OEM e46 M3 Power Folding Mirrors - Weight ????

[bmw m3 s50]

Quick question -------------- Does anyone know the weight of an OEM E46 M3 power-folding mirror?


I checked RealOEM and it looks like the power-folding and non-power-folding mirrors are listed with the same weight. That doesn’t make sense, considering the power-folding version includes an actuator.


Has anyone here have the OEM power folding mirrors? Can you confirm whether they actually weigh the same or if there’s a noticeable difference between power-folding and non-power-folding mirrors?

[nuc1]

Had them on the car since 2008. The motors aren't very heavy - maybe the weight of an cell phone each? If you open up the non-motorized mirrors you can see how small they are.

Mike

[nextelbuddy]

Imagine they're almost identical

The manual assembly in the US market manual folding mirrors has a fairly large spring in it.. and when compared to the electric motor assembly, I would imagine it's only a few more ounces heavier. Definitely less than a pound in weight


That is the only difference between the two mirrors

That is what the power fold assembly looks like and it's virtually identical in size and weight of the non folding unit.

Why are you asking?

[bmw m3 s50]

Imagine they're almost identical

The manual assembly in the US market manual folding mirrors has a fairly large spring in it.. and when compared to the electric motor assembly, I would imagine it's only a few more ounces heavier. Definitely less than a pound in weight


That is the only difference between the two mirrors

That is what the power fold assembly looks like and it's virtually identical in size and weight of the non folding unit.

Why are you asking?

Interesting. It makes sense because Real OEM has them both at the same weight. I didn't realize that the spring load mechanism weighted almost the same weight as the electric motor assembly.

I am asking because I like little features like auto-fold. So features like power folding mirrors on locking and unlock, auto headlights, rain sensing wipers, HID headlights, etc always has interested me. I was always turned off by the potential increased weight due to the electric motor assembly.

I have a lightweight street build m3 coupe, that is a project car and I am moving to the exterior phase. I was thinking of retrofitting these mirrors but did not want to ad an extra 2-3 lbs. I know that 2-3 lbs is not a lot but when your looking for weight reduction, 1 or 2 lbs adds up. If they weight only a few ounces more, then it would be a weight penalty that I could accept for the nicer feature of having mirrors auto fold on locking and unlocking car.

[YYZ-M3]

Should you decide to tackle this, you can scavenge the motors out of aftermarket mirrors as long as your OEM mirrors don't have the ribbon style connector.

I used these: https://www.ebay.com/itm/284891995764

Pretty simple process, just disassemble both sets and swap the motors over.

I programmed the folding mirrors using NCS. Holding down the lock button on the fob folds the mirrors up. They fold down when you hit unlock. I haven't found a switch yet.

[bmw m3 s50]

Should you decide to tackle this, you can scavenge the motors out of aftermarket mirrors as long as your OEM mirrors don't have the ribbon style connector.

I used these: https://www.ebay.com/itm/284891995764

Pretty simple process, just disassemble both sets and swap the motors over.

I programmed the folding mirrors using NCS. Holding down the lock button on the fob folds the mirrors up. They fold down when you hit unlock. I haven't found a switch yet.

How have the aftermarket motors held up over time? I always worry about aftermarket cheap motors failing after all the work put in to disassembling and reassembling mirrors.

That is what I am looking for when it is all said and done, holding down the lock button on the fob folds the mirrors up and folding down when you hit unlock.

I have this feature on my e70 X5 and think it's a cool feature.

[YYZ-M3]

I have only had the car for a few months so it’s too soon to say. I don’t imagine the motor or mechanical assembly is much different (better or worse) vs OEM.