Howdy,
Judging by the lack of resources out on the Internet, I'm going to go out on a limb and say I'm the only one crazy enough to have attempted this.
I really wanted the quad exhaust look on my X3 and didn't want to cut into my OEM bumper. Fortunately I found a cool guy on this forum (@LalV eVo) who had an Msport diffuser already cut for quads along with the muffler itself, so I took the plunge over to MA and picked it up!
That all said and done, I hopped over to eBay and purchased an Msport bumper cover with minimal damage. Brought it over to my local body shop and set foot on my adventure.
Now, removing the rear bumper is not rocket science. I had picked up a Nylon pry tool set from Harbor Freight some days prior, and it proved priceless.
I'm not going to make this into a DIY because there are already some bumper removal guides out there. I used one from an F25 Execuhitch Install.
Here's some pics:
These things are a B*TCH!!!!! I could not remove them with the center punch as the DIY stated, so I drilled them out instead. They are single use clips, can be obtained from your local dealer at around $0.82/pc.
Bumper off, PDC sensors switched over to new bumper, beer time.
Checking out fitment before bolting stuff back on, and Houston, we have a problem:
So that's a bummer, huh. The wheel arch trim piece on the M package seems longer than the Standard version. GEE THANKS BMW. Here's where it gets interesting. I'd buy the wheel arches, but then I'd have to get the side skirts. If I got the side skirts, I'd have to get the front wheel arches. If I got the front wheel arches,
I'd have to buy the front bumper too.
That escalated quickly. But I'm not giving up. I am going to "BUILD" a plastic trim piece that will fill in this gap. I have no idea how it's going to turn out, but I have hope. I will keep you all updated on that. If it works out well, I'm going to produce a mold that I can create parts from and sell to you guys if you choose to do the same conversion.
In the meantime, here is a Space Gray, Pre-LCI BMW X3 with Msport rear and quad exhaust (tow hook covers coming soon
.
Would love your feed back! Thanks!!
EDIT: I just noticed a gap under the tailgate. Will investigate