M3 Engine cowl hood sensor switch placement?

[rhodesman]

I switched out the standard engine bay cowl for the M3 one to provide a way to vent hot air out of the engine bay. (That big one the BMS cowl filters are tended to help replace.) My only problem now is finding a place that the hood sensor for the alarm can mount to. There are two screw holes on the cowl but neither seem to provide the proper fit for the switch.

To help aid in your understanding....

M3 Engine Cowl (#2 & 3): M3 Engine Cowl


Engine Bay alarm switch (#5 & 6): BMW Hood Switch


Has anyone done this where the switch is mounted in an OEM location? I've verified that the M3 does come with this switch if purchased with an alarm, I just can't find a diagram to show the mounting location of said switch.

Any help would be awesome!

[ShocknAwe]

Take a picture of your current engine bay and the location of said sensor in proximity to the cowl as installed please.

[rhodesman]

I figured out my problem. The hood sensor is mounted to the air filter housing on the M3, not the cowl like on the 1&3 series cowl.

See M3 filter cover here:
(the square hole is what the sensor would sit in)

And the M3 engine bay here:
(you can see how the sensor sits on the air filter housing on the right there)

my Engine bay is as follows:

(note: the switch is what's zip-tied with the yellow ties to the brake line)

So my options are to either buy the M3 air filter housings and filters (possible, not the worst option) or fabricate some kind of mount to attach the switch to? Has anyone done anything similar?

[Yeineken]

Looks nice. Any pictures of the entire engine bay? Curious as to why and what benefits there are to this swap?

- just re read the original post

Would you mind posting a official parts list for this mod?

[rhodesman]

Originally Posted by Yeineken

Would you mind posting a official parts list for this mod?

It's just two parts:

Part 1 (left side): 64316958817
Part 2 (right side): 64316958818

If you want the air filter housings also (instead of the burger turning cowl filters) you would need the following:

Air filters (4 total but not sure if it's a set of 4, or individual, ask your parts guy): 64319159606
air filter housing 1: 64316958815
air filter housing 2: 64316958816
extra bolts for housings (at least 2, maybe need 4): 07147146539

[Yeineken]

Originally Posted by rhodesman

It's just two parts:

Part 1 (left side): 64316958817
Part 2 (right side): 64316958818

If you want the air filter housings also (instead of the burger turning cowl filters) you would need the following:

Air filters: 64319159606
air filter housing 1: 64316958815
air filter housing 2: 64316958816
extra bolts for housings (at least 2, maybe need 4): 07147146539

Thanks man! I researched the mod. Looks 100% better than the stock cowl.

[rhodesman]

Originally Posted by Yeineken

Thanks man! I researched the mod. Looks 100% better than the stock cowl.

It reduced my in engine temps by 10-20 degrees and the engine cools itself down from +250*F oil temps within 5-10 minutes. Not to mention the extra loud turbo sounds!

Definitely worth it IMO.

[hunterl41]

I did this as well. It's a nice mod, and really changes the look of the bay

[hunterl41]

Here's mine

[dcaron9999]

Thanks for sharing Hunterl41 - Looks great on the N54, especially with your Dinan bits in there!

I track my tuned N55 135i a lot, and any low cost heat dissispation mod I can throw on is a good thing!

Would love to see pics of an N55 engine bay with the M3 cowls before I make the jump.

How well do the covers fit over passenger-side DME box and driver-side brake fluid reservoir?

Anybody up for sharing N55 pics of M3 cowls + HVAC filter covers?

[hunterl41]

Originally Posted by dcaron9999

Thanks for sharing Hunterl41 - Looks great on the N54, especially with your Dinan bits in there!

I track my tuned N55 135i a lot, and any low cost heat dissispation mod I can throw on is a good thing!

Would love to see pics of an N55 engine bay with the M3 cowls before I make the jump.

How well do the covers fit over passenger-side DME box and driver-side brake fluid reservoir?

Anybody up for sharing N55 pics of M3 cowls + HVAC filter covers?

I'm pretty sure the cowl would fit the same. If you're tracking it, and want to reduce heat/weight you could just do the BMS filters.

[ShocknAwe]

OK, so is it actually dropping engine temps? Do you have any evidence?

Oil? Water? Under hood temps?

[rhodesman]

Originally Posted by hunterl41

Here's mine

Question for you: what are you doing with the windshield washers with the M3 cowl filters installed? I just got mine and I can't close the hood without the washer nozzles being pushed out of the hood!

If you (or anyone else) has a solution for this, please share!

[hunterl41]

i didn't notice unitil about a week after install. On mine they only stick up slightly, and don't seem to affect the spray. It just shoots a little higher.

[Juggernaut135i]

Hey sorry to bring up an old thread but a lot of awesome advice here!! I just ordered my BMS cowl filters!!!! looking to do this mod soon after to clean up the look. People were all worried about the ECU housing and stuff getting wet but honestly the ECU housing is probably the most water safe part of the entire car haha.

SOOOO... all the m3 cowl mod is a direct replacement?? can i use the same bolts from the e82 cowl?? Thanks guys!!

Also, how much did you guys pay for the lower and upper housings?? im on **********.com and looks like for the 4 parts it's $179.30. Does that sound right?