[EGOF13]

Those that only like the looks of the M4 but don't want the big engine or the maintenance costs associated with it, found themselves looking for simple alternatives such as the M4 style/look bumper.

I myself went looking for a good enough alternative to see if I can get away with having the aggressive looks of the M4. Well the the answer is no, you can't, and here's why:

There is only one way to get the M4 look, and that is transplanting the whole front end of the M4 (oem bumper, hood, front side panels and respective mounts, mudguards and miscellaneous)

When looking for an M4 style bumper compatible with an F3x, you find plenty of them and in the product description, you find pictures of F8x, which is very misleading.

One of those products you usually find on ebay might look something like this:


To the layman, the above is an exact replica, but to bmw fans, something looks off, and when you get it on your car it looks something like this:

Indeed something looks strange but you can't exactly put your finger on it. Since it was driving me a bit crazy, I went and found 3 of the most common types of M4 style bumpers, and put together a list for you.

The first type of M4 bumper is the one I posted above. It usually comes with fog lights, and it's characterized by the tall outer intakes, and other differences highlighted here:

I call this bumper, The Hanging Vents

red: poorly copied design
blue: shorter than original
green: overexaggerated

Then we have The Notch

This one is characterized by the notch highlighted in pink. It's closer to the real thing than the previous one, managing to get right the outer vent design mishap from the earlier bumper, but the central intake is shorter and more square.

Last but not least, we have The Crease

This one looks to be the latest iteration of an M4-like bumper. It solves some issues from the previous bumpers like the central intake and the notch, but for some reason they left in a very visible crease (highlighted in yellow).

So that was my rant. If you know a bumper that is truer to the F8x than the ones I mentioned, please post names or links as I am curious to see them.

If you have the spare cash, you can always go the OEM route like this fellow did:

You can always spot an OEM F8x bumper by the width of the bumper at the exterior edges of the headlights.

[BWbimmer]

Originally Posted by EGOF13

Those that only like the looks of the M4 but don't want the big engine or the maintenance costs associated with it, found themselves looking for simple alternatives such as the M4 style/look bumper.

I myself went looking for a good enough alternative to see if I can get away with having the aggressive looks of the M4. Well the the answer is no, you can't, and here's why:

There is only one way to get the M4 look, and that is transplanting the whole front end of the M4 (oem bumper, hood, front side panels and respective mounts, mudguards and miscellaneous)

When looking for an M4 style bumper compatible with an F3x, you find plenty of them and in the product description, you find pictures of F8x, which is very misleading.

One of those products you usually find on ebay might look something like this:

To the layman, the above is an exact replica, but to bmw fans, something looks off, and when you get it on your car it looks something like this:

Indeed something looks strange but you can't exactly put your finger on it. Since it was driving me a bit crazy, I went and found 3 of the most common types of M4 style bumpers, and put together a list for you.

The first type of M4 bumper is the one I posted above. It usually comes with fog lights, and it's characterized by the tall outer intakes, and other differences highlighted here:

I call this bumper, The Hanging Vents

red: poorly copied design
blue: shorter than original
green: overexaggerated

Then we have The Notch

This one is characterized by the notch highlighted in pink. It's closer to the real thing than the previous one, managing to get right the outer vent design mishap from the earlier bumper, but the central intake is shorter and more square.

Last but not least, we have The Crease
This one looks to be the latest iteration of an M4-like bumper. It solves some issues from the previous bumpers like the central intake and the notch, but for some reason they left in a very visible crease (highlighted in yellow).

So that was my rant. If you know a bumper that is truer to the F8x than the ones I mentioned, please post names or links as I am curious to see them.

If you have the spare cash, you can always go the OEM route like this fellow did:

You can always spot an OEM F8x bumper by the width of the bumper at the exterior edges of the headlights.

Great comparison. Thanks a lot.
I personally can't see the need to go for an M4 replica. The M bumper still fits the best in my eyes. But this my personal taste.