M3 mirrors

do the the E46 M3 mirrors fit on a 2005 330ci ZHP ?? Help

i'm pretty sure they do. they'll even fit sedans with modification to the base

They will fit, but they won't work. Facelift coupes have ribbon connectors

Originally Posted by robin325ci

They will fit, but they won't work. Facelift coupes have ribbon connectors

This......

Originally Posted by robin325ci

They will fit, but they won't work. Facelift coupes have ribbon connectors

so all M3s kept the pre-face connectors? they weren't updated with ribbons??

Originally Posted by E46Mango

so all M3s kept the pre-face connectors? they weren't updated with ribbons??

Yep. A lot of little things got kept pre-facelift like that on the M3. I don't know why they did that.

I wanted M3 mirrors as well, but I couldn't figure out for the life of me how to transfer my motor over to the housing. I don't think it's possible given how it is constructed.

Originally Posted by Zell

Yep. A lot of little things got kept pre-facelift like that on the M3. I don't know why they did that.

This.......they never facelifted the e46 M3, so I guess they didnt bother upgrading some of the wiring either.

Originally Posted by Zell

Yep. A lot of little things got kept pre-facelift like that on the M3. I don't know why they did that.

I wanted M3 mirrors as well, but I couldn't figure out for the life of me how to transfer my motor over to the housing. I don't think it's possible given how it is constructed.

Maybe M3s kept the same wiring harness throughout the years where as non-Ms got an update to MS45 so they just changed things over. Just a guess.

Probably due to non-Ms getting a lot more updates than the M3 did, if any. MK60 ABS, door handles, DME, IAT/MAF/oxygen sensor wiring, bla bla bla. Maybe that's it.

Originally Posted by hazer305

do the the E46 M3 mirrors fit on a 2005 330ci ZHP ?? Help

To answer your question yes they will fit. The E46 M3 mirrors are a direct bolt on but you will have to transfer your original mirror motors over to the M3 mirror housings. It is possible to do this.

Originally Posted by Zell

... I wanted M3 mirrors as well, but I couldn't figure out for the life of me how to transfer my motor over to the housing. I don't think it's possible given how it is constructed.

Zell, the mirror motors are easy to transfer over into the M3 mirror housings. The hardest part is to take out the original mirror motors and wiring harness. The newer E46 have ribbon harness instead of wires like the pre-facelift E46 has. Through research, I have read that the ribbon harness is more likely to break when pulled and stretched while taking it out of the original mirror assemblies. I can tell you from experience that if you exercise lots of patience this can easily be done! I made the transfer from the square OE sedan mirror assemblies to OEM M3 side mirror assemblies.

OP, luckily for you, you don't have to bother with modifying the mirror base plates like sedan owners have to. You also don't have to drill additional holes in the door so that you can mount the mirror assemblies like we sedan owners do so all you have to worry about is transferring the mirror motors and how to mount them in the mirror enclosures of the OEM M3 side mirrors (much easier than you think!)

As you can see...here are my OEM M3 side mirrors mounted on my 2003 ZHP sedan





Here are my motor baseplates installed. I did test fit them and everything lined up :thumbsup




Here are a few pics of my M3 side mirrors as I put them back together.



Motor alignment looks good so far


Ribbon cables run through...this was very easy!


Closer view of how I ran the ribbon cable from the mirror housing through the neck




Hopefully this helps you guys out

Hey cak323i will it be much different to do that on a preface lift?

Originally Posted by Dippinwandy

Hey cak323i will it be much different to do that on a preface lift?

Depends on how the pre-facelift is set up. Worse case, all you have to do is transfer the original mirror motor over to the M3 mirror assembly like I showed in my previous post and you should be all set It's really not that hard to do....just take your time when doing this so you don't damage your wiring/mirror motor....that's it!

Originally Posted by E46Mango

Maybe M3s kept the same wiring harness throughout the years where as non-Ms got an update to MS45 so they just changed things over. Just a guess.

Probably due to non-Ms getting a lot more updates than the M3 did, if any. MK60 ABS, door handles, DME, IAT/MAF/oxygen sensor wiring, bla bla bla. Maybe that's it.

Honestly, I don't think that's the reason. It would've been simpler for them to use the same wiring on all e46s. M3 also recieved the MK60 update along with a new DME in 2003 or 2004. If there's any reason, it might be that BMW wanted to clear up their inventory of non-ribbon motors through the Ms

... so if i have a 2001 330ci and i wanted the 2001 m3 mirrors they wont fit the wires

Originally Posted by pantenchims

... so if i have a 2001 330ci and i wanted the 2001 m3 mirrors they wont fit the wires

no your 2001 330ci doesn't have "ribbon" connectors. it's likely a 12pin.
only late model non-Ms got ribbon connectors. so you're good to go on an easy retrofit.

it will fit since you have a coupe. i have a OE M3 mirror on my e46 sedan.

oh cool thx i was going to pick some up this week