E46 Side Mirror Glass

[3002 tii]

Can anyone confirm if the m3 side mirror glass is compatible with our cars?

[maupineda]

Yes, but you will loose the auto dipping feature as the harness and connector is specific to the Z4. Also the E92 fits, and if you reworked the harness it would work.

[3002 tii]

Originally Posted by maupineda

Yes, but you will loose the auto dipping feature as the harness and connector is specific to the Z4. Also the E92 fits, and if you reworked the harness it would work.

Auto dip or auto dim? US cars don’t have auto dip so I can live without that. Was going to try to get a heated split wide angle lens, with auto dim as replacement.

[maupineda]

Auto dip = auto dim in BMW land

Here is a breakdown

Mirror shape and fit is interchangeable amongst E46, E85/6, E9x (pre-LCI)

E46 never had auto dip, only heating (two electrical terminals).
E85/6 has unique wiring connector for auto-dip plus the two electrical terminals.
E9x has unique wiring connector which host all circuits.

You can install any of the above on a Z4M and preserve heating, but if you do not adapt the wiring, you will loose auto-dip

In the end, I chose what was easier and I bought the more expensive Z4 Euro mirrors to avoid wiring modifications (ran me $300).

E9x mirrors are cheap in the US (90-150), but they don’t have the wide range section, EU are a bit more, but you need to modify the wiring. If you do a fine job, it will be like factory as you can make a Z4 version out of an e9x set plus your existing Z4M.

I hope this makes sense.

[GyroF-16]

That’s interesting, as my ‘05 E46 M3 has auto-dip (in reverse, on the passenger side mirror), but my Z4MC does not, even with it enabled with NCSExpert.

And are we talking just the mirror GLASS here (as it wouldn’t seem that would be associated with the “dip” function)?
Or maybe I’m conflating “passenger mirror dip when reverse is selected” with some other feature.

(Of course, it’s possible that the passenger mirror glass on my Z4MC was replaced with an M3 mirror by the one previous owner)

[XMetal]

Originally Posted by GyroF-16

That’s interesting, as my ‘05 E46 M3 has auto-dip (in reverse, on the passenger side mirror), but my Z4MC does not, even with it enabled with NCSExpert.

And are we talking just the mirror GLASS here (as it wouldn’t seem that would be associated with the “dip” function)?
Or maybe I’m conflating “passenger mirror dip when reverse is selected” with some other feature.

(Of course, it’s possible that the passenger mirror glass on my Z4MC was replaced with an M3 mirror by the one previous owner)

Auto dip = auto dim. Confusing isn't it?

[GyroF-16]

Originally Posted by XMetal

Auto dip = auto dim. Confusing isn't it?

And no less so after your explanation.
So - does the function you’re describing:
- change the tint of the mirror (like the interior rear-view mirror)
or
- change the angle of the exterior mirror?

Also, looking at the E46 M3 mirror glass side-by side with the Z4MC, the Z4 glass has a black plastic bezel, while the M3 has bare glass edges. The Z4 appears to taper to a sharper point at the outside edge. I haven’t measured them (as the M3 is currently on a lift above the Z4), but they didn’t strike me as interchangeable.

[XMetal]

Originally Posted by GyroF-16

And no less so after your explanation.
So - does the function you’re describing:
- change the tint of the mirror (like the interior rear-view mirror)
or
- change the angle of the exterior mirror?

Also, looking at the E46 M3 mirror glass side-by side with the Z4MC, the Z4 glass has a black plastic bezel, while the M3 has bare glass edges. The Z4 appears to taper to a sharper point at the outside edge. I haven’t measured them (as the M3 is currently on a lift above the Z4), but they didn’t strike me as interchangeable.

Auto dip = changing the tint of the mirror (like the interior rear-view mirror). My 2008 Z4MC doesn't tilt (change the angle of the exterior mirror) in reverse either. My mirror glass also have the black plastic bezel surround.

[maupineda]

The Z4M never had the memory module for the mirror tilt on reverse as the E46 did, it seems to be doable as they are on the same electrical architecture. I actually loved the idea of having the mirror tilt on reverse, but I never investigated it deep enough to understand how to retrofit.