update 4/3/2008!!! added 24 led super bright amber front left/right turn signal light bulbs.. picture coming soon!!
here is my 1998 740il.. black on black
purchased in 2005 with 85k miles... my goal was to black it out... so that involved getting rid of all the chrome
projects in chronological order:
1. m-parallel rims..
18x8f and 18x9.5r ..purchased off ebay for $530 for all 4 machined finished rims including shipping... i did now want chrome taht was for sure..
2. h&r lowering springs stage II..
purchased off ebay for about $230 for all four... 1.9"f 1.3"r ...it lowered my front more than the rear which gives it an aggressive look... install cost me about $400 tho
3. clear front and rear corners..
purchased off ebay for about $125 for front and rear corners.. self installed.. i liked the shadowed fronts rather than the clear silver ones... the silver ones seemed too cheesy and the shadowed ones complemented better with the black out look i was going for
4. tinted windows..
took my car to honchar's window tints and they hooked me up with front, rear and back windows tinted for only $150... 30%front and 15%rear... i roll the front windows down whenever i see a cop hehe
5. added new kidney grill..
the stock grill made the car look very old.. so i purchased off ebay the 2001 grill for about $25? and self installed in in minutes... muuuuch better ...but since then i've been deciding whether or not to black them out...hmmms
6. shadowline window trim..
i opted to try out the shadowline tape instead of getting them painted for hundreds more.. i just bought any 3/4" black tape from autozone or kragen for only $2 and taped up anything chrome or silver on my car.. that included the window trim and silver trim around the front and rear bumpers and door panel strips... it completed the "blacked out" look and the tape is still looking great after a year in the california sun and cold.. takes about 2.5 rolls to black out entire car.. this was one of my best mods
7. added 12" infinity sub..
the stock premium 4-5.25" subs just didnt do the job.. they could not reach the deep notes and at the same time kept bottoming out whenever i turned the volume up.. so i just unplugged 3 of the four subs... and the 4th one i rerouted the speaker wire thru to the trunk and connected it to my infinity sub.. the bass is much deeper and louder kick now even tho its running from the same stock amp.. and it was free upgrade.. lol
8. upgraded lowbeam/foglights to superwhite bulbs..
switched stock low beam and fog light bulbs to eurodesignz's 8500k superwhite bulbs... bought them on ebay for about $30 for both sets... they are whiter than the stock bulbs.. not neccesarily brighter though... and they blow out about every 6-8 months.. so you gotta change them once in awhile.
heres the finished project with pictures.. enjoy!
mods:
..18" m-parallel staggered 8"front and 9.5"rears with machined finish
..front shadowed out turn signals(clear corners)
..rear taillights cleared(no yellow)
..h&r stage II lowering springs(1.9" front 1.3" rear)
..shadowed out window trim and door panel strips
..updated front kidney grills(00-01 look)
..window tinted 30% front 15% rear
..hyper white 8500k low beam and fog light bulbs
unfornatunaley no mods performance/engine wise yet as stock performance is good enough i guess...
i added an infinity 12" sub in the trunk.. i just rewired the existing 4-5.25" stock subs in the rear deck to my 12" infinity
stock deck and cd changer in back.. it kicks good enough without having to add and mod an additional sub.(i was lazy lol)
beemers get first class service lol
car models arent suppose to block the car!!! lol
i was going for a clean blacked out look.. so folks would know it aint a 60 year old driving it..lol
lemme know what you think
p.s. possible future mods:
-paint my existing plastic black side skirts
-angel eyes off of ebay
-rear window spoiler
-lowering rear of car more.. possibly 1.9" drop to match fronts
updated pictures 5/17/09
and here she was stock when i got her back in 2004, alongside my parted 1988 528e 245k
