If we had cupholders...

[defaultName]

lol I guarantee that if u.s. e30's came with cupholders and euro ones without, we would all be opting for a delete in one way or another.
grass is always greener somewhere

This is true.

[txtorquemade]

Next you girls will be wanting a make up mirror in the sun visor.

[agile30]

Mine works pretty good and I hardly know that its there. Sorry for the poor cell pic's. [IMG][/IMG][IMG][/IMG]

More info?

[flyboyx]

^yes, that is really cool. what car did that originally come out of?

[CrusherCurtis]

That e36 console was a good idea.

[808e30325i]

More info?

I don't really know what car it came out of, I just found it in a 2002 failed project at the pick and pull yard. I found out that there is just enough room under the ashtray for the pull out cup holder so I measured everything out, reinforced and superglued the edges and was done in about 2 hrs. Holds my drinks nicely no problem doesn't fit huge drinks but I don't mind.

[Nick_S]

I went the E46 console route. Right now it's crudely set in place. All I have to do was trim to the back to form over the trans tunnel and drill a hole to screw into the factory E30 mount. Double sided tape keeps the front secure for now. I have no arm rest with it so it looks a bit out of place but the cup holders work perfectly. Planning on molding it in a bit more and mounting it more securely this spring.

[CrusherCurtis]

^Thats an even better idea

[Steven]

Next you girls will be wanting a make up mirror in the sun visor.

Actually thinking about that this morning.... Or earlier...:D

[Rook12V]

Java Grip. Company is out of business, but it holds my thermos mug or any fastfood drink of normal size.

[flyboyx]

ok, here is my solution. i found this cup holder in a random junkyard bmw. i think it was an e34 but i can't recall for sure. anyway, there are no part numbers on it but based on the way its made, i would say with at least 95% certainty that it is an oem part. i picked it up thinking that it probably wouldn't fit an e30 but perhaps it could be modified to work. turns out it works perfectly on its own. it just wedges on to the lip in the rear console and hugs in between the passenger seat.







the problem comes in that i decided to install my husco armrest. unfortunately, its in the way of this cup holder. now, i love the husco as an armrest, but as a cup holder, it fucking sucks. that little tray is flimsy, you always have to jack with it to get those stupid wires to drop down. if you load two drinks in there, it seems like its going to break off.

earlier in this thread, someone mentioned making a holder for the rear ashtray. i sat around in the back seat with this part in hand and thought about this for a while. i figured out that with the ashtray removed, the cup holder fit in there but loosely. i didn't want to jack up my console or the cup holder, so i tried to figure out a way to modify just the ashtray to make this work. anyway, this is what i came up with:





i made the slice in the ashtray with an angle grinder equipped with one of those thin cut off wheels. i had to go into the corners with a file and clean them out for it to fit properly.

even with the armrest slid all the way back, it does not interfere with the cup holder.



to finish this off, i am going to get a tube of black silicone and run a bead in the front edge where the holder and the ash tray lid meet.

winning!

[ZinnoBerrotEta]

Ah, I meant to post this last year.
The part number for the cup holder above is 82 11 1 468 721. Bav auto sells it. But I imagine if you put that part number into thebmwpartstore.com or ECStuning, you may get it cheaper than 25 bones as Bav Auto loves to put a premium on all of their stuff. If you find it cheaper at those sites you can order from them or Bav Auto will price match anyone. I would go with Bav Auto because they advertize this thing and I would think it would be in stock, mine was.

http://bavauto.com/lview.asp?imgfile=assets/imglib500/82111468721.jpg

It's an E34 part, and no you don't need cut into your rear ashtray to install it securely, although it is an option if you enjoy the Husco armrest like the poster above. I, personally, don't want to cut into any existing interior pieces.

You do, however, need to sand or dremel down the longer lip before you install it so that it will sit evenly and securely on the side of your console. Just start sanding it down and keep going back to the car to check the fitment until you're happy.
I also have a nice Husco armrest/cupholder, so I ended up giving it to a buddy of mine who loves it. It is definitely easier to get to beverages when it's mounted on the console than it is on the rear ashtray, especially on the highway or in traffic. It has solved his E30 cupholder woes.









As you see, you may have to sand or dremel down a bit, but it is not difficult at all. I believe I was using some 180 grit sand paper I had around and that plastic was easily sand able. Easier to go slow and go back and forth to the car to check the fitment on lip on the passenger side of the console, than it is to get overzealous with the sandpaper or dremel and end up with a pile of black dust.
It looks very nice and OEM once on the console.
Hope this helps.

[flyboyx]

whoa....thank you for posting this. if you cut the long tail down to about the height of the short one, it will fit more to the inside of the console instead of to the outside as i posted in my photos above. it isn't necessary to make any modifications whatsoever, but i agree that it looks better on the inside. the con of cutting the tail down is that it won't sit on your console as securely. if you are going to cut that tail off, i would simply suggest using a hack saw and then sanding the tang a little to smooth it out. the height of the out side tail is already correct. just make the long skinny one about 1/4" longer.

if you don't care about making modifications to you your rear console, it will be most secure to leave the long tail how it is and just cut a slot in your console for this cup holder to sit down into.

i agree with you that i was really apprehensive to cut up the car. however, the rear ash tray is a dime a dozen so to speak. i have 4 or 5 of them laying around and people sell them here in the for sale section for less than 10 bucks. i thought it was a good sacrifice toward the end result.

[slammin.e28]

Man, you guys. I need a cupholder that will hold my fatty mc fat drink. I love dat large sweetler from Chick Fil A, shit.

[F34R]

this thread is still going?