can the 316i badge be removed easily from the boot on my e46?

if so whats the best way to remove it.

i dont want everyone knowing that my car is the slowest of the 3series

thanks people!!

remove the badges with hot (but not boiling) water, they're just held on with adhesive

clean off the residue with a little bit of t-cut then polish

fozzymandeus wrote: if you debadge, everyone will think you have a 316i anyway.

but wont they know for definate if i leave the badges on???

thanks guys, must get out the t-cut now!!

If you're not proud of what you've got change it. Nothing worse than seeing what was a tidy if a little plain 316i tarted up with cheap ///M bits so that it's nothing but a cheap looking hooker.

Wear you're 316i badge loud and proud. We've all been there...

im not planning on sticking stupid boy racer bits on it,

just want a clean lookin car without a piddly little badge to ruin the look of the car

Nothing wrong with debadging a car.

But it's a cardinal sin to pretent it's something that it isn't.  If you have lots of //M styling parts then feel free to stick on an //M badge if you want but don't add the 3 at the end of it.

And anyone who mixes //M badges with Alpina, ASC or Hartge badges should be prosecuted.

i wouldnt dream of putting on a different badge on the car,

i just want a clean boot door thats all.

removing the badge and fitting a new air freshener will be the only mods on the car.

i agree theres nothing worse than seeing a nice car ruined by loads of stupid stickers and badges an the like!!!

Chas C wrote: Nothing wrong with debadging a car. But it's a cardinal sin to pretent it's something that it isn't.  If you have lots of //M styling parts then feel free to stick on an //M badge if you want but don't add the 3 at the end of it. And anyone who mixes //M badges with Alpina, ASC or Hartge badges should be prosecuted.

I agree, I have a 318is saloon that came factory fitted when new with //M side skirts,rear spoiler,rubbing strips, steering wheel, gear stick, 1/2 leather sports interior, sports suspension etc, etc,etc and it has an //M on the boot but no 3. I've thought about taking it off and buying a 318iS badge to go on but then thought why. I believe its acceptable but I think a lot of people don't. The only modification the car has had is a panel filter so its hardly pretending to be something it isn't.

i heard many years ago before i got into bms that you were 'allowed' to have a simple ///M badge fitted as an option by the factory if you went for the optional m-tec bits like suspension or bodykit

i don't know how true this is, but it sounds plausible?

@ Tiko,

Excuse me as I'm just an uneducated sassenach( is this spelt correctly) Mancunian but what are these wee neds I keep hearing about.

stephenperry wrote: i heard many years ago before i got into bms that you were 'allowed' to have a simple ///M badge fitted as an option by the factory if you went for the optional m-tec bits like suspension or bodykit i don't know how true this is, but it sounds plausible?

sounds about right to me aswell

iam sure ive non M3 cars on the docks where bmw import cars .with just an  M badge on it but with all m-tec skirts/shocks sport packs etc etc

as for taking badges off .well id take the M3 badge of my genuine M3 and replace it with a 318 badge;if i had too

but everyone to there own

Hi e46fan and other readers of this thread

I'm feeling a bit bad now about starting this thread about you wanting to de badge your car.

On reflection in my view it would be fine to remove your 316i badge if that's all your doing. After all my last car a E46 328Ci was debadged too. But I assume if you had that you'd keep the badge on.

As for the ///M badge, I'm not so sure. Yes to the Enthusiast it's probably fine to show you've genuine ///M bits but you'll probably get some 'stick' from your friends who might think you're trying to make it like an M3. By the time you explain your self your friends will think your just trying to defend your self.

h3lter wrote: mine is an M badge not an m3 badge! but i didnt put it there!!!! im gonna cry

My point exactly. We're all enthusiasts here and we've debated if the badge is OK. The general concensus seems to be that it's OK. However, you still seem to feel the need to expalin why the badge is there and that it's not an ///M3 badge. You're obviously a bit concerned about the badge and what it says about your car.

My view is that a 325 cab is a great car, why does it need any other badge. In fact it might even take away from the car.

HCZ 22 wrote: As for the ///M badge, I'm not so sure. Yes to the Enthusiast it's probably fine to show you've genuine ///M bits but you'll probably get some 'stick' from your friends who might think you're trying to make it like an M3. By the time you explain your self your friends will think your just trying to defend your self.

Well I'm 53 years old so I think I can cope with stick but what I don't want is people looking down their nose at me thinking I drive a cheap hooker of a BMW when all the extra's are perfectly legitimate fitted by BMW items. The 318iS saloon is a fairly rare version of the E36 so if I were to put a 318iS badge on it would everybody think I was trying to make a 318i look like a 318iS as everyone associates the 318iS as being a coupe.

Perhaps I should get toyota corrolla no one ever looks at them  By the way what does a corrolla look like?

H3lter

If you're feeling the need to explain about the badge here, how much more might you have to explain to the Golf GTI,  MR2  or RS turbo driver that might be behind you at the lights.

Hey honestly I'm not trying to make it like an ///M3 I didn't put the badge there.....

Your local dealer should be able to get you the original badge, or even take a leaf out of the owner of this thread and debadge it, or would you be afraid people might think it's only a 318 cab?

[/QUOTE]

The 318iS saloon is a fairly rare version of the E36 so if I were to put a 318iS badge on it would everybody think I was trying to make a 318i look like a 318iS as everyone associates the 318iS as being a coupe.

[/QUOTE]

If it's a 318is then if it's going to be badged put a 318is badge on it.

You're right, it is a rare model.

you can at least get an idea what the engine capacity might be by the number of tailpipes (1 for 4-cyl, 2 for 6-cyl)... unless its got an aftermarket backbox of course

would you believe that debadging is a factory option?  neither my e46 or e36 had model inscriptions on their bootlids and i think they looked better for it - i had thought about debadging the alpina but that would be the kiss of death to a car which everyone sees as just another 5-series anyway

My dad has a 316i which I'll be debaging (soon) but I'd love to see the looks on some peoples faces once they see they've been overtaken by a 316i!

slightly off the subject

my car is a 325 ci coupe with sport kit ( allegedly from new?) my question is on my log book it says its a 325ci se but according to BMW the SE did not come out until 2003. anybody have any ideas.

also when trying to insure it as it had private plates on before i have to tell them the car make and model and this causes confusion as i cant say its an SE as that model did not exist in 2001. i am also stating on my policy that the sport kit is a modification when technically its not.

any advice welcome.

cheers

p.s thinking of badging it a 316 an telling my insurance company thats what it is . worth a shot

jamsieboi wrote: slightly off the subject my car is a 325 ci coupe with sport kit ( allegedly from new?) my question is on my log book it says its a 325ci se but according to BMW the SE did not come out until 2003. anybody have any ideas. also when trying to insure it as it had private plates on before i have to tell them the car make and model and this causes confusion as i cant say its an SE as that model did not exist in 2001. i am also stating on my policy that the sport kit is a modification when technically its not. any advice welcome. cheers p.s thinking of badging it a 316 an telling my insurance company thats what it is . worth a shot

I have to agree with scraface.

I had a 2000 328Ci SE until last month. I had the AC Schnitzer front splitter, rear spoiler and sport skirts and 18" rims.

Anyway, it was an SE, I think all coupes were at least the 325 & 328 & 330 Ci's were all either sport or SE models. And yes yours was fitted with the aerodynamic package (sport bumbers front & rear and sport skirts). Still a current option in the 3 series accessory catalogue.

I say -

If you want people to think you have an

M3

them buy one in the first place!

or for maximum confusion potential amongst the chav-worthy buy an m5 and badge it as an m3.... cue 360 degree burbury baseball cap rotation... have you ever seen The Exorcist?

OR ..........

stephenperry wrote: for maximum confusion potential amongst the chav-worthy buy an m5/m3

debadge it and put the diesel pointly-down tail-pipes on it!