Fitting an Mtech 1 Kit

Post Sat Jan 28, 2006 12:10 pm

Hi there, i've got a full mtech 1 kit sitting in my garage and im just wondering if theres anyone who has had the misfortune of fitting one of these to the car? Ive successfully negotiated the rear valance on, although waiting on the end caps still, however i havent even started on the skirts and front valance. I only have the two side skirts and 1 piece front valance, can anyone tell me what i need on top of this? Ive checked real oem and it seems there are lots of bits needed to fit the kit, but from experience with the rear valance, not all these bits are completely necessary. Im particularly interested in what is needed for fitting the front valance, do i need different parts to go over the metal bumper (numberplate base plate, indicator surrounds) once the valance is fitted, or can i use the existing parts? I know this probably won't make sense to alot of people, but i hoping someone else has gone through this bastard proceedure!?

Thanks, Theo

Post Sun Jan 29, 2006 1:01 am

the front is pretty much the same as the rear if my memory serves me correctly.
skirts asr easy, 5 clips on the bottom to hold them to the under side of the sill, two screw at each end to the wheel arches and some bonding glue. you could add the top clips but that involves drilling in to the sills, not recomended.

Post Sun Jan 29, 2006 12:00 pm

Nice one mate, looks like the side skirts will be next to go on then. Am I right in thinking you know dips? I need to get the skirts and front valance sprayed, he's in West London too isnt he? Im just outside lovely Uxbridge at University. Cheers for the advice, Theo.

Post Mon Jan 30, 2006 1:49 am

Theo325 wrote:Nice one mate, looks like the side skirts will be next to go on then. Am I right in thinking you know dips? I need to get the skirts and front valance sprayed, he's in West London too isnt he? Im just outside lovely Uxbridge at University. Cheers for the advice, Theo.

yea, know him pretty well

he's the man to get them painted,

Post Mon Jan 30, 2006 11:37 am

I'm looking at an mtech 1 kit at the moment too. Is there much of a differnce between the one and two piece versions? This one is the two piece, and I'm assuming the one piece would look cleaner.

It's in pretty shabby condition, and has a crack on one side where the front valance bolts on (next to the number plate). Would this be fixable? Someone has also cut a hole in the rear valance for a tow bar, but this shouldn't be so much of a problem.

Will standard fog lights fit?

Post Mon Jan 30, 2006 11:59 am

As far as I know there is only one variant of the mtech 1 kit, this consists of a front valnce which goes under the original metal bumper, a pair of 1 piece side skirts, a two piece boot spoiler and a rear valance which again, goes under the metal bumper. What I didn't appreciate before I had the kit is that there are various other specific parts needed when fitting an mtech kit. I had/am having real problems sorting out rubber end caps for the rear bumper, i had assumed the existing ones were ok, but in actual fact the ones needed are slightly smaller. I think you are also meant to have a different bumper strip for the rear as well. On top of this you need all sorts of fittings which are far too boring to chat about. Im not looking forward to fitting the front valance, ive looked at the fog lights and im undecided as to whether you need anything extra. The only help I can give you is to direct you to the following website, which has loads of exploded diagrams and may clarify what is needed.

http://www.realoem.com/bmw/partgrp.do?m ... spid=47283

Post Mon Jan 30, 2006 12:15 pm

As far as I know there is only one variant of the mtech 1 kit, this consists of a front valnce which goes under the original metal bumper.

I read somewhere that there was a version of the front valance that replaced the bumper as well. Never seen one though, and I did read it on the net.....

The kit I'm looking at dosn't come with any of the fittings I don't think. Are the end caps the only things you've had real trouble finding? They're still available at delaers, but at stupid prices arn't they?

Have you had trouble sorting out gaps, or has it fit cleanly so far?

Cheers for the tips and the link.

Post Mon Jan 30, 2006 12:55 pm

The rubber ends are the only bits ive had trouble getting hold of so far, but I havent yet attempted to fit the front valance, and from what I can tell the plastic bits that are on the bumper at the moment (number plate mount, indicator surrounds, end trim pieces may all need replacing, in which case they will undoubtly be tought to get holf of. The rubber end caps are still available from the dealers, buts they cost alot.

In terms of gaps... the only thing i've fitted so far is the rear valance, and it really does look the nuts, there are no gaps, certainly no bigger than when it was standard. There is a length of plastic trim which you can get from bmw cheaply (its on the real oem diagram) which fills the gap between bumper strip and the actual metal bumper. Ive also put on the rear boot spoiler, although i need to spray the plastic part - i rekon this is the best spoiler available for the car, really does look the danglies - highly recommended.

By the way there is a full mtech 1 kit on ebay at the moment which looks quite good, has the fog lights intact too. Not suitable for a 325i though, as there is no ventilation for the oil cooler, although this should be easy to cut out, (another thing im going to have to do!)

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll? ... %3AIT&rd=1

Post Tue Jan 31, 2006 1:38 am

By the way there is a full mtech 1 kit on ebay at the moment which looks quite good, has the fog lights intact too. Not suitable for a 325i though, as there is no ventilation for the oil cooler, although this should be easy to cut out, (another thing im going to have to do!)

Nice! I have a 325i, but it dosn't look too hard to cut. I'm in Australia, and the one I'm looking at is much more expensive than what they seem to go for in the UK, and is in pretty poor condition. They were never sold here though, so they are rare. Maybe importing one would be a better option.