06 M45 Front Change

[DeanM45]

Evolution of the front end:

Stock:


Front plate delete:


Blacked out stock grill:


Blacked out lower grill area:


Last thing I am thinking about doing is body coloring the top chrome piece 1/2 (with 1/2 remaining chrome.


Also added this little gadget that I've had on all my cars. HUD which shows MPH (battery voltage and coolant temp are also available with a switch):

[CPJ LB]

Looks good Dean...better flow to the car without the front lic plate and black grille....kinda like mine

when you're ready, you should give thoughts to the front bumper swap to an 08 front bumper...I'm still amazed on how my car looks after getting the 08 bumper...and I told the body shop "NO LIC PLATE" LOL......

[DeanM45]

Looks good Dean...better flow to the car without the front lic plate and black grille....kinda like mine

when you're ready, you should give thoughts to the front bumper swap to an 08 front bumper...I'm still amazed on how my car looks after getting the 08 bumper...and I told the body shop "NO LIC PLATE" LOL......

Thanks Anthony, yep autosearch set up on EBAY for an 08+ front end. One little thing I forgot to mention: I opened up the lower grill on the driver's side (made it so it is functional now). The opening(s) lead into a "box" I built using the well well, under cover and fashioned an upper plate (from the "frame rail", behind the headlight, over to the fender and then over to the fenderwell) to close off the Injen intake filter into a quasi ram air setup. Not much difference at speed on intake temps but about a 40 (!) degree drop at low speed or at a standstill. Got rid of filter/intake heat soak from a stop.

[SO>CLEAN]

love the new look if you don't mine me asking what's your suspension set up it looks like its drop to me.

[DeanM45]

love the new look if you don't mine me asking what's your suspension set up it looks like its drop to me.

Eibach Pro kit. Best springs IMHO if you don't want to go with coil overs.

[CPJ LB]

Looks good Dean...better flow to the car without the front lic plate and black grille....kinda like mine

when you're ready, you should give thoughts to the front bumper swap to an 08 front bumper...I'm still amazed on how my car looks after getting the 08 bumper...and I told the body shop "NO LIC PLATE" LOL......

Thanks Anthony, yep autosearch set up on EBAY for an 08+ front end. One little thing I forgot to mention: I opened up the lower grill on the driver's side (made it so it is functional now). The opening(s) lead into a "box" I built using the well well, under cover and fashioned an upper plate (from the "frame rail", behind the headlight, over to the fender and then over to the fenderwell) to close off the Injen intake filter into a quasi ram air setup. Not much difference at speed on intake temps but about a 40 (!) degree drop at low speed or at a standstill. Got rid of filter/intake heat soak from a stop.

damn...that's creative!!! I did a similar mod (regarding cold air intakes) back in the day when I had a '92 325i (with an '95 M3 engine swap)...I was running the DINAN cold air intake and modified the air brake duct to allow better 'colder' air to flow and fabricated a plastic shield to guard against the wet elements....I agree about lowering air engine temp -- its a killer...

[wingFeather]

PERFECT

Which model HUD is that? And is it visible in daylight, too?

[DeanM45]

PERFECT

Which model HUD is that? And is it visible in daylight, too?

Made by ADD, model ADD-CI. Yep, visible in daylight with the tint on the windscreen unless the sun is shining straight into it which is really rare.

[pedsemdoc]

Dean,

can you post close up pics of the "ram air" setup--just curious did you dremel out some more holes in the lower grills to improve the air flow, etc.?

thanks,

Craig

[DeanM45]

Crappy pictures but yes, cut out the backing plate on the grill. Still need to clean it up a bit but with the grill so low, and black, you can't see it.



This is even harder to see but it is the cover plate over the filter. The "tape" on the side is a cushion to keep it from rattling and to seal it off. Didn't screw it in because I want/need easy access to the filter.

[TXT]

Dean very nice. Unfortunately, I don't have the lip kit as my car didn't come with one but it has every other option minus back seat monitor. It is very difficult to find an OEM lip kit and I can't see myself paying all that money for it now. I plan on going in the same direction as you. Just a drop to make it look more sporty, tint windows and subwoofer for my music! (gotta fix the damn rattle in the back first. I have to find the right material to insulate the back).

Your modifications are tasteful. Just a few questions:

Did you paint the grill yourself?

Also, where did you get those fogs? More info on them would be appreciated.

Lastly, when you painted your lower grill, did you paint all of the lower portion including the already black plastic? or just the two pillars that were painted body color. Reason I ask is because if you paint just the two pillars, it would look glossy compared to the possibly dull black plastic grill.

EDIT: forgot to ask. Where did you get your springs? I see ebay has them for about 280 free shipping.

[GenericM35]

I would love to see pictures of the HUD unit, and where/how you installed it! Thanks.

[DeanM45]

Dean very nice. Unfortunately, I don't have the lip kit as my car didn't come with one but it has every other option minus back seat monitor. It is very difficult to find an OEM lip kit and I can't see myself paying all that money for it now. I plan on going in the same direction as you. Just a drop to make it look more sporty, tint windows and subwoofer for my music! (gotta fix the damn rattle in the back first. I have to find the right material to insulate the back).

Your modifications are tasteful. Just a few questions:

Did you paint the grill yourself?

Also, where did you get those fogs? More info on them would be appreciated.

Lastly, when you painted your lower grill, did you paint all of the lower portion including the already black plastic? or just the two pillars that were painted body color. Reason I ask is because if you paint just the two pillars, it would look glossy compared to the possibly dull black plastic grill.

EDIT: forgot to ask. Where did you get your springs? I see ebay has them for about 280 free shipping.

Thanks for the compliments.
Yes, all paintwork is done by me.
The fogs are from EBAY. I took them apart and took out the flocking plate. I can almost drive without the headlights now, not quite bright enough though. Currently running 5K HIDs at 50 watts.
Yes, everything was painted. If you paint just the columns, yes, they will be glossy but also they would look like "teeth" sticking out. I had to mask off the grill area and blacken out about 1 1/2" forward of the lower plastic grills to make the columns blend in.

I bought the springs off of here, used.

[DeanM45]

I would love to see pictures of the HUD unit, and where/how you installed it! Thanks.

You can see the acutal unit on Amazon just search for ADD HUD. It is plug and play---plugs into the diagnostic port.

[GenericM35]

I would love to see pictures of the HUD unit, and where/how you installed it! Thanks.

You can see the acutal unit on Amazon just search for ADD HUD. It is plug and play---plugs into the diagnostic port.

Thanks! I was actually under the impression that you had somehow placed it in the dash, but I guess that would take far too much work to accomplish

[DeanM45]

Yeah, it just sits on top of the dash, in the corner near the driver's a pillar. Non-intrusive. When I get back in the country I'll snap some pictures.

[Insideout 07M35]

Aloha guys !!
New here to the forums so I still need to get used to everything. That HUD is something I never seen yet for this vehicle. I also have a 07 M35 sport maybe when I get the hang of things I can post some images.

[mexillis]

How did you measure the temp changes?

[DeanM45]

Using a scanner, measured the IAT (Intake Air Temp) -- sensor is located in the AFM.

[mexillis]

Do you know what the difference is between stock and injen?

[DeanM45]

No, never did measure with the stock setup. I would guesstimate around a 10 degree drop at speed with the Injen just because of more airflow across the Injen filter. Stock setup is pretty good but the Injen is better, if only by a small amount. Main problem with the Injen as it comes is that it is not "sealed" off from the engine compartment (stock system is) so that causes a lot of low speed or standstill heatsoak.

[Arlo]

oh wow. i like might have to ask santa for one of those

[DeanM45]

Added 20mm spacers on all the wheels now. A few of the latest pics:

[TXT]

So nice. I think this might be the next thing I do to my car. I like the drop you have + spacers. Perfect combo!

[EmDash]

Wow, the car is looking sweet. I really like those spacers...and I have to get some of those Sport 19's immediately.

[seymore4]

Good way to save $3000... lol spacers FTW

[seymore4]

still waiting on those datalogs too man!