Driving Lights Behind Grill?

[Offshore24]

Has anyone installed auxiallary driving lights behing the honeycomb grill on their M3? I'm wondering if that's a good place or not. Going to lose some light to the grill itself, but I need more light out there when driving in moose country (Maine).

 

[Breeegz]

I know of a P5 owner that has...

 

[Velocifero]

My friend Rogue has them behind the grill on his P5, red P5 with yellow driving lights. send him a PM, he'll be more than happy to show you pictures of it.

 

[icspots]

It should work fine. I'm vaguely thinking about putting my hella FF75 driving lights from my old truck there. Just make sure you give them a little distance from the plastic. When you're moving it should be fine, but if you're stopped for awhile then they could heat up enough to melt something (if they're too close).

Take a look at these lights. Hella black magic. They're a little more than 7" in diameter, but when they're off they look black so they blend in better.

 

[Breeegz]

I might do those, any lights I do gotta be stealthy

 

[mazda3zoom]

wouldnt that cut down on air flow to the radiator, which in maine shouldnt be a problem but anyone in az should think about this.....

 

[Breeegz]

What about the lower grill (for those of us without FMIC)

 

[Offshore24]

What about the lower grill (for those of us without FMIC)

It's the lower grill that I'm talking about. Based on input I received from a guy with a P5, you may have to remove the bumper to do this. If it rains any time soon, I'll play around in the garage and try to figure something out for my M3.

 

[bbrich57]

Has anyone installed auxiallary driving lights behing the honeycomb grill on their M3? I'm wondering if that's a good place or not. Going to lose some light to the grill itself, but I need more light out there when driving in moose country (Maine).

I have been thinking about a similar mod, but because the best place for driving/passing or spot lights is at the same level as the high beams, I wanted to utilize the upper grill. Less chance of blocking radiator air up there too.
My thought is to carefully cut out part of the center bar of the grill and use 2 pieces of 3" PVC pipe, shaped and finished of course, making them integral w/the grill itself. It seems that there is just enough room, top to bottom, for 3" material. Then glue, screw or whatever them in there, form a flat lip on the back of the pipe, using heat, where a small set of round/oval driving lights could be attached.
My biggest worry about doing this is how will the plastic grill material (ABS?)and the PVC get along with each other, and how to attach one to the other?
Anybody got any ideas or experience doing this?

 

[bbrich57]

edit: OK, so I couldn't let my first attempt go like it was.
I did a very rough photochop using the factory fog lights as a base, to give you all an "idea" of what I'm talking about.
These are pushed further out to the sides than my first attempt was. If I had done proper shadowing they might not look so stuck-on, so please try to invision that when viewing this pic. I just didn't want to take the large amount of time to do it.
WhaddoUthink?

 

[WetsuitxNinja]

Thats actually pretty sick. I would glass them into the grill, and reinforce that middle grill bar if needed (lights bouncing while driving)

 

[D-rock240]

Yeah, that looks pretty cool. Subbin for pics, if it's done right it will look awesome.

 

[bbrich57]

Glass, hmmm... I HATE working w/glass. But it does sound like it has possiblities... as long as it could be made to stick to the grill material, whatever that is, and the PVC?

 

[Breeegz]

Grill is probably plastic... but That's justa guess

PVCis pipe used for plumbing... plastic too

 

[bbrich57]

Things are not always as they seem. Plastic is not just "plastic." There are many types of "long-string molecules" and they don't always work together well. Different melting points, expansion rates, etc...
Determining the type of plastic will be the trick, and determining whether or not they can be combined.