[R S 1]

Just picked up a 2025 X7 X40i but I’d like to change the kidney grille to gloss black. Car has black shadowline but not extended, so the grill surround is still silver.

Anyone had any luck or can suggest an aftermarket option or is OEM the only properly fitting option? I would guess the various EBay/Amazon options are hit or miss but curious to hear if anyone has any experience with them.

[XRS7]

Originally Posted by R S 1

Just picked up a 2025 X7 X40i but I’d like to change the kidney grille to gloss black. Car has black shadowline but not extended, so the grill surround is still silver.

Anyone had any luck or can suggest an aftermarket option or is OEM the only properly fitting option? I would guess the various EBay/Amazon options are hit or miss but curious to hear if anyone has any experience with them.

GetBMWparts.com has OEM for $650. Don't hold me to it, but it looks like the part number is 51-13-5-A23-E89. The pre and post-LCI versions are different so just double check that you are getting the post-LCI version. Not a huge cost and you know it should fit/look nice.

I've also seen people having them wrapped in gloss or matte black which might be a little cheaper.

[007 G07]

So I used this for my G07 LCI since I wanted the grille outline to also be gloss black like my pre-LCI's.

https://german-car-accessories.com/c...ey-grilles-g07

It took maybe 5 minutes to install from start to finish even with the wiring and stuff for the illumination.

Zero issues so far, and I don't anticipate any issues in the future since the fitment is perfect and there's not really any functionality with it (the active flaps and front camera are part of the car itself).

I am not at all an aftermarket guy in the slightest - this would be my first venture (and possibly last). I'm definitely highly satisfied with this - looks exactly I wanted it to look (high gloss looks high quality) and cannot stress how easy it was to install.

[mitch65]

On my wife's 2023 X7 she didn't want to risk the louder exhaust from the Pro without hearing it, so we ordered it without and I had a local shop wrap the Surround of the Front Grill Black and throw on some OEM Black Tips for the Blacked out look. It was the dealers first LCI and they only had Black Tips for a 2022 and they fit perfect, they are all black inside unlike the LCI tips which are silver inside

[R S 1]

Originally Posted by 007 G07

So I used this for my G07 LCI since I wanted the grille outline to also be gloss black like my pre-LCI's.

https://german-car-accessories.com/collections/2023-g07-bmw-x7-lci/products/2023-2024-bmw-x7-single-slat-kidney-grilles-g07

It took maybe 5 minutes to install from start to finish even with the wiring and stuff for the illumination.

Zero issues so far, and I don't anticipate any issues in the future since the fitment is perfect and there's not really any functionality with it (the active flaps and front camera are part of the car itself).

I am not at all an aftermarket guy in the slightest - this would be my first venture (and possibly last). I'm definitely highly satisfied with this - looks exactly I wanted it to look (high gloss looks high quality) and cannot stress how easy it was to install.

This is great to hear as these guys are local to me in Scottsdale, so I could get it same day. Anything to know about the install? Was the camera easy to swap?

[007 G07]

Originally Posted by R S 1

This is great to hear as these guys are local to me in Scottsdale, so I could get it same day. Anything to know about the install? Was the camera easy to swap?

It's not hard at all ... Even releasing and reattaching the little tabs for the lights for the illuminated grille was pretty easy. The camera was easy to swap: pretty much just pinch its tab and take it out and put it through the new grille. Everything is tabs, except for the 3 light assemblies thing - I think it was like 3 screws and it has its own designated place to it's easy to put back. The only thing is to not be scared to put some force into getting the tabs to release, but that's the only thing. Entire process is like 5 minutes .... 20 min tops if you have a hard time with releasing the tabs, haha - but that's about the only thing that takes time in people's experiences.

And yeah, I had no delays with shipping it out to NW AR - came in a timely manner.

This is the forum thread that I followed exactly.

https://g07.bimmerpost.com/forums/sh....php?t=1990100

It's just it never told me how long it would take and so I was under the impression that it would take an hour or even multiple hours, lol. But, took 5-10 min.

[25G07]

Originally Posted by 007 G07

It's not hard at all ... Even releasing and reattaching the little tabs for the lights for the illuminated grille was pretty easy. The camera was easy to swap: pretty much just pinch its tab and take it out and put it through the new grille. Everything is tabs, except for the 3 light assemblies thing - I think it was like 3 screws and it has its own designated place to it's easy to put back. The only thing is to not be scared to put some force into getting the tabs to release, but that's the only thing. Entire process is like 5 minutes .... 20 min tops if you have a hard time with releasing the tabs, haha - but that's about the only thing that takes time in people's experiences.

And yeah, I had no delays with shipping it out to NW AR - came in a timely manner.

This is the forum thread that I followed exactly.

https://g07.bimmerpost.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1990100

It's just it never told me how long it would take and so I was under the impression that it would take an hour or even multiple hours, lol. But, took 5-10 min.

Is this a illuminated grill? I had thought it was not, if it is I might go for it. Please let me know. Thanks!

[kenobi]

Originally Posted by mitch65

On my wife's 2023 X7 she didn't want to risk the louder exhaust from the Pro without hearing it, so we ordered it without and I had a local shop wrap the Surround of the Front Grill Black and throw on some OEM Black Tips for the Blacked out look. It was the dealers first LCI and they only had Black Tips for a 2022 and they fit perfect, they are all black inside unlike the LCI tips which are silver inside

Was very much considering the same. This looks really good. How much was the wrap? Is your wife happy with the quieter exhaust?

[mitch65]

Originally Posted by kenobi

Was very much considering the same. This looks really good. How much was the wrap? Is your wife happy with the quieter exhaust?

I think he charged me $100 for the Grill Wrap. We ordered the 2023 in June of 22, so there was no way to compare exhaust sounds. My wife hates my M5 when I start it up early in the morning. She probably wouldn't have noticed the difference but she insisted on no Pro. She is fine with this one. If she wants another next year when the lease is up will probably just order the pro. I was able to compare both together at the dealer a while ago when I picked up her car from service. They had a brand new 2024 with M sport Pro parked next to it so we did cold starts back to back. The Pro was louder but not by much. The other concern with the Pro is the possible brake noise from the MSport brakes. Ours has Never made any noise. We have the larger brakes with the tow hitch.

[007 G07]

Originally Posted by 25G07

Is this a illuminated grill? I had thought it was not, if it is I might go for it. Please let me know. Thanks!

This grille is not illuminated .... The illumination I was referring to was the illuminated kidney grille feature that came with the car.

[skilva108]

How has your wrap held up on the Grille? I'm considering doing this on my '25. It looks clean!

[mitch65]

Originally Posted by skilva108

How has your wrap held up on the Grille? I'm considering doing this on my '25. It looks clean!

Looks the same as the day we put it on over 2 years ago !!

[skilva108]

Did you use vinyl wrap or PPF for the surround? Thank you

[R S 1]

Originally Posted by 007 G07

So I used this for my G07 LCI since I wanted the grille outline to also be gloss black like my pre-LCI's.

https://german-car-accessories.com/collections/2023-g07-bmw-x7-lci/products/2023-2024-bmw-x7-single-slat-kidney-grilles-g07

It took maybe 5 minutes to install from start to finish even with the wiring and stuff for the illumination.

Zero issues so far, and I don't anticipate any issues in the future since the fitment is perfect and there's not really any functionality with it (the active flaps and front camera are part of the car itself).

I am not at all an aftermarket guy in the slightest - this would be my first venture (and possibly last). I'm definitely highly satisfied with this - looks exactly I wanted it to look (high gloss looks high quality) and cannot stress how easy it was to install.

Update on this. Grill arrived today, just slapped it on the car and couldn’t be easier. Took maybe 10 minutes start to finish and I’m not handy. I was probably too delicate with the camera portion and the wire was very tight so there wasn’t a ton of room, but it’s a very easy swap and looks great. Dumb question but the stock grill had open slats, all slats on the GermanCarParts piece are closed. Assuming this makes no difference as I can’t see the car getting significant cooling/airflow through the kidney grills but just want to make sure I’m not missing something. Would highly recommend this swap, very easy and cost effective.

[007 G07]

Originally Posted by R S 1

Update on this. Grill arrived today, just slapped it on the car and couldn’t be easier. Took maybe 10 minutes start to finish and I’m not handy. I was probably too delicate with the camera portion and the wire was very tight so there wasn’t a ton of room, but it’s a very easy swap and looks great. Dumb question but the stock grill had open slats, all slats on the GermanCarParts piece are closed. Assuming this makes no difference as I can’t see the car getting significant cooling/airflow through the kidney grills but just want to make sure I’m not missing something. Would highly recommend this swap, very easy and cost effective.

That's great to hear! And, I thought the active grille flaps were part of the car itself and not something you change out. And so, they're supposed to open and close as normal, right? I know I've seen mine open and close after the grille swap. Maybe I'm not understanding what you mean clearly .... Like, this is how my car looks after taking the grille off amidst installing the new one:

[R S 1]

Originally Posted by 007 G07

That's great to hear! And, I thought the active grille flaps were part of the car itself and not something you change out. And so, they're supposed to open and close as normal, right? I know I've seen mine open and close after the grille swap. Maybe I'm not understanding what you mean clearly .... Like, this is how my car looks after taking the grille off amidst installing the new one:

You could be right. I would guess the active grille flaps would be the same on every model. I just know the German Car Parts grille looks completely sealed whereas the OEM grille I took off, I could stick my hand through the slats on the grille.

[007 G07]

Originally Posted by R S 1

You could be right. I would guess the active grille flaps would be the same on every model. I just know the German Car Parts grille looks completely sealed whereas the OEM grille I took off, I could stick my hand through the slats on the grille.

That's very interesting, because I was able to stick my hand/fingers through both my OEM grille and the new black grille.

So, if I'm understanding this correctly, the active flaps on your car work, but when the active flaps open the slats on the new grille are permanently shut, rendering the active flaps' functionality useless. Is this correct?

If so, that may be a potential point of concern. As you've mentioned, it could be that the air flow that goes in through the grille when the active flaps deem it necessary to open itself is very minor.

But, with my limited knowledge in cooling/air flow, I would think to err on the safe side and go as far as to thinking that the increased air flow under heavier use would be important in maintaining the health of the engine.