Build Log: M57 X5

[Toothbrush]

Originally Posted by ucsbwsr

This part ... chef's kiss.

[ucsbwsr]

Winter is wrapping up in Colorado, technically it's Spring but Colorado weather follows plays by it's own rules. 75F, 6" of snow, 75F, more snow...

In March we got ~18" of wet snow, not the typical light/fluffy/dry snow we normally get that can be blown away with a leaf blower. Our neighborhood isn't plowed so I took the opportunity to test the X5s ability to handle deep snow. It didn't go great. I got stuck twice but it was a lot of fun to plow the streets. Ground clearance was the main issue causing the vehicle to high side and get stuck once momentum is lost. The wide 265/305 tires didn't really help but regardless it's fun to test the capability of a vehicle. The wife's Q7 faired better.




X5 plowing and planing the streets...




Love me the little tailgate. Useful for transporting an exterior door.


Snagged some more goodies to throw in the To Do pile of parts to install. OEM Individual Audio speakers and amp. Stinger amp is for an aftermarket subwoofer. Plan is to have the Stinger amp power an Audiomobile Evo 12. System will be processed with an Audio Control DSP.


Short road trip up to Cheyenne Wyoming to collect some steel from Menards. This will be ceiling and wall coverings in my garage. Thunderstorms and strong winds on the drive. 23.5mpg for the 200mile round trip.



For reference here is what it looks like going up


Got some new rubber for the summer wheels. Michelin Pilot All Season 4 295/45/20. I'm excited to try the tires as they seem to be the benchmark for all seasons. I particularly like the performance to longevity ratio they offer.


On paper the Micnelins are 6-7lbs lighter per tire compared to the Hankooks and Toyos I've ran. Once they were mounted I noticed the Michelins definitely appear narrower than the section width suggests and the sidewalls do have a stretched looks which I didn't experience with the other brands. The Michelins "look" more like a 275/285 than a 295 which was surprising but per usual form>function.

The Michelins + Camaro wheels does make for a fairly lightweight setup when you consider the 295/45/20x11 combo.


Swapperoo


Back to business

[Bdc101]

This is quite a thread! It took me about 5 days to read through every post. I just bought a 2012 35d which looks almost exactly like yours did when it was stock -- same wheels, same color, same interior, but no third row/air suspension.

Question for you, if there was one mod that improved your mileage what would you say it was? 35 mpg in any SUV is pretty crazy, especially one with lots of guts. This last post said 23.5 mpg for a round trip towing a cargo trailer full of steel roofing. I have been towing my camper with my E53 for the past 8 summers, so the idea of getting even 20mpg when towing sounds like a dream.



EGR blockoff is probably in my future as I've only had it a week and it already went into limp mode with an EGR valve fault once.

Nice to see a fellow MTBer as well -- I live in Bend and try to spend as much time on the trails as I can manage. If only these pesky BMWs would stop breaking down on me.

[ucsbwsr]

Originally Posted by Bdc101

Question for you, if there was one mod that improved your mileage what would you say it was?

"Deleting" the E-equipment and differential swap are probably the most influential.

[ucsbwsr]

A set of OEM Style 612M popped up locally and if you go back to page 1 of this build you will see that I previously owned a set when I first acquired the X5. I love the styling and the fact they are forged but when I had my last set I was on worn OEM suspension and then (even worse) lowering springs, 21" tire options were also sparse.

Flash forward to present and I am now on KW V3s with essentially all other suspension components replaced and 21" tires are way more common with the unstoppable invasion of SUV/CUVs with huge wheels. The price was right so I snagged them. The wheels have a fair amount of light-moderate rash, enough to warrant a reconditioning for my standards but after a thorough cleaning they are presentable. Plan is to give them a run to see if I can handle the ride quality and if all goes well I will likely invest in repairing the rash or maybe a full reconditioning + powder coat.

The OEM Pilot Super Sports were in great shape but too thin for my liking and I replaced them with some used, 90% tread, Pirelli Scorpion Verde in a meatier 275/40 315/35/21 configuration.

I love my OEM split 5-spoke wheels!


Aside from the rash the wheels cleaned up nicely


OEM 285/35


OEM 325/30


275/40 Pirelli


315/35 Pirelli


Before and Afters



Lovely

[ucsbwsr]

X5 is filthy but some pics anyway:

[ucsbwsr]

It's been ~6 months since the last update, makes sense as my son is now 6 months old. lol Everything checks out!

With the addition of my son our family has officially outgrown the X5. I'm 6'8" and my wife is on the taller side so the legroom or lack thereof in the X5 is forcing me into a larger vehicle.

I'm very sad to say I'll be selling the X5 in the Spring. Yes, it's true. I planned and cared for this X5 like I was going to have it forever but along comes a kid and messes everything up! lol #DadLife

Nonetheless I am still enjoying the X5 while I have it and this eventual sale has been a nice spur in my side to complete some projects I've had on the docket for YEARS. The main one was resolving an exhaust leak I've had ever since I installed the hybrid turbo. I used a 335D LP turbo for my Tim's hybrid build since it doesn't have the EGR port in it and consequently the turbo wouldn't have the "bend straw" woo woo noise under load. But I never got to enjoy the pure M57 turbo noises since from low RPMS up until the turbo cross over at ~3,000rpm I had a *eeeeeeeee* squeal which sounded like a balloon deflating when you pull the rubber flat and make it whistle. Sooooooo annoying.

Anyway, there is a lot to cover, let's get into it...

After putting the 612M on I ended up dropping the KWs to max low. I just had to see what it would look like. I love proper fitment but the whole time I've had the KWs I ran them at max high or right in the middle. I was pleasantly surprised to discover the ride quality was much better lowered. Seems a bit counter intuitive and yes, there is limited travel in the low setting so on BIG compressions you may find the bump stop but for 99% of the road conditions I drive the suspension is much more supple, I attribute this to the reduced preload on the spring. I love the aesthetics and love the improved ride quality. This is how I've been running it ever since.


Rear rotors had a lip developing on the perimeter so I checked life/thickness. Stamping on the rotors states min wear is 22.4mm and I was at 23.8mm so decent life left.


Lazy man, FCP Euro, oil change


This was THE trip when I realized the X5 wasn't going to cut it space-wise as a Dad-mobile.


Some maintenance. New MAF, rear level sensor, crankcase position sensor, and glowplug module. Added some Hot Shots Diesel Extreme too.



Rear taillight tint was aged, becoming hazy and even blistered in some spots. In retrospect I left it on too long and I paid the price with needing to clean up residue/adhesive off the lenses.
BEFORE


DURING


BEFORE/AFTER


I intentionally left the all season Pirellis on this winter to see how they would do for local/urban driving. Turns out I forgot to flash X-Delete back to AWD from RWD so this trip to Costco with RWD and AS tires was entertaining.




A few days later, gotta love Colorado


Might seem like another garage photo but this one is significant since it's the first time I've had the X5 in the 3rd bay of the garage work wrenching. This space is usually occupied by the non-operational E39 project wagon but for this wave of maintenance I pushed it over to the 2 bay area and the X5 got the main spot, as it was intended with the engine bay right up to where the work benches, tools, TV, and mini-split! The garage remodel was a 2 year on-and-off project I did myself so wrenching on the X5 in the 3rd bay got all the farm fuzzies flowing.

Wife and son were out of town for the weekend to I took advantage and tried to knock out as much as possible.




The main objective: a refinished Cerkoted OEM manifold, new gaskets all around.


New coolant pipe (which was weeping) and gaskets for the intake manifold, thanks FCP!


I prepped the garage with a 240v 30a outlet in the ceiling for a 2 post lift but for the time being I'm keeping it OG with the jackstand life.


Coolant flange




New DP gasket too


Good Boi Oliver


Made good progress on Day 1, I hit the exhaust manifold bolts with some PB before bed in prep for Day 2



We lost a couple studs in the removal of the exhaust nuts.


I had intentions to replace all studs but with the very real reality of potentially snapping studs off in the block, I wasn't brave enough to proceed and merely replaced the missing studs.


Fresh gaskets, fresh mani, fresh nuts.


Found my exhaust leak. Notice the split in the gasket at the 12 o'clock position and the carbon on the turbo housing. It's hard to tell but their might have been some exhaust gases mixing between the ports.



Getting everything cleaned up and ready for install



I replaced the F subframe too since I with a bonehead move I damaged the front cross member where the transmission cooler mounts. Having the subframe out did make the turbo removal/install much easier. New subframe cleaned and ready for install.



Couple random pics



The bolts for the wastegate sheared off in the old manifold and the the old banjo bolt for the exhaust manifold was in rough shape so I had some fresh parts overnighted from FCP. New sway bar end links too as one boot was weeping and one torx stud was rounded out.


After the above parts were installed I buttoned everything up, filled the engine up with oul and coolant, and found an unexpected coolant leak which was coming from the main/large upper radiator hose where it connects to the coolant pipe I just replaced. Frustrating to say the least. My coolant pipe was original and the pipe I just replaced was Meyle HD so I chaulked this leak up to a mismatch in fitting between the parts or cimply a worn coolant pipe. I ordered another pipe but this time I went with BMW and ordered a new coolant hose as well which WILL resolve the coolant leak.

In the meantime as I wait for parts to arrive I flashed the transfer case back to AWD and used an intercooler tool to correct some PS fins which were bent from my cold air intake. The tool worked very well.

[tryingtobebest]

This is Really really nice intake "race" pipe you have there. Im wondering if it is what I this it is!?

Also, as far as i understood your running front set of LT1 rims on all corners of X5, do you know how would a COMPLETE LT1 20" set would look like on our E70 platform?

[ucsbwsr]

Originally Posted by tryingtobebest

This is Really really nice intake "race" pipe you have there. Im wondering if it is what I this it is!?

Also, as far as i understood your running front set of LT1 rims on all corners of X5, do you know how would a COMPLETE LT1 20" set would look like on our E70 platform?

I don't follow your first question.

I ran a square setup of REAR Camaro wheels. Staggered should work but you'll have to calculate offsets to see what it would look like and of course pay attention to F/R rolling diameter.

[ucsbwsr]

Ended up getting an OEM coolant pipe and a new hose for good measure. No leaks!



After replacing the F subframe I thought the alignment would be all out of whack, turns out it wasn't that bad. The the camber adjustable suspension components front and rear I was able to achieve a decent alignment. No easy task with E70s which have so much neg camber from the factory.


I had a local detailer come by do some clear coat correction on the front fenders and perform a paint optimization on the rest of the vehicle.





Just a couple pics of the X5 doing what it does in Colorado...