[abirmaher]

Hi All,

I finally got around to installing my IND Distribution painted Front and Rear Roundels and Wheel Center Caps as well as rear emblems. The change may seem minor but it makes a huge difference IMHO. Additionally, I added some vinyl overlays to the Roundels to change up the blue to black from Metro Restyling.

I know others have posted some other very cool roundel options but I have always loved these with just the minor changes over stock.

I threw together 3 DIY vids for these for those who are interested and will write out some steps for each below. It is also worth noting that both of these guides should work for most other BMW models.

Here are some post installation photos as well:







Front/ Rear Roundels:

1. Clean off the roundel
2. Put strips of painters tape around the roundel, tucking as much as possible underneath
3. It will take some time but work your way all the way around, when you are done none of the car's paint should be visible around the roundel
4. Using a heat gun or hair dryer, heat up the roundel
5. Use pry tools to gently work your way behind the roundel and work it loose
6. Keep in mind that there are 2 legs at the 3 and 9 o'clock positions that you will have to work around
7. Once popped out, use adhesive remover and some elbow grease to clean off the surface under the roundel
8. Peel the adhesive backing off of the new roundel
9. Guide those 2 legs into the holes on the car and push in
10. Put some pressure to make sure the adhesive makes good contact

Wheel Center Caps:

1. Clean the center caps, they should be as clean as possible for this
2. With painters tape or clear packing tape, place a few long strips across the cap, making sure to seal it well against the center cap itself
3. using your nail, push the tape into the crevice around the center cap to create a nice tight seal
4. Life the edges of the tape off the wheel as much as possible while leaving them with as much contact as possible on the center cap
5. Grab all ends of the tape and pull evenly and straight out, the cap should pop right out
6. Pop the new center cap in

Emblems:

1. Clean up the areas around the emblems to have a clean surface
2. With painters tape outline the emblems closely in order to give yourself a template to install the replacements
3. Use a heat gun or hair dryer to heat up the emblems
4. Use fishing line to work your way across the back of the emblem and remove them, add more heat as needed as you go
5. Once the emblem is off, remove whatever adhesive you are able to, this works much better with some heat
6. Use some adhesive remover and a microfiber to work off the rest of the adhesive
7. Clean off the area with a bit of soap and water to remove the adhesive remover
8. Clean that off with some water and dry the area
9. Apply the new emblems using your template tape
10. You may either place one character at a time or use some tape over top of the emblem to transfer it over (if it is lined up already)

**NOTE**: I did this install on a very wet and rainy day which is not ideal of the adhesive, I suggest doing this in a garage or on an more suitable day.

[FlashMonkey929]

For the trunk and hood roundels I just got some nylon floss and a plastic pick and pushed it behind from above the pegs and another length from below the pegs. Had them go as close the center as possible and then grabbed both lengths and pulled outward. I thought about taping it off, but 🤷🏻‍♂️

[Jmills74]

You need to black out the rear badges…

[abirmaher]

Originally Posted by Jmills74

You need to black out the rear badges…

They’re sitting in the garage, that’s next

[abirmaher]

Originally Posted by FlashMonkey929

For the trunk and hood roundels I just got some nylon floss and a plastic pick and pushed it behind from above the pegs and another length from below the pegs. Had them go as close the center as possible and then grabbed both lengths and pulled outward. I thought about taping it off, but 🤷🏻‍♂️

Not a bad idea either, to be honest it’s been a really long time since I did one of these and I would’ve done it a little bit differently if I had to do it again. But the biggest thing was heat. With a little heat whatever you used to get back there is significantly easier.

[abirmaher]

Originally Posted by SpaceSilver.X1

do the front and rear roundels on the X1 have adhesive?

I was helping my neighbor replace a scratched roundel on her 2021(?) X3 a few weeks ago. I ended up using a thin zip tie and just pulled it straight up. There was no adhesive. I wiped the area clean and then put the new roundel in.(bought from a BMW dealer)

was going to remove it like this, but I couldn't find a screwdriver.

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/emUtkL5V1DU

Mine did have adhesive under the front and rear roundels.

[X1-CT]

I’m glad to see that they have posts to register the emblem placement. I always thought to myself how annoyed I would be if it was the slightest bit crooked. 😆😆😆

[ramen.slayer]

Love the black roundels. They make the car look so much cleaner.

Personally I would debadge tho. I debadged mine and love the outcome. I much prefer not having “//M” given that this isn’t an M car. Next will be black roundels for me

[timesone]

Originally Posted by ramen.slayer

Love the black roundels. They make the car look so much cleaner.

Personally I would debadge tho. I debadged mine and love the outcome. I much prefer not having “//M” given that this isn’t an M car. Next will be black roundels for me

Attachment 3390788

Attachment 3390789

Nice Do you live near the peak?

[abirmaher]

Originally Posted by ramen.slayer

Love the black roundels. They make the car look so much cleaner.

Personally I would debadge tho. I debadged mine and love the outcome. I much prefer not having “//M” given that this isn’t an M car. Next will be black roundels for me

Attachment 3390788

Attachment 3390789

I figured I would try the black first and worst case I can debadge. The debadge look always looks great.

[ramen.slayer]

Originally Posted by timesone

Nice Do you live near the peak?

Nah. Near Ocean Park side

[ramen.slayer]

Originally Posted by abirmaher

I figured I would try the black first and worst case I can debadge. The debadge look always looks great.

Black badges looks nice on your car I feel

Debadged is great for lazy cleaning

[abirmaher]

Originally Posted by ramen.slayer

Black badges looks nice on your car I feel

Debadged is great for lazy cleaning

I’m going with black. We’ll see how it comes out. Will post about that soon.

[FlashMonkey929]

Originally Posted by abirmaher

Not a bad idea either, to be honest it’s been a really long time since I did one of these and I would’ve done it a little bit differently if I had to do it again. But the biggest thing was heat. With a little heat whatever you used to get back there is significantly easier.

With the weather here, as long as I’m not under shade the panels are all nicely heated up for me anytime between 9am and 4pm 😂

[abirmaher]

Originally Posted by FlashMonkey929

With the weather here, as long as I’m not under shade the panels are all nicely heated up for me anytime between 9am and 4pm 😂

Usually here too... sadly I picked the rainiest day to do this one... not recommended

[toepincher]

I put the black IND badges on my silver M35i. They stand out so much better than the factory "chrome" badges on the hatch. I also bought black M badges for each of the front fenders since BMW deleted them for the US market.

[abirmaher]

Originally Posted by toepincher

I put the black IND badges on my silver M35i. They stand out so much better than the factory "chrome" badges on the hatch. I also bought black M badges for each of the front fenders since BMW deleted them for the US market.

I thought about doing the fender ones too but decided to skip them ultimately.
I decided to go the opposite route and try to hide the badges on the black paint.