De-Badge, Matte Black, or Leave as is..?

[mitch55]

What do you guys think I should do?

If it helps, my 135i is a Black Saphire Metallic.

[zkeeper]

Boy, am I going to get flamed for this..and the each person has to choose what they like, no matter what others say...BUUUUT you asked. IMHO, flat black is great if you want people to think the car is now primed for a new color or you were in an accident and you just got it out of body shop before spraying because you have to take a friend to the doctor. I would think the 'bling' from metallic black, properly done up, and maintained would be heads above any flat black that labels it ricer, or gothic..but hey, it is individual taste. And debadge?? not sure why you would want to...seems you might enjoy having others KNOW its a 135. But that's me...I just don't think it will command as much strength if you do...but good luck on your choice. You are the one who has to drive it and you should do what makes you smile when you drive down the street...that is the most important factor...not what others say..bests!!

[SV Concepts III]

Flat Black works well on darker colors to provide some contrast.

[MarkR171]

The point of debadging isn't because you don't want people to know it's a 135. It just looks cleaner and more symmetrical without the badge on one side. I've been thinking of debadging my car myself.

For example:


Who cares if people know it's a 135 or not.

[Impervious]

Flat Black "Shadow Badge."

All options look good no matter what you do.

[Augenbrauezug]

I vote de-badge, but my I'm partial as it's what I did. Who cares if anyone knows it's a 135, most people don't have any idea what a 1 series is, let alone what the 35 after it means. Besides, it makes the car look really clean.

[MarkR171]

Originally Posted by Augenbrauezug

I vote de-badge, but my I'm partial as it's what I did. Who cares if anyone knows it's a 135, most people don't have any idea what a 1 series is, let alone what the 35 after it means. Besides, it makes the car look really clean.

This. An SL55 AMG driver walked up to me at an SCCA AutoX event yesterday and said "Your car must be hopped up or something because I don't think a 1 series should move like that!"

I told him, "Nope, stock." (Yes, I know I have PROcede, but it was on Map 0 for stock class.)

He asked "V6?"
Me: "Inline 6, yea, turbo'd."
Him: "I thought you had to get the 335 to get the turbo?"
Me: "Nope, same motor"

Another time, driving up to the guard shack at the gate to a friend's community, the guard asked me "What kind of car is that?"
Me: "BMW"
Him: "5 series?"
Me: "1..."

A lot of people out there simply have no clue about our cars or cars in general.

I was in my brother's '07 Z4MCoupe one day and someone on the sidewalk asked "Whoa! Is that a Ferrari?" Of course, my brother said "Yea" and drove off.

[Garduna]

Originally Posted by MarkR171

A lot of people out there simply have no clue about our cars or cars in general.

I was in my brother's '07 Z4MCoupe one day and someone on the sidewalk asked "Whoa! Is that a Ferrari?" Of course, my brother said "Yea" and drove off.

LMAO!!!

[Kamal]

Originally Posted by zkeeper

Boy, am I going to get flamed for this..and the each person has to choose what they like, no matter what others say...BUUUUT you asked. IMHO, flat black is great if you want people to think the car is now primed for a new color or you were in an accident and you just got it out of body shop before spraying because you have to take a friend to the doctor. I would think the 'bling' from metallic black, properly done up, and maintained would be heads above any flat black that labels it ricer, or gothic..but hey, it is individual taste.

You do realize he's talking about matte black BADGES... right?

To the OP... I've got matte black badges on my jet black 135i... I think it looks great. All of my previous cars have been debadged, but black badges on a black car are quite nice... really subtle.

[Itanius]

Originally Posted by MarkR171

Who cares if people know it's a 135 or not.

Those that know the difference between a 128 and 135 don't need to see the badge on the back.

I've also contemplated debadging my car. In fact, I think I just talked myself into it...

[mitch55]

well, thanks for the input. I decided to go ahead and buy the Matte Black Emblems for $20 and if i like it, I'll keep it, otherwise ill just de-badge.

Thanks.

[dcho]

i think 'clean' is a loosely used term. not necessarily mis-used, but loosely used due to the subjective nature of car modding. The main reason I like to keep the badge is because it preserves the 'OEM' feel. I feel like cars, esp BMWs, should be modded in a way where OEM feel and build quality is maintained. One way of accomplishing that for me is to keep the badge. Then again, this doesn't really matter

[NFIDDY5]

Debadged FTMFW!

[Tommytheduck]

Hi all! First post. I was contemplating this myself. I debadged my last car, an '08 Altima Coupe. I had the V-6 (the big engine) and didn't care if it didn't say V-6 on the back. Those who know can tell the dif. But now, with my 128i, I have the "small engine." (yeah, I know...) I'd be a little more concerned that ppl think I'm trying to "pose."

But in reality, I really could give a crap (can I say crap on here?) what ppl think. I'm thinking of removing the 128i badge just to keep it a little cleaner.

The difference is, with the 1, I would only remove 4 little pieces 1 2 8 i. On the Nissan, I removed "Altima" "3.5SE" "V6" and even the Nissan burger logo. That was way too much silver. Made the car's rear end so clean. And I got asked all the time what I was diving. I really liked it. They did charge me $18 to re-attach the letters when I returned the lease. Would have been a lot more if I hadn't kept the badges, so keep the badges after you remove them.

[Dackelone]

I de-badged my 135i. Mainly because I wanted the cleaner look. Also I did not want the wanna be racers draging on my rear bumper all the time. Besides the fact that 97% of the Germans debadge thier cars. I am so glad I debadged my car. To each his own.

I love driving on the autobahns... When I run across someone who "thinks" they have a fast luxo car (its normally the Audi drivers of the BMW 5er's or 7er's) hogging the left lane... I just love it when they have to pull over to the right as I pass them! The look on thier faces is soooo priceless! And besides... let 'em think I am a 120d or what ever!

[oman135]

de-badged

[ESC OFF]

Originally Posted by oman135

de-badged

x2!

[Eminenceo3]

I think way to much time has been taken up by these crazy long answers...
...HI I new to the forum!...

I like the de-badged look!

[mitch55]

Originally Posted by Eminenceo3

I think way to much time has been taken up by these crazy long answers...
...HI I new to the forum!...

I like the de-badged look!

Haha, Thanks and welcome to the forum!

[tankus]

where does one buy the flat black badges?

[OneThreeFive]

Originally Posted by tankus

where does one buy the flat black badges?

I got mine from Bimmian. They have matte black and gloss black badges.

[SV Concepts III]

Originally Posted by tankus

where does one buy the flat black badges?

We have them up on our site, here are a coupe of shots from my 135: