BMW 325ix Fender skirt delete.

[ThatM20Guy]

So I got to thinking today, which can be very dangerous. And the sudden question popped into my head.

Has anybody every deleted the IX sideskirt panels and fender flares?

I've never really been into the IX overfenders and skirts and always liked the E30's running no sideskirts or the IS style ones. I think it could be cool to give it the clean sideprofile and would also allow the use of bolt on fender flares to run wider wheels-tires/lower offset wheels. The only modification I think that would need to be done is filling/spot welding the little holes that the over fenders pop into.

Again this was just a random thought spurred by the fact that I have an IS front left fender on my car since the IX one was trashed and had 2 holes cut out. It would take away the IX'ish vibe but could turn out pretty cool.

I'm probably just going crazy :loco:

[nando]

Lots. Personally, i dont get it.. The skirts look great and its one of the only things that identifies it as an ix.

Also you cant really run wider wheel with no flares. It will still rub on an 8" wheel less than ET30.

[ThatM20Guy]

Call me crazy if I might do it. Also love the look of the IS sideskirts with kamotors flares so that's half the reason why I want to do it

[EyExR]

Makes no sense to me. The IX sideskirts look awesome... But to each their own I guess.

[ThatM20Guy]

Just kinda poking at an idea. The plan as of now is to drill the IS fender to accept the IX overfender. Again just an idea ;D

[nando]

Thats what you have to do anyway. There are no "ix" fenders. They are just E30 fenders that you have to drill holes into.

[ThatM20Guy]

Huh ok. Is the best way to mark the spots for the holes to put paint on the end of the white clips and then just align it then push it down onto the fender to mark the holes? Seems like it could work fairly well.

[stonea]

Basically Nando summed it up. Its been done, but I don't know why you'd do it. Its the only thing that really makes and ix stand out.

[nando]

Huh ok. Is the best way to mark the spots for the holes to put paint on the end of the white clips and then just align it then push it down onto the fender to mark the holes? Seems like it could work fairly well.

Something like that. I think I put painters tape on the edge, and used the cut off edge of the original fender to mark the holes.

There was a template you could buy but it was pretty worthless. The holes probably have 1/4" of tolerance. Make sure you use a good bit.

Also, a tip - when you put these on, the first thing is to clean it really well (using alcohol or something like that). The second thing is don't take both sides of the double sided tape backing off. Just stick it to the flare first, and leave about 2" of the backing hanging off the edge on the other side so you can grab onto it. once you get the flare snapped into place, then you peel the backing off and then press it onto the fender. It works so much better than trying to stick it on while positioning it on those clips..

[The Dark Side of Will]

When AMC turned Concord sedans & wagons into Eagle sedans and Wagons and Spirits into S/X4's, they raised the ride height by more than 2 inches. They added urethane "flares" to the Eagle cars which did widen them a bit (most likely just helping with mud spray, since the intention was to make them all weather capable), but mostly the flares just closed up the huge fender gaps that resulted from the ride height increase.

Since the iX ride height is modestly higher than regular E30 ride height, I always assumed that BMW had the same intention with the iX flares... just cover up the wheel gap.

Since my car has some right quarter damage, I have been toying with the idea of swapping to early quarters because, AIUI, the higher wheel house openings allow wider wheels/tires to fit without rubbing. The fenders themselves aren't any wider, but the suspension's camber curve means that the higher wheel arch allows a wider wheel/tire to tuck inside. To retain the pretension that the wheels fit under the fenders at static ride height, I'd use early Euro iX flares to widen the fenders a smidge.

[ThatM20Guy]

Basically Nando summed it up. Its been done, but I don't know why you'd do it. Its the only thing that really makes and ix stand out.

Yeah this was just a random ass idea I had when I got bored and starting thinking about cars in English :D

Something like that. I think I put painters tape on the edge, and used the cut off edge of the original fender to mark the holes.

There was a template you could buy but it was pretty worthless. The holes probably have 1/4" of tolerance. Make sure you use a good bit.

Also, a tip - when you put these on, the first thing is to clean it really well (using alcohol or something like that). The second thing is don't take both sides of the double sided tape backing off. Just stick it to the flare first, and leave about 2" of the backing hanging off the edge on the other side so you can grab onto it. once you get the flare snapped into place, then you peel the backing off and then press it onto the fender. It works so much better than trying to stick it on while positioning it on those clips..

Thanks for the tip! Didn't even occur to me that I could cut the old fender edge off and use that as a template! Much easier than trying to mark it out. :bow: