All-weather floor liners: BMW or WeatherTech?

[JamesAustin]

I have a 2011 E91 xDrive, with the driver-side carpeted floor mat that's held down by two Velcro disks screwed into main cabin carpeting. As you probably know if you have the same setup, this is a good idea that DOES NOT WORK. The mounting disks rip out of the carpet, leaving little holes and letting the mat scoot towards the pedals.

I'm tired of re-seating my floor mat every time I get into the car and want to put in something else, and since I also want everything to match, I need a complete set (all four seating positions). I might as well get a cargo liner too; the carpeting back there is a bit scuffed. Both BMW and WeatherTech offer what I want; something semi-rigid with high sides that won't let anything move, custom-fit and in a matching color. (BMW's web site doesn't seem to have a way to actually order a cargo mat even though they show a picture of one, but I'm sure I can manage somehow...)

The question is, which is better? I've seen a sample of the BMW mats, and I've seen a sample of the WeatherTech mats, but never at the same time. The prices aren't that different (WeatherTech is expensive too...). At my last DIY the service manager told me BMW will probably discontinue their version soon (car's getting old...) so I should hurry up and order if I want BMW's mats. I suppose if all else were equal I would rather have mats that say "xDrive" than "WeatherTech" but that's not enough to keep me away from the WeatherTech mats if they're better.

So, I know both mats are nice, but which are nicer, BMW's or WeatherTech's?

[pseto]

I've had both over the years and as you've stated, both are very similar, just branded differently. Quality is pretty good too, so go with the cheaper version (which I would think is BMW w/ CCA discount since its rare that WeatherTech is discounted)

[JamesAustin]

I've had both over the years and as you've stated, both are very similar, just branded differently. Quality is pretty good too, so go with the cheaper version (which I would think is BMW w/ CCA discount since its rare that WeatherTech is discounted)

How are they held in place? I just found a photo of the bottom of (what I assume was) BMW's driver-side mat, and there were two big black circles which look like Velcro. A mat that needs to be held in place with Velcro screwed into the carpet won't help me any...

[pseto]

just to make sure we're talking the same thing, there's a difference between the floor mats and floor liners. The liners are far superior in terms of fit and are held into place with retention hooks.

http://assets.weathertech.com/assets...MINS1_0212.pdf

[John in VA]

BMW has improved the backing of the carpet/fabric mats recently so they don't suffer from the Velcro disc tearing away from the deteriorating foam backing. As for the rubber mats, the BMW & Weather Tech are comparable, as they appear to be of the same manufacture.

The floor liners have the extended vertical sides that help contain fluids. I got a set for the F30 that my wife drives & she found that her right heel slipped quite a bit on the liner's surface when pressing the accelerator, so they went back for the less-expensive flatter rubber mats. That problem might not be as noticeable if your heels are rubber vs. leather.

The rubber mats are held in place by plastic hooks that fasten through holes in the carpet/floor, while the liners are held in only by their size & shape.

[JamesAustin]

just to make sure we're talking the same thing, there's a difference between the floor mats and floor liners. The liners are far superior in terms of fit and are held into place with retention hooks.

This is what I have now (except this is much cleaner and properly positioned):

This is held in place by two large Velcro circles glued to the bottom of the mat, and two slightly smaller Velcro circles with screw threads on the back that are supposed to screw into the cabin carpeting & liner. The bits that SCREW INTO THE CABIN CARPET are what doesn't work; they rip right up out of the holes they create, leaving me with a mat burrowing behind the pedals and obvious holes in the carpet.

BMW's alternative seems to be this:

This looked like exactly what I want, but I found an image of the underside with the same Velcro circles. If this also needs to be held in place with Velcro fittings screwed into the cabin carpet, then this isn't an improvement.

WeatherTech's competition is this (more or less... (this is from a Ford Explorer):

Their web site says this is secured by either of two mechanisms which involve screwing something into the cabin carpeting, which is what already failed...

[JamesAustin]

BMW has improved the backing of the carpet/fabric mats recently so they don't suffer from the Velcro disc tearing away from the deteriorating foam backing.

Unfortunately, the Velcro disks on the back of my mats are fine (more or less). The bits they attach to, that screw through the cabin carpeting, keep ripping up out of their own holes. Even if BMW improved the cabin carpet backing, that does me no good unless they're willing to retrofit my entire cabin, which I understand is unlikely.

The floor liners have the extended vertical sides that help contain fluids. I got a set for the F30 that my wife drives & she found that her right heel slipped quite a bit on the liner's surface when pressing the accelerator, so they went back for the less-expensive flatter rubber mats. That problem might not be as noticeable if your heels are rubber vs. leather.

I have slip-resistant rubber heels. On springs. I should be fine. Thanks for mentioning that, though.

The rubber mats are held in place by plastic hooks that fasten through holes in the carpet/floor, while the liners are held in only by their size & shape.

Are you sure? BMW doesn't say anything about that, and WeatherTech has a .PDF about how to screw their Auger Retention Hook into the carpet...

[John in VA]

I don't have any experience with E9x, but E39, E46 & F30 carpet mats are held in place by hard hook/loop plastic discs that have a "tail" that is pushed into the hole in the carpet/floor & then turned 90° to lock them into the floor. I've not had problems from them coming loose.

The all-weather rubber mats for E39, E46 & F30 use a similar attachment piece, but, instead of fastening to the Velcro discs on the back of the carpet mats, have a hook that insert into a hole in the rubber mats to keep them from migrating. The T-Bottom Retention Hook seen in the WeatherTech link, as well as the mats themselves, are close to, if not, identical. I have no experience with the auger-style hooks.

I see the T-Bottom Retention Hook is employed with the floor liners, but ours were in such a short time (it took 1 day for my wife to decide she didn't like them) that I did not want to poke a hole in the liner for the hook. Sorry, I'd forgotten that detail.

[JamesAustin]

I don't have any experience with E9x, but E39, E46 & F30 carpet mats are held in place by hard hook/loop plastic discs that have a "tail" that is pushed into the hole in the carpet/floor & then turned 90° to lock them into the floor.

"Lock into the floor" implies that there's something in the floor to lock into. In my case, there doesn't seem to be; otherwise they'd surely use the positive lock mechanism rather than the screw into the carpet backing and hope mechanism...

[JamesAustin]

I wound up buying the thick beige plastic BMW All Weather Floor Liners, and just fitting them in place without trying to use the Velcro anchors. This isn't a perfect solution because the liner does slip around a bit, but it's a whole lot better than the Carpeted Floor Mats were. And with the matching cargo liner, the whole setup looks pretty good, at least to me. The mats are a bit darker than the photos on BMW's web site led me to expect, though.