heinzboehmer's 2002 Topaz 6MT Coupe

[karter16]

Looks awesome - especially the snorkel that's really, really nice!!

[heinzboehmer]

Heeell yeah. These came out incredible:



The cerakote is practically a perfect match to the OE finish on the E86 braces. The stock E46 strut bar and brackets are slightly more glossy, but I opted to have them finished in the same color, just for consistency. Really happy with how they look.

You can see I also had my Karbonius snorkel refinished. I had no idea you could cerakote CF, but it came out great. Hard to tell in the pic, but the finish on that part is more matte than the braces, in an effort to make it look as close to the ABS plastic of the OE flap as possible.

I'll get these things on the car soon. Weather has been nice, so maybe I'll grab the camera and get some engine bay beauty shots as well.

[heinzboehmer]

I forgot about this aspect, I wonder how they are dealing with it? With a rigid panel I don't know if it structurally needs it and being in the back window its likely not seen but this is definitely the item that now sticks out to me.

It doesn't curl up past 180 deg, so I think you would be able to wrap the carbon around the lip and just manage to demold the part. Tricky bit for sure though.

Personally I’d trust a mold from an actual part over a scan and re-CAD first attempt. Glad they’re doing it, even if it doesn’t help my wagon situation. I’m still looking for a slicktop touring headliner :/

Oh 100%, I do too. But I do think that having the model will make prototyping go much faster, since you don't have to track down another impossible to find part and take another mold.

I spent some time thinking about how to validate the model efficiently yesterday and I think that using SW to flatten the surface and then printing it out on one of those big paper plotters could work. Then offer up to the real part and see if there are any inconsistencies.

The surface flattening algorithm and assembly do introduce extra variables, but sounds better (and much faster) than trying to print/CNC a few full scale prototypes. Would still for sure need at least one full scale pink insulation CNC part to test fitment before trying to pull a mold though.

[Bry5on]

Personally I’d trust a mold from an actual part over a scan and re-CAD first attempt. Glad they’re doing it, even if it doesn’t help my wagon situation. I’m still looking for a slicktop touring headliner :/

[George Hill]

Lol I guess I don't need to like this post since I like the IG post haha

...and the panel in the back where the headliner curls over.

I forgot about this aspect, I wonder how they are dealing with it? With a rigid panel I don't know if it structurally needs it and being in the back window its likely not seen but this is definitely the item that now sticks out to me.

[Obioban]

I think it'll go in even being completely rigid, I don't recall ever having to bend a coupe. The door frame is larger on a coupe than a sedan and they come out a sedan without bending as well. Worst case you take the door off, 3 bolts and a wiring connector, bingo bango.

I will admit, I did not think of taking off the door.

[heinzboehmer]

So the cars I've pulled these from are junkyard e46 non-m with shit all over the place. I think without a seat and door would help free up space, but I'm going to tinker around with the loose headliner I have and see because now I'm curious.

Other areas I would think about (not necessarily an issue) is how it conforms along the ceiling and slides under the window moldings, and the panel in the back where the headliner curls over. As long as the fit is good i'm sure it's not a huge deal but these are areas I recall some flex aiding.

I'm guessing these reasons why a certain shop took 3 years to develop this, and unless they purchased up all the limited(and now not really available I have a backorder in) BM134 this would be a non-oe fabric.

Yep! The more I stare at this, the more it becomes obvious that there's no way a replica is gonna be better in any way than the BMW part. Weight, NVH, ease of install, etc.

BUT, being able to buy something beats not being to buy anything, so still seems like a worthy endeavor.

I can see how replicating these the traditional way (i.e. trashing a part(s) to pull a mold) drives development costs way up and makes the retail part end up priced like they've priced it. However, I think approaching it from the digital world would lower those costs significantly. Development cost basically becomes materials for the mold and a couple prototypes, then it's just a matter of cranking out parts.

[bavarian3]

So the cars I've pulled these from are junkyard e46 non-m with shit all over the place. I think without a seat and door would help free up space, but I'm going to tinker around with the loose headliner I have and see because now I'm curious.

Other areas I would think about (not necessarily an issue) is how it conforms along the ceiling and slides under the window moldings, and the panel in the back where the headliner curls over. As long as the fit is good i'm sure it's not a huge deal but these are areas I recall some flex aiding.

I'm guessing these reasons why a certain shop took 3 years to develop this, and unless they purchased up all the limited(and now not really available I have a backorder in) BM134 this would be a non-oe fabric.

[heinzboehmer]

Link not working

Oh hmm, looks like they deleted the post?

Link still works on my phone, so maybe the app has it cached?

Whatever, here's a few screenshots:

[bigjae46]

Bryson sent me this: https://www.instagram.com/reel/DYAGESosIlI/

Looks like their strategy is similar?

Link not working

[heinzboehmer]

What I would do is apply a layer of surface veil with epoxy on the original part to create a good surface to pull a mold from. That is how I made a mold for the fiberboard E9X M3 panels that go behind the front bumper.

The bad thing is you have to destroy the part.

Bryson sent me this: https://www.instagram.com/reel/DYAGESosIlI/

Looks like their strategy is similar?

[bigjae46]

The 2M one? I'm very curious to see what they managed to pull off, how they made it, how much it weighs, etc. Staring at this part has made it very obvious that it's not trivial to get it right

What I would do is apply a layer of surface veil with epoxy on the original part to create a good surface to pull a mold from. That is how I made a mold for the fiberboard E9X M3 panels that go behind the front bumper.

The bad thing is you have to destroy the part.

[heinzboehmer]

I've definitely replaced a headliner on a coupe without removing the door. I MAY have removed the seat or laid them all the way back, but I've done it without a door removal. For whatever it may be worth

Also on the e46 m3 Facebook group, someone said they were going to make slick top headliners at about $1k soon. But I didn't pay too much attention to it

The 2M one? I'm very curious to see what they managed to pull off, how they made it, how much it weighs, etc. Staring at this part has made it very obvious that it's not trivial to get it right.

You don't need to on a stock headliner, lay the seat back and open the door and it goes out the passenger side no problem.

What I meant was that IF you needed to bend it to get it out and a rigid headliner wouldn't fit then you could take the door off easier than pulling a windshield. Again, I don't think that is necessary but some people were concerned in the various headliner threads present right now.

Yep, I like your line of reasoning. Feels safer to go for max stiffness in the part and remove the door if necessary during install. Seems like much less hassle in the end than trying to live with a floppy headliner.

Unless you make it too stiff and it resonates at highway speeds 🙃

If that ends up being an issue, it might be worth looking into redesigning the motion sensor bracket so that it double-sided-tapes to the roof, to constrain the part in the middle. Hopefully that drives the resonant frequency way up into a range that a street car will never see in practice.

[George Hill]

I've definitely replaced a headliner on a coupe without removing the door. I MAY have removed the seat or laid them all the way back, but I've done it without a door removal. For whatever it may be worth

You don't need to on a stock headliner, lay the seat back and open the door and it goes out the passenger side no problem.

What I meant was that IF you needed to bend it to get it out and a rigid headliner wouldn't fit then you could take the door off easier than pulling a windshield. Again, I don't think that is necessary but some people were concerned in the various headliner threads present right now.

[YoitsTmac]

I've definitely replaced a headliner on a coupe without removing the door. I MAY have removed the seat or laid them all the way back, but I've done it without a door removal. For whatever it may be worth

Also on the e46 m3 Facebook group, someone said they were going to make slick top headliners at about $1k soon. But I didn't pay too much attention to it