Options for changing out Guage rings?

Got the Coupe's radiator flushed and an oil change today. First time I've ever asked for a loaner car. That was kinda fun.

It was an '04 330xi. I immediately noticed that its instrumentation guage rings were aluminum and not chrome. The shape of the guage rings, the overall size, and the amount of flange / set-in appeared to be identical to my Coupe and Roadster 3.0i guage rings. This would be a very cool change out mod for my Coupe. Yeah..

Do you guys know if it's possible to order these aluminum guage rings separately, how much they might be, and most importantly.. if they'll drop in fit the Z3 guages?

I probably wouldn't do this immediately. I'd wait until one or more of the back lights burned out and I had to pull the instrument cluster out. Hmm.. actually.. can you pull the plastic cover off at all, once the cluster is out, or is it glued shut (like the headlights on most models)?

While we're on the subject of guage rings, I think I saw that HMS or Bimmian sold aluminum guage rings, but in different anodized colors. Dunno if this would look bad or not. Will these after market ones fit the Z3, and well?

Thanks.

Reply » Options for changing out Guage rings?

Cluster is not glued together. Some pictures from my initial exploration of putting V1 display stuff into my cluster:

http://www.rfdm.com/ValentineOne/pics/index.html

Reply » Options for changing out Guage rings?

It might be worth noting that the 330's come with the aluminum gauge rings, whilst the 325 comes with nada. There are countless sources of these rings ranging from being just like OEM, to chrome, to anodized aluminum (various colors)... one set looked to be machined aluminum... wider, flat profile rather than the round profile... quite striking.

I don't know how these are attached at the factory, but the aftermarket pieces are either attached with a couple drops of CA (superglue), or a bit of butyl. I bought a set of chrome rings that had the butyl already applied... just position and press in place.

The bezel portion of the cluster can be separated from the faces / mechanics quite easily... just a few clips, if I recall correctly. The area around hte gauges (flat-black) with the gauge cut-outs stays with the clear plastic bezel... the rings are installed through the back, which at first seems like quite a magic trick. Recall though that the main gauges have flats at the bottom of the circles -- this allows you to rotate the ring, slide it in, then position it.

Lots of kits advertized on Ebay... some with specific fitments for e46 vs e36 / z3 ... note that all the e46 gauges have flats at the bottom, while the E36 outer gauges are full-round.

One match from 'e46 gauge rings' on ebay

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