Newely designed cup holders for e39!

[Trick Bits]

There are new cup holders available for the e39.

Available here.. https://trickbits.com.au/


Holds drinks up to 600ml nice and firm, nothing comes out of one of these.

Basic install

PC/ABS injection molded plastic

[BimmrMeUpSnotty]

Nice work! I love it, I like how you made it slide in and lock in place. Was that to clear the wire harness holder on the shifter tray, down below? I had to carve the wire harness tray out a bit to fit the 3D printed one that I made.

[ross1]

Brilliant! Just in time for the 10% or so of these cars remaining on the road.
Where were you twenty years ago?
Given the grudgingly installed flimsy and worthless factory installed units every dealer in the US would have bought these and sold them as accessory items.
Shipping from OZ will be expensive, perhaps a group buy?

[GZilla]

Am I the only one who is not fat and does not need a cupholder in a driver’s car? Agreed with Ross, this would have been so useful 10-20 years ago and would have sold like pancakes.

[BimmrMeUpSnotty]

The hell is wrong with you guys??? So it came out a bit late, do you guys realize how much work it takes to get these types of things going? That 3D printed one I made, I had big plans to get it to market, but life and other interests got in the way, hell, I made two of them, and have been enjoying the crap out of them every second that I drive. I always have a drink with me everywhere I go. I need to drink something all the time. Germans always wondered why you would need a cupholder in a car, maybe it’s weird to them, I always thought they were stupid to think that you don’t need cupholders when driving. Hell, out at my buddy’s airfield, the big Bad Boy zero turn mower that I mowed the grass with has 6 cupholders, big suckers so that you can have the ice sleeves in there keeping the 6 beers ice cold. 25 acres, it took 4-6 hours to mow all the grass. Had to stop and reload at least three to four times. In a car, when driving long distances, I am constantly drinking something, hell yeah, I demand good cupholders. I demand it so much, I motivated myself to get a good design down on Solidwerks, and get it printing, 5 hours it took, the first prototype, I made it a little too weak. The bottom section of the holder broke when I had a Pepsi bottle in there and hit a big bump. I fixed it with epoxy, has not been a problem since, but the sides are now cracking, it still works, just need to build it back up, do some bodywork, and it should live on. The second prototype I made, I thickened it up, made it much stronger, and it has not had any problems at all. Op’s version, I love how it actually uses the original cage, and how the cupholder section slides into the rail. Awesome design, hell, I never even thought of doing that. It was just easier to measure the original box, and incorporate the cupholder into it. I’m gonna order me a couple.

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Shipping is only $10, US, he’s giving them away at $33 a piece. It’s an awesome deal. I’d love to hit Bangle on the head with these cupholders…

[GZilla]

Not trashing the op or his cupholder design, since that is one of the nicest ones I have seen so far. I just personally do not see the point for cupholders in a driver's car. I don't drink frapuccinos or big gulps. I drink water and a bottle of water fits just fine in my door panel's pocket since this isn't a buffet on wheels. The worst I drink is a small bottle of Dr. Pepper, but it also fits in the pocket. Most of Europe makes fun of the American market cars for their obsession with cupholders, and rightfully so since it supports their thinking of people here being obese. 12 years ago I'd take a Jamba Juice smoothie into my dad's E39 530i sport and had no where to put it and be pissed. When he'd drive us back home through the canyons in high Gs (No idea how to this day) I realized there's no point for them in these driver's cars. I had mine deleted with the technical graphite trim from Europe. I don't even encourage drinking in my E38 740i since those are also useless and it is still a driver's car despite being bigger.

[ross1]

Good luck to the OP, items like this(with a wider appeal) can make you very wealthy, ala David MacNeil.

[BimmrMeUpSnotty]

Well shoot, Dr Pecker spells you out completely, BLECHHHHH!!!
But like I said, I’ve always needed a cold drink by my side at all times, been like this all my life, so screw what the Europeans think. You don’t need to buy the cupholder, change the channel, enjoy your show…. others like me demand a good cupholder, one that hold big assed gulps. I even thought of lining mine with styrofoam to help keep the suckers cold, or warm.

[GZilla]

I thought you had gout? Don't be drinking that sugar-infused drinks man, it worsens the condition! I think a cool addition to that cupholder design would be to have 4 plastic flaps integrated so you can put whatever size drink you want while the flaps can hold in smaller drinks or cups without spilling. I believe my Camry used to have that.

[BimmrMeUpSnotty]

Yeah, the gout sucks, I do drink soda, but with all the pills I’m popping daily, it holds it at bay. Alcohol, beef, (STEAK!!!) certain seafood, shellfish, all my favorite vegetables, those, I have to eat in moderation, so I shuffle them around.

[ChrisMelnyk]

Great job.


These are the best cup holders I have ever seen for the e39.

I just bought one.


Maybe I'll be the first in Canada?

[waters17]

This is so awesome! I'm glad I stopped by this sub. I just bought one.

[ChrisMelnyk]

And here it is:

IMG_20220615_144943.jpg

The quality, texture, finish and color is OEM.

This is the best cup holder ever created for the e39.

[BimmrMeUpSnotty]

Raftel ordered a few of them after I mentioned this to him the day op announced them. He gave one to me as a surprise! I’ve looked at it, it is nice, I just hope that the four studs that slide it into the rail don’t crack off when you hit a nasty pothole some day. In my silver wagon, the suspension is race car stiff. Crappy in the city, awesome at high speed out on the highway. I figure, if they snap, I’ll just epoxy the assembly to the carrier. I’ll install mine in a little while, see how I like it.

[BimmrMeUpSnotty]

Hey! This thing is pretty well done! Awesome way, how it slides and locks into place, GOOD JOB!!!

[Sam Son]

Just ordered one. The installation mentions this was designed for the factory storage bin. I'm assuming it also works if you have the factory flip out cup holder in that spot?

[BimmrMeUpSnotty]

There was no factory flip out cup holder in there, that was the TEC aftermarket cupholder you’re thinking about. The original cubbyhole compartment unsnaps out of the top plate, and this new one glides into the factory piece ingeniously.

[waters17]

Shipping from OZ will be expensive, perhaps a group buy?

It's drop shipped from China.

Mine just arrived today and I have one complaint. The installation video link is here on the post, and on the product page, but the video is now private.

I've never had any reason to remove the center console or anything near it, but I'm sure I'll figure it out.

[Sam Son]

There was no factory flip out cup holder in there, that was the TEC aftermarket cupholder you’re thinking about. The original cubbyhole compartment unsnaps out of the top plate, and this new one glides into the factory piece ingeniously.

That's weird. Mine is stamped BMW. Whatever it is it sucks. Looking forward to replacing it with this new piece.

[ChrisMelnyk]

That's weird. Mine is stamped BMW. Whatever it is it sucks. Looking forward to replacing it with this new piece.

I vaguely remember (10 years ago?) that some TEC units were stamped with BMW and offered as a dealer accessory but not a factory option. There was a time where you could find both (TEC and BMW branded) units available on Ebay. The BMW ones had quite a premium.

See:

https://www.ebay.ca/itm/185474953935...sAAOSwAs5is4uf

[BimmrMeUpSnotty]

Man, $145, I think mine was like $89 back in the day. It was really cool, but only good for a can of soda…. Or beer, depending on how you roll.

[Sam Son]

Jeez. I may have to rethink throwing it in the trash

[Trick Bits]

The hell is wrong with you guys??? So it came out a bit late, do you guys realize how much work it takes to get these types of things going? That 3D printed one I made, I had big plans to get it to market, but life and other interests got in the way, hell, I made two of them, and have been enjoying the crap out of them every second that I drive. I always have a drink with me everywhere I go. I need to drink something all the time. Germans always wondered why you would need a cupholder in a car, maybe it’s weird to them, I always thought they were stupid to think that you don’t need cupholders when driving. Hell, out at my buddy’s airfield, the big Bad Boy zero turn mower that I mowed the grass with has 6 cupholders, big suckers so that you can have the ice sleeves in there keeping the 6 beers ice cold. 25 acres, it took 4-6 hours to mow all the grass. Had to stop and reload at least three to four times. In a car, when driving long distances, I am constantly drinking something, hell yeah, I demand good cupholders. I demand it so much, I motivated myself to get a good design down on Solidwerks, and get it printing, 5 hours it took, the first prototype, I made it a little too weak. The bottom section of the holder broke when I had a Pepsi bottle in there and hit a big bump. I fixed it with epoxy, has not been a problem since, but the sides are now cracking, it still works, just need to build it back up, do some bodywork, and it should live on. The second prototype I made, I thickened it up, made it much stronger, and it has not had any problems at all. Op’s version, I love how it actually uses the original cage, and how the cupholder section slides into the rail. Awesome design, hell, I never even thought of doing that. It was just easier to measure the original box, and incorporate the cupholder into it. I’m gonna order me a couple.

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Shipping is only $10, US, he’s giving them away at $33 a piece. It’s an awesome deal. I’d love to hit Bangle on the head with these cupholders…

Hey man, thanks for the kind words. As you said these things are not easy to bring to life especially for someone with no background in cad and manufacturing such as myself but my persistence made it happen eventually. I needed to have a design that appeard OEM
to convince the purists out there that this would blend in seamlessly in their prized e39's. Utilising the housing solved solved that problem and provided a way to fasten the holder in place relatively easily.

Hope you're still inventing

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So long as you have the outer housing it should slide right in.

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I believe you were.

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My suspension is very stiff and the first one off the production line is still holding strong. A little over two years now

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Nice not to be concerned about spilling drinks hey. Glad you're enjoying it

[BimmrMeUpSnotty]

Yeah man! Your cup holder is still perfect in one of my wagons! Just did a 400 mile round trip to Washington DC from Southern New Jersey yesterday, your cup holder was in play all day long! I retired my first prototype a year ago, the thing finally got brittle on the sides that snap into the center console. The second stronger piece is doing great, it is a great cup holder, proud of it, but I lost the file on it, so I need to get with a buddy of mine who also had the drawings on a card, but yours is out there, I think it’s great, have not been to too eager to print any more up of my own.

[taz.]

The OP's cup holder is great and looks OE.
I have a bigger X5 sliding arm rest , so it doesn't work. I run a very cheap and useful Amazon cup holder. Does the job perfect, and as I used to have wireless charging in the tray, it wasn't fasten in place, so it can be removed and placed in the glove box when the phones were charging in the tray.
I do cross Europe journeys( 700- 1500 miles), so I need an energy drink or a coffee every now and then.
It's quite deep and almost impossible for something to spill over from it, with 2 sizes for different recipients.
I do have the back OE cup holders that work great in holding the water cool on summer days as they are just in front of the vents. But they have to be handled like an egg would. Otherwise, they break only by looking at them more aggressively.

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