[five3three]

Originally Posted by asn

So, without knowing the laws, it would probably be safest to install clear or smoked reflectors in the front and back, assuming I can find them.

I can guarantee you the law states the color of the reflector in the front and rear so if that's your concern you shouldn't change anything. There is a reason all cars in the US have orange in the front and red in the rear. If safety is the concern and not law then I am not sure how much reflection clear and smoke would actually provide since they are not colors that are easily visible at night.

[bimmerbuff]

Originally Posted by BEM-S4

A lot of cars have them buried within the headlamp assembly. For those looking to remove we're very lucky that's not the case for ours.

Sure, I've seen that. I suppose my question was more if the separate front reflectors (not in the headlight assembly) were mandated by a recent law (either here in the US or in Europe or both). I feel like I notice them more on recent foreign cars. Could just be my imagination.

[DanG]

They have been on US cars for years. A lot of times they are included in the headlight assembly.

I put painted reflectors on my 2003 M3 when I bought it new.

[Ramos]

Just installed mine today - mineral white from IND and I have to say that the color match is less than perfect.. Pretty noticeable difference in color and I'm not very happy.

It's better than the hideous orange reflectors but not seamless as I would have hoped.
The painted reflectors have too much dark speckles and overall are lighter shade of metallic white than the rest of the bumper.

[ska///235i]

Originally Posted by Ramos

Just installed mine today - mineral white from IND and I have to say that the color match is less than perfect.. Pretty noticeable difference in color and I'm not very happy. It's better than the hideous orange but not seamless

Contact Andrew and he'll get it fix...maybe they give you AW by mistake

[Ramos]

Originally Posted by ska///235i

Contact Andrew and he'll get it fix...maybe they give you AW by mistake

No definitely metallic, in fact too much speckles compared to the metallic of the rest of the car. I can't be bothered to replace them again.. FYI, the mineral white were $15 more expensive than any other color

[Xmas]

so itll cost $15 for shipping when the reflector is less than 1lb?????

[Ryan@IND]

Originally Posted by Ramos

Just installed mine today - mineral white from IND and I have to say that the color match is less than perfect.. Pretty noticeable difference in color and I'm not very happy.

It's better than the hideous orange reflectors but not seamless as I would have hoped.
The painted reflectors have too much dark speckles and overall are lighter shade of metallic white than the rest of the bumper.

Mineral White is a 3 stage pearl paint and unfortunately is very difficult to match without the vehicle in-house. The additional price is due to the pearl stage. We do apologize for the inconvenience and all of our painted products have a match guarantee. Our support manager will be in touch with you shortly.

[BEM-S4]

Originally Posted by Andrew@IND

Mineral White is a 3 stage pearl paint and unfortunately is very difficult to match without the vehicle in-house. The additional price is due to the pearl stage. We do apologize for the inconvenience and all of our painted products have a match guarantee. Our support manager will be in touch with you shortly.

My MG set had a small blemish and after a few emails back and forth IND sent a new set. I will point out two things though.

1 - visually inspect before installing, getting these fuckers installed is a lot easier than removing them to ship back
2 - as much as it would be great to be able to photograph any issues, for what we're dealing with here a lot of the time it simply won't show up in a photo - I had that issue personally - so if they ask for photos and it won't work they're pretty reasonable to work with

At the end of the day it took an extra week but mine are installed and I'm happy.

[Daddycat]

Originally Posted by five3three

I can guarantee you the law states the color of the reflector in the front and rear so if that's your concern you shouldn't change anything. There is a reason all cars in the US have orange in the front and red in the rear. If safety is the concern and not law then I am not sure how much reflection clear and smoke would actually provide since they are not colors that are easily visible at night.

Amber front and red rear reflectors have been required on US cars since the '70s. They help other drivers see you, what direction you're facing, and what direction your travelling from any approach angle, especially at night or during inclement conditions.

Just like you can't use blue lights or strobes (restricted to emergency vehicles) but lots of folks do it anyway.

Hideous? Unsightly? Really? Get a grip--this is definitely a first-world "problem"...

[benes136]

This is actually really difficult. The top clip is a pain to get out and the second you just have to force out. Busted the clip on the stock reflector, going to town on the second.

[benes136]

Originally Posted by asn

So, without knowing the laws, it would probably be safest to install clear or smoked reflectors in the front and back, assuming I can find them.

Laws? Where we're going, we don't need laws.

[Ryan@IND]

Originally Posted by benes136

This is actually really difficult. The top clip is a pain to get out and the second you just have to force out. Busted the clip on the stock reflector, going to town on the second.

Another trick of the trade is to try a using a heat gun on its lowest setting or hair dryer and focus the heat around the reflector. This will make the adhesive more malleable.

[TaiChiSteve]

Originally Posted by Andrew@IND

Another trick of the trade is to try a using a heat gun on its lowest setting or hair dryer and focus the heat around the reflector. This will make the adhesive more malleable.

So does the IND painted reflectors come with adhesive?

[BEM-S4]

Originally Posted by TaiChiSteve

So does the IND painted reflectors come with adhesive?

Not really sure what he's talking about there is no adhesive for M235i. For other models there may have been but ours snap in.

[TaiChiSteve]

Originally Posted by BEM-S4

Not really sure what he's talking about there is no adhesive for M235i. For other models there may have been but ours snap in.

Thanks,
Should be picking up my new car within a few days, the reflectors are one of the first changes to be made.

[benes136]

No adhesive on mine either. The biggest problem I had was squeezing the top clip hard enough and then there is no access to the bottom clip if you have parking sensors. I used a screwdriver to push from inside the fender on the circle part for added leverage.

[BEM-S4]

Originally Posted by benes136

No adhesive on mine either. The biggest problem I had was squeezing the top clip hard enough and then there is no access to the bottom clip if you have parking sensors. I used a screwdriver to push from inside the fender on the circle part for added leverage.

Yeah the clips are a bitch. The top if you pull the far clip as hard as you can while pushing out and pulling from the outside it works. The bottom I did the same but it didn't do much. Thankfully the fender is flexible enough that if you do it slowly you don't break anything.

[Ryan@IND]

Originally Posted by BEM-S4

Not really sure what he's talking about there is no adhesive for M235i. For other models there may have been but ours snap in.

I do apologize, I was referring to another model.

[TaiChiSteve]

Originally Posted by Andrew@IND

I do apologize, I was referring to another model.

No worries, I'll be ordering a set in the next day or so, along with a couple of other items.

[escobar929]

Originally Posted by BEM-S4

Yeah that's a better way of saying it. Assuming you are on the passenger side, with the top out use left hand to pull the foremost tab on the bottom as far rearward as possible, then pull the top down with your right hand while rotating longitudinally towards the rear to wedge the depressed front tab out first. If that makes any sense at all. It's a little panic inducing but overall not that bad.

Yea, that's how I did mine but g'damn the top clip was hard to get out, not sure how the tool IND sells helps but the entire time I was doing the top clips, I kept thinking why oh why didn't I get their tool

[sunone23]

Removal of the OEM reflectors is definitely a pain.

I used plastic wedge tools that I had laying around (see below). Tried to pry out the OEM ones from the front because I couldn't apply enough force by just squeezing the tabs in the back. You have to be very careful so as not to leave a mark. I left a miniscule mark on one side.

Even with the wedge tools, I still managed to break the tabs. Oh well, no big deal.