[JohnVidale]

I'm debadging my Mojave Brown 328ix when it arrives next week, with the goal of removing crass commercial branding.

I am also am considering toning down the blue/white roundel on the hood and trunk by either applying a black decal or replacing the entire roundel with a black/white substitute roundel. I'd like to make it brown/white to match the car's paint, but don't see that color available.

Is toning down the roundel considered déclassé to the cognoscenti, or is it a legitimate alternation?

If a change is not frowned upon, should a decal be used, or is replacing the entire ornament better looking and/or the much more permanent solution? Any links to companies with the best parts for such an operation?

[TrueBlue12]

i got some blue carbon fiber from bimmian, you can tell it a decal from closer than 1 foot but other than that not really noticeable.

[JohnVidale]

TrueBlue

Bimmian - very nice selection. I see solid brown, gold, and wood that all could be plausible. Plus I didn't realize the wheels have four more roundels.

Thanks.

Do these emblems need replacement every few years?

[edit - wow, there's a lot of posts on debadging and the Freudian motives behind it. Sorry to have started another thread. I just don't like lettering - I also peeled all possible decals off my bicycle, they're just garish. Similarly for covering up the Bavarian blue color - logos not sacred.]

[Rossifumi]

You haven't considered a wrap similar to this so that people won't recognize it is a BMW just by looking at it?

[dcg71]

I was thinking the same thing

[reedo302]

No kidding.

[JohnVidale]

Is there really sentiment that re-coloring the blue in the roundel will degrade the car because onlookers might mistake it for some other brand?

[Tsuvoi]

You want to remove "crass" branding and yet you keep the BMW badge... Practice what you preach and take it off entirely...

[JohnVidale]

Originally Posted by ft1337

You want to remove "crass" branding and yet you keep the BMW badge... Practice what you preach and take it off entirely...

I hadn't thought of that - doesn't that leave holes in the hood and trunk and look ridiculous?

I like the blue for black, white, and silver cars, but blue and brown are less complementary.

[The Economist]

Originally Posted by JohnVidale

I hadn't thought of that - doesn't that leave holes in the hood and trunk and look ridiculous?

I see that there are many people here who didn't understand your question and have even taken offense for what I imagine is an undying love and loyalty for the roundel and everything it stands for - perhaps those who associate their own identity with the identity of the roundel (i.e. a sacrosanct projection of themselves).

My interpretation is that you don't have a problem with the branding per se, but only the branding that you see as "crass". You're looking to get a cleaner appearance and believe that the model designation, etc... is "crass" in that it looks like an afterthought (which it is) and is in bad taste (which it is). In addition, you feel that the roundel itself is part of the design architecture (indentations in the sheet metal, holes, etc...) but would like to substitute it for a matching colour combination. Ultimately, you're asking whether doing this would be an affirmation of bad taste or, even worse, something so pedestrian and banal that it would blemish your good name (like wearing a shirt with a dirty collar or holding your wine glass by the bulb and not the stem)? <lol - just having some fun here >

I would say no problems at all, so long as you are not intentially deceiving anyone (re-bading to something it is not) or stretching reality (slapping a bunch of "M" badges all over the place) you're good to go. Please post pictures when it's done!

[JohnVidale]

Originally Posted by The Economist

... You don't have a problem with the branding per se. ... You're asking whether doing this would be an affirmation of bad taste or, even worse, something so pedestrian and banal that it would blemish your good name. ...

Thanks for the eloquent restatement. Just so.

As I'm generally a glutton for punishment, I'll try to post some pictures in a month or so if this small project comes to fruition.

From the lack of response, I'm assuming there are not high-quality replacement roundels in various colors, and stick-on decals are the sensible option, even if they likely need replacing every few years?

[Rossifumi]

http://www.khoalty.com/roundel-repla...ll-black.html?

[elistan]

You can puchase a set of CF stickers from Turner Mototsport.
http://www.turnermotorsport.com/p-20...ing-wheel.aspx

Thirty bucks to cover the hood emblem, trunk emblem, steering wheel and 4 wheel emblems. The F30 isn't specifically mentioned in their fitment guide, though.

[AWF30]

Originally Posted by Rossifumi

http://www.khoalty.com/roundel-repla...ll-black.html?

Apparently they have nothing available for f30 model

[sean10mm]

Eh, recoloring roundels seems like a harmless novelty. Not like people sticking fake M3 badges on an old 318i or something.

Removing them would look dumb, especially since they're counter-sunk now so you'd have a crater with nothing in it on your car. Personally I'd just remove the model number/xdrive badges and leave it at that, I think that's a very clean look without fooling around with stickers and such.

[Rossifumi]

Originally Posted by AWF30

Apparently they have nothing available for f30 model

I don't know what size they are on the F30. Most likely the same as some of the other models.

[JohnVidale]

A final note - my car arrived, and the brown in Mojave is more subdued than I remembered and I see in pictures. So it goes fine with blue highlights, in fact the blue provides a helpful dash of color, so I'll skip the decals.

[KellerKiller]

I'm glad that I asked my dealer; de-badging is a factory option. My 335i is EBII, so the stock roundel looks pretty good on it, but if I did change it, I'd go for black and white to match the trim and the black grills I'm getting. Point is, do what you think looks good with the car. If you're going to consider anything in terms of what other bmw owners think, only worry about what would make everyone think you're a gigantic tool. (like the economist more or less said).

One final note, I have a guy at work with what I think is a highly modded E4x. I'm only completely sure it's not an m3 now that he's slapped a huge hood scoop on the damn thing that makes it look like it has a pig snout... Some well done mods can be acceptable by most, I'd assume (even quad exhaust on a 328); but know when you've gone too far...

[bizzyqu]

Originally Posted by The Economist

I see that there are many people here who didn't understand your question and have even taken offense for what I imagine is an undying love and loyalty for the roundel and everything it stands for

[JohnVidale]

Goof-off worked to de-badge my car - the paint looked unharmed. I had first cut off the lettering with dental floss, as recommended. What ever happened to strong, unwaxed floss? I broke about 30 strips of some feeble teflon floss working for a half hour before the xDrive and 328i were gone.

But even with Goof-off, it took about another half-hour to rub off all the residual glue, not easy work, and my fingers are still sore.

I did order the black decals to cover the blue in the roundel, and a Mojave plate frame from Bimmian. And I'll remove those ridiculous airbag warnings from the sun shades as soon as I find a hair dryer.

[Agamemnon]

I don't know - modifying a famous manufacturer's badge just seems wrong somehow to me. It would be like modifying a Ferrari prancing horse to make it a prancing donkey or changing the snorting bull on a Lambo to a snorting cow. The blue and white in the BMW emblem represents the colours of Bavaria. It does represent something.

But its your car so you can do with it as you please.