Weird genuine euro M3 front bumper?

[nextelbuddy]

I ordered a genuine euro M3 front bumper through dealer part# 51117894989 for Kevlar support bar

It came in and I got it painted then tried to install it only to see these 4 tabs on the backside interfering with the Kevlar bumper support.

After some searching, those 4 tabs originally came in the aluminum carrier bumper to attach with plastic tabs.

I'm trying to figure out why my bumper appears to be a weird hybrid bumper.

It feels like the factory took an aluminum carrier bumper and instead of the plastic carrier bracket being installed in it they just installed the foam carrier with the ball socket instead.

I had to cut the 4 tabs off with a Dremel to clear the Kevlar support bar.

Now the bumper snaps onto all 4 ball socket BUT the bumper itself doesn't line up with the fender, it's like something is holding up the bumper back by 1/4 of an inch on both sides.

Starting to wonder if there is a difference between aluminum and kevlar bumpers at some core level beyond the built-in plastic carrier/foam insert that would cause this to happen.



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[robgill]

I had a similar issue and ultimately is was these 4 tabs interfering with the carrier. I don't remember the exact issue but the way they wanted to naturally slide above/below the lower lip of the carrier kept the bumper from sliding all the way on. Whatever way (above/below) its going on for you now; try the opposite. Hope that makes sense... You can also just cut the tabs off.

[antknee]

i see that you have an intercooler, is the grill hitting that by any chance?

also are those the Karbonius CF lips on the euro bumper? Those are the only add-ons that look nice and flush with the stock bumper!

[nextelbuddy]

I had a similar issue and ultimately is was these 4 tabs interfering with the carrier. I don't remember the exact issue but the way they wanted to naturally slide above/below the lower lip of the carrier kept the bumper from sliding all the way on. Whatever way (above/below) its going on for you now; try the opposite. Hope that makes sense... You can also just cut the tabs off.

Yeah, I ended up cutting those tabs off with a Dremel tool and ultimately doing that allowed me to get the bumper to slide on all the way to the Kevlar support bar and snap onto the little ball sockets but even after doing so and the bumper pushed all the way on it's still not lining up with the fender like it should.

It's like the Kevlar support is still too far forward, but I've checked everything. There's no washers. Everything is nice and flat bolted to the frame rails. The support bar is straight and true.

Scratch my head trying to figure out what the heck is causing this. So annoying.

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[Tbonem3]

I do believe the front bumper cover must match the support type. The rear, however is the same bumper cover whether you have alu or kevlar support.

[Casa de Mesa]

I have a couple questions for you as I'm about to order that exact bumper for my car.

1. If nothing else is interfering with the carrier, and it turns out to be the ball-and-socket interface, is it possible to carefully shave down the mounting point on the backside of the plastic plate that sits on top of the foam support?

This is a HORRIBLE mock-up (pic just below) but essentially, countersink this plate into the foam a bit more. I recognize this could be difficult.

2. Also in the pic just below, did you put grease on the inside of the socket? It seems like you did. And is that a common thing to do?

I ask because when I removed my bumper, the balls stuck in the socket so much so that the plastic support beam that sits behind the foam (in between the foam and the actual external bumper cover) broke when I pulled the bumper forwards to remove it. The plastic support beam is just held in by some plastic welds, which failed. Using grease seems like it could be a great idea to ease future removal, or even while doing the on/off/on/off/etc. process to get the new bumper aligned correctly.



3. What did you use to adhere the foam spacers with? Mine fell off (like these all do) and rather than using doubled-side tape, I was trying to find an adhesive that would stick to the carbon/kevlar bumper but also not eat into or dissolve the foam.

[robgill]

Try pulling the grill off and really inspecting that area where the tabs are while it slides on. I have this bumper on both of my M3s and they both had that same issue. On my track I cut those tabs off to install a custom grill and suddenly the bumper that never slid on 100% fit perfect! Thats how I first discovered the issue.

[Tbonem3]

I already posted it above, I think you bought the wrong bumper. Did you check out the 2 part #s?

[Casa de Mesa]

I already posted it above, I think you bought the wrong bumper. Did you check out the 2 part #s?

So presumably there is a Euro bumper cover for aluminum and another for kevlar?

I will go search RealOEM...

[Tbonem3]

There is for u.s. bumper afaik. Did europe have the support change like we did?

[Casa de Mesa]

There is for u.s. bumper afaik. Did europe have the support change like we did?

Here is an early (March 2000 build) Euro M3:

• Front bumper part #: 51112695241
• Front bumper support: 51118195287 <== Aluminum

Here is a later model (Jan 2006) Euro M3:

• Front bumper part #: 51117894989 <== What the OP has
• Front bumper support: 51117893527 <== "Lightweight" or Carbon/Kevlar

Here is a US spec (Sept 2002 - build date of my car):

• Front bumper part #: 51117894990
• Front bumper support: 51117893527 <== Same part # as the Euro later model

So in theory, the OP ordered the correct bumper and it should fit.

[jet_dogg]

Amazing that this info has been lost over the years and attempting to be rediscovered.

[nextelbuddy]

I have a couple questions for you as I'm about to order that exact bumper for my car.

1. If nothing else is interfering with the carrier, and it turns out to be the ball-and-socket interface, is it possible to carefully shave down the mounting point on the backside of the plastic plate that sits on top of the foam support?

This is a HORRIBLE mock-up (pic just below) but essentially, countersink this plate into the foam a bit more. I recognize this could be difficult.

2. Also in the pic just below, did you put grease on the inside of the socket? It seems like you did. And is that a common thing to do?

I ask because when I removed my bumper, the balls stuck in the socket so much so that the plastic support beam that sits behind the foam (in between the foam and the actual external bumper cover) broke when I pulled the bumper forwards to remove it. The plastic support beam is just held in by some plastic welds, which failed. Using grease seems like it could be a great idea to ease future removal, or even while doing the on/off/on/off/etc. process to get the new bumper aligned correctly.



3. What did you use to adhere the foam spacers with? Mine fell off (like these all do) and rather than using doubled-side tape, I was trying to find an adhesive that would stick to the carbon/kevlar bumper but also not eat into or dissolve the foam.

So counter syncing the little plate that has the female ball socket won't really do much on its own because you still have the actual foam piece that sits in the recess of the Kevlar support. And in my case, my bumper is fully recessed into the Kevlar support. I was actually able to use my finger and feel between the Kevlar support bar and the foam insert and there's no space left so it's pushed in all the way. What I did do was tighten down those female ball socket plates because they were a little bit loose so I tightened them down all the way and then I chiseled away some foam from the foam insert on the passenger side and it helped a little bit


Ultimately, I think in my case I'm probably just need to take my Kevlar support bar off one of these days and take it down to a machine shop and have them CNC mill about 7 mm off of the aluminum plate that bolts to the frame rail that will allow the Kevlar support to bring the entire bumper system closer inward thus lining up with the fenders better


For the top foam pieces that you asked about on the killer support bar, I actually used JB 5 minute quick weld to adhere it and then I used some plastic clamps to gently apply pressure for about 20 minutes and then I also took 4 hour JB weld epoxy and went around all of the edges to kind of anchor it a little bit better.




Here is my bumper's final fitment.. I'm happy with the gaps under the headlights and the hood, but I'm still annoyed by the alignment of the bumper to the fenders, especially on the passenger side. It's a little bit worse than the driver side and it's going to bother me. I know it is. But for now it's about the best I can do with at this moment.



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[nextelbuddy]

i see that you have an intercooler, is the grill hitting that by any chance?

also are those the Karbonius CF lips on the euro bumper? Those are the only add-ons that look nice and flush with the stock bumper!

Yes they are the karbonious ones. They are a very good product and well built, but the double sticky tape that comes already installed on them doesn't really stick that well. I cleaned the bumper surface with isopropyl alcohol dried. It used the heat gun but still even holding the splitters and place. As soon as I let go the tape would start to give. So I ended up pulling off all of their tape and using some of my own 3M black double sticky tape. Some of that 30 lb tape you get from home Depot. It worked a little bit better. There's still a few places that aren't 100% adhered that annoys me and I test fit so many times to try to get the perfect fitment.

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[repoman89]

So counter syncing the little plate that has the female ball socket won't really do much on its own because you still have the actual foam piece that sits in the recess of the Kevlar support. And in my case, my bumper is fully recessed into the Kevlar support. I was actually able to use my finger and feel between the Kevlar support bar and the foam insert and there's no space left so it's pushed in all the way. What I did do was tighten down those female ball socket plates because they were a little bit loose so I tightened them down all the way and then I chiseled away some foam from the foam insert on the passenger side and it helped a little bit


Ultimately, I think in my case I'm probably just need to take my Kevlar support bar off one of these days and take it down to a machine shop and have them CNC mill about 7 mm off of the aluminum plate that bolts to the frame rail that will allow the Kevlar support to bring the entire bumper system closer inward thus lining up with the fenders better


For the top foam pieces that you asked about on the killer support bar, I actually used JB 5 minute quick weld to adhere it and then I used some plastic clamps to gently apply pressure for about 20 minutes and then I also took 4 hour JB weld epoxy and went around all of the edges to kind of anchor it a little bit better.




Here is my bumper's final fitment.. I'm happy with the gaps under the headlights and the hood, but I'm still annoyed by the alignment of the bumper to the fenders, especially on the passenger side. It's a little bit worse than the driver side and it's going to bother me. I know it is. But for now it's about the best I can do with at this moment.



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This is exactly how my OE Euro bumper behaves on a carbon Kevlar support. Drivers side is perfect, passenger is about 3/8 inch too far forward. It’s been like that since I bought the car seven years ago. Had the bumper off earlier this year to delete the aux fan and it wasn’t obvious to me how to make it fit better.

Maybe I’ll revisit this year … not sure it bothers me enough to mess with it more though unless I’m already in there for something.