Wide Grill

[TheEndIsNear]

Hey, I want to convert my grill to the wider grill. Anybody have any input on this. What years and models had the thin and wide? Can I just pull the parts of a wrecking yard e34 and if so what all do I need to pull. Any and all info is appreciated. Thanks.

[pundit]

Hey, I want to convert my grill to the wider grill. Anybody have any input on this. What years and models had the thin and wide? Can I just pull the parts of a wrecking yard e34 and if so what all do I need to pull. Any and all info is appreciated. Thanks.

There's more to fitting a wide grill than just the grille. You will need a complete hood and front panel as well. All E34 V8's (530's & 540's) were fitted with wide grilles. Sixes from around '94 until '96 also had wide grilles. Not sure in exactly which month in '94 the change occured. Others will be able to give more info... but in the meantime... NARROW GRILLES RULE!! :D

[SchnellE34]

wider is better... sorry i had to

[Macv]

wider is better

I second the motion

[GJPinAU]

Hey, I want to convert my grill to the wider grill. Anybody have any input on this. What years and models had the thin and wide? Can I just pull the parts of a wrecking yard e34 and if so what all do I need to pull. Any and all info is appreciated. Thanks.
Phil Sanderson has done this to his 525 (see his recent wheel thread) or PM him.
cheers,
Greg

[BillionPa]

hood, headlight enclosures, center grill, metal center piece, chrome (or black) inserts, clips(you dont need those)

[KenB]

wider is better... sorry i had to

Narrow (file://\\Narrow)!

[TheEndIsNear]

Thanks I PM'ed Phil Sanderson. If I decide to do this I'll do a write up.

[Nick.Hay]

Oohhh... Listen to them:

grille size envy!! Ha Ha Ha!!!

I'd vote small grille too...

[Alexlind123]

Hey, I want to convert my grill to the wider grill.


Now now, lets not be too silly here. I was going to post a side by side picture of the narrow and wide grills, but i didnt have one in my 200mbs of e34 pictures, so heres just a fine example of a narrow grill. Picture courtesy of a proud forum member.

http://servo.postverket.us/alex/2003_Car_Show.jpg

[misfortune]

Whatever, do it and send me your narrow one. I need one.

[jrobbo]

Here's a couple of pics of my car (narrow grill M5) alongside a mates car (wide grille 540i 6 speed).

http://www.jrobbo.com/M5/ShadesOfPurple/images/image010.jpg
http://www.jrobbo.com/M5/ShadesOfPurple/images/image038.jpg

All pics can be seen here:

http://www.jrobbo.com/M5/ShadesOfPurple/

I like both grilles, but am naturally biased and prefer the narrow, each to his own though

Regards

John

[nuclearfusion]

I like the wider grille much better.

Enjoy!

Fusion

[zmuff]

I do remember many moons ago the ongoing banter of narrow vs wide. Very humorous stuff. Seems like it all boiled down to narrow grills produced less aerodynamic drag at higher speeds, while the wide grills acted as speedbrakes. So.....NARROW RULES!!!!!

[31Hertz]

Wide? Narrow? Blah blah blah... They both look cool in their own ways. What REALLY would be cool would be to figure out a way to slant the base of the grilles inward like the old E28's to get the old "shark" look back!!! has anyone else thought of doing this? I do not have the skills to do it, but when I imagine doing a mod like that; a sudden stiffness occurs.

[31Hertz]

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/BMW-E34-540i-Sport-Wide-Look-Conversion_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQcategoryZ6763QQitemZ8 074282476QQrdZ1\
Found this guy who was gonna convert his to a wide grille

[DueyT]

Wide looks good to emphasize low-slung cars, but I would prefer my wide grill to be a bit more square/parallel, it seems to bow a bit wider at the top and seems vertically unbalanced. I do like the narrow grills much better for their vertical balance/straightness...

Cheers,
Duey

[wingman]

There is NO WAY that these pics were taken in Melbourne! I can see blue sky and sunshine...

[wingman]

As I mount my 'high horse' and share my humble opinions... wide grilles on narrow grille cars, like clear lenses, do tend to 'modernise' the early cars. I was saying to Phil Sanderson that his wide grille took 5 years of his car. So the choice is simple; Original or modernise? I guess it wont matter but just get the grille the same colour as the Lambo doors.

[Nick.Hay]

Is that Chris' old 540iLE?? Man, that pair look great!!

[TheEndIsNear]

LOL, the lambo doors thing was very short lived...

[jrobbo]

Is that Chris' old 540iLE?? Man, that pair look great!!

Thanks. Yep, that's Chris' old car, too bad it's gone now.

Regards

John

[wingman]

Thank God for that 'EIN' Your little bloke is cute! I've got 2 boys 3/5. They think that BMW is the only company that makes cars! I'm glad that you've given up on the Lambo doors thing. There was a good thread on the wide grille conversion on www.bmwe34.net You should check it out. Phil Sanderson's car looks great in pics (I' haven't yet seen it in the flesh).

[Qube]

In my opinion, the wide grill makes it look more like the e36. I'd rather keep narrow and unique ;)

[Anthony (M5 in Calgary)]

It's not the size of the wand, it's the skill of the magician who waves it. The only end of my car most people see is the rear. And that end looks the same for all years. :D