You might think that by now, I’ve done pretty much all I can to the inside of my M3. But that’s not true, because I found some more goodies! Here’s a guide to G80 M3 knee pad installation, along with some cool LED door projector lights.
M Performance G80 M3 knee pad installation
Mike, why are you doing this?
Because I can! I know you’ll never see it on the outside, but I get a lot of joy from the details of modifying a car. This is a really quick ten-minute install, and I got mine from GetBMWParts.com. All you’ll need is a plastic trim tool. Note that these won’t fit the manual model because of its shorter center console, hence why I did not do this before. Sorry, manual bros.
1 – Remove the center console trim
There isn’t really a need to use masking tape for this. First, open the center console, then use the trim tool to slide between the trim and arm rest lock and lift up. It’ll pop off right away.
Next, slide your trim tool inside the two holes of the arm rest cubby, and lift up, like so:
Don’t lift up the trim all the way. leave it clipped in in the front.
2 – Remove the stock knee pads
You’re done with tools. Now, simply lift the stock knee pad up along the silver trim bit to unclip that. Then, pull it toward you from the actual knee pad.
3 – Install the new ones
Told you, it’s really easy. Now when I corner, my precious knees will lightly brush against the soft touch of Alcantara.
How to install LED door projector lights on the G80 M3
Here’s the deal. The LED door projector units that BMW sells aren’t exactly right for my car. They’re old, and feature old logos or the 50th Anniversary badge. Luckily I found a company in Australia that makes really nice “M3 Competition” lights, they they are the correct logo.
You’ll need to order two sets if you have an M3, for the front and rear.
First, there isn’t really a DIY. They provide a small flat head screw driver, and that’s perfect for popping out the stock units and unclipping the wire. But these new ones aren’t nearly as high-quality, with the plastic clips being flimsy compared to the stock ones. They were also labeled incorrectly (left vs right), so you can imaging the curse words I used when I found out I put them in the wrong doors.
Once installed, they work nicely. But the quality has me concerned – we’ll see how long they last. There’s also the insane fact that the M4 CS lights cost triple the amount “just because it’s a CS”. The company never got back to me when I informed them of the mislabel either.
Overall, an average mod.
