Blacked Out Kidneys: Why?

[Xat1cZ]

Somewhat good comparison pictures, yet to do the smoked signals and brake airducts to the smoked look to really finish it off I think..





vs.





especially when it's a little darker outside I like the smoked look alot more..

becauz stealth mode!



edit: dunno why the hoods color looks so faded in the 2nd picture *sadface*

[Robotin]

the chrome kidneys are a BMW icon. everyone BMW has them. so why modify them so you cant seem them?

i think blacked out kidneys is something new e30 guys do...

then after a few years they realize that clean is queen. and it looks better with original chrome.

[burkey001]

robotin... I had that same money box that's in your sig.

Radio shack right?? late 80's

unless u just found the pic and thought it was cool lookin'

[dannyyisntt]

Good lord, what's up with all the conformity threads lately? Let people modify their cars according to their taste. Be that "stanced", blacked out, or slammed.

I know that when I go out and work on my car or buy parts for it, I do it for myself. Because it relieves stress and I enjoy it. I'm going to do what I feel is best for my e30 in regards to my taste and will do so without concern for what others may think.

Btw my 325ix has chrome and my 318i has black.

[Jand3rson]

Wanted the grill area to disappear

Like this

Which both look like this:

[squidmaster]

black kidneys look best on red e30s out of all the colors. something about chrome + red....

[dashboardmonkey]

I did it because I HATE chrome on my car, period.

[dougie30]

black kidneys look best on red e30s out of all the colors. Something about chrome + red....

+1

[Erik]

I thinkunless you're going for the murdered look the contrast of chrome kidneys is pretty much essential on just about every E30.

[RGCintha29073]

black kidneys look best on red e30s out of all the colors. something about chrome + red....

+1 But i have found a look that i like that incorporates black & chrome kidneys together...painted my old chrome kidneys and then took a drill and wire brush attachment and removed just the front layer and left the sides black. It looks great and has less chrome.

[frankie591]

the chrome kidneys are a BMW icon. everyone BMW has them. so why modify them so you cant seem them?

i think blacked out kidneys is something new e30 guys do...

then after a few years they realize that clean is queen. and it looks better with original chrome.

bottlecaps are also a bmw icon, but nobody keeps them on their cars. I think black kidneys make the car look meaner and more aggressive, so that's why I run them. However, I blacked them out with shadowline tape, so I can switch back to chrome if I feel like it.

[csermonet47]

Chrome gets ya home:



But really, chrome trim and kidneys are the way to go. The grille needs that chrome contrast. It is kinda like having black wheels, it just sucks.

[nando]

eh

it's not like you can't swap them out in 30 seconds.

[stinkydriverx]

I know questioning ascetics is ridiculous, especially in the car world, but there is one change I commonly see on E30's that I can't accept.

Why do people black out the kidneys?

I feel as if this single act ruins some of the otherwise best looking E30s. Color-matched kidneys aren't all that bad, but blacking them feels like it's taking away a necessary part of the BMW character.

Am I insane or does this bother others?

In my opinion, your argument is immediately invalid when you said color-matched kidneys aren't all that bad. Again, in my opinion a bmw's character has more to do with how it drives, then something as simple chrome kidneys.

I did mine because I like how it looks.

This.

Because how else can you have a car that looks like shit, that's why.

I'm trying to buy an E36 ATM and the number of blacked out kidneys are astounding.

Your argument is also invalid. Mostly because the hood in your sig picture.

imo, if done correctly and tastefully it can make for a more aggressive look.

I agree.

Cause I like how it looks?

I had blacked out kidneys before every single one of you even knew what an e30 was.



I actually have a chrome one right now, suits the I lip better.

Spoken by the boss.

Stock kidneys > any color but black kidneys > black kidneys
The whole reason black kidneys look so horrible is that it just hides the kidneys and the kidneys are essential to the way the grill looks. It looks awkward with nothing breaking up the center. Looks like one of the old muscle car's grills like camaro or mustang. The twin center kidney grills are one of bmw's distinguishing traits. They look bad for the same reason black wheels and "blacking out" cars looks bad - because it takes away all contrast.

Alright that's my best way of explaining why it looks bad.

I respect your answer. But at the same time are you saying those muscle cars look bad because of their grills? Im going to have to disagree with you on that.... It's not like painting the kidney's black makes them up and disappear. You can still see the kidneys from anywhere under 100 feet, if you aren't blind.

I think blacked out only works when:
a) smoked hella lights; and
b) car generally bad-ass.


My 'not bone stock' 325is. Also has black Hella's but also has a dry-sumped euro S50, AST coils, rediculous brakes, custom Forgeline wheels etc etc etc SO has to have black kidneys.



I tried black kidneys on the 318is... just doesn't look right.
Chrome kidneys on the 325is makes it look a little too friendly. It's not. It will eat small children & dogs :)

Hahah I love this comparison!!!!

Blacking out kidneys is like taking tits off a women. A women with no tits is not a women, an e30 with blacked out kidneys is not an e30.

first of all.... wtf are you talking about. You just compared a woman's tits, or lack there of, to the kidney's on an e30. hahahhaah

It's a personal preference that there's no use trying to argue or reason.

But arguing is fun as long as its all in good fun, and no one takes themselves, or the internet to seriously. Then it's their own god dang fault.

the chrome kidneys are a BMW icon. everyone BMW has them. so why modify them so you cant seem them.....etc

The fact that they are chrome is not why they are an icon.... It is their shape. BMW offers blacked out grills as an option. Would they do this is they thought it would have any negative effect on their company?

I did it because I HATE chrome on my car, period.

I agree.

eh

it's not like you can't swap them out in 30 seconds.

This.

[Not a 4 door]

I like how there are 5 pages of thread dedicated to Kidneys only haha. Not to downplay them or anything, I totally agree that they are an essential part of an e30 especially.

That being said...^^^ this guy replying to everyones comments individually totally blows the importance of the Kidneys out of proportion lol...