Pre-LCI to LCI Conversion

Hey everyone -

I'm currently gaining a little more insight as to what it takes in order to successfully pull a pre-LCI to LCI conversion with only the hood and front bumper. I currently have a 2008 E90 335i sedan (preLCI).

Just seeing if anyone out there had any success stories or great points of reference I can seek out and get a ballpark estimate on price / hours.

Thanks!

I know the main reason people want the LCI's is for the lights they have. To be honest I don't think will work just because of the difference between the wiring and Control modules. This can get expensive fast though as well. Here is a decent write up a guy did on his. http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=558338
I personally would just look to purchase a LCI but to each is your own.

Thanks for the feedback. I'm not so much interested in the lights, just the hood with the V contour lines and front bumper. Is this just a straight cosmetic swap or are there dimensional differences that make this a lot harder than it seems?

Yes because you may nee to do the lights as well for proper body panel fitment.

You might want to use realoem.com to compare pre & post lci part numbers for hood, bumper, lights etc - I took a quick look & I think front fenders are the same. If the lights are different part numbers, possible that new hood & bumper wouldn't fit. Then there's also whether attachment hardware is different & so on. Unless you found a lci car that was rear-ended and could scavenge the parts cheaply, this might be an idea that gets into a few thousand bucks or more, quickly. Google to see if there's anything else on the 'net by anyone who's done it, see what other info is out there.

Have you considered going with an aftermarket hood and bumper from some place like Bavarian Autosports or Turner... I know that looks are highly subjective but the M3 look in my opinion is a nice change.

I'll have to look further into it, thanks. Thank you all for the input.

Yea, looks like I'll have to go with new lights to match the LCI hood, everything else fits perfectly. I was also looking at an M tech front bumper - I think this will help change the car's appearance drastically and make it look newer.

Sonictuning sells a conversion kit that includes the lci mtech bumper. Sells for $999 that last time I checked and it comes with all oem parts needed.