My suggestion would be to go with the OEM silver kidney grilles. That's what I did when I had my X5...see pics here:

http://www.xoutpost.com/bmw-sav-foru...hire-214s.html

If you don't like the chrome surrounds, you can do something about that. But I think the OEM grilles look best. And I'd stay away from that ebay crap.

If you want to remove the bumper and paint the lower mesh black, it's your call. But I wouldn't do that unless you were going with the all-black look and didn't want any light/contrasting colors. Just my opinion. If you paint the mesh, it will likely chip/crack over time anyway. Good luck.

Oh and by the way, E53is, your M is sweet!

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2009 E90 M3 M-DCT | Alpine White/Black/Carbon

SOLD: 2008 X5 3.0si | Black Sapphire/Black Perforated/Burl Walnut | Premium | Sport | Cold Weather | Premium Sound | Active Ventilated Seats | Auto Tailgate | Comfort Access | Running Boards | Heated Rear Seats | PDC | OEM 20" Style 214s | Titanium Kidney Grilles | Tint 20% Rear/35% Front | GP Thunder 7500K Halos | Xenesis Fogs