BMW E91 335i Touring, Le Mans Blue

[Gad-Westy]

Fermit said:

Thoughts please peeps. I much prefer the aesthetic of the LCI rear lights, so bought a vinyl kit to give them the same look. Is the consensus that they A) look better or B) not at all?

Edited by Fermit on Tuesday 11th July 12:41

At the risk of being directed to specsavers, erm, what's the difference?

[Jhonno]

Gad-Westy said:

Fermit said:

Thoughts please peeps. I much prefer the aesthetic of the LCI rear lights, so bought a vinyl kit to give them the same look. Is the consensus that they A) look better or B) not at all?

Edited by Fermit on Tuesday 11th July 12:41

At the risk of being directed to specsavers, erm, what's the difference?

Nothing in those images.. They are both "after".

[cerb4.5lee]

Gad-Westy said:

At the risk of being directed to specsavers, erm, what's the difference?

I flicked back to the first page of the thread to see the before pic of them. I was a bit confused to start with as well!

[Gad-Westy]

Arrrgh, sorry. Understand now. I prefer the look of LCI lights but I guess it depends how they look up close with the vinyl finish. Looks good on the pics.

[Fermit]

Sorry, yes, for clarification, below, before.

And the finish is good, no bubbles in sight. You need to be looking really closely, and know what you were looking for to tell.

[Court_S]

Definitely look better. The pre-LCI tail lights stand out like a sore thumb on darker cars.

I’m patiently waiting for my dark lines to rock up.

[Fermit]

Court_S said:

Definitely look better. The pre-LCI tail lights stand out like a sore thumb on darker cars.

I’m patiently waiting for my dark lines to rock up.

Good, glad all think it's a better look. Sam, are you maybe free to pop over Monday eve after work? By this point I should be in possession of both cubbies to swap them out. Sarah and I would also like to see the Andream in your 335 too (plus I'd like a passenger ride, her not so much, she thinks mine is too fast and gets nervous, bless!)

[Court_S]

Fermit said:

Good, glad all think it's a better look. Sam, are you maybe free to pop over Monday eve after work? By this point I should be in possession of both cubbies to swap them out. Sarah and I would also like to see the Andream in your 335 too (plus I'd like a passenger ride, her not so much, she thinks mine is too fast and gets nervous, bless!)

That’d work because I’ll be in the office Monday. Drop me a message though PH and we’ll sort it out.

[Gad-Westy]

Fermit said:

Good, glad all think it's a better look. Sam, are you maybe free to pop over Monday eve after work? By this point I should be in possession of both cubbies to swap them out. Sarah and I would also like to see the Andream in your 335 too (plus I'd like a passenger ride, her not so much, she thinks mine is too fast and gets nervous, bless!)

Have sent you a PM regarding Andream.

[Fermit]

Gad-Westy said:

Fermit said:

Good, glad all think it's a better look. Sam, are you maybe free to pop over Monday eve after work? By this point I should be in possession of both cubbies to swap them out. Sarah and I would also like to see the Andream in your 335 too (plus I'd like a passenger ride, her not so much, she thinks mine is too fast and gets nervous, bless!)

Have sent you a PM regarding Andream.

Just seen it, cheers. Def interested, will need to chat to the wife when she's home on Fri. If required would you hold it for us (with a none refundable deposit given) for a month - 6 weeks? The reason I ask is because next month we need to fork out £450 to repair the damage to the car from the throbber in the hospital carpark! She looks after all things money, as I'm no good at dealing with anything number based

Edited by Fermit on Tuesday 11th July 21:45

[pmorg4]

I think it looks good. Despite not generally being a fan of external non-OEM modifications, I did similar with my pre-LCI E91 330i as I hate the pre-LCI inner rear lights and as my car was black I didn't really like the idea of the blacklines on it. I thought it looked a lot better, and was the best compromise to the cost and hassle of a full LCI rear-end conversion.

I ultimately solved that problem by buying an LCI E91

[Court_S]

pmorg4 said:

I think it looks good. Despite not generally being a fan of external non-OEM modifications, I did similar with my pre-LCI E91 330i as I hate the pre-LCI inner rear lights and as my car was black I didn't really like the idea of the blacklines on it. I thought it looked a lot better, and was the best compromise to the cost and hassle of a full LCI rear-end conversion.

I ultimately solved that problem by buying an LCI E91

The pre-LCI lights on the E90 and E91 are crap. They stand out like a sore thumb on darker cars. The E92/3 rear lights are far less offensive in ore-LCI form.

[Fermit]

pmorg4 said:

I think it looks good. Despite not generally being a fan of external non-OEM modifications

glad everyone thinks it looks better, I'll stick with them. Not a pricey job either, £6.99 for the pre-cut vinyl!

I'm not a really a fan of non-OEM mods either. In due course, these will be the only external visual mods.

• LED repeaters, looks sharper than the heavily worn translucent ones (done)
• I've bought some Le Mans Blue caliper paint, so will do these at some point. Not 100% sure that blue on blue will look good, but I have to try it! Also got some 'M' caliper stickers for each one.
• an after-market stainless. Any recommendations sub £1000 welcome. I don't want anything boomy, crackle and pop, or e-plugs required loud. Something to accentuate the existing revving snarl which it has when you go for it, with a little more volume.
• The planned Airtec intercooler will come with a white logo, which will of course be visible.
• Refurbing the alloys in a slight chrome finish, as mentioned recently.
• I keep debating internally if to change the 335i badge to a darker one like below. For - they do look sharp and IMO cool. Against - it's slipping down the slippery slope of none OEM, and I have a nagging doubt they're slightly chav, which is anything but the look I want!

That, IIRC, is it.

[Court_S]

pmorg4 said:

I think it looks good. Despite not generally being a fan of external non-OEM modifications, I did similar with my pre-LCI E91 330i as I hate the pre-LCI inner rear lights and as my car was black I didn't really like the idea of the blacklines on it. I thought it looked a lot better, and was the best compromise to the cost and hassle of a full LCI rear-end conversion.

I ultimately solved that problem by buying an LCI E91

The pre-LCI lights on the E90 and E91 are crap. They stand out like a sore thumb on darker cars. The E92/3 rear lights are far less offensive in ore-LCI form.

[Fermit]

Court_S said:

The pre-LCI lights on the E90 and E91 are crap. They stand out like a sore thumb on darker cars. The E92/3 rear lights are far less offensive in ore-LCI form.

We heard you the first time

[pmorg4]

Fermit said:

glad everyone thinks it looks better, I'll stick with them. Not a pricey job either, £6.99 for the pre-cut vinyl!

I'm not a really a fan of non-OEM mods either. In due course, these will be the only external visual mods.

• LED repeaters, looks sharper than the heavily worn translucent ones (done)
• I've bought some Le Mans Blue caliper paint, so will do these at some point. Not 100% sure that blue on blue will look good, but I have to try it! Also got some 'M' caliper stickers for each one.
• an after-market stainless. Any recommendations sub £1000 welcome. I don't want anything boomy, crackle and pop, or e-plugs required loud. Something to accentuate the existing revving snarl which it has when you go for it, with a little more volume.
• The planned Airtec intercooler will come with a white logo, which will of course be visible.
• Refurbing the alloys in a slight chrome finish, as mentioned recently.
• I keep debating internally if to change the 335i badge to a darker one like below. For - they do look sharp and IMO cool. Against - it's slipping down the slippery slope of none OEM, and I have a nagging doubt they're slightly chav, which is anything but the look I want!

That, IIRC, is it.

LED repeaters I agree with, as long as they're still externally similar looking to the OEM parts, and (heaven forbid) not those awful Audi-style progressive LED indicators - they look bad enough on the rear lights and downright stupid on the sides!

I prefer OEM silver calipers and no ///M stickers (or W/// stickers if you fit some upside down like BMW do!) unless they're proper 4-pots, but fair enough if you like it as it's a pretty subtle change.

I think for the exhaust, the BMW Performance unit is well regarded, if you can find one at a reasonable price.

I'd stay well clear of the black 335i badge but your call!

[Court_S]

I had the PE mod done to mine which was a fairly cost effective solution. It’s quite loud though; my other half was not impressed.

If I recall, the E90 and E91 335i’d have a resonator that the coupes don’t have. You try try having that removed to free up some extra sound which shouldn’t break the Babi,

[cerb4.5lee]

I thought of you earlier Fermit when I was looking at the rear lights on the M4, and the reversing lights are pretty tiny on it(it is a post LCI model). It made me think of what you'd done to yours!

[Fermit]

Court_S said:

If I recall, the E90 and E91 335i’d have a resonator that the coupes don’t have. You try try having that removed to free up some extra sound which shouldn’t break the Babi,

I'll have a look at that.

[Fermit]

The 'LCI conversion' item, in case it interests anyone

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/175070789989