carbon mirror without the 4 digit cost of OEM, highly recommend the Autotecknic mirror covers.