3countBlake

i have an 08 535i without parking sensors and i'm wondering if a 08 550 sport bumper will fit or just what is the best/easiest/cheapest way to get a m-style front end. any suggestions or tips?

Gene

yes it will fit, both your e60 and the 08 550 are lci's...so it will be a direct swap...if the 08 550 has PDC sensors and you do not, it will still work, you could just have a local body shop remove the pdc sensors and have them filled for a fairly inexpensive price...

pukka

The bumper will fit, just make sure you get all of the grille components. You will also need to swap the foglamps and ducting. If your car has Night Vision and/or Active Cruise Control you will need relocation brackets so they line up properly with the sport bumper.

I would advise against buying a bumper with PDC holes if you don't require it. Everything is made of plastic so you can't just "fill" the holes. You would need some sort of plastic cap to cover the holes - not sure if there is anything like this on the market and most body shops don't have the equipment to fabricate something like this let alone make it look nice.

Gene

technically you can "fill" the holes, I've seen a few done with the e9x m3 bumpers and some LCI e60 m5 bumpers where owners remove the amber reflectors to get them filled ("shaved"), and those reflector holes are far bigger than pdc sensor holes....but I guess it all depends on the shops local to you....the fills I've seen look great and have held up well against road debris and driving forces....

one shop I talked to uses plastic weld on the back of the bumper then fills and smooths

edit: e9x m3 reflector fill:

http://www.m3post.co...48&postcount=11

and

http://www.m3post.co...79&postcount=18


***I'm sure the concern is the slight expanding and contracting of the plastic over time...but I've seen at least 2 bumpers with 12+ months and no signs of cracking or visual defects....

pukka

Any pics of this job being done to cover PDC holes?

I'll take a look at my old LCI bumper when I get home, but I think the amber reflectors are actually pressed into either a plastic mold or a recessed part of the bumper that acts like a mold, which makes it easier to apply filler and then shave to make it flush with the bumper. It would be more complicated to do this on an M Sport bumper with PDC holes, but I agree it could be done by a body shop that is really in the know. How well it holds up would be a concern since we are talking about the front of the car vice the side, but again I agree it could be done.

My past experiences with body shops makes me a firm believer that the less complicated the job is, the better your chances are that it gets done right the first time

Gene

agreed regarding the less complicated the better...


the side reflectors on LCI bumpers are indeed an insert that fits into a cutout section on the bumper, not a lot of material between the reflector and wheel well so filling that would be difficult. e9x non m bumpers also have those side reflectors as well and there are aftermarket color matched reflectors sold, but have not seen any for the e60. I swapped my bro's reflectors on his 335is, pretty easy to do as it was held on by double sided tape...

have not seen pdc holes filled, but I would imagine once the sensors are removed the holes would be easier to fill as they are relatively small, just more of them....

BTT: yes the 08 550i m sport bumper will fit on a 08 535i....

kadafi39

Key is finding a good body shop, but filling four 1 inch diameter holes, sanding and painting is not exactly asking too much of a body shop, should be no problem at all...

tonyb635

I think that if a PDC bumper was my only choice I woud just leave the sensors alone and pretent that I actually have the PDC system. Who's gonna know? The risk of filling them is way too high and the risk of this material coming loose or actually falling out is even higher...