[wellvrsd]

I apologize that I don't have any pictures of this process. I was just kind of trying to see if something would work, and all of a sudden I was done with no documentation.

I'm not a fan of clown noses, (I know some people are, and I promise not to come take yours away) they take up too much space in my line of sight, and they're not aesthetically pleasing to me either. I had a mirror with a minimal clown nose laying around, so I decided to see if it would fit on the M2 mirror, and with one tiny modification, it did. I'm quite pleased with the result.

If this is something you'd like to do, here's how. First, you need a mirror from an e90 era car. It wasn't just e90's that had these short clown noses, but it seems BMW only did it for a few years, and that is the era. I see them on eBay for under $50 shipped, and you have your pick of clear-ish, tinted, and red clown noses. To get the clown nose out of the old mirror, you'll likely have to disassemble the mirror. (Only this mirror needs disassembled, more on that in a minute.) Slide a small screwdriver or pick into the space between the trim ring and the mirror body with the point facing into the body, and work it around the mirror disconnecting clips. There are 10 or so clips between the trim and body that have to be separated. Once you get the trim ring off, the mirror and circuit board come out and you have access to the inside of the clown nose. You should be able to remove it by prying lightly on one of the clips.

Now on to the M2. You can probably do this without even removing the mirror from the car, but it's not much effort to get it out. The housing behind the mirror splits with some hand pressure on the seam at the bottom, then each half slides out. There is one electrical connection on top of the mirror arm to disconnect. The mirror simply slides off the plastic mount. Apply firm even downward pressure with both hands to the top of the mirror in the same plane as the windshield.

You should be able to remove the clown nose from the mirror by simply squeezing it on both sides and pulling it out. It is much more flexible than the short clown nose. Reference the short clown nose to see where the clips are, they are exactly the same on the M2 clown nose, and this is where you need to squeeze.

Now for the modification. The little 90-degree piece of plastic that dangles down in the clown nose to transmit light is too long for the short clown nose. I shortened it by drilling into the concave section with an oversize drill bit, and trimming any excess plastic with a utility knife. It still transmits light just fine. Maybe even better with a red clown nose. Once you have that plastic short enough, you can snap the short clown nose into place, reinstall your mirror, and you're done. Enjoy your new found visibility.

[mr_lab_rat]

That's pretty cool!

[Anthony1s]

What's a clown nose?

[brianpdx]

Originally Posted by Anthony1s

What's a clown nose?

The red bulb at the base of the rear view mirror. Blinks if you have an alarm. Possibly blinks if you don't?

Regardless, nice work, wellvrsd!