IND Front Grill DIY

[GregW / Oregon]

Originally Posted by Powaup

I dropped the torx 30 inside the engine bay on accident ....can't see it but sounds like it fell down to the bottom, unfortunately it did not fall through because of the cover on the bottom of the car, I tried driving up and down the hill to try and shake the torx out through one of the air vents but I'm not sure if it worked since I heard no rattling from the time I pulled out of the garage and up the driveway smh...

If it's not rattling, don't worry about it. You could also try a flex handle magnetic retrieval tool.

[LukasAT]

I installed them as well yesterday and it was a nightmare in my opinion ;-)

With the rubber strip removed you will notice 6 Torx 25/30 bolts. Using the Torx 25/30 drivers unscrew and remove all 4 screws.

is in my opionon not true. You have to remove all the 6 + 2 on each side to get it all off .. otherwise there is no fucking way to put in your hand. Also with them off is it very tight, or maybe my hand is just to big.

Anway here is picture with direct comparision and I put back in the silver ones. I think they look better with the MG ...

[NorCal f80]

Same here, 2 bolts not mentioned but that's obvious and not a big deal being in the instructions.

Here is another tip - once you get one side off, you can use the empty grill area to get to the tabs on other grill.

[Flashman666]

After reading several DIY here and watching the video, I decided to try taking the grills out without removing the screws and flexing the bumper.

If you have the full grill replacement set, look where the clips are located. Reach into the grill on the car and click the tabs starting with the top left-most (outside of the left grill as you face the car) and work towards the center. If you give gentle pull pressure as you go, the top part of the assembly pops forward. Then do the side clips and finally the bottom. It all comes out easily. The second grill is even easier than the first as you can now easily get your hand behind the grill through the open side. Then just slip the new ones in. No need to remove the weather strip, screws, or play with the bumper.

[Taimur]

I struggled for 30 minutes and could not get the bottoms clips to come out. Wow I didn't realize it will be this hard to do it. The video doesn't really help or show on how to access the bottom clips. Sucks!
I'll just take it to shop on Monday.

[JerryVH]

Originally Posted by LukasAT

I installed them as well yesterday and it was a nightmare in my opinion ;-)

With the rubber strip removed you will notice 6 Torx 25/30 bolts. Using the Torx 25/30 drivers unscrew and remove all 4 screws.

is in my opionon not true. You have to remove all the 6 + 2 on each side to get it all off .. otherwise there is no fucking way to put in your hand. Also with them off is it very tight, or maybe my hand is just to big.

Anway here is picture with direct comparision and I put back in the silver ones. I think they look better with the MG ...

100% correct. Mineral Gray looks much better with chrome trim.

[slats1279]

Finished. Way harder than it should have been. I'm no pro, but don't think I'm too much of a newb either. I think one issue people may be having, at least I did, was that my/our forearms make for a tight fit, rather than it being a hand size issue. Also, no offense IND, love your products, but your videos and instructions are vague, incomplete and with errors at times. Here's my specific feedback and tips to add that would have saved some time and headaches. Some of this is obvious once you get going, but isn't really conveyed at all in the video and instructions.

1) Removal of rubber strip - nothing to add.

2) Unscrewing of bumper - Minor detail, but video and instructions states there are 6 screws and to remove 4 of them, but there are 8 and all needed to be removed in order to flex bumper enough forward to get hand/arm behind it, at least for me.

3) Unclipping of grille - Video makes it look like there are just one or two clips, but I think there were three up high, three down low and one on each side. It also doesn't explain how to actually unclip them. They unclip from the outside of the grille, so for the bottom ones you are pushing them up from the center of each clip, the top ones pushing down, etc..

I had a tendency at first to keep using my dominant hard regardless of side, which isn't the best approach. So if you're having difficulty getting the right angle or leverage for a particular clip, try switching hands.

As someone mentioned previously, after the first grille is removed use the hole you now have to get to some of the clips on the other side.

One thing that makes it hard at times is that when you pull on the grille, the bumper moves with it. Because of this, on the second grille removal I put a few torx screws back in so the bumper would not move. If I recall correctly I was then able to unclip all but the three lower clips by putting my hand through the grille hole. I couldn't get the right angle for the lower clips this way, so I then removed the torx screws and used the approach shown in the video for them.

3) Unclipping center slats from surround. They don't mention a screw driver is needed for this. I know, it's minutia, but just putting this in there for sake of completeness. They point out you need to pop the hood first, so why not have this in there as well. I used a thin, micro flathead for this. Also, be careful not too press to hard on the center slat portion of the clip. I did this and bent it slightly, causing the IND surround to not securely latch for that one clip. Luckily no big deal, as there were no issues with the other 6 or so clips.

Grille now looks great. Huge improvement from the chromes. Hopefully some of this will save future DIYers some wasted time, bloody hands and bruised forearms.

[Ryan@IND]

Originally Posted by slats1279

Finished. Way harder than it should have been. I'm no pro, but don't think I'm too much of a newb either. I think one issue people may be having, at least I did, was that my/our forearms make for a tight fit, rather than it being a hand size issue. Also, no offense IND, love your products, but your videos and instructions are vague, incomplete and with errors at times. Here's my specific feedback and tips to add that would have saved some time and headaches. Some of this is obvious once you get going, but isn't really conveyed at all in the video and instructions.

1) Removal of rubber strip - nothing to add.

2) Unscrewing of bumper - Minor detail, but video and instructions states there are 6 screws and to remove 4 of them, but there are 8 and all needed to be removed in order to flex bumper enough forward to get hand/arm behind it, at least for me.

3) Unclipping of grille - Video makes it look like there are just one or two clips, but I think there were three up high, three down low and one on each side. It also doesn't explain how to actually unclip them. They unclip from the outside of the grille, so for the bottom ones you are pushing them up from the center of each clip, the top ones pushing down, etc..

I had a tendency at first to keep using my dominant hard regardless of side, which isn't the best approach. So if you're having difficulty getting the right angle or leverage for a particular clip, try switching hands.

As someone mentioned previously, after the first grille is removed use the hole you now have to get to some of the clips on the other side.

One thing that makes it hard at times is that when you pull on the grille, the bumper moves with it. Because of this, on the second grille removal I put a few torx screws back in so the bumper would not move. If I recall correctly I was then able to unclip all but the three lower clips by putting my hand through the grille hole. I couldn't get the right angle for the lower clips this way, so I then removed the torx screws and used the approach shown in the video for them.

3) Unclipping center slats from surround. They don't mention a screw driver is needed for this. I know, it's minutia, but just putting this in there for sake of completeness. They point out you need to pop the hood first, so why not have this in there as well. I used a thin, micro flathead for this. Also, be careful not too press to hard on the center slat portion of the clip. I did this and bent it slightly, causing the IND surround to not securely latch for that one clip. Luckily no big deal, as there were no issues with the other 6 or so clips.

Grille now looks great. Huge improvement from the chromes. Hopefully some of this will save future DIYers some wasted time, bloody hands and bruised forearms.

Thank you for the feedback and additional instructions. We apologize that our DIY's are not always as complete. Some of our technicians perform this work on a regular basis and as a result skip steps to reduce labor time for the client or simply save time. We apologize for this and will focus on making the DIY's more detailed. This is why Bimmerpost is such a great resource and why we elect to start as many DIY threads as possible.

[Tha Baron]

Just added the black grill surrounds to my silverstone F80... Not too hard to get them installed (especially considering it was the very first thing I EVER modded on one of my cars aside from tints).

I used the Torx 27 worked on the middle six bolts and Torx 20 from a leatherman on the outer two. The internal grill surrouns clips were a bit tough at first to locate from the inside, but got the hang of it.

Love the look... together with the Black "M3" badge and Black side markers, it looks really clean.

[Ryan@IND]

Originally Posted by Tha Baron

Just added the black grill surrounds to my silverstone F80... Not too hard to get them installed (especially considering it was the very first thing I EVER modded on one of my cars aside from tints).

I used the Torx 27 worked on the middle six bolts and Torx 20 from a leatherman on the outer two. The internal grill surrouns clips were a bit tough at first to locate from the inside, but got the hang of it.

Love the look... together with the Black "M3" badge and Black side markers, it looks really clean.

Front grill looks great!

[Yeoman]

Originally Posted by Flashman666

After reading several DIY here and watching the video, I decided to try taking the grills out without removing the screws and flexing the bumper.

If you have the full grill replacement set, look where the clips are located. Reach into the grill on the car and click the tabs starting with the top left-most (outside of the left grill as you face the car) and work towards the center. If you give gentle pull pressure as you go, the top part of the assembly pops forward. Then do the side clips and finally the bottom. It all comes out easily. The second grill is even easier than the first as you can now easily get your hand behind the grill through the open side. Then just slip the new ones in. No need to remove the weather strip, screws, or play with the bumper.

Did this.. worked like a charm!

[RocketBoots]

Recently did this, and wanted to add something that I feel would have been extremely helpful to know. The grille attaches to the bumper via clips on the black grille itself, NOT the surround. There are 8 clips: 3 on top & bottom, 1 on each side. There's an inner part that you depress to disengage it. I took some pics and was going to post it, but then found this DIY that has way better pics, and good, accurate explanations I honestly don't know how the guy got some of those pics; it's so tight in there. It's an F30, but ours are exactly the same. http://f30.bimmerpost.com/forums/sho...98&postcount=1

The post about removing the grilles without removing the bumper would be possible, especially given the wider spacing of the bars on the M3/M4 grilles, if you know precisely the placement of the clips. But removing the bumper is also super easy, so no big deal. Hope this helps.

[Ryan@IND]

Originally Posted by RocketBoots

Recently did this, and wanted to add something that I feel would have been extremely helpful to know. The grille attaches to the bumper via clips on the black grille itself, NOT the surround. There are 8 clips: 3 on top & bottom, 1 on each side. There's an inner part that you depress to disengage it. I took some pics and was going to post it, but then found this DIY that has way better pics, and good, accurate explanations I honestly don't know how the guy got some of those pics; it's so tight in there. It's an F30, but ours are exactly the same. http://f30.bimmerpost.com/forums/sho...98&postcount=1

The post about removing the grilles without removing the bumper would be possible, especially given the wider spacing of the bars on the M3/M4 grilles, if you know precisely the placement of the clips. But removing the bumper is also super easy, so no big deal. Hope this helps.

Thank you for your contribution. As a general DIY thread for the community, we welcome everyone's input. We are constantly working on ways to improve DIY's, so that everyone can save some money on labor rates and have fun modifying their car.

[mdrobc13]

Just did mine. Pretty easy but I've done this about 3 times on 3 different BMWs so I kinda know what I am getting into. Some of the comments are valid and good..there are more screws than initially mentioned but that was easy for me to recognized and adapt to. Also what helps to when working on bumper/polyurethane parts sometimes I've found is to heat them up with a hot air/blow dryer. It helps make the plastic more pliable and easier to manipulate. IF you take all 8 screws out you can easily move/flex the blumper down to get your hand in. Also the use of a portable light helps so you can see what you're working on. I used a combo of LED clip on shop lights to hang from my hood closure points to provide light and a larger LED light which I wedged in between my pulled out bumper and the frame to light up the area. Another point to guys it so look at the grilles you are about to install to get a good idea of how the current one is installed and where the clips are. Helps you then look and orient yourself to get to the ones you need to release in the bumper. Finally as many point out once one is out...use the nice big hole to get access to the opposite/remaining side. Finally one thing I've noted works too on the bottom tabs is just modern/steady force to get the remaining clips out. Works but just be careful and methodical.

Otherwise great post...IND does it again!

[Rx7andy]

Originally Posted by Flashman666

After reading several DIY here and watching the video, I decided to try taking the grills out without removing the screws and flexing the bumper.

If you have the full grill replacement set, look where the clips are located. Reach into the grill on the car and click the tabs starting with the top left-most (outside of the left grill as you face the car) and work towards the center. If you give gentle pull pressure as you go, the top part of the assembly pops forward. Then do the side clips and finally the bottom. It all comes out easily. The second grill is even easier than the first as you can now easily get your hand behind the grill through the open side. Then just slip the new ones in. No need to remove the weather strip, screws, or play with the bumper.

I had failed before trying to follow the DIY video to remove the weather strip, the torx screws, and the bumper. Tonight I tried just go directly for the grills with bare hands and it worked!!!! It is easy! Thank you!

[MrRX34]

The sticking your hand through the grills method is wayyyy better than removing the bumper. You just have to find the tabs press down and pull. I changed my grills last night in 10 minutes. Thanks for that!

[goneloco]

I ran into the same issue as some of the other posters. I watched the IND video twice but I just couldn't contort myself to get to the clips to depress them. I gave up the first night I tried. But I had to get the car back together as it is my DD so I could get out. I finally got them out. Thank god putting them back in is easy!
I went for a body color (MG) grill surround. I like it much better than black. I have a pretty poor iPhone pic that I will try to post here. But I see others have had problems with iPhone pics.

[chillindrdude]

holy crap, the grill removal was difficult and painful. but once you get one grill out, it's easier to pop the other one out.

I purchased the IND gloss black grill surrounds. I love the painted slats look, but went the (cheaper) route of purchasing some vinyl stickers (with carbon fiber texture) on ebay and stuck them on. It'll be interesting to see how long they last/stick. Turned out well I think...

[Ryan@IND]

Originally Posted by chillindrdude

holy crap, the grill removal was difficult and painful. but once you get one grill out, it's easier to pop the other one out.

I purchased the IND gloss black grill surrounds. I love the painted slats look, but went the (cheaper) route of purchasing some vinyl stickers (with carbon fiber texture) on ebay and stuck them on. It'll be interesting to see how long they last/stick. Turned out well I think...

Nice work! The tri-color on Yas Marina is a great look.

[AlterZgo]

OK, I just added the black IND painted grill surrounds last night. I have wrenched on my cars for decades installing full stereo systems, coilovers, intakes, exhausts, etc. This fucking grill removal was one of the biggest PITA installs I've done. Took me 2 hours and bruised the shit out of my hands. BUT, knowing what I know now, it should only take me 15 minutes max. Here are some key points:

1. Use torx 30 and 25. The 27 will work but may strip the 6 main screws. Go with torx 30 on the 6 main screws and 25 on the two smaller screws on the far left and far right. There are 8 total screws that need to be removed, not 6.

2. Unclipping the clips is a PITA. Look at your IND painted surround kit. It came with a set of extra F32 vertical grills. The clips that attach the grill surround to the bumper are actually NOT on the grill surround but on the vertical grill slats. So you need to look at the F32 vertical grill slats to see where the eight clips are that you need to unclip to remove the grill assembly from the bumper. There are 3 clips on top, 3 on bottom and one on each side.

3. The clips/tabs all unlatch by pushing inward towards the center of the grill. If you are looking at the grill surround straight on from the front of the car, the top tab/clips push down, and the bottom clips push up to unclip. The left clip you push in from left to right and the right clip, you push in from the right side towards the left.

4. Again, looking at the F32 vertical grills that came w/ your IND kit, check out the clips/tabs. You will see that you need to push the middle portion of the clip/tab down to release the clip/tab from the bumper.

5. BIGGEST KEY - get comfortable pulling the top of the bumper cover forward. I kept worrying about damaging something so I didn't pull the cover forward enough and that totally jacked my hands up b/c there wasn't enough clearance as I crammed my hand/arm in under the top of the bumper cover. After an hour of struggling, I pulled the top of the bumper cover way forward so my whole arm could fit and that was when I was finally able to access all the clips. Took literally seconds to undo each clip at that point.

6. For the clips on the bottom of the grill, you need to jam your arm all the way down btw the top of the bumper and radiator support. I tried to access it from the sides, through the slats, etc. Just could not unlatch the clip until I crammed my whole arm down the top. Once I did this, which required pulling the top of the unbolted bumper forward for sufficient space, I was able to EASILY unclip the clips along the bottom of the grill.

7. For the clips on the outside or the grill immediately adjacent to the headlights, there are some VERY sharp corners there that will rip your hand up if you're not careful. These side clips are obscured by a rubber flap. Push the flap back towards the middle of the car and you will see the clip right next to the headlights.

8. As others mentioned, once you have one grill out, it is super easy to remove the other grill by reaching through the super big grill opening in the bumper. No need to go through from the top like with the first one.

As I was struggling to get the first grill out, I kept wondering how the hell do people just pop the grill off in seconds? Once I figured out the trick of jamming your whole arm down through the top, it became evidently clear. The bumper is urethane and super flexible. The paint has flex agents added so the paint won't crack or anything. Go ahead and pull on the top of the bumper, jam your arm in there and your grill removal will be SUPER easy.

Finally, when you are reinstalling the grill slats back into the grill surround, make sure you go all the way around to check and see that all the clips are engaged. You need to make sure they are to avoid rattling. When I rechecked, I noticed one of my clips were not engaged and I had to push a bit harder to pop it in. Glad I rechecked first before I reinstalled the grill assembly back into the front bumper.

This is definitely doable for anybody that has some patience. Hope this helps and good luck!

[2HIGH~PSI]

I did this last night. Was a breeze. Probably 20 mins total, including wiping down the areas that were covered and were dusty.

Great Mod. This is the one I was looking forward to the finish product the most!

[MHOW996]

I did this today with the Carbon Fiber grills using the reach in through the grill technique. It took about 10 minutes and it was worth waiting two months for the parts. THANK YOU IND!! Sorry for the crappy cell phone photos