Ok, so - looking at our cars, there's not a whole lot of room in the console. That's mostly fine - I keep it uncluttered anyway. But, at any given time, you have your shades, cell phone (which keeps growing), parking pass (work), covid mask (ha!), plus a random receipt/pen/cards/etc that you collected. Where to keep all that stuff? They get lost in the glove box, and besides, that is a far reach. Map pocket? things rattle in there, and If I leave my phone there, I forget it - which is annoying. The rear ashtray is a no go for that reason as well - out of sight, out of mind. I want it in front of me.
So, I turned to the ashtray and cup holder. I don't smoke, so I decided to take a donor piece and hollow it out. The ashtray door was the first to go, then I went to town with a Dremel, widening it as much as I could:
Once done, the door area above the lighter was blocked off, and the whole piece painted to match the upper cubby. Ended up considerably wider, broader, and deeper overall:
Fits my phone just fine (case shown):
Next, the cup holder. Stock, it's very limited, with just two spots for cups and little else. I decided to join them together, like most modern designs.
Before:
After (Dremel, fabricate, glue, paint, sand, paint, etc..):
Oh, and the fingers do keep cups in place, I had to redo the bands that go around, but it all works. The paint matches perfectly the rest of the console.
How it looks all together. I have the Single - DIN radio by the way:
It works brilliantly. getting in the car, the phone just drops in the cupholder so easily, I wonder why BMW didn't do this in the first place. There is enough space in the front cubby, and it's deep enough that nothing falls out, no matter how I drive. It looks factory - no one, outside the E46 community, can tell that it's a custom job. And it can all be swapped back to stock very easily if I want.
I know I could of bought one of the two storage trays, but I wanted to keep the cupholder, with just a bit of added functionality. Hope it gives you guys ideas. 👍
So, I turned to the ashtray and cup holder. I don't smoke, so I decided to take a donor piece and hollow it out. The ashtray door was the first to go, then I went to town with a Dremel, widening it as much as I could:
Once done, the door area above the lighter was blocked off, and the whole piece painted to match the upper cubby. Ended up considerably wider, broader, and deeper overall:
Fits my phone just fine (case shown):
Next, the cup holder. Stock, it's very limited, with just two spots for cups and little else. I decided to join them together, like most modern designs.
Before:
After (Dremel, fabricate, glue, paint, sand, paint, etc..):
Oh, and the fingers do keep cups in place, I had to redo the bands that go around, but it all works. The paint matches perfectly the rest of the console.
How it looks all together. I have the Single - DIN radio by the way:
It works brilliantly. getting in the car, the phone just drops in the cupholder so easily, I wonder why BMW didn't do this in the first place. There is enough space in the front cubby, and it's deep enough that nothing falls out, no matter how I drive. It looks factory - no one, outside the E46 community, can tell that it's a custom job. And it can all be swapped back to stock very easily if I want.
I know I could of bought one of the two storage trays, but I wanted to keep the cupholder, with just a bit of added functionality. Hope it gives you guys ideas. 👍
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