Z3 Instrument chrome rings - install / removal Q?

Thinkin' of doing the console trim swap this weekend (if I can find the time). Got all the instructions (thanks guys). Going from wood to aluminum trim. The wood trim is thicker. The old rings won't swap over to the new trim. They rattle around, as the aluminum trim is thinner. I'm not wild about spending the $60 per set of three ($120 total, 'cuz it takes two sets) for the shallower instrument rings.

I'm thinking of trying to grind down (inverted belt sander) the current rings. And then lightly glue them in place (as I'll be grinding off the little grab-on feet). Feel free to comment on how not-smart this idea may be.

Real question; I can see where this is headed. I'm gonna have to buy the two sets of shallower chrome rings for the aluminum trim. But.. I don't have them now. Soooo.. if I replace the console trim and get the console all put back together, can I just snap in the rings later when they come in, or is it something that has to be snapped into the console trim while the whole console is taken apart and the instruments aren't pushed up against there from in back yet?

Tanks.

Reply » Z3 Instrument chrome rings - install / removal Q?

Changing out the wood console/dash trim for black trim was one of the first things that I did when I got my Z3 about 6 months ago. To me, the wood looked out of place in the otherwise all black interior. Anyway, I thought about trying to grind the rings down but I don't have the proper equipment to do it so I came up with another plan. I took some double stick 3M automotive adhesive tape (the gray foam tape that is about 1/16th of an inch thick) and cut some very thin pieces that would fill the gap between the ring and the console. I carefully wrapped the tape around the trim ring just under the top edge and used a black marker to color the outer edge of the tape. It sounds kind of tacky but when I put the rings on the console it made for an acceptable solution. It really didn't look too bad and you actually had to look pretty closely to even see it. I kept them on until I could get the correct OEM rings which I bought from Pacific BMW for about $30 each which I was able to snap right in later on.
Good luck on the project.