Well...did my first mod on the f06 which was to install wide angle (aspherical) mirrors. Here's a quick/simple DIY if anyone is curious or thought about it.
BMW part nbrs for wide angle/heated/EC (aka auto dimming) mirrors :
- 51*16*7*186*587 (left)
- 51*16*7*186*588 (right)
I found a set of wide angle/EC/heated driver & passenger side mirrors on eBay...the 1st seller was from Lithuania...but while packing the mirrors, the passenger side mirror was dropped and got cracked. Since it was the last set they had, they contacted me to let me know what happened and cancelled the purchase and refunded me. I found another set from a seller in Berlin Germany which were actually $20 cheaper (a loss that turned into a win)
The mirrors are easy to remove especially if you have nylon/plastic pry tools. Just push the top of the mirror inward where the bottom juts outward...then
gently pry the bottom half of the mirror glass off the clips that holds the mirror to the motor assembly:
Once you free the mirror from the FOUR clips (located at 1:00/5:00/7:00/11:00 o'clock positions)...you will see the electrical harness that supplies heating and dimming functions to the mirror. To release the wiring harness...just take a small tool (like a flat head screwdriver) to slightly raise the clip that secures the harness to the mirror and the harness can then be pushed/pulled out:
{note small screwdriver lifting tab that facilitates harness removal}
{note the rounded plastic nubs @ 1:00/5:00/7:00/11:00 o'clock positions...this is what the mirror glass clips onto which secures it to the mirror motor assembly}
In the pics below you can compare the front and rear sides of the passenger side wide angle/EC/heated mirror glass (on the left) to the original passenger side convex/EC/heated mirror glass (on the right):
{front side: Wide angle vs Convex}
{note how the wide angle mirror glass comes to the edge of the mirror giving a mm or two of extra reflection capability whereas the original mirror has a thick black band around the circumference of the mirror glass}
{rear side: Wide angle vs Convex}
In the pics below, you can compare the additional reflective coverage picked up by the wide angle mirrors vs the original driver's side 1:1 ratio mirror and passenger's convex mirrors. The car was parked in the same grocery store parking lot for all of the pics below. You can use the parking space lines to compare the amount of coverage for each mirror. In both cases, the wide angle (aspherical) mirrors provide more coverage. If you don't have the blind spot dectection feature...the aspherical mirrors could be greatly beneficial.
{original driver's side "plain" mirror}
{wide angle driver's side mirror}
{original passenger's side "convex" mirror}
{wide angle passenger's side mirror}
