Running Board, the way better DIY.

[SlickGT1]

First thing first. The running board diy that you can find on the forums currently is a joke. Second, the instructions BMW provides, are good enough to get you through the process, but there are a lot of things that the instructions do not mention. Where the extra clips go. Or how you should remove a clip from your old rear flares and install it on the new flares. Or how those of us with IS cars, we can re-use our flares on the new parts. Or how a normal rivet gun, 2 of them actually, and a air rivet gun, won't accept the plastic rivets. Yea, I figured out a way to not buy another useless tool or two.

So lets get this how to going. Print the instructions from BMW below. They will get you through the removal, and hole locations for the new parts.
BMW instructions

Next, unpack your RBs, and look up all the part numbers on RealOEM. You need to sort it all out for left and right side. Left side, is drivers side for us US people. Use the Part numbers on the boxes, and bags, not the parts. The parts have extra number sometimes.

Ok, so the instructions call for a 2mm center punch to remove the plastic rivets, and push pins from the expanding clips. That is all nice and dandy, but my punch set is all 8" long. Good luck getting something that long to punch out the pins in the wheel wells. You can take of the wheels, but that is just annoying. So, I go to my toolbox and find an old pick, where I broke off the tip. It is short and works great. Note, you can also just use a regular pick, just make sure it's short. Or, you can use a right angle pic, as you will need that anyway. You will see in pictures to come.

My broken tip pick.


Center the pick tip on the pin. Then give it a solid shove. The rivet has no chance of survival.


Angle pick. You need this by the rear wheels. The fronts, you can steer out of the way, but why would you want to touch your clean interior with your dirty, dirty, dirty, hands or ass. So put that angle pin in there, put your hand between the wheel and pick, and give a solid shove. Bye bye rivet.


Rivet pin, pushed in.


There are like 6 of these rivets in each wheel well, and about 7 or 8 under the car holding the trim on. You might have other type of clips, but I had these push-in type on one side, and ones with a hat on the other. Don't know why.

Once the bottom pins are out, open doors, and pull the bottom trim up from the bottom. You will now see this.



Take out all of those lead looking bolts. 10 of them on each side. Mine were 13mm, and my Makita Impact made quick work of it. An 8" extension, will clear all, and avoid hitting the bottom of the rear door. You see it here.



Your flares should now come out as well. Make sure you take out this white clip from the rear arches. You need it for your new ones.



That white clip, goes under the rear door here.





Your X now looks like this, but mine still looks better. So there.


Now, for us IS people, we want to save money, and re-use the rear flares. So remove them from your arches by pulling on the clips here. They pop out when you invert them. Fairly easy to do. You can see the flares and the arches separated in above pic.



After you separate them, get some blue painters tape. Cover your arch, where the flares holes are in the blue tape. It should look like this. Don't use any pieces of tape longer than about 6". You want to overlap them, so that it will pull of in one piece. Trust me.



Take a marker, or a pencil, or whatever, and trace the outline of the arch, use the side of the pencil, or marker, don't use the tip. See here. I'll explain the other marks in a bit. Use same marker or pencil to trace the holes, don't draw the vertical lines perpendicular to the holes yet.



Now put back on your flare, puncturing the tape, those vertical perpendicular lines, are to mark the exact edges of the puncture. I don't know who installs these flares originally, but they did a shitty job. My method is very precise, and the tabs go through the new arches with such precision, that you barely need the retaining clips.

So, now that's done. Peel off the tape carefully, and apply to the new arches. Use the outline on the tape to line it up on the new arch. Not as hard as your head is making this out to be. Trust me.

Go get your Dremmel, or if you are an unlucky SOB, use a box cutter, the arch is soft plastic. Dremmel, with 1/8" sheetrock bit, makes quick work of the process.





If you are not a steady hand, test fit after each hole. But if you did the tape thing correctly, you are golden. Trust me, it will fit like a glove. If you need to adjust a bit, you have that option. The factory holes were easy 1/2" longer than necessary.

Put on flares, put on retaining clips. I added some hot glue, just because I am insane. And so that you won't be able to come to my garage and steal my flares.


Now go to install it all.

Put on the aluminum RB to the body. Thread all the screws about 3 turns, trust me you want it loose. Instructions say to leave loose in the oval holes, they meant to say really loose.

Time to put on arches. Do rear first. Remember the white clip. This is not in the instructions.


Insert it into the RB, then pop that white clip in. The rear arch can now be riveted in. Oh shit, no rivet gun, no worries baby. I has a plan.



I have a clip puller, metal one. Also needle nose vise grip pliers. You can use regular pliers and a screw driver. But I has this fancy tool, and decided to save the effort for holding a beer.


Get it. Ok I show again. Insert rivet into hole. Hold it in with clip puller or pliers , or screw driver. Just don't grip the center rod, as you need to pull that out.



Attach pliers to pull rod. Like so. At this point, what you are doing it pulling the rod out, while holding the rest of the clip into the hole. Give it a good pull, some of the rod will come out, reset pliers again closer to the clip, and now pry against clip puller, clockwise in this picture, once tension is reaches, the rod will snap off. Rivet has been set.


Follow above instructions, set all the rivets, and tighten the bolts on the RB.

You see this. Not in instructions.


Put these into the slots for the bottom plastic RB cover. One on each side of the cover. 4 total for entire car.




The rest is easy. Follow instructions.

Your car should now look like this, but just a bit worse, because mine looks better no matter how much you try.