Facelifted Kidney Grill Clips for BMW E46

thingiverse

This is a fresh set of Murat's clips tailored specifically to fit on the facelifted E46 kidney grills - my own 2002 325i wagon features these same grills. These clips work seamlessly without requiring any filing, cutting or modification of the 3D printed part. To use them effectively: Follow Murat's step-by-step instructions for carefully trimming the existing clip sockets on the kidney grill plastic (leaving about 1mm in place plus socket depth). Then, install them as suggested by him - a small flathead screwdriver or similar tool is needed to pry the metal tabs of the hood into the printed groove on the clips. My printed parts come with clear numbering and lettering to guide you through where they go on the grill. Here's how to decipher this labeling: When standing in front of the car and looking at the grill, you'll notice two grills: one on the left and one on the right. On each grill, there are six possible mounting locations. Starting from the outside edge (closest to the headlights), location 1 is assigned to it. Moving towards the center of the car along the top edge of the grill, you'll find locations 2 and 3, and then at the inside-most edge, location 4. On the bottom, locations 5 and 6 are situated. To put it simply: counting from the outside edge at 1, the left grill is ascending clockwise and the right grill is ascending counterclockwise. I've only made clips for locations 3, 4, and 5 as this seemed sufficient to hold the grills in place - I was getting tired of dedicating time to this project. If they ever fail, I'll be sure to update them accordingly.