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2010 2011 BMW 5 Series Forum F10 BMW 5-Series (F10) Forums F10 / F11 5-Series Photos - Video - Media Black Kidneys + Night Vision. Yep, I did it.
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      03-21-2012, 01:41 PM   #1
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Black Kidneys + Night Vision. Yep, I did it.

As most are aware BMW does not offer the black kidney grille accessory for vehicles with Night Vision. Why? I have no idea.

I really wanted the black grilles, so I knew I had to make my own.

First, I ordered a replacement set of the standard grilles with NV housing. The camera mount is gigantic. I dropped them off with my friend at a local body shop. He made easy work of the chrome on the slats, sanding them, and then painting them matte black. The chrome bezels, however, presented a challenge. When I realized they were detachable a lightbulb went off in my head.

I then ordered a set of black grilles through Tischer thinking I could use the bezels from those. In typical BMW fashion, I could not. The clips lined up differently. At this point I encouraged my friend to sand the chrome. Several sheets of 220 later the chrome was gone, down to the plastic. Painted glossy black with very good adhesion. The paint is an almost exact match to the shadowline trim on the car. I couldn't be happier.

As for installation, the NV camera housing is secured to the inside of the bumper using a bolt that is accessible from an access hole overhead. Once removed, the grille can be released. You need to disconnect the washer hose assembly and the harness. What BMW did that made things easier was securing the housing to the grille with several clips and 3 torx bolts. Unscrew and remove housing from old grille, insert in new, reinstall, done.

First pictures. It looks nearly identical to OEM. I remembered to clean the blood from my hands off my bumper before taking these.
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      03-21-2012, 01:51 PM   #2
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Looks good. I wonder if BMW will consider a Performance NV front grill. Regardless, nice job taking things into your own hands.
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      03-21-2012, 01:56 PM   #3
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Looks great! Good work...

Do you have pics of your interior with the piano black trim?

Did your car come from the factory with piano black interior trim? Or did you order it and install?

I like my anthracite dark trim very much but I like the piano gloss black even better, especially since my car has a gloss black accent theme.
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      03-21-2012, 02:13 PM   #4
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Great job, couldn't look better.
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      03-21-2012, 03:09 PM   #5
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I have a couple pics (mostly dark) that I can post. The car was ordered with it but the wrong trim was installed. BMW dispatched the pieces shortly thereafter.

Unfortunately it has turned out to be a complete waste of money. The trim swirls and scratches far too easily. It looks horrendous in direct sunlight, especially the passenger side dash and the center console.

I'm pulling it out and going back to Hexagon. I'm going to have my detailer try to polish it and then I will Opticoat it. If I'm satisfied with the results I may reinstall it. Or, I'll just wait until later in the year when BMW releases their M Performance CF trim kit for the interior.

The option cost $1,100 and was special order. Individual pieces total near $3,000.

I should note that there's a cheaper option - color code 4AT - that is basically "gloss black" plastic trim, standard in Europe. It's far, far cheaper than the piano black and I've heard it holds up significantly better.





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      03-21-2012, 05:16 PM   #6
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looks really good!

was the same black used on ur grills n interior trim?
would u happen 2 kno wut the color is called or wut the color code is?
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      03-21-2012, 11:49 PM   #7
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Nice work! Ceramic shifters? Nice touch!
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      03-22-2012, 12:29 AM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by the infamous... View Post
looks really good!

was the same black used on ur grills n interior trim?
would u happen 2 kno wut the color is called or wut the color code is?
Well, the interior trim is BMW OEM Individual Piano Black. Normally reserved for the European market, my order was changed to include this.

Paint on the grilles is just gloss black. I asked my body shop guy to match the Shadowline on the windows and he came incredibly close.

Quote:
Originally Posted by EV0LVE View Post
Nice work! Ceramic shifters? Nice touch!
Yup. Regret ordering without. Expensive retrofit. Parts for the radio and climate knobs are inbound. Should have them by this weekend. Also waiting on a new shift knob insert with the M logo from the M550dx.
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      03-22-2012, 03:56 PM   #9
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the kidneys look really good. T
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      03-22-2012, 09:45 PM   #10
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Very nice...that's too bad about the swirls/scratches on the piano black trim...thanks for the info...

Do you have a photo of that ///M shifter insert you mentioned? How does that remove/install...is it just the insert?

Thanks again, good work, you are into the details like me.
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      03-23-2012, 11:56 PM   #11
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Very nice job indeed. Looks great!
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      06-12-2012, 01:16 PM   #12
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      06-12-2012, 03:47 PM   #13
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how do you find night vision. It was one option I didn't go for. Had to draw the line somewhere and as most of my driving is on lit roads figured it was not worth the extra.
Does it actually work (well) or would you class it as a gadget?

looks nice by the way!
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      06-12-2012, 07:32 PM   #14
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Perfect
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      06-13-2012, 01:33 PM   #15
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sick!

i wanna see the night vision in actipon
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      02-21-2014, 02:49 PM   #16
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Is there any way to add/install night vision to an existing 5 or 7 series?
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      02-21-2014, 03:19 PM   #17
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Quote:
Originally Posted by LuxeFilms View Post
Is there any way to add/install night vision to an existing 5 or 7 series?
Economically, no. You not only have the lens/harness in the grill, but also the iDrive software and the button on the light cluster.
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      02-21-2014, 05:10 PM   #18
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Car is too nice to have the plates like that..put a nice cover over it..
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      02-21-2014, 11:58 PM   #19
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Ossam job on the grille. I hear ya on the piano black trim - looks a million bucks when new but those swirl marks are inevitable and unfortunately can start to age the interior. BMW's Performance CF trim is sensational and can't say a bad word about it. Love your attention to detail WDI
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      07-05-2021, 12:38 PM   #20
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Quote:
Originally Posted by wdimagineer View Post
As most are aware BMW does not offer the black kidney grille accessory for vehicles with Night Vision. Why? I have no idea.

I really wanted the black grilles, so I knew I had to make my own.

First, I ordered a replacement set of the standard grilles with NV housing. The camera mount is gigantic. I dropped them off with my friend at a local body shop. He made easy work of the chrome on the slats, sanding them, and then painting them matte black. The chrome bezels, however, presented a challenge. When I realized they were detachable a lightbulb went off in my head.

I then ordered a set of black grilles through Tischer thinking I could use the bezels from those. In typical BMW fashion, I could not. The clips lined up differently. At this point I encouraged my friend to sand the chrome. Several sheets of 220 later the chrome was gone, down to the plastic. Painted glossy black with very good adhesion. The paint is an almost exact match to the shadowline trim on the car. I couldn't be happier.

As for installation, the NV camera housing is secured to the inside of the bumper using a bolt that is accessible from an access hole overhead. Once removed, the grille can be released. You need to disconnect the washer hose assembly and the harness. What BMW did that made things easier was securing the housing to the grille with several clips and 3 torx bolts. Unscrew and remove housing from old grille, insert in new, reinstall, done.

First pictures. It looks nearly identical to OEM. I remembered to clean the blood from my hands off my bumper before taking these.
Hi. Did you cut NV plate from old grill and pasted on new?
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      07-28-2021, 11:21 AM   #21
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Nice mod
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      10-19-2021, 03:37 PM   #22
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looks great
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