Re-badging the Z4 (E89) with BMW’s 50th Anniversary Heritage emblems
What is it?
A full-set of BMW heritage emblems for the BMW Z4 (E89)
Why did you do it?
Well, I reckon they look pretty cool and bring the BMW Z4 E89’s natural hot looks in line with BMW’s classic sports cars such as the BMW M1 which carried the BMW logo with circling M coloured lines.
How do I go on about it? What do i need?
I wanted the entire Z4 re-badged which requires a set of 9:
- 1x steering wheel centre cap
- 1x front of bumper / hood
- 1x rear on the trunk
- 2x sides on the fenders
- 4x alloy center caps
I admit, I didn’t plan this properly and jumped into it too quickly and subsequently spend a little more than I needed to.
I guess, by being one of the first to do it on an E89, I couldn’t find any help online but hopefully this will help make better decisions and save some cash.
I purchased the main OEM set from a local BMW dealership (front, rear, alloy centre caps) but required additional emblems for the steering wheel and the E89 fenders which I got separately and non-OEM off eBay.
Add to that, the OEM rear, trunk emblem is larger than the one on the E89 and won ‘t fit. You basically need 4x front/bumper emblems for the E89 — they’re all the same size of 74mm. Anything larger won’t fit.
OEM vs knock-offs emblems
Maybe I was lucky but the knock-offs are of equal quality to the OEM set and the price difference in the UK is a whopping £80 difference. If I’d do it again, I’d simply get the non-OEMs. They are identical in quality, feel, looks and even have the parts number stamped at the rear in identical fashion.
Replacing the original emblems with the new BMW 50th Anniversary Heritage emblems
This was the first time I replaced any emblem on my Z4 and if that’s similar to you, I’m happy to report that it’s easy … however, there is a ‘But’.
Preperations
Get yourself a set of plastic ply tools to help securely remove the current emblems. You also want to purchase a set of double-sided 3M tape to fit each of the emblems, bar the alloy centre caps which don’t require that.
3M offers round double-sided tape in various sizes, including 74mm ones. Get a few, as you may need to double-up for elevating the emblems ever so slightly by 1.5 mm to 2 mm.
Replace the emblem on the steering wheel
Let’s start with the simplest of the job. The original logo on the steering wheel is attached to the airbag cover and to avoid taking the airbag cover off the new emblem comes prepared to be simply stuck on.
Clean the existing logo and stick the new accurately on top. The tape will be super strong, so make sure you get it right the first time.
Fitting the alloy centre caps
Dead easy are the alloy centre caps. You can use a small rubber suction tool to pull the existing ones out or if you want to take the entire tyre off, you simply push them out from the back.
The new alloy centre caps just need to be pushed in. It’s a 20 second job. If you have M-Sport alloys like my BMW 326 M Sport alloys, a little OCD goes a long way: Make sure to align the new centre caps so that the new emblem’s bottom sits above the M Sport sticker … it’s those little things that make a difference 😉
Replacing the side emblems on the fenders
Replacing the side emblems on the fenders are least problematic ones. Use a pry tool and go around each roundel softly moving it forward until you can pull it straight off.
The side roundels have 2 little “feet” that keep them in place and a bit of double-sided sticky tape to keep them secure.
Your new heritage emblems fit right on but you want 2 layers of double-sided 3M tape (round, 74mm). You could obviously also use glue or silicone but I’d avoid this as you may find it difficult to replace the insignia in the future without damaging the paint.
Swopping the BMW rear trunk emblem
Things were simple enough so far and in theory the rear emblem is even easier but needs some attention.
First of all, the rear trunk emblem sits on top of the electronic trunk handle. So you have two parts, the emblem and below the tough, black plastic handle.
BMW used super strong double-sided tape with hardly any spce between emblem and handle. Getting your pry tool between the two is more of a challenge than you’d think.
Once you get a bit of movement, simply keep moving your pry tool around the roundel until it comes off. The emblem doesn’t have any “feet” but the handle has two tiny, 1 mm “feet” but you can’t damage them.
Similar to the side emblems, clean the base, basically clean the handle off any remaining sticky tape. I used De-Solv-It’s “Sticky Stuff Remover” spray to safely remove tape residue.
Apply the 3M round sticky tape to your new BMW 74mm Heritage emblem — I used 3x layers of 3M — and then stick it tightly on. Align it properly before sticking it on — you may only have 1 attempt with the 3M glue.
Changing the original OEM BMW logo with the 50th Anniversary BMW logo
Removing your current emblem from the top of your front bumper is not complicated. Similar to the sides, the emblem has 2 feets that keep it in place but also rubber inserts to keep it safe. Those require a bit of push and pull with the pry tool but shouldn’t cause any concerns.
Before preparing your new BMW Hertitage logo with 3x layers of 74mm round 3M tape, do a dry run and you will see the logo seemingly fits perfectly.
However, the spot where the emblem sitsw on the E89 bumper has a small, elevated part that is higher than the hertitage emblem’s dome.
What that means, your new emblem will not sit tight on the bumper but will be slightly elevated (about 1 mm). Enough for it not to stay on properly.
Damn! 🥴😖🤬 Close, but no cigar.
Wait, there’s a very quick and easy solution that I found by sheer accident.
Emphasis on accident 👉 😅
Break your new front emblem to make it fit perfectly
This parts needs both guts and sensitivity.
The new emblem will come with 2x small plastic feets.
Place the emblem on a strong, even surface. It will naturally stand slightly angled because of the feet.
Now place the palm of your hand over the emblem’s dome and press it down to break its feet.
Why break the feet if you can safely cut them off? Because we don’t care about the feet. By attempting to break the feet in this way, you not only break the feet but also create a horizontal cut at the plastic bottom place of the emblem — literally going left-to-right.
Well done, you broke it!
Now with the feet gone and the emblem cracked it fits perfectly over the hump on the bumper. It’s exactly the angle required and the actual insignia at the top is not damaged at all.
Look, I can’t guarantee this will always work the first time — it did for me but I will admit there was a pot of luck involved. You may need a second emblem to do it again. I didn’t. But I will admit I broke it by accident and assumed it was ready for the bin. But nope — the damage was exactly what it needed.
Clean the spot where the new emblem will be going onto. Place your round 74mm 3M tape to the roundel’s bottom plate (the one you just slightly cracked) and stick it on.
Odd but that all it needs and no one will ever realise / see it. Don’t believe me? See the photos below for yourself.
