Exterior mods complete! ...well maybe
 

Here it is! I installed my underride protection bar this past weekend. Combined with the black grille, it gives the X a whole new attitude.

I had angle eyes for awhile, but I took them out in and put the OEM lights back in.... (still undecided). Other mods like powdercoating my wheels in gunmetal and adding a euro plate to the front have been considered, but I didn't want to take it too far. It's clean and tight. I think I will rock this look for awhile while I work on Bluetooth, backup camera and stereo upgrades.

Enjoy the pics!
(still undecided about the euro plate in the last pic):dunno:

double thumbs up.

very tasteful mods!

Very nice!
I think the euro plate looks good!

IMHO, the stock kidney grills would look better since you added the under ride protection. New side marker lenses should be next on your to do list.

NICE. Those are 20" wheels right? what years and package are those standard equipment on?

2002 X5 4.6is
 

2002 X5 4.6is. Yes, they are the OEM 87s which were standard equipment only on the 4.6is.

Im looking for those...:thumbup:

again, your car looks awesome

Inspired
 

That is a good looking truck. You've inspired me. I was thinking about the cosmetic plastic undercarriage plate, but this looks so much better.

What's next?

Very nioce! X looks great! no euro plate, no front plate just looks so clean:thumbup:

Very well done! Where did you get the underride protection plate from?

Clean
 

Thank you sir. I am very satisfied with the exterior. Next, I will be concentrating on upgrading the sound system, backup camera and bluetooth....

Nav tool + backup camera
JL Stealthbox + Alpine PDX-5 amp
DICE Mediabridge + Bluetooth (been on backorder from BSW for over two months!!!) :confused:

Underride protection guard
 

Thank you. I got mine (used) from another member on this forum

I have found that the underride protection guard is RARE and also very pricey! IMHO, the differance it makes in the appearance of an e53 is absolutely worth it... Rare and not much of a chance to see yourself (or an imposter) at a stoplight.

The last time I checked they were $1700+ through BMW and there were only 9 available (none in the U.S., but would have to be shipped from Germany....weird since the X5 was made in South Carolina). Now RealOEM shows them as being discontinued. But don't take my word for it; Contact your dealer, maybe (by chance) there's still one out there.

Good luck. :thumbup:

nice X5. Any pic with the angel eye headlights?

Looks really clean. I like

Great looking X. Reminds me that I still think the 4.6is is one of the best looking SUVs ever made.

As for the MediaBridge, it will be worth the wait. It's awesome.

-Cyrus

Only this one...
 

These are aftermarket with factory Xenon parts installed; Factory HID projector bolted right in. Now there are more Hella parts than aftermarket.

Hey Teknik!
 

Thank you! Without you, none of this would have been possible. Standing back and looking at the X with the underride was worth all the headaches.:thumbup:

I didn't know what to look at, house or car! Both are beautiful, congratulations!!!!

The silver kidneys would look great now, in my opinion.

The under ride protection looks really nice!

Does it actually offer any protection, or more of a decorative thing? We go camping a lot and I'd like to add something like that to my X. Any chance of a photo looking a bit more underneath at how it's made and attaches?

BTW how are you liking the Toyos? How many miles do you anticipate they'll last? I'm debating those and the Conti DWS.

Thanks,
-Cyrus

i love my toyos. lasting like champs. My friend got more than 40k out of them on the 315 rubber....

very substantial protection
 

Thank you. I absolutely enjoy the new look! Yes, I believe it would offer substantial protection as well as a cosmetic bonus. What you actually see extruding from underneath the spoiler is only about 10% of the whole piece. It extends past the front wheels on the backside. Here are some pics...

Gixxer,

If you want to significantly update the front end of your car, I would strongly suggest either taking the waffles our of your stock headlights or upgrading to DEPO's and selling your stocks for as much or more than the depos. Makes a HUGE difference.

Also, the other significantly noticable looks (and performance!) "upgrade" that I made was Bilstein shocks and H&R springs, dropping the car about 1.25". Amazing how much more aggressive the stance is...

What kind of GSXR do you have>? I've been riding an RC51 for the last 4 years or so!

My System
 

I went with a Clarion. Its ok. Works well enough. Its the iphone that is glitchy. Depends on the software update that Apple puts out whether or not the bluetooth will sync seemlessly. Very hit or miss. I still like it better than screaming into the phone or looking like a db with a bluetooth headset. One thing I can recommend is putting a switch that will cut all power to the head unit. This will reboot the thing if it gets stuck. You don't have to pull a fuse and you can do it while you are driving. I put the switch under the steering wheel area far enough back that you can't see it. I love being able to plug in the phone, charge it, talk on the phone, play music or videos/movies all from the phone. You should make sure you get the adapter for the steering wheel controls and parking brake overide for the video on the head unit. By law you cannot play videos while driving. So you have to have the ebrake engaged, and you cant just ground it anymore, it is a cycling circuit, so you have to have a unit that overrides when it cycles. That is a must, if your front seat passenger wants to watch a movie while you are driving.

Found all the installation hardware and dash/radio cover on ebay. It was kind of expensive for the condition it was in. The finish on the dash cover was not done well and the hardware for the radio was full of rust. It all came out ok, but it took a bit of extra elbow grease and attention to detail to try and get the dash to look like a similar finish to the rest of the interior.

Also if it is sunny, the angle of the dash is not monitor friendly. Not much you can do about it, unless the head unit monitor has a tilt on it. Mine does, but it only tilts up, which is oppisite of what it needs. But its still better than the business cd player that it came with.

I don't even know what brand the headrest monitors are. I found them online referbished for under $200 for the pair. They came with the headrest and all the wiring and components. They look just like the stock headrests and it was such a bargain I couldn't pass it up. They were loose in the headrest from them refurbishing them, but I just epoxied them and they are not going anywhere. I am very happy with this system and my 5 year old daughter loves it.

I put the back up camera on the handle of the tailgate (right side from the rear). I had to dremel things pretty extreme to get it to fit. The camera is tiny and there was still barely any room. It looks ok from a distance and it is weatherproof, but I am pretty anal and I don't like looking at it up close.

My wife has a system in her 2007 328i that works flawlessly. Im pretty jealous of it actually. But I have an X5 and she doesn't, so there.

Good luck with your project. Post some pics when you do it, I would love to see how it turns out. Sorry to ramble on.

I dont think I like the lower bull bar look. Nice clean X though.

That really does appear to offer a lot more protection than I though it would, my search for one of my own starts now! Although, it may be cheaper and easier to get one custom made. The nudge bar is also on my list, but they seem to be a bit of a rarity too (and, no doubt, quite pricey)

Headlight options
 

I do not wish to modify my stock headlights, however, I have another set of headlights that I may install later... right now, I am enjoying the clean look of the OEMs... My other headlights are pictured below; (Aftermarket fitted with OEM/Hella HID projectors, Angle eyes and self-leveling adjusters).

About lowering it... I think mine looks just about right. The Underride sits about 3" below the front spoiler and gives the illusion that it is lower, even though it is stock height... It has a sinister look coming up in your rear-view mirror. It's still an SAV and I think it would look a little weird if I lowered it too much. 1.25" may not look too bad, but I would have to see it first.

BIKES; I do not currently own any bikes. I raced several different GSXRs and then I switched over to an R6 and everything began to click. I went from a heavily modified and race-prepped GSXR750 to a bone-stock R6 and started winning races (the best I ever did on the Gixxer was 3rd place). I have looked at the RC-51, the Repsol 1000RR or maybe a Raptor....who knows?

:D