If you own a Z3 or have ever driven one you have probably noticed the absolutely horrid position of the rear view mirror when attempting to look through any right hand turn. Be it in the mountain ripping it up and down the passes or simply just trying to turn right out of the grocery store parking lot, the mirror makes you momentarily do you best bobble head impression to insure nothing is in your path.
I was lucky enough to meet a guy through Facebook that had done the initial hard work to come up with some solution and was friendly enough to share his 3d model. With my recent acquisition of a 3d printer I quickly took that model and refined it to come up with the closest rendition of an OEM fit mount that took the mirror straight up against the headliner of my coupe. The mount utilized the original tension spring mount that can be seen in the final 3d print render below. unfortunately, The auto dim wiring no longer is able to run through the mount which required to relocate them through the shell and tucking the plug into the headliner in lieu of the mirror stem.
UPDATE: As of 11/4/23, I have SOLD OUT of the first run of mirror stems. I have plans for an updated V2 in the coming future, but they have not gone into production at this time.
UPDATE: 12/14/23, I have placed the order for V2 mounts that are expected Mid-January. Mark your calendars and keep your eyes peeled for the new post.
Update: 1/20/24 – V2 mirror stems are here and ready to go. Offered in the same CNC machined 6061 aluminum with a matte black anodized finish.
Installation details are posted over here: Z3M mirror disassembly/reassembly DIY
V2 updates include:
- Internal passages for autodim mirror wiring to pass through the stem in lieu of requiring a hole be made in the rear casing
- Slimmed down ball mount
- Shift the ball FWD towards the windshield to not interfere as much with Coupe headliners
- Still uses OEM mounting plate*
- Autodim mirror owners will receive a set of casing repair tabs (manual dim mirrors do not suffer the same brittle tab design)
Fitment notes:
- The ball is still tight even after slimming it down a bit from the V1’s, but better tight than too loose. It is highly suggested to disassemble all mirrors to ensure the aging plastic casing does not break.
- There was an error during the redesign that is easily remedied – The OEM mount has 3 bosses for the screws that attach it to the stem, the respective counterbores in the V2 stems are too small, I sanded the bosses off my mount with no fitment issues.
- Dose NOT FIT Mirror PN: 51161932854
- For facelift non-M applications that have the alarm antenna/circuit board embedded the 8 lead wiring is UNLIKELY to fit through the stem
- Due to aging plastics, it is HIGHLY recommended to disassemble all mirrors to install the DBG stem to avoid breaking the casing/glass of the mirrors during reassembly.
Pricing: 160 shipped in the US
(International buyers please contact me)
V1 stems (NLA) below:
After a few test print prototypes and figuring out that the 3D printed plastic just was not robust enough to stand up to the heat of the windshield or the tiny m3-0.7 screw thread I decided to outsource the mount. I ended up having the mount CNC machined out of 6061 aluminum and had a black anodized finish applied.
Having been in the Z3 community for 10 years now I have heard my fair share of gripes from owners that were unhappy but until recently most didn’t have the capability to do much about it other than find some other non-bmw mirror that fit the bill for them. SO I decided to gamble and made a lot of 35. one for me, and 34 for the community.
Double Bee Garage 
Leave a comment