non-rice upgrade questions

[lord4play]

Hello, Im looking for some assistance in picking mods and upgrades for my 03 x5

I'll start at the front and work my way back.
headlights.... my headlights are dim since they are 10 years old I'm sure the reflector bowl is burnt. I'm not a fan of cheap looking lights and I kind of want it to stay almost stock in appearance. I am considering a dual bi-xenon projector setup using Morimoto Mini D2S 2.0 so I will have dual lows and dual highs. for color I wasn't sure if I wanted the 4300k or the 5000k. I'm not a fan of blue lights or purple and I'm pretty sure I will stick with the 35w ballasts or possibly 35w on the outsides and 55w ballasts on the insides and add a switch for when I'm out in the country. As for the foglights I'm at a loss for what to do. I would like 3000k hid lights but require a projected beam pattern.
Engine..... I want to stay simple add a little more power but nothing to be fearful of ( I got a heavy foot and like to outrun cops ). probably a K&N filter and a tune I also wanted to possibly add a chambered dual in dual out muffler instead of the resonator as long as it don't sound like a ricer.
Suspension..... I would like an adjustable strut. I want to drop it no more then an inch and add better sway bars possibly change the camber on the front for better cornering (damn I love zipping around corners). OH and I want to put 32 inch rims on it....rofl just kidding I almost beat the shlt out of a coworker when he suggested I put 26s on it. I like the stock rims but wouldn't mind going a little (LITTLE) larger if they help the cornering but they would need to be black as I will be removing the small amount of chrome that is on it
Interior.... I would like to tint the windows install a better stereo and new speakers with amps powering them and possibly a small subwoofer to make sure I hit all the notes.
Tail lights.... still looking for nice ones that don't look like rice crap. I would like leds but don't want some cheap piece of junk and I kinda would like them to be smoked to be a little closer to the black paint.

OH also considering different exhaust tips but still painted black. maybe just a little bigger to fill the hole better and maybe sticking out 1/4 to 1/2 inch further.


other things considered a dock for my tablet and a bluetooth dongle for reading the engine computer in realtime. back-up camera


Well guys let me know what you think OH and if I ever win the lotto I am going to TWIN TURBO V10 THIS MOTHA!!!! (insert evil laugh)

take it easy guys

[JCL]

Save your money and skip the K&N filter and tune. No power increase. Less filtering.

[ProfessorX5]

Blasphemy! Isn't K&N d shiznit?

I noticed a diff on every car I installed a K&N in.... the Ford Explorer got slightly better gas mileage... all the same, I'll probably go with an AFE later, after I do the belts, pulleys, water pump and thermostat.

[tmv]

Headlight: The only one that's close to stock is the Spyder black housing ones selling on eBay. They are out of stock now. Open them up and swap in a set of Evo-X or equivalent projectors. Running 55w 5000k for your lo beam will give the best light output. No need for projector highbeam. You can put HID in highbeam but remember not to flash them or you'd have to replace it more often.
Taillights: LED is my vote. Pick the one that most of us have. Available in smoke housing too.
Foglight: prefacelift X5 should already have projector foglight, except some last ones in 03 before the facelift. RickyBobby's X has the reflector, facelift ones.
Engine: BMW engineers done a good job extracting almost all possible power out of the engine already, without sacrificing reliability. The air intake is already a CAI. Forget K&N filter.
Exhaust: X-pipe, resonator delete, 4.6/4.8iS cat-back can fit on 3.0. Finish it of with a pair of black chromed Ractive tips.
Suspension: replace worn components, lowering springs with Koni or Bilstein, sway bar upgrade.
Wheels: 20" would look good. Black wheels are overrated. Look good on some, not good on most.
Interior: gauge rings on cluster, silver overlay gauge faces, upgrade steering wheel (hint )
Stereo: do you have DSP? sound like you do with premium pkg. You might have to replace everything: amp, speakers, bigger/better sub.

Here's the headlights and taillights on my old 3.0. I love whoring out the old girl

[Ricky Bobby]

Correction Tam, my X had the reflector fogs. :poke: I retrofitted projector Valeo units, very easy to do. And I put morimoto 4300k 35w H3 xenon kit in them, great match. However he is right, all 2003-2006 E53 come with standard reflector fog lights.

You have stock xenon lights? If so any setup you buy you can reuse your stock hella ballasts. I would buy a fresh set of Philips 85122 bulbs if you want the most light output, 5000k is ok but its slightly dimmer than stock.

Third, I hope you know your 2003 lights are perma sealed and not able to be baked easily. Give it a try, but I'd just get new housings if I were you or wait until the Spyders come back in stock.

And 4th, the mini d2s 2.0 for lack of a better word, sucks as a projector. The 3.0 is coming out January 1 and is much better, it's based on a q5R. I would NOT do quads as its overkill and not needed in a high beam, any decent bi xenon projector will have plenty of light on high beam.

Stick with your factory projector (Hella E39) or put a set of EvoXR in there, don't waste your time with the minis. The hella is a great projector, the EvoX just improves on it greatly and adds bi xenon function.

[Ricky Bobby]

And I have same tails as tmv above, the led units are great.

Forget performance mods and just put nice tips on (I also have Ractives), tint your windows and call it a day. Let Paul Walker rest in peace and stop running from cops and living your life a quarter mile at a time with a 3 ton SAV

[ProfessorX5]

LOL @ quarter mile at a time.

[JCL]

Originally Posted by ProfessorX5

Blasphemy! Isn't K&N d shiznit?

I noticed a diff on every car I installed a K&N in.... the Ford Explorer got slightly better gas mileage...

If a new clean filter improved mileage then the old filter was likely dirty. You could put a clean stock filter in, maintain the filtering efficiency over the life of the filter, and have much improved dirt holding capacity. If the K&N cachet is important get one of their stickers and put it in the rear window, lol.

[pezho405]

The AFE intake is definitley a good first upgrade. Yes there is a difference

[JCL]

Originally Posted by pezho405

The AFE intake is definitely a good first upgrade. Yes there is a difference

Well, there is definitely a difference in that you can now draw warm air into the intake, since the ducting is eliminated. That should cost some hp if it is warm out.

Do you have before and after dyno reports? Any filtering capacity and filtering efficiency data?