Armrest Retrofit

[turbo8765]

Just put an armrest in my '95 M3 yesterday. It was very simple. The armrest attaches to the chassis via three 8 x 1.25 mm bolts. Two of the bolts are used in common with the parking brake lever mounting bracket. The third is for the armrest only, and in cars that didn't come with an armrest it's already drilled and tapped and capped with a plastic plug. The existing 8 x 1.25 bolts will need to replaced because they will be too short, so you'll need to buy a total of three. It only took about 20 min. I'd reccomend it for any '95, the car is SO much better with an armrest.

[mmark.]

Glad you like it.

I will be removing my arm rest as it is obstructing my shifting, and that could be expensive.

m

[turbo8765]

Glad you like it.

I will be removing my arm rest as it is obstructing my shifting, and that could be expensive.

m

You make an interesting point. I've often thought about this, but to my knowledge it hasn't been suggested previously. I wonder if the armrest isn't a factor in some missed shifts. Anecdotely, they seem to be less frequent in '95s, but who knows.

If it's in your way, why not just leave it in the upright position??

[goalstopr]

My friend had the armrest and always complained about it obstructing his shifting. I wanted the armrest b/c I spend to much time on the interstate to not have one. So, a simple swap was done last month and now were both happy. Just depends on the driver and shift style.

Also, when I'm on the track I use the center seat belt from the back seat to "lasso" the armrest in the up position.

[randywalters]

You make an interesting point. I've often thought about this, but to my knowledge it hasn't been suggested previously. I wonder if the armrest isn't a factor in some missed shifts. Anecdotely, they seem to be less frequent in '95s, but who knows.

If it's in your way, why not just leave it in the upright position??Mine gets in the way of shifting so i always leave it upright, but then it's always in the way when i reach into the back seat or rear passenger footwell to get my jacket that always ends up there.

I will eventually delete mine . . . . .

[Jontran8]

I just installed an armrest in my car last week and I'm loving it so far. Can't believe I went this long without one. :redspot

[Inspiredm3]

anyone who wants to get rid of their dove grey arm rest let me know...i iwll take it off your hands

[f ll th bl nks]

+1 for armrests obstructing shifting.
I rest my arm on the ebrake, works fine for me :rofl

[kornkid8600]

I've always thought about the armrest ...somewhat glad I have no armrest because of obstruction.

[95M3r]

anyone who wants to get rid of their dove grey arm rest let me know...i iwll take it off your hands

x2 Im in the market.

[Battle Mike]

I can't stand my armrest. I never had one in my last car, so I don't really feel the need for one. I hate the one in this car because it covers up the cup holders...freaking retarded imo.

[Bav///Man]

I couldn't live without an armrest. It aids in shifting. My hand is at a perfect point with my elbow on it.

[seeyalaterrr]

wow i had no arm rest in the 318 and in the m3 i have one now and i love it so much. i feel out of place if there isnt one anymore.

[turbo8765]

The armrest makes the car much more comfortable, particularly on the hwy. If it's obstructing your cup holders or shifter, leave it in the upright position.

[mmark.]

You make an interesting point. I've often thought about this, but to my knowledge it hasn't been suggested previously. I wonder if the armrest isn't a factor in some missed shifts. Anecdotely, they seem to be less frequent in '95s, but who knows.

If it's in your way, why not just leave it in the upright position??


It is nice to have when you're cruising .
Unfortunately, my elbow smacks it.
I don't want a money shift if at a HPDE, plus my arm is rotated at the elbow to clear the armrest...makes shifting tentative, and this is not good either.
I would not be surprised if it was a contributing factor, but is never mentioned... Like the guy who can't wait to get home to read the newspaper and fails to control the car.

m

[dfyoung10]

I just retrofitted an armrest on my 92. Now when I don't have my arm on it it's like not having the CD on. I leave my phone in the back cupholder and leave the armrest down over it.

[drsides]

I hate the one in this car because it covers up the cup holders...freaking retarded imo.
Why not just move one of the cupholders to the forward most position? In the forward most position, the armrest does not cover it up. Works great! (The second cupholder will still be covered though, along with the ashtray and coin holder). BTW, mine is a 98 also.

My vote is that i love the armrest.

Cupholders could use some improvement though. I wish that somebody like bavauto would engineer and sell a better, drop in replacement.

dan

[CoolJoe]

Installed mine a few weeks ago & I'm loving it!! The only deal with mine though is the hand brake sensor seems to come on once in awhile. It does the flickering kind of blink. Anyone know why? I yanked it out of a 97 sedan, when I installed it the bolts aligned up nicely no problems what so ever. Other than the mentioned, I'm happy with the results. :alright

[Battle Mike]

Why not just move one of the cupholders to the forward most position? In the forward most position, the armrest does not cover it up. Works great! (The second cupholder will still be covered though, along with the ashtray and coin holder). BTW, mine is a 98 also.

My vote is that i love the armrest.

Cupholders could use some improvement though. I wish that somebody like bavauto would engineer and sell a better, drop in replacement.

dan
I didn't even know this till a few minutes ago. I kept looking at these pics and seeing how some people had their cup holder showing even with the car rest...I figured it out and saw you can adjust them to your liking. So now I guess I love the armrest again:buttrock

[Jontran8]

Installed mine a few weeks ago & I'm loving it!! The only deal with mine though is the hand brake sensor seems to come on once in awhile. It does the flickering kind of blink. Anyone know why? I yanked it out of a 97 sedan, when I installed it the bolts aligned up nicely no problems what so ever. Other than the mentioned, I'm happy with the results. :alright
You placed your armrest console ontop of the handbrake wire. You needed to move the wire on the other side of the handbrake.

As for everyone who doesn't like the armrest, why don't you trade it with someone who wants one. There seems to be a lot of people trying to get one, so it would be a win-win situation.

I have a none armrest console if anyone wants it.

[CoolJoe]

You placed your armrest console ontop of the handbrake wire. You needed to move the wire on the other side of the handbrake.


Thanks Jon, I'm going to look into it this upcoming 4day weekend FTW !!:alright

[JETninja]

+3...I could use a Dove Grey one....I drive 70m a day on the freeway here....and Armrest would be real nice.

[wheresmym3]

x2 Im in the market.
x3 4 Dove

[95M3r]

Someone PLEASE pull thru with some Dove for the fellaz!! Please!! :buttrock

[turbo8765]

Everyone is looking for Dove, I called a couple of places who thought they'd be able to help me untill I told them the specific color I was looking for. I went so far as to consider buying a different color and redying, but most of the ones that came up were black.

The funny thing is, I bought mine on Ebay about a week ago. The auction said it was brand new dove leather. Sure enough, as described, brand new dove with all necissary parts. I was the ONLY one that bid on it, and for the life of me I couldn't figure out why???

[slammedE36M3]

I love my armrest, ive had to many cars without one.

[slammedE36M3]

I love my armrest, ive had to many cars without one.

[Jontran8]

Everyone is looking for Dove, I called a couple of places who thought they'd be able to help me untill I told them the specific color I was looking for. I went so far as to consider buying a different color and redying, but most of the ones that came up were black.

The funny thing is, I bought mine on Ebay about a week ago. The auction said it was brand new dove leather. Sure enough, as described, brand new dove with all necissary parts. I was the ONLY one that bid on it, and for the life of me I couldn't figure out why???

Doesn't yours have a lot of cracking on the leather or else a cut on it? I saw two up on ebay like that last week. Anyways I waited for a fellow bf member and got one in great condition at a great price. :buttrock

[turbo8765]

Doesn't yours have a lot of cracking on the leather or else a cut on it? I saw two up on ebay like that last week. Anyways I waited for a fellow bf member and got one in great condition at a great price. :buttrock

It's seriously in mint condition. Not a single defect.

[black_box]

my brother-in-law just picked up an '03 325 and the armrest had a little storage area inside of it. anyone know if that armrest would fit on an e36?

[m3j0n]

i jsut got a complete coupe armrest for my 95 m3 coupe since it didnt have one. On my 98 and 99 m3s, i couldnt live without it, so i had to get one. Anyway, I havent removed my original non-armrest console, so i dont know exaclty what is required for the install. For those that have done it, i have some questions:

1. can i reuse the original bolts for the non-armrest console? Or are the ones included with the armrest actually different?

2. the mouning hardware that was included was: 3 bolts with washers, 1 small screw with washer, and 2 sleeves. Is that all i need? and where do the sleeves go?

3. if the armrest is from a coupe (which it is), do i have to trim any carpet? If so, where and how much do i trim?

4. Is there an online DIY for the install?

Thanks,
JOn

[wmiranda]

Hey Guys... I have an armrest that I put in my 96 that I love... as most people I know that track their cars spend about 95% of the time on the streets,.. doesn't seem an issue to me as far as tracking the cars... tie it back or use the seat belt trick as above. I live in VA and currently work in SC so I drive 500+ miles each way every week... I love it.

Here's an idea... get one in any color. You can get them cheap and then go to either the US ebay,.. or the UK one and order an armrest COVER from there. I've seen the BMW leather armrest covers for sale as cheap as $40/US. People that complain they can't find one,.. aren't looking too hard.

BTW... for those of you that haven't thought to use the foreign ebays... you can get some awesome stuff for your cars that are euro only for pennies on the dollar. I got a BMW -MINI supercharger (just the top half which is actually a US company that makes them-Eaton-works on cars to just over 3 liters) for $80... unused. With shipping it was about $150... looking onlie... just a PULLEY for this thing is $119+shipping.

Anyway... anything is easy to find out there if you're willing to spend a few looking... and for a lot less than you'd think.

Later!

Bill

[wmiranda]

In just a simple search for BMW in Interiors on Ebay:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/BMW-CENTER-SONSOLE-BLACK-ARMREST-ARM-REST-E36-325-M3_W0QQitemZ330066644195QQihZ014QQcategoryZ33695QQ rdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/BMW-E36-ARM-REST-COVER-GENUINE-LEATHER-COVER-BLACK_W0QQitemZ220067240504QQihZ012QQcategoryZ3370 3QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Laters!

Bill

[m3j0n]

bill, got any tips for helping me with my install?

[wmiranda]

I remember it was relatively easy... took off the center console and bolted on the new armrest then just made sure everthing fit together at the end.

Wish I had taken pics but I didn't. Only took about 20-30 minutes but I had all the bolts etc. The old ones won't work as they need to allow for the 1/2" or so that the armrest support adds... I think they were M10 bolts?

Just take your time. If you have anything specific,.. let me know... I'll go look at my car and see what all I had to do....

I do remember taking off the shift boot to get to some bolts for the console down there,.. pulling the ashtray because there's a bolt there... but really,.. after that it was easy.

Bill


bill, got any tips for helping me with my install?

[m3j0n]

ok, did you have to trim any of the carpet?

[m3j0n]

and can you tell me what those 2 little sleeves do?

[wmiranda]

On my E36 M3, when I took off the console, the carpet was already precut from the factory... I just finished up with a razor and I was done.

the two little tube thingies are for centering the bolts in the holes if I remember correctly... anyone else verify this?

later, good Luck! Just take the plunge,.. it'll be easy,.. you'll learn about how well these damned things are put together (Darn Germans like to overengineer) and you'll love it every time you use it,

Bill

[MParallel]

I find shifting much more comfortable with the armrest. Do it a week and you don't know any better.
Of course I have a 328, which has the same factory shorter throw as the M3 compared to the 316~325 models.
When I now drive a car without an armrest, it feels weird.

Also, with the nice high mid console, my arm is in a nice straight line with the armrest and shifter.

[m3j0n]

is the armrest center console longer than the non-armrest console? im in the middle of the install and im just realizign this.

[m3j0n]

goddamn... do you have to take the armrest apart (separat ethe armrest fromt eh main console) to do the install?

[m3j0n]

has anyone done this before? it seems much easier than it actually is. I cant get the armrest base to sit properly so that the rear of the main center console sits flush with the carpet in the rear (around the rear ashtray)

[m3j0n]

can someone please help me out?!

[Jontran8]

do take the armrest apart. As for the base of the armrest, make sure all of it touches the metal and not on top of the carpet. Cut the carpet if you need to

[m3j0n]

yep did that andthe back of the console still doesnt sit flush with the carpet.

[m3j0n]

ok, so after around with it, i realized that the ebrake sensor has to be relocated onto the driverside of the ebrake. that gave me a little extra room to bring the centerconsole a little closer to the carpet.

problems im having now:

1. the armrest is very loose and wont stay in the up position and slams down when putting it down. there is no resistance.

2. The main console is still a little lower than the shifter console in the front and a little higher than the carpet in the rear.


anyone have a suggestion?? i know some of you have done this!

[raoke]

hey dude, if i can get the sizes of the new bolts i need i can pick them up later today and we can do this together on aim and then post the results. let me know if thats what you want to do because i have armrest staring me down in my room right now.

[m3j0n]

yeah, i jsut got done installing it... it doesnt fit 100%, but it works and looks good. Im almost positive the seller sold me a fuckign 4 door armrest. btw, im still trying to figure out how to add some resistance to the armrest. Its too loose without those "friction wheels".

[raoke]

could let me know what bolts i need anyway and how many?

[m3j0n]

well, they are currently in the car:(. i can tell you that you need 3 bolts, 3 washers, and 3 spacers/sleeves. they are the same width as the ones you will remove, but they are significantly longer. Thats about all i can help you with. there are two securing the ebrake and the other spot is plugged with a plastic tab that you need to remove.

-jon

[raoke]

thanks.

[Jontran8]

problems im having now:

1. the armrest is very loose and wont stay in the up position and slams down when putting it down. there is no resistance.



I believe this is one of the issues of why some people hate the armrest. I always keep mine down unless if i need to look at the obc/clock then it goes right back down

[m3j0n]

i just realized that the seller didnt include the traction wheels!

[NicoyAKinG]

What traction wheels? I am retrofitting an armrest currently but it won't sit flush it's like an inch above carpet and won't go any lower...