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      01-13-2023, 10:11 PM   #1
Ninetres
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OEM M4 CSL Grill with M3 Competition Badge -- *How-To* DIY

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This is doable, but NOT a simple plug/play. You gotta earn it.

Parts:
OEM M4 CSL grill 51138085968
OEM side badge 51138076996
X-acto knife
Single edge razor
Black gloss vinyl wrap
Double sided tape
Trim tools and/or computer spudger set
Masking tape
GENTLE adhesive remover
Bourbon
Profanity


To start with, The OEM M4 CSL badge is essentially PART of the grill itself. It is NOT applied with double sided tape as most badges. I basically taped off the edges of the badge area, to use for leverage with a trim tool, to "bust" them off of the grill. Each letter is attached with a few small, red plastic tabs. As far as I can tell, there is no way to remove them from the back, and they must be popped off with force. Be careful not to scratch anything. I ended up preferring a spudger tool from a cheap amazon computer repair kit. They are basically small, metal, mini-trim-tool-looking tools.

Once all of them pop off, you'll notice all of the unsightly dozen or so red dots, in addition to several small rectangle shaped depressions in the badge area. The "M3competition bade", which is sourced from an OEM side badge (~$35+shipping), does NOT cover all of these. I considered dropping some touch-up paint in them, but apparently I trashed the black one I had from a previous Audi. Even then, they will still be minorly visible if you look close, although doubtful a casual gawker would notice. A new idea came to me--install a small piece of black gloss vinyl wrap in the area. Luckily, one shop near me I've frequented for various things over the years was happy to do this for some lunch money. REALLY happy with how that came out. He, intentionally, didn't attempt to press the vinyl into all of the dots and depressions. Came out smooth, and as long as I don't get too carried away with the pressure washer I anticipate it will hold up just fine and not be TOO big of an issue if I need to re-do it in years to come.

The most fun part? Reapplying some double-sided tape to the tiny M3 badges you robbed from the OEM side badge. The "3" was a major PITA for my fat fingers......fresh X-acto knife, fresh razor etc. Also--You have to carefully razor off the silver block next to the "c" in competition so that it fits properly.

The good luck getting them all stuck down perfectly straight. Perhaps you have smaller fingers than me, and a studier hand. I'm happy with how mine came out, despite not being 1000% perfect. They appear to me to be close enough that nobody will notice once they are on the car, but I'm pretty OCD and will concede they are not titty perfect.

The red vinyl surrounds peel off fairly straight forward, but does leave some pesky residue. Be careful what product you use to remove the adhesive. I tested some goof off on the back, and it essentially melted the plastic lol.

Shout out to khalua80 who has this setup on his G80 (SICK car). He was super helpful in the DMs about his experience. Figured I'd make a quick thread in case anyone else wonders down this path, as not many have as far as I've seen.

Install to come in a week or two, and I'll reserve the post below for proper before/after pics (along with the MP CF lower inlets). Cheers.
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      01-13-2023, 10:12 PM   #2
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[Spot reserved for before/after install pics]
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      01-14-2023, 10:19 AM   #3
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Awesome thread! I’m working on the exact same project this weekend. Last weekend I pulled/broke the M4 CSL badge off the new grille, removed the red tape border, and ceramic coated the CSL grille. I’m going to mount the M3 Competition badge (and the holder) from my original grille onto the CSL grill before I replace the grille. I’ll take pics, and if you want to see them, I can post in this thread. I’ll be replacing the grille on Monday.
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      01-14-2023, 10:49 AM   #4
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Great thread! Hey glad I could help and the grill is going to look sick on that car. Cant wait to see it installed..
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      01-14-2023, 11:00 AM   #5
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Good stuff, love me some tutorials!
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      01-14-2023, 12:52 PM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by spridge View Post
Awesome thread! I’m working on the exact same project this weekend. Last weekend I pulled/broke the M4 CSL badge off the new grille, removed the red tape border, and ceramic coated the CSL grille. I’m going to mount the M3 Competition badge (and the holder) from my original grille onto the CSL grill before I replace the grille. I’ll take pics, and if you want to see them, I can post in this thread. I’ll be replacing the grille on Monday.
Yea same exact badges on the grill and side badges. I’m weird, and like to stash all the OEM parts, so I didn’t want to dismember the OEM M3 grill haha. Replacing the side badge is only $35, and the grill is $200 iirc.
In other news, my buddy helping with the install is pretty slammed at his ppf shop . Sounded like I’ll be lucky to get in in 2 weeks.

I’m also going to see if he can put PPF on the main large cross bar. I’m sure that will take some bug/rock hits over time.
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      01-17-2023, 02:20 PM   #7
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Sorry but the execution here is super sloppy and unworthy of the vehicle. If you’re going to attempt this modification, do it right and have a fabricator or competent body shop customize the CSL grill correctly. Can’t believe this vinyl band aid and crooked Competition badge made the front page.
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      01-17-2023, 02:25 PM   #8
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Just a few things to point out in case others want to do this mod. 'Goof Off' has acetone in it and is way too strong. It'll also mess up your paint so don't use it! Although 'Goo Gone' has a similar name, it's a completely different product which tends to get confused with Goof Off. Goo Gone is citrus based and safe to use on a car, including the paint. It's a great go to for removing adhesive residue. Regarding the badge area where the OP had vinyl wrap placed; you could cutout a thin piece of plastic, wrap it in vinyl and then used some 3M double sided tape to fasten it. That would ensure it wouldn't come off from a pressure washer and the holes wouldn't ever protrude through.
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      01-17-2023, 02:38 PM   #9
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Great job OP!
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      01-17-2023, 02:38 PM   #10
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Nice job — Vinyl and All; you set out to make it happen and you did.

I can guarantee no one but a fellow owner or enthusiast could possibly notice anything off, and even then only upon telling them it’s a custom grill.
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      01-17-2023, 02:39 PM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Quadruple VANOS View Post
Sorry but the execution here is super sloppy and unworthy of the vehicle. If you’re going to attempt this modification, do it right and have a fabricator or competent body shop customize the CSL grill correctly. Can’t believe this vinyl band aid and crooked Competition badge made the front page.
Damn, man... chill. These ain't Huracan STOs. In 10 years almost all of these cars are going to be on their second and third owners, and a third of them will be clapped out with stretched wheels and "stanced".

**Edit: If its sarcasm, I completely missed it. /whoosh**

Damned if you do; damned if you don't around here. Had he put that grill on his Competition with the CSL badge on it, someone would have Sponge Bob'd him with "bUt It AiN't A cSl!". He made an effort to modify the front end (which is bandwagon popular to hate on) and identify it correctly.

OP, nice work. I wish BMW and the third party vendors gave the option of sticking an M3/4 Comp badge in there from their shops. I just bought a carbon fiber one yesterday.... but now I have to deal with it saying Kies Motorsport everywhere.

Like, I paid for this thing fool... you didn't sponsor me....
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      01-17-2023, 02:51 PM   #12
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I swear I rather slap an xDrive badge in there than a stuff a chopped comp badge lol

Literally hate the idea of that comp badge plastered all over the cars in general….

If u must, have someone make you a M3/4 ZCP badge, that’ll take and show some real effort too.
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      01-17-2023, 02:54 PM   #13
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Hmm, whelp... since it made front page maybe some vendor might see that there is a market for people that want to fill that space with a proper sized badge... or just fill that void completely (which is what I would prefer).
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      01-17-2023, 03:10 PM   #14
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Slow day for the front page I suppose?
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      01-17-2023, 03:43 PM   #15
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Quote:
Originally Posted by V1L3 View Post
Damn, man... chill. These ain't Huracan STOs. In 10 years almost all of these cars are going to be on their second and third owners, and a third of them will be clapped out with stretched wheels and "stanced".

**Edit: If its sarcasm, I completely missed it. /whoosh**

Damned if you do; damned if you don't around here. Had he put that grill on his Competition with the CSL badge on it, someone would have Sponge Bob'd him with "bUt It AiN't A cSl!". He made an effort to modify the front end (which is bandwagon popular to hate on) and identify it correctly.

OP, nice work. I wish BMW and the third party vendors gave the option of sticking an M3/4 Comp badge in there from their shops. I just bought a carbon fiber one yesterday.... but now I have to deal with it saying Kies Motorsport everywhere.

Like, I paid for this thing fool... you didn't sponsor me....
Idk dude. A Lambo, an M3, a Civic, whatever. If a car is special to the owner, then it’s special.

I couldn’t do the badge like that. My OCD causes a system failure and the screen goes blank. Sounds like the bmw door chime in my head when that happens.

But BMW, in its wisdom, has made the M3 available to everyone, so I have my own to modify how I see fit.

And I see plenty of beautiful E9Xs that are on 2nd and 3rd owners, thank you very much. Some are more expensive than a G8X!
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      01-17-2023, 03:45 PM   #16
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Tag View Post
Just a few things to point out in case others want to do this mod. 'Goof Off' has acetone in it and is way too strong. It'll also mess up your paint so don't use it! Although 'Goo Gone' has a similar name, it's a completely different product which tends to get confused with Goof Off. Goo Gone is citrus based and safe to use on a car, including the paint. It's a great go to for removing adhesive residue. Regarding the badge area where the OP had vinyl wrap placed; you could cutout a thin piece of plastic, wrap it in vinyl and then used some 3M double sided tape to fasten it. That would ensure it wouldn't come off from a pressure washer and the holes wouldn't ever protrude through.
This is great advice should I ever choose to re-do it, thanks. Sourcing some sort of thin, gloss black plastic and cutting to size to fill the badge area is a great idea. Simply for being able to apply the tiny badges on a flat surface, opposed to in a concave cavity (before then applying the completed plastic piece to the grill). Much easier for those of us with man hands.
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      01-17-2023, 03:47 PM   #17
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Quote:
Originally Posted by MachinesWithSouls View Post
Idk dude. A Lambo, an M3, a Civic, whatever. If a car is special to the owner, then it’s special.

I couldn’t do the badge like that. My OCD causes a system failure and the screen goes blank. Sounds like the bmw door chime in my head when that happens.

But BMW, in its wisdom, has made the M3 available to everyone, so I have my own to modify how I see fit.

And I see plenty of beautiful E9Xs that are on 2nd and 3rd owners, thank you very much. Some are more expensive than a G8X!
The comp imperfection triggers me too. If it bothers me once it’s on perhaps I’ll address it.

Trust me when I say the vinyl covering the surface is money in person.
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      01-17-2023, 03:47 PM   #18
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Would look better just leaving the M3 CSL badge.
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      01-17-2023, 03:57 PM   #19
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Quote:
Originally Posted by cehrl7 View Post
Would look better just leaving the M3 CSL badge.
Personally I wouldn’t have even ordered the CSL grill if I hadn’t planned on modifying it properly, but it’d look so much better if the CSL badge was simply blacked out rather than have a poorly executed modification. This was so close to greatness but instead fell far short. Still time to do it right though. What’s stopping him?
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      01-17-2023, 05:21 PM   #20
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Looks good on the car, regardless of the criticism in this thread. DIY Mafia, stay strong.
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      01-17-2023, 05:27 PM   #21
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Quote:
Originally Posted by spridge View Post
Looks good on the car, regardless of the criticism in this thread. DIY Mafia, stay strong.
Having a Red car did you try the grill with the red stripe?
I'm curious if the red stripe would work on a Red car.
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      01-17-2023, 05:32 PM   #22
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Skyscraper View Post
Having a Red car did you try the grill with the red stripe?
I'm curious if the red stripe would work on a Red car
I looked at it in the garage before I started the project. The color didn’t match well enough to leave the stripe.
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