650i with night vision grill change

[xito_a]

I'm looking to replace my front grille to be a gloss black one as well as get a black spoiler to match however I got stuck because my car has NV. I'm in canada so already it is hard to find anything for a decent price but then I noticed it was impossible to even find a grill for this car that is gloss black and works with night vision. Anyone know where i can find one?

[Opie55]

Originally Posted by xito_a

I'm looking to replace my front grille to be a gloss black one as well as get a black spoiler to match however I got stuck because my car has NV. I'm in canada so already it is hard to find anything for a decent price but then I noticed it was impossible to even find a grill for this car that is gloss black and works with night vision. Anyone know where i can find one?

Been discussed before. There isn't anything because it's such a rare option it's not worth making one for the aftermarket.

[arucano]

have you considered just painting it with 2K paint? scuff, adhesion primer, black, clear. I used that on chrome rings around my grill and it came out perfectly. Just make sure to do the proper prep to clean off all the wax before starting the painting

[xito_a]

Originally Posted by arucano

have you considered just painting it with 2K paint? scuff, adhesion primer, black, clear. I used that on chrome rings around my grill and it came out perfectly. Just make sure to do the proper prep to clean off all the wax before starting the painting

debating on it but never done it before and not trying to mess anything up or have it come out bad. Any recommended videos you know of that can help?

[arucano]

Try "paint society" on YouTube or search "rattle can paint......". You can remove the grill and disassemble it to make it easier to prep and finish. There are also several You-Tubers showing how to remove the grills. Do NOT use the "yank out" method. You will have to remove some bolts and fasteners along the upper edge of the bumper to get to the back side of the grills to un-clip them. There is actually a tool you can use to avoid having to loosen the bumper but I do not know where to get it. Remember that multiple light coats are better than very heavy coats (which can cause runs) Only the final clear coat needs to be a little heavy. It might be worth while to get a cheap can and try it out on a flat surface and then a three dimensional surface. You can always sand it back down and redo. I am not a body man or painter and had no problem doing it. It cam out as good as a professional job. It has been three years since it was done. It has been washed and waxed several times since then. Good luck

[eye4speed2]

Originally Posted by xito_a

I'm looking to replace my front grille to be a gloss black one as well as get a black spoiler to match however I got stuck because my car has NV. I'm in canada so already it is hard to find anything for a decent price but then I noticed it was impossible to even find a grill for this car that is gloss black and works with night vision. Anyone know where i can find one?

I'm in the same boat as you. Thinking about doing the plasti-dip. Not sure if the NV camera holder can come off and be reattached to non NV version.

[Opie55]

Originally Posted by eye4speed2

I'm in the same boat as you. Thinking about doing the plasti-dip. Not sure if the NV camera holder can come off and be reattached to non NV version.

It does not "come off" in the sense that you can pry it off or it's held on with plastic rivets or anything. I've had my grill out, and the holder is just part of the molded piece. Could a creative person cut it off and plastic weld or otherwise attach it to a standard grill? Probably, but I personally cannot imagine wanting a different color grill that badly to go to that trouble.

[Opie55]

And to add to what I just said, even if you did attach it you would probably mess up the shiny black finish on that part of your new grill, and the NV holder would not match and would be to be painted anyway and still would not be a perfect match. I think the best solution is to be a pioneer in rejecting the current blackout craze. I'm not a fan.

[xito_a]

Is it possible to use a F06 M6 black NV grill, found IND has one but can I remove the m6 logo? Not trying to rebadge the car

[Qsilver7]

Nope..the M6 logo doesn’t come off…but yep…the grilles will fit in the holes because the M6 grilles have the same dimensions as the regular kidney grilles used in the rest of the f series line.

[eye4speed2]

Originally Posted by Qsilver7

Nope..the M6 logo doesn't come off…but yep…the grilles will fit in the holes because the M6 grilles have the same dimensions as the regular kidney grilles used in the rest of the f series line.

The Alpina has a different slat design. Does it still fit in the same hole?

[Daemonblitz]

I feel your pain, I removed and disassembled mine and sent it out for paint to bodyshop along with all the other chrome trim on the car. (Fender grills, door handle trim and rear trunk emblem surround)

It is possible to remove it and separate the NV camera assembly from the grills.

[Qsilver7]

Originally Posted by eye4speed2

The Alpina has a different slat design. Does it still fit in the same hole?

Really? I thought it had the same 10 slat or 9 slat design as the regular BMW f06/f12/f13 models. The pre-facelift has 10 slats and the facelift has 9 slats. Yes, these 10 & 9 slat grilles have a slightly different design...but I didn't know the Alpina had one different from the regular 10 & 9 slat grilles.

How are the Alpina grilles different?

[eye4speed2]

Originally Posted by Qsilver7

Really? I thought it had the same 10 slat or 9 slat design as the regular BMW f06/f12/f13 models. The pre-facelift has 10 slats and the facelift has 9 slats. Yes, these 10 & 9 slat grilles have a slightly different design...but I didn't know the Alpina had one different from the regular 10 & 9 slat grilles.

How are the Alpina grilles different?

I have never really compared the different versions. From what I read online, maybe the differences are any F06 post LCI and not specifically Alpina?

Do the M6 and 650 and Alpina have interchangeable grilles? When I checked eBay (not reliable) and tried to buy M6 grilles and entered my vehicle for compatibility it said not compatible.

From C&D:

Oh, and the front chin spoiler is redesigned, the grille kidneys are a smidge bigger, and the hood's character lines are more pronounced.

From BMW promo:

A more-dynamic front spoiler and fascia enclose the subtly-revised BMW kidney grill, and shape the transition to the new ALPINA hood which features character chines

[FlyinLowSD]

Originally Posted by eye4speed2

I'm in the same boat as you. Thinking about doing the plasti-dip. Not sure if the NV camera holder can come off and be reattached to non NV version.

I recommend paint over plasti-dip. The latter gets tacky in the sun.

[Opie55]

Originally Posted by Daemonblitz

I feel your pain, I removed and disassembled mine and sent it out for paint to bodyshop along with all the other chrome trim on the car. (Fender grills, door handle trim and rear trunk emblem surround)

It is possible to remove it and separate the NV camera assembly from the grills.

Just so there is no misunderstanding about what has been said in this thread, when you say it's possible to separate the camera assembly from the grill, you are talking about the camera itself, but not the mounting part with the round hole shown in your picture. I agree the camera can easily be removed from the grill, but the mounting part cannot.

[Qsilver7]

Originally Posted by eye4speed2

Do the M6 and 650 and Alpina have interchangeable grilles? When I checked eBay (not reliable) and tried to buy M6 grilles and entered my vehicle for compatibility it said not compatible.

From C&D:

Oh, and the front chin spoiler is redesigned, the grille kidneys are a smidge bigger, and the hood's character lines are more pronounced.

From BMW promo:

A more-dynamic front spoiler and fascia enclose the subtly-revised BMW kidney grill, and shape the transition to the new ALPINA hood which features character chines

What I can testify as true is...yes, the M6/F06/Alpina kidney grills ARE interchangeable...whether LCI or pre-LCI.

The design is different (pre LCI) 10 slat vs (LCI) 9 slat vs M6 double slat...but they all fit into the same hole.

I have replaced my pre LCI 10 slat kidney grilles on my 2013 & 2015 650ix GC with LCI 9 slat kidney grilles...and the M6 dual slat grilles are all over the internet with aftermarket grills removing the M6 from the left grille.

I would interpret the reference to the "smidge bigger" & "subtly-revised" to the design of the individual slats (which is true) rather than the diameter/circumference of the grilles.

The 9-slat LCI grills are bigger at the top and then taper down towards the bottom...and their sides are black. This is how they "fill-out" the same circumference as the narrower 10 slat pre-LCI grilles...which have two tones of gray on the side and are slimmer than than the LCI slats.

Here's aftermarket M6 dual slat grilles with the M6 removed:




Here's M6 dual slat grilles with the M6 badge:



Below are pics of the LCI 9 slat grilles & the pre LCI 10 slat grilles:

[Qsilver7]

Here's a pic of a 2019 6 series that I ran across...it took me a minute to figure out what was going on with it...then I noticed that it had mixed matched kidney grilles. One side is the original LCI 9 slat (smidge bigger slats)...the other side is the pre LCI 10 slat (smidge thinner slats)...but they both fit into the holes (opening)

[Daemonblitz]

Originally Posted by Opie55

Just so there is no misunderstanding about what has been said in this thread, when you say it's possible to separate the camera assembly from the grill, you are talking about the camera itself, but not the mounting part with the round hole shown in your picture. I agree the camera can easily be removed from the grill, but the mounting part cannot.

Thank you for clarifying, yes the round hole section between the vertical slats is in fact part of the slats and cannot be separated, it was painted with the slats. What I meant by the camera being removable is that it can and should be removed during paint so that there is overspay. There are 2 connectors to take note of as well, when removing it, one for the camera electronics and one for the washer fluid sprayer nozzle.

[Opie55]

Originally Posted by Daemonblitz

Thank you for clarifying, yes the round hole section between the vertical slats is in fact part of the slats and cannot be separated, it was painted with the slats. What I meant by the camera being removable is that it can and should be removed during paint so that there is overspay. There are 2 connectors to take note of as well, when removing it, one for the camera electronics and one for the washer fluid sprayer nozzle.

Yeah, those two connectors are kind of a pain, and make removing the front bumper on a car with NV take a bit longer. Just FYI, since the little round piece of black "glass" on the camera gets easily stone chipped, I looked into getting a replacement when I had my camera off once. It is indeed replaceable - and is about the size of a nickel - and costs about $1,000. I passed.

[xito_a]

Originally Posted by Opie55

Yeah, those two connectors are kind of a pain, and make removing the front bumper on a car with NV take a bit longer. Just FYI, since the little round piece of black "glass" on the camera gets easily stone chipped, I looked into getting a replacement when I had my camera off once. It is indeed replaceable - and is about the size of a nickel - and costs about $1,000. I passed.

is it possible to remove it as a whole? i never use it and it is making my grille replacement a pain in the ass. At that point I could sell the camera or just put it back if I got rid of the car itself

[Opie55]

Originally Posted by xito_a

is it possible to remove it as a whole? i never use it and it is making my grille replacement a pain in the ass. At that point I could sell the camera or just put it back if I got rid of the car itself

It is certainly possible to physically remove it. There is one long screw up top under that long rubber seal, and then 3 or 4 smaller screws holding it to the grill. At some location you would need to plug the washer line. The only question I don't know is what coding would need to be done once the car recognizes the camera is missing and gives you an annoying warning that it's faulty.

I'd personally keep the camera so you can sell the car with the options it came with since the button is there. I don't use mine either, but it would certainly affect my decision to buy a car if somebody ripped it out. But as a side note, you actually do use it all the time, you just don't know it. As I understand it, the button simply turns on the display on the screen, but the system itself is always operating and if you come across a deer on a dark road it will display a warning in the cluster.