Zeus | E70 X5D Build Thread

[Deftronix]

I recall reading a thread a while back about a guy with KW's who hated them at first because of the bounce but was able to screw around with dampening until he got them to a point he loved them. It was pretty drastic settings difference between the front and rear if I remember correctly, will have to dig it up. But performance/ride quality definitely seems to be hinged on getting them dialed in right and most of that work seems to be already done for us.

Its unfortunate that there arent any oem/aftermarket lips for the msport, because I dislike how the lci and msport have no chin up front but at least the aero kit addresses that. First choice for rear bumper was also the X5m since I like it the most aesthetically and you also have a cf diffuser option going that route but ultimately decided against it because I did not want it to be confused for an m. It would look awesome though!

Thanks for getting those lengths, much appreciated!

[Mflara420]

I'm pulling the trigger on some KW V3 for my e70 as well. The only difference is mine has airbag suspension on the rear, but with a little modification I'll make them fit.

[Socale39]

Been a while since my last update as I have been swamped with projects. Building a custom cafe motorcycle, 71 Chevelle, upgrading the house and of course work, all contribute to little time left. Decided to tackle getting my brake all done up this weekend. Frankly I have been waiting to put new wheels on until I got the brakes figured out as I wanted to swap out the pads with lower dust pads. Of course I figured while I was there I should cleanup the calipers and put new zinc coated rotors on.

Before I get to the photos, let me just say that the zinc coated Brembo rotors are definitely the same as what BMW uses. Just before my maintenance program ended BMW replaced the front pads and rotors. Comparing them side by side, same stampings, same vein construction, same etc! So if you are looking for OEM rotors, Brembo is the brand.

Anyways, on to what you guys really care about....pics!









Let me stop here and mention that I forgot to take a few photos of my process but I ended up bead blasting the calipers after stripping them completely down. After blasting I reassembled with new seals and then started the paint process with G2 Calipe rPaint in silver. Here are some of the results as the paint was drying...












And now time for the rotors to be swapped and everything buttoned up










Lastly, I've seen a lot of guys try different aftermarket brand pads however I personally like the bite of the OEM pads, just hate the dust. After doing some research I found out that Textar has a new pad technology, which they are using on the newer models, called ePad. They claim same performance but with far less dust. I ended up finding out that my pad size is the same as a newer model X5 so they actually had the ePad application available. We'll see how these perform and I'll provide some feedback.

[Socale39]

Pretty excited today as I've been working with Vogtland in getting a set of their springs to test and they finally came in from Germany! I've read great reviews about these springs for other applications so I'm anxious to see how these do. What makes these so attractive is that they are the perfect drop IMHO. The 2.0" drop of the H&Rs seems too much and the 1.2" doesn't seem like enough for what I'm looking for. My Eibach setup is conservative much like the H&Rs however I have found that they don't drop to their advertised specs which left more to be desired when it comes to filling the wheel well gap. With these springs dropping the X5 1.4" front and rear, this could be great alternative.

I'll be sure to create a separate thread to share my review of these once I get everything sorted.

[bawareca]

I will be interested what these springs will do. I would be happy to drop mine a few millimeters, but I cannot have a harsher ride. A few performance oriented friends have voluntarily agreed with my opinion that mine X5 has the best balance between performance and comfort. It was harsh with run flats, but it is great with summer performance tires, and it did great on the track too.
Nice job on the brakes, but you need more powaaaa

[Socale39]

I considered the X5M brake setup but I've never once felt the stock brake system let me down and I've tow some heavy stuff. I decided a while ago that I would just do a few cosemetic mods but since our X5 is primarily for long travel duty and occasional weekend outings, just going to keep it simple.

I'm building a motorcycle now which will take care of my adrenaline needs.

Oh btw my warranty officially expired so it's tune time! I'll hit you up about making a trip out there and getting it done. I'll likely have the springs installed by then so you can personally experience the ride quality.

[bawareca]

^^^ Great, looking forward to meet you.
My 100% stock brakes lasted for around 7-8 laps on the track without fading even a tiny bit. One of the brake zones is from 110 to 40 mph treshold braking and I didnt spare any of the abuse. It is even more amazing considering the fact that the brake bias is close to 50:50 and the rears dont have any devices for delivering cool air to the rotors.

[c0rehax]

Been following the thread, just picked up a 12 35d myself in black sapphire, and am wanting to do a combo m sport/x5m aero package. Have you pulled the trigger on this yet and do you happen to have part numbers? I've been lurking trying to search out if this is an option and saw an f15 locally yesterday with it all done and really liked the look. I was also wondering if i went x5m in just the rear how would the exhaust end up working out? Custom?

Great looking SAV and interested to see where you're at currently with it, thanks!

[Socale39]

Will be installing the spring here shortly and then adding new wheels that I have sitting in storage.

As for the aero kit I'm still on the fence. I may just end up painting the flares and side skirts but if I do that there are plastic pieces on the bumpers that would need to be paint as well to look right. Right now it's on the back burner.

[jopecasa]

Awesome SAV!

Looking forward for more!