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      03-23-2018, 04:02 PM   #23
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Subscribed! Thanks for doing the research on this guys! I may be in the market soon for this gauge!
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      03-26-2018, 12:43 PM   #24
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Quote:
Originally Posted by F87_LCI View Post
"BMW people", lol I can't speak for others, but I wasn't always a BMW person...started out with what I could afford, which means I have owned a number of Hondas/Subarus in my days. I used to do all the work like this myself (stereos, gauge pods, etc.), anything that could be done in the driveway with a screwdriver, some wire snips and a roll of electrical tape! Nowadays, I just don't have the time to mess around for 6 hours on something that a pro can do in 3. Plus..mistakes are a lot more costly on these cars

Be sure to post some pics of your install once completed. I'm interested to see how the gauge looks from the other side. GL with install.
My car history is in my forum signature... Japanese then German then German and now German again.

I'm an IT guy and electronics have always been "in my wheelhouse" so I normally tackle any of that stuff, and I'll do mechanical work myself as long as I have the time and tools to handle it. (I'm going to try to do my catback, shouldn't be too horrible since the car only has ~3600 miles on it so hopefully nothing is too rusted yet.)

My problem with outsourcing work is that this is my only car. I have a crap back and would be happy to pay people to do work on it if I could get a loaner, but most of the time electronics-type shops don't do that...

The gauge came today; it's definitely just the vent portion and nothing else. Comes in a relatively small box, along with the wiring harness, and mine had zero instructions inside... Thankfully I know they have the install PDF on their website.
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      03-26-2018, 12:55 PM   #25
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ZPrime View Post
The gauge came today; it's definitely just the vent portion and nothing else. Comes in a relatively small box, along with the wiring harness, and mine had zero instructions inside... Thankfully I know they have the install PDF on their website.
...and did they put the gauge on the correct side for you?

A forum member also posted this thread which goes through the process...it's for a pre-LCI, but hopefully the electronic connections are the same

http://f87.bimmerpost.com/forums/sho...ighlight=AWRON

Let me know how it goes...mine is supposed to ship tomorrow so I should get it by the end of the week. Post some pics.

Cheers!
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      03-26-2018, 01:21 PM   #26
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Quote:
Originally Posted by F87_LCI View Post
...and did they put the gauge on the correct side for you?

A forum member also posted this thread which goes through the process...it's for a pre-LCI, but hopefully the electronic connections are the same

http://f87.bimmerpost.com/forums/sho...ighlight=AWRON

Let me know how it goes...mine is supposed to ship tomorrow so I should get it by the end of the week. Post some pics.

Cheers!
Yes, it is in the correct side / the version I requested (RHD).
I'm not exactly sure how they do it, but they somehow lock-out the ability to open the flap on the HVAC vent where the gauge is placed. I couldn't get the little knob to move at all and I used a fair amount of thumb force. Thinking maybe the shaft is superglued or something, but I didn't dig into it too hard since I'm still at work and I don't want to break it.

Here are a bunch of pictures. The laptop behind it in the first one is a 13" Macbook Pro (late-2013 model), to give you a sense of scale. Click any of them to get to the source page where you can choose larger versions if you want.













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2004 Matrix XRS 6MT => 2008 VW R32 DSG => 2012 Audi TTRS 6MT => 2018 BMW ///M2 6MT
I'm an IT guy by trade and tech nerd by choice.
I like HPDEs, parts of US Hwy 129, NC 28, and the Cherohala Skyway.
I'm also a fan of aural pleasure.

Last edited by ZPrime; 03-26-2018 at 01:30 PM..
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      03-31-2018, 03:43 PM   #27
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I only wish I could afford the Awron unit. However, I had a Scan Gauge attached to my windshield and gives me all the data I need with one HUGE exception, oil temp. Why oh why did BMW not include that in the M2s? I had the temp gauge in my 335is that I traded in on the new M2. Very useful. I learned a lot from reading the Awron posts and hope I am not out of line regarding the Scan Gauge.
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      03-31-2018, 03:45 PM   #28
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I only wish I could afford the Awron unit. However, I have a Scan Gauge attached to my windshield and gives me all the data I need with one HUGE exception, oil temp. Why oh why did BMW not include that in the M2s? I had the temp gauge in my 335is that I traded in on the new M2. Very useful. I learned a lot from reading the Awron posts and hope I am not out of line regarding the Scan Gauge.
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      03-31-2018, 06:47 PM   #29
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So I'm 90% through the install... CON10 pin 3 doesn't exist in my car's harness. The FEM seems to have a pin in that spot, but the wiring harness connector has no wire there.

I believe this is how the gauge knows when diagnostics are connected to the car and shuts itself off. I'm worried that the missing wire means this won't work?

I can drop the gauge onto that spot just fine so if the signal just comes out of the FEM it should be OK, but I don't want to find out later that I should be using a different pin on the LCI and the instructions were wrong...
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      03-31-2018, 09:31 PM   #30
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Yay, search was helpful!

Over in the Engine / Bolt-ons / tuning section someone had already posted about this.

Instead of CON10 pin 3, it's CON8, pin 53 - yellow cable.
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I'm also a fan of aural pleasure.
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      04-01-2018, 12:46 AM   #31
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All done!

Can't wait for the LCI version of the Kuda base; then my phone will be down to the right of the radio rather than up at vent level, will clean everything up.

That's a Proclip mount with the iPhone X charging cradle and an extra 15 degree wedge between the cradle and the base mount (to get it angled a bit more toward me since I have it mounted so far away). The base piece is about as far down the trim as it will fit, to keep it out of the vent flow (when I had a vent) and away from the Awron now.
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I'm also a fan of aural pleasure.
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      04-02-2018, 09:02 AM   #32
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ZPrime View Post
All done!
Looks great. How is the visibility of the gauge given you had it installed on the passenger vent? Seems ok from the pics. Also, how long did it take you to install?

Mine is scheduled to arrive via UPS today!!
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      04-02-2018, 08:59 PM   #33
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Visibility is fine at night, but during the day with sun to the side (I was traveling south with the AM sun to my left) it was pretty hard to see.

I don't know that it would be any better with it in the closer vent though.

My tint isn't all that dark (IIRC it's 40 or 50%), someone with more of a blackout might not have the same issue. I only noticed it on the drive to work this AM. I think my polarized sunglasses may have been washing it out some as well, it may not have been all from the glare.
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      04-03-2018, 01:27 PM   #34
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Today was overcast; a decent portion of the visibility problem was my polarized sunglasses I'm pretty sure. No trouble seeing it today.
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I'm also a fan of aural pleasure.
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      04-03-2018, 03:29 PM   #35
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ZPrime View Post
Today was overcast; a decent portion of the visibility problem was my polarized sunglasses I'm pretty sure. No trouble seeing it today.
Good to know. I have polarized glasses too, which interfered with my HUD in my F30, so I know the drill.

How long did it take you to install?
On a scale of skill level required to DIY, where does this land? (10 being "I work on the assembly line in Leipzig" and 1 being "I have trouble lining up the buttons on my dress shirt.")
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      04-04-2018, 12:18 AM   #36
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I'd put it at a 6 or 7, just because there are plastic tabs you don't want to break.
It took me probably 4 hours but that was partially because of not knowing about the final wire being different, and also partial reassembly stupidity on my own part (I'll explain).

newtis.info is very helpful here...

After you pull the vent section out (which requires pulling off the entire burnt-wicker piece in the middle - link is helpful becase it shows you where the cleats are so you know where to pry), you then have to disconnect the factory vents from the trim portion.

There are 6 tabs on top and 6 tabs on the bottom. The factory manual actually tells you to get the bottom ones off first, which are the thicker ones. I think they do this because it allows you to flex the thinner top ones while trying to free the bottom ones.

I was using a 90-degree pick tool to help pry the tab up; having more than one might have helped.

You shouldn't need to pull up the entire door sill trim, just the first tab or two. However, you're almost guaranteed to leave those "cleats" behind in the body, and they're hard to get out if the trim piece is still in place... so I ended up pulling off the whole trim piece. I then used channel-lock style pliers to grab the "cleats" by the sides and yank them out of the body. Re-insert in the trim and then you can reinstall by just lining up and pushing/smacking. The sill trim has to lift in order to get the plastic kick panel over the FEM out.

When I removed the kick panel, I just popped/pried it off, but that's actually wrong. Factory manual tells you to actually slide the whole thing forward, which should slide it right off of the fasteners. You then have to pop out those fasteners and slide them back into the kick panel, and then you re-attach by just slapping/pressing it on.

I dicked around for like an hour trying to get the doorsill panel back on. Why? Because I somehow had it in my head that the rubber was supposed to go over the plastic. No idea why. So I was fighting with the door seal on the interior of the car trying to make it go over the plastic, and there was no way that was happening. Finally I went and looked at my driver's side and realized... duuuuuuuurrrrr.

The wiring was easy for me, but I've re-pinned connectors on German cars multiple times so it was old hat. An awl / pointy straight pick tool is helpful, or a very small flathead. Be careful not to break the little tabs on the housings that hold the actual wire separators...

Oh, there's a plastic cover over the FEM module - I had an extra wiring cleat thing stuck to the side of it with one of those damn winged plastic nipples that's nearly impossible to remove without partially mangling. The cover over the module has a T20 torx on it - the Awron PDF said it was a 27 or 25...
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I'm also a fan of aural pleasure.

Last edited by ZPrime; 04-04-2018 at 12:47 AM..
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      04-04-2018, 08:28 AM   #37
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ZPrime View Post
I'd put it at a 6 or 7, just because there are plastic tabs you don't want to break.
It took me probably 4 hours but that was partially because of not knowing about the final wire being different, and also partial reassembly stupidity on my own part (I'll explain).

newtis.info is very helpful here...

After you pull the vent section out (which requires pulling off the entire burnt-wicker piece in the middle - link is helpful becase it shows you where the cleats are so you know where to pry), you then have to disconnect the factory vents from the trim portion.

There are 6 tabs on top and 6 tabs on the bottom. The factory manual actually tells you to get the bottom ones off first, which are the thicker ones. I think they do this because it allows you to flex the thinner top ones while trying to free the bottom ones.

I was using a 90-degree pick tool to help pry the tab up; having more than one might have helped.

You shouldn't need to pull up the entire door sill trim, just the first tab or two. However, you're almost guaranteed to leave those "cleats" behind in the body, and they're hard to get out if the trim piece is still in place... so I ended up pulling off the whole trim piece. I then used channel-lock style pliers to grab the "cleats" by the sides and yank them out of the body. Re-insert in the trim and then you can reinstall by just lining up and pushing/smacking. The sill trim has to lift in order to get the plastic kick panel over the FEM out.

When I removed the kick panel, I just popped/pried it off, but that's actually wrong. Factory manual tells you to actually slide the whole thing forward, which should slide it right off of the fasteners. You then have to pop out those fasteners and slide them back into the kick panel, and then you re-attach by just slapping/pressing it on.

I dicked around for like an hour trying to get the doorsill panel back on. Why? Because I somehow had it in my head that the rubber was supposed to go over the plastic. No idea why. So I was fighting with the door seal on the interior of the car trying to make it go over the plastic, and there was no way that was happening. Finally I went and looked at my driver's side and realized... duuuuuuuurrrrr.

The wiring was easy for me, but I've re-pinned connectors on German cars multiple times so it was old hat. An awl / pointy straight pick tool is helpful, or a very small flathead. Be careful not to break the little tabs on the housings that hold the actual wire separators...

Oh, there's a plastic cover over the FEM module - I had an extra wiring cleat thing stuck to the side of it with one of those damn winged plastic nipples that's nearly impossible to remove without partially mangling. The cover over the module has a T20 torx on it - the Awron PDF said it was a 27 or 25...

Awesome write up and thanks for the assist. I will likely try to get this done on the weekend, if it doesn't snow. Yeah. Snow. F'n Canadian weather.
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      04-06-2018, 01:26 AM   #38
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It's snowing in my suburb of Cleveland right now, I feel your pain. Ours isn't supposed to stick or have much quantity, or at least that's what the weather guessers say.

I just want enough warmth to move to summer tires and get my Schroth quickfits and dash cam installed... I'm supposed to be at the Dragon next week!

After driving with it for a few more days, there's definitely some glare off of it that makes it hard to read, but I think some of that is due to the proximity of my phone mount to the screen. I'm hoping once the LCI version of the Kuda base comes in and I move the mount down and to the side, that will help improve daytime readability.
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2004 Matrix XRS 6MT => 2008 VW R32 DSG => 2012 Audi TTRS 6MT => 2018 BMW ///M2 6MT
I'm an IT guy by trade and tech nerd by choice.
I like HPDEs, parts of US Hwy 129, NC 28, and the Cherohala Skyway.
I'm also a fan of aural pleasure.

Last edited by ZPrime; 04-06-2018 at 01:35 AM..
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