Build Log: M57 X5

[ucsbwsr]

Hi, my name is Evan and I like to modify BMWs.

Here are some of my old and current projects:

Imola Red E39 M5:
https://www.m5board.com/vbulletin/ca...ded-clean.html

E39 540iT:
https://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/sh....php?t=1245562

535xi E61 Touring:
https://www.spoolstreet.com/posts/bm...project-wagon/

The "N54 Powered E61 M5 Wagon"
https://www.n54tech.com/forums/showthread.php?t=36899


The new addition to the fleet is a 2012 X5 diesel. I am very excited about this as a project since at the heart of this vehicle is the M57 motor which is wildly underappreciated in the US. Offering torque, reliability, and efficiency it's has great attributes for a fun daily driver.

The plans for this is vehicle are fairly conservative relative to my other projects and the plan is to enhance the performance, dynamics, and reliability while not sacrificing anything in exchange. Plans include:

- F85 X5M or F10 M5 brakes
- F10 M5 steering wheel
- JR 2.8 tune and supporting mods
- XHP X Delete and Transmission tune
- Upgraded headlights, fog lights, and reverse light
- Style 612M wheels (done)
- Revised Fitment (taller tires, KW V3 or springs)
- 3rd row delete, rear seat entertainment delete
- Stealth tow hitch.
- Fender flared, M Sport front bumper
- Clear Bra + Tint
- etc. etc. etc.


Here are the stock specs:

08/2012
78,XXX
Platinum Grey Metallic over Black
1 owner Southern California vehicle
Premium Package
Sport Package
Comfort Access
Comfort Seats: Heated/Ventilated/Active Driver
Heated Rear Seats + Steering Wheel
Technology Pakcage
Lighting Package
3rd Row + Rear Air Suspension
Rear Seat Entertainment
Soft Close Doors


LET'S GO!!!!

A rare picture of one of my vehicles in stock form...


Pulling in the garage after driving it home


Had some 612M wheels waiting



Style 335 (19") vs Style 612 (21")


Ooooffffph


Saving 10-12lbs a corner of unsprung mass and rotational weight, nice!


Hubs were a little rusty so I hit it with a wire brush and applied some anti-seize.




Much better, Day 1 was a success



Interior received an emergency cleaning to remove all the oily/greasy/nasty interior shine the dealership covered everything with.


Next up was debadging the tailgate and front doors. Heat gun, plstic razor, some "finger grease" and goo gone.


Followed up with the DA polisher and some Chemical Guys V36


Much better


This stupid thing....


Hope the BMW engineer who thought this was a good way to store the DVD screen was fired....


Phone cradle delete, will follow up with the OEM delete plate later


More chrome delete. Exhaust tips were removed, cleaned, scuffed, cleaned, primed, and painted with satin black high temp paint


Rear reflectors were also dipped black, don't worry I have some color matched paint on the way and will DIY color match the F/R reflectors



Monochromatic roundals


Disassembled the kidney grills and dipped the chrome, I like how it came out, the black offers a nice contrast to the titanium slats.



Clean as you go


I had some gloss black vinyl left over from a project so I wrapped the front reflectors, I can't stand amber

Here is a before/after with all the above changes.


After


X5 didn't come with a cargo cover but thankfully I found one locally in great condition for a great price



Put the mountain bike racks on




Backing up X5s info for XHP license



As a temp solution until I really upgrade the headlights I replaced the stock bulbs with some Osram CBB, not cheap but as you can see they offer much better intensity than the old stock bulbs

[spyderdoc]

Beautiful e70! Looks fantastic with those wheels! Consider getting the wider factory wheel arches.

Also, friendly public service reminder: please use jackstands, even when just changing a tire....As a ER doc, I cringe when I see a 3 ton car supported only by a hydraulic jack. I've seen some pretty hideous injuries and deaths from this exact scenario.

Good luck with your project. You will love it in the deleted form

[ucsbwsr]

Originally Posted by spyderdoc

Beautiful e70! Looks fantastic with those wheels! Consider getting the wider factory wheel arches.

Also, friendly public service reminder: please use jackstands, even when just changing a tire....As a ER doc, I cringe when I see a 3 ton car supported only by a hydraulic jack. I've seen some pretty hideous injuries and deaths from this exact scenario.

Good luck with your project. You will love it in the deleted form

Yes, I am considering them as they are on my to do list above

As for stands, I live by the jackstands, trans swaps, engine swaps, drivetrain conversions, all on jack stands and anytime I am under the car 100% supported by stands but in a wheel swap scenario like this I like to live dangerously.

[Nanniepoo]

Originally Posted by spyderdoc

Beautiful e70! Looks fantastic with those wheels! Consider getting the wider factory wheel arches.

Also, friendly public service reminder: please use jackstands, even when just changing a tire....As a ER doc, I cringe when I see a 3 ton car supported only by a hydraulic jack. I've seen some pretty hideous injuries and deaths from this exact scenario.

Good luck with your project. You will love it in the deleted form

I'll have to take some pics of the tire shops around me. Driving down 8 mile in Detroit there's entire cars up in the air on 3 jacks. Multiple shops roll like that.

[spyro235]

I've been considering better headlight bulbs, and haven't looked into hem yet. I had OSRAM in my old TL, and forget what I had in my 335i. What made you choose the OSRAM CCB?

[josiahg52]

I installed the Philips 85415XV C1 Xtreme Vision and am very happy with them. They're a little warmer at 4800K than some may prefer.

The Osram Xenarc 66144 D1S CBI is another in the very popular and effective CBI line. They're 5500K so blue like everyone seems to want.

If you want the best out there right now, look at the OSRAM Night Breaker Laser.

[ucsbwsr]

Originally Posted by spyro235

I've been considering better headlight bulbs, and haven't looked into hem yet. I had OSRAM in my old TL, and forget what I had in my 335i. What made you choose the OSRAM CCB?

The CBBs are the latest high output/high kelving rating offering from Osram. They carry an eye watering price tag of ~$250 and I was curious to see how they perform. My go to is the Osram CBI which about 1 year ago can down in price from $140 to $110 so it's a hard to beat value for the performance, reliability, and aesthetics (color) if that matters to you. I am also a huge fan of the Philips WHV2 for a high performing bulb with a white color temp.

Originally Posted by josiahg52

I installed the Philips 85415XV C1 Xtreme Vision and am very happy with them. They're a little warmer at 4800K than some may prefer.

The Osram Xenarc 66144 D1S CBI is another in the very popular and effective CBI line. They're 5500K so blue like everyone seems to want.

If you want the best out there right now, look at the OSRAM Night Breaker Laser.

Nice recommendations.

[ucsbwsr]

Operation "kill all amber" continues with some LED turn signal bulbs


Removed the bumper and the lower splash shields to poke around see what's what. Everything is very clean and no major oil leaks. Very un-BMW



Garage TVs/Monitors FTW


Flashed XHP XDelete. I like run this on one of my E61 wagons and really like the refined steering feel. With no servotronic and 285 tires up front the steering is a bit heavy so I am hoping this will help that a bit, it might also improve fuel efficiency.


With the X5 jacked up an in gear I noticed the front wheels still receiving power, maybe there is enough friction in the TC clutches to transfer this energy, I am curious if this would translate into a parasitic loss while driving around, either way I wasn't about it so I removed the front shaft. Here is a before/after video.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rfqjirwDjHk


With the bumper off I decided to continue blacking out some items.



The small silver romboid around the front cameras was particularly annoying and after exmaining it's texture I wasn't confident paint would adhere well to it so I removed the reflectors and wrapped the complete assembly in gloss black (had it lying around). It looks SO much better IMO.



My goal was to run the beefiest setup possible. The tires already have enough width so increasing the aspect ratio is next, I am a big fan of running taller tires as it adds more cushion for ride comfort and also help fill the wheel wells. The X5 is in particular need of this but unfortunately the wheel carrier/upper ball joint is in a rather inconvenient location.

Stock Michelin PSSs are 285/35 325/30. I found some 285/45 325/40 Continental 5Ps which are OEM equipment on AMG Mercedes SUVs. I found a front tire on eBay and purchased it to test fit....

Here is the stock 285/45 Michelin


285/45 Continental


Bummer



In addition to the spindle-tire contact the inner edge of the tires would have rubbed at full lock so this tire size NOT working was for the best but in terms of added tire meat and the juggernaut like aesthetics it would have been exactly what I was shooting for.

When the dust settled and the tire was returned I was only out $35 for 2 tire mountings, 1 balancing, and return shipping on the tire so it was a worth while experiment, now I know.

Moving forward I need to decide if I should go with taller but slightly narrower 275/40 315/35 Hankook S1 Nobles (OE Porsche tires) or just stick with the wider but shorter Michelins. For now I might just run the Michelins until they are toast and then revisit options.





To make sure steering feel and lightness was optimized I also flushed the PS fluid with some new CHF11s


A couple updated pics, killed many bugs driving out to Lake Havasu, AZ for Easter

[MillerMav]

Looking good!

[Dieselfan]

Nice! Very nice so far.
A few questions for you though.
1. How much lighter is the steering wheel with Xdrive delete?
2. Any traction control issue with tires being different ratio?