Spring is right around the corner, and warmer weather means car meets, modifications, and catching up on maintenance that you may have put off during the winter. I recently completed the interior upgrades on my BMW 340i and thought I’d make a guide for some of the most popular interior modifications for the F30/ F32. Many of these apply to the M3 and M4 as well. Hopefully this inspires you to do some of these on your interior!
I’ve done individual installation guides for everything I’m going to mention, feel free to check out the video playlist here. But since these were done over the course of two years and many new people have found my channel since then, I think it’s helpful to have all of the modifications consolidated in one article.
M Performance Carbon Fiber Interior Trim
Brand: Genuine BMW
Install time: 30 minutes
M Performance embroidery on dash trim.
In stock from, the F30 interior is underwhelming. In fact, many people felt it was a step backwards from the E90 interior. Luckily, BMW offers a very nice interior trim kit that completely elevates the look and feel of the interior. It adds textures like dry carbon fiber and alcantara and makes the car feel more premium. The main interior trim kit includes the dashboard trim, center console and door handles. The pieces fit the same on both the 3 and 4 Series, but the 3 Series kit includes handles for the rear doors as well.
Center console trim and door handles.
Sold separately are the M Performance automatic shift knob, gear selector baseplate and parking brake handle. These trim pieces are not cheap, but being Genuine BMW parts, the quality and fitment is exceptional. Note that these pieces are not veneers or stickers. These completely replace the original trim, clips and all. Best of all, the installation is super easy and requires nothing more than a set of interior pry tools.
Automatic shift knob and baseplate.
P3 Vent Gauge
Brand: P3 Cars
Install time: 30 minutes.
P3 Vent Gauge.
The P3 Vent gauge is one of my favorite modifications on the whole car. It’s a digital gauge that fits seamlessly in your factory air vent and can display around a dozen different parameters. I keep mine on boost because it’s the most exciting to look at while driving. The gauge even has the ability to read and clear engine fault codes which is super convenient.
Available parameters:
- Boost
- Coolant temperature
- Air/Fuel ratio
- Vehicle speed
- Intake air temperature
- Throttle angle
- Ignition timing
- Engine RPM
- Exhaust gas temperature
- Battery voltage
- Programmable shift light
- Acceleration timers (0-60mph/0-100mph/60-130mph)
- Braking timers (60-0mph/100-0mph)
There are a few different options to choose from. You can get white digits with orange bars like I have, or all orange for a more OEM look. You can also choose to buy the screen by itself and install it into your existing vent, or purchase it pre-installed into an OEM vent. Honestly, save your money and install it yourself. If you can build LEGOs, you can install this screen.
I have the digital version of the P3 Gauge which simply plugs into the cars OBD II port. It needs to be plugged in at all times in order to work. You can purchase an adapter that would allow you to plug in multiple devices at once, but I just unplug mine when I need to use the port OBD port for coding and diagnostics.
P3 Gauge displaying boost pressure in PSI.
M1, M2 Steering Wheel Buttons
Brand: MN Laser Cutting
Instal time: 1 hour
I get a lot of questions about the M1 and M2 buttons on the steering wheel. People ask if they actually do anything or if they’re just for decoration. These were sent to me by @mnlasercutting on Instagram and they allow you to switch between comfort, sport and Eco Pro right from the steering wheel. They include a wiring harness that connects the buttons to the drive mode switch on the center console. The way that it’s wired, the center console switch remains fully functional which is nice. The kit is 100% plug-and-play and does not require any coding or soldering.
It’s a clever use of the the space on the steering wheel that otherwise has blank dummy buttons. Note that these are only compatible with the M Sport steering wheel and only on cars that don’t have adaptive cruise. The buttons are available in red or blue. I went with red to match my interior. I do wish there was a black option for a more OEM look.
Magnetic Paddle Shifters
Brand: JQ Werks & Madtrace
Install time: 30 minutes
A recent addition to my 340i interior are these magnetic paddle shifters by JQ Werks and Madtrace. Apparently magnetic paddle shifters have been popular for racing simulations, and now they are becoming available for real cars. As you pull the paddle to shift gears, the magnet snaps and gives a satisfying click, unlike the mushy stock paddles which just use rubber membranes.
While it doesn’t quite compare to shifting gears on a manual car, it makes for a more tactile driving experience compared to stock. The paddles are available in matte carbon fiber or aluminum (for a small up-charge). I originally installed the carbon fiber paddles, but mentioned in my video that I wish I had chosen the aluminum paddles to brighten up the interior. @jqwerks was kind enough to reach out to me on Instagram and sent me a pair. The aluminum paddles are more 3-dimensional than the carbon fiber ones and the cool feel of real metal oozes quality.
The installation is straight forward and anyone can install these in about 30 minutes. The hardest part is actually unplugging the stock paddles, as the harnesses are a tight fit.
Lightning Console Phone Charger
Brand: JD Cars
Install time: 1 hour
My friend and fellow content creator Jake who goes by @jd.cars on social media developed this wireless phone charger that is integrated into the cupholder portion of the center console. He told me about this product he was working on at a previous Kies event, and a year later it came to fruition. Much like the M1/ M2 buttons, it’s a clever use of a space that is otherwise blank. The kit includes all of the tools required for the installation which is a nice touch.
There is nothing more annoying than trying to drive with cords around the shifter, and since we’re already using Bluetooth for music, there’s even more reason to eliminate cords from our interiors completely. Not to mention the convenience of getting in the car and just plopping my phone down without having to fumble around for a cord. It accommodates my iPhone 14 Pro Max which is among the largest phones currently. The charging surface has a rubber pad and a lip that prevents the phone from flying off under hard acceleration. I love mods that add functionality while retaining the stock aesthetic. If you didn’t know better, you’d think the car came with it.
The Lightning Console can be installed in an hour and all of the wiring is included in the kit.
6WB Digital Cluster
Brand: Genuine BMW
Install time: 2 hours*
“6WB” was the option code for BMW’s digital gauge cluster that was offered toward the end of the F30 3 Series’ production cycle. The interface is dynamic and changes to reflect the drive mode that you’re in. By default when you start the car, you’re in comfort mode which most closely resembles the stock gauges. Switch to sport and the interface turns red with large numeric readouts for your speed and current gear selection. Switch to Eco Pro and the interface changes to blue and your tachometer is replaced with an efficient dynamics gauge.
I have been critical of digital gauges in the past, but the 6WB has received so much praise by my audience that I decided to try it for myself. While it’s taken some getting used to, I do prefer the aesthetic over the base analog gauges that my car came with. I only wish that BMW had done more with it and I feel as though they missed opportunities to add features and functionality, given the flexibility of a digital display. It does make the car feel 5 years newer and is a solid upgrade for those who are into tech and want to modernize their car.
*To be honest with you, this was the most difficult modification I have done to date. Going into it, I didn’t understand that starting with the base analog cluster would be more complicated than many of the install videos I had watched going from 6WA to 6WB. I had to learn how fiber optics work, then find the correct three-way fiber optic cable to connect the 6WB to the car’s existing fiber optic loop. Even coding it to the car was challenging and I had to have @bimmergeeks code it for me remotely.
Race Display Steering Wheel
Brand: Genuine BMW
Install time: 3 hours
The BMW Race Display steering wheel is easily my favorite part of the car. This wheel is considered by many to be the “Holy Grail” of Genuine BMW accessories. Like the name implies, there is a small display at the top of the wheel that can show a variety of helpful parameters. You can see oil and coolant temperature, lateral and longitudinal G-force, and quarter mile time just to name a few. Also built into the wheel are shift lights that have a graduated green to red color as RPM’s increase. Within the settings you can set the RPM that you want the shift lights to come on at. You can also adjust the brightness of the display and LED’s and choose metric or imperial units.
The wheel is controlled by these buttons at the 10 and 2 position using long, short and double presses. It takes some time to get the hang of, but once you figure it out, you can use it without too much thought. It’s cool to me, not only that this wheel even exists, but that it’s a Genuine BMW part. I think it says something about BMW’s understanding of their customer base.
The installation is tedious. There is no coding required, however you will be repining wires in both the steering column and in the footwell module which takes some time and patience. If even one wire is installed incorrectly, the wheel won’t work. I’d say this is an intermediate/ advanced install, but if you follow my installation guide carefully, I’m confident that you can do this at home.
Interior Care
The easiest and most cost effective way to improve your interior is to give it a thorough cleaning and then keep up with maintenance. Check out my interior cleaning guide which includes some of my favorite interior care products!
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