***PIX OF THE NEW X5*** (Still a work in progress). Enjoy!

[rh71]

Originally Posted by cmansbimmer

Looking at your pictures just made me more excited about getting my Aero Kit mounted. Let me ask you a question. Are you currently running spacers on your X5 with 214's? I'm debating on the sizes. I'm thinking 15mm for the rear and 10mm for the front. My concern is that 15mm might be tight for the rear and 12mm is better suited.

B/T/W - I'm in Long Island as well. We should meet up one day.

Going from the 19" 212s, just had a local guy in Lindenhurst mount the wheels/tires after buying their Toyos. I don't believe they used anything at all - looks pretty perfect already in my opinion.

[RichiRich]

My goodness!! That M5 is F*C*I*N HAWT!! I hope you bring both the M5 and the X to the meet in June!

RR

[C's Bimmer]

Originally Posted by richirich

My goodness!! That M5 is F*C*I*N HAWT!! I hope you bring both the M5 and the X to the meet in June!

RR

Thanks!

I'm going to try. I'll need the wife to drive the X, if I am to drive the M. We'll see...

[C's Bimmer]

Originally Posted by King

I looked into the aero kit, but I think to get the complete look I might get the M Sport kit. It's a lot more money, but I like the fact that the bumpers and wheel arches will be all black. The kit will also mean eliminating the running boards and swapping out the roof rails! The new parts will give it a much more agressive look rather than just painting the existing bumpers. It's so obvious when people do that!

As for springs, from the research I did, Hamann seems the way to go although again they are twice the price! They seem to have just the right height. Spacers, not sure about which brand to go with. It would have to be nothing more than 20mm.

I actually considered the M Kit for a long time. But after looking at it further, I actually like the look of the Aero Kit better. I like the stock, sport front bumper with the mesh grills. Also, dealers can't order the M Kit as a "Kit", here in the US. Currently, you would have to order it piece by piece, including ALL the mounting hardware. It made no sense. It's only offered as a "kit" outside the US. I even tried Canada and that was a chore when talking to some dealers up north. I'm sure it will eventually become a kit, here in the US, once the M X5 is out, but for now, it's not offered as a whole.

H&R makes springs for our car, so no need to go the Hamann route. I should also point out that H&R makes the springs for Hamann. Hamann's springs are actually, H&R. Most people don't know that, but I was in touch with H&R a few years ago regarding my E60 and development of a new suspension system. I was talking to their R&D team on a weekly basis, for months. At the time, Hamann was the only company that offered it at the time and they proceeded to tell me that this system was actually made by them (H&R). They finally offered the same kit under the H&R brand and I saved a ton of money, as opposed to going with their system under the Hamann brand.

As for Spacers, I just need to determine what's the appropriate width for this vehicle. I've had spacers on all my BMW's, so I'm very familiar with them. I just need to figure out the ideal set-up for this particular car, based on the correct offsets of the 214's and the remaining gap between the wheel arch and the outside of the tire/wheel. I'm going to use a tape measure and see. I know 10mm will be perfect for the front, but am unsure of the rear. Once you open and mount spacers, you can't return them, so I need to make sure I get the correct size for the rear. It's either 12mm or 15mm. Fortunately, I don't have to be worried about rubbing, since the car sits so high. However, I don't want the wheels sticking out beyond the wheel wells or my X5 will look like it came out of a Cheech and Chong movie.

[davidy1688]

how to remove the emblems? thanks.

[C's Bimmer]

Originally Posted by davidy1688

how to remove the emblems? thanks.

Do you mean the roundels? If so, I only know how to remove the front roundel. The rear roundel on the X5 is a much bigger piece, that is not the standard roundel size, found on most BMW sedans.

To remove the roundel on the front, have the following (i am very anal, so this might seem a bit excessive):

• Blue Painters Tape
• Microfiber Detail Cloth
• Tiny knife (i.e., small swiss army knife)
• Smallest flat head screwdriver in your tool box

1. Tape a few layers of blue painters tape around the circumference of the roundel, especially the area where you plan to pry from. Get the tape as close and tight to the egde of the roundel, as possible.
2. Next, lay the detail cloth over the tape and along side the edge of the roundel where you plan to start "Lifting" from.
3. Take your knife and get underneath the roundel, so that you can fit the screwdriver underneath.
4. Now pry up the roundel until it pops off. You might need to make your way around the circumference, so you're not using to much pressure in one area. The roundel is attached with 2 plug pins that are inserted into rubber plug holes in the hood.
5. Once removed, clean off the area where the old roundel sat and remove the tape. Align your new roundel into the existing plug holes and press firmly into place.

Done!

[davidy1688]

Thanks for the instruction. How about side 3.0si emblems? Thanks again!

[C's Bimmer]

Originally Posted by davidy1688

Thanks for the instruction. How about side 3.0si emblems? Thanks again!

That's debadging, which is a completely different process. Here's what you need for debadging:

1. Blue Painters Tape
2. Dental Floss or Fishing Line
3. Hair Dryer
4. Goo-Gone or Goo-Off
5. A towel or rag
6. Detail Applicator
7. Car Polish
8. Microfiber Towel

Step 1
Align Blue Painters tape with emblems (I lay a line of tape ABOVE and BELOW the emblems you are about to remove). Mark with a pen, the distance between each emblem/number or character. The more marks, the better, so you know exactly the distance between each.

Step 2
Heat up emblems to be removed with hair dryer. The goal is to heat up the glue on the double sided tape, which is holding the emblem in place.

Step 3
Slide Dental Floss or Fishing line behind emblem and slowly wiggle back and forth until the emblem comes off

Step 4
Apply Goo-Gone to towel or rag and remove any remnants of the double side tape and/or glue.

Step 5
Take detail sponge/applicator and polish and clean area down. Buff with microfiber towel.

Step 6
Now you are ready to reapply new badges.

Step 7
After removing backing on double sided tape of the NEW emblems, take a hair dryer and heat up the fresh tape, so the glue is nice and sticky.

Step 8
Line up NEW emblems in the position you want, based on the blue painters tape and the markings you left with the pen. Use this as a guide for the new placement.

DONE!

[JVegas]

Sage advice and detailed instructions -- should make this mod a lot easier for me as well. Thanks a lot for posting.

[C's Bimmer]

Originally Posted by JVegas

Sage advice and detailed instructions -- should make this mod a lot easier for me as well. Thanks a lot for posting.

No problem. I've debadged just about every BMW that I've ever owned. I've already rebadged my M5 4 times. I had a Carbon Fiber M5 Badge at first, then had a black and white chrome badge and then went to a dark, shadowchrome badge with monochrome (black, white and grey bars). I should open a business just for debadging and rebadging. Hahahahaha!