Some Recent Mods w/ Pics
 

Finally took some pics of what I've been up to:

1.) Working Xenons - Thanks to Zulu95 who made great conversion harnesses that look and work like oem equipment - very high quality using oem connections etc. (haven't decided on how I want to trigger the angel-eyes yet, so they aren't working now. I want an oem-like way to turn them on/off, i'm thinking tapping them into the fogs or just a way to make them on when the X is on-- I welcome any suggestions..

2.) DICE iPOD - very nice, I'm a huge fan, no real problems with it and install was very easy- only tough part was holding the carpet back and feeding the wire- but a wire hanger made it pretty simple.

3.) M Sport Wheel and Airbag - both from ebay - Wheel is very nice, it did take some time to get used to because its about twice as thick as the 4 spoke wheel.

:confused: BTW my wheel is a few degrees off-center and I'm 99.9% positive that I lined up those lines perfectly...anyone know what else could be causing it.... alignment?.... line on wheel mismarked?..... over-tightening that big bolt?... or did I just not really line them up?

3.5) Airbag Roundel - It was the stick-on type from ebay seller goodstuffs4u0904 - it was made of thin metal with 3M adhesive on the back - I'm happy with the look- looks oem to me at least - I can't pick out a difference

4.) Solaris Invisibulbs - Rear and Sidemarkers - These are OK - they have a great mirror finish - but they don't illuminate quite as bright as the oem mirror finish bulbs and the color is a tiny bit different than stock (only noticeable if you had one of each). The trade-off is worth it I guess, they are still bright enough to show during the day.

5.) Rear window regulator - DIY - Quite a process, but well worth the effort and time. It took me probably around 3+ hours, but having done it now I could probably do one in about an hour. Saved about $300 by doing it myself.

6.) CV Boot - Not DIY - My X5 has always made a bit of noise (and still does) but it was very often when the boot was torn, they saw the tear when I got an oil change. I noticed that the grease spills onto your wheel so check for black mess on your front wheels- does not work if your wheels are already filthy.

I think thats it.... Mods on deck
1.) Facelift Inner Tail lights - finally found the other side
2.) Fender Flares - used from ebay and sitting in my room

Looks great!!!

:confused: When I was disconnecting my battery, I found this weird piece in that trunk area. Anyone know what it is????

Nice!

a completely different car...

where did you buy the steering wheel roundel?

is there supposed to be a picture of the that weird piece?

That peice is the cover that goes in the middle of ur spare wheel. Its supposed to hold it down to th chasis.

Steering wheel roundel from ebay... I listed the seller above.

The weird piece is that black thing.... in my reply above (not in the 1st post)

Thats what I thought but there is only about a 1/2 opening for something on top, it doesn't go all the way through... how does it attach?

looking sharp! HID looking good.

thanks for the info...just bought one :thumbup: :thumbup: :thumbup:

Looks awesome!!

Looks great! Would you mind sharing the parts you purchased and from where you bought them, to do the HID retrofit? I've been trying to come up with a plan of attack and I've read about 100 different methods, none of which seem to be consistent.

I have to say, when some people mod their car, it ends up looking like a POS stuck together.

Your X5, on the other hand is one of the few that is tastefully modded. Looks beautiful and everything fits... :thumbup: !!

how did you route the iPod adapter to the center console? was it hard?

It goes on top of the rod that sticks through the spare tire to support the load floor that rests above. Without it, and a heavy load in the trunk, the road would poke through the trunk floor

It was pretty easy considering I have no stereo experience, I just followed the instructions on the home page for the icelink install. An extra set of hands will make your life a lot easier.

Thanks I'm going to try it again, it was late and dark when I was trying to figure it out but I couldn't get it to fit anywhere.

Honestly I know nothing about lighting or wiring, I bought the headlights from ebay and they were complete with bulbs and ballasts. Zulu95 made adapters which plug into my old headlight plugs, and the new headlights plug into the other end of the adapters... and everything works perfectly.

Exactly!!! :iagree:

Looks great......

Rob, do you think I can do the Dice install myself then? Is it really that easy?
I've said it before...I am not mechanically inclined

The angel eyes are supposed to go on when the parking lights go on. If you can, tie them to that circuit. If there is not enough juice, you start blowing fuses. STOP. Install a 30amp Bosch relay. Hook the relay to the parking lights, give it it's own fused power supply from the battery.

Couple of questions.

A) What year is your X? (it appears that it is post face lift as you have the bumper and grill slits)

B) If post facelift, why the new lights, all post facelift cars come with xenons and angel eyes? Did you do the facelift yourself?

BTW it looks nice!

Rob's X is a pre-facelift, 2002, if I remember correctly.
I know this bc he sold me his old lights for my 2003.

I'm not very mechanically inclined either, all you have to do is follow the directions, the hardest part is running the wire from the back seat to the console, I can give you a few tips with that if you decide to do it yourself. It should take about a half hour at most. You definitely need another person to help you hold back the carpet.

Its a 2001, I can't tap them into the parking lights because they will blink with the turn signals.

Anyone know if I could somehow tap into the taillights since they don't blink?

Sorry for the 20 questions. Were they a used OEM set or an aftermarket? Do you have the seller's ebay name?

Nice Mods!!

Man, lot of time and effort :thumbup:

They are used OEM, they were not from an ebay store or anything just a random guy.

Thanks alot, Bostonblux5! I'll keep my eyes out as well.

I have a set of facelift OEM Xenon Headlights. Check the classified section. I'm willing to work a deal out on the price. If not they will be on ebay shortly.

Do you know how to attach the 4 pdc sensors from the prefacelift bumper to the 4.8 bumper? I just facelifted my 02 and I'm trying to figure it out. Btw, I tapped the angel eyes to the fogs. Thanks

The body shop didnt mention having a problem putting them in. What's the problem in your situation?

Nicely done!:thumbup: