New guy w/ upgrades to share including Nexus 7 tablet Install!
 

A big hello to my new home! :thumbup:

I picked up my X5 a few months ago and didn't feel it was mine until I sold my daily driven S2000. (Emotional subject so I will just skip right on after pic...)

http://imageshack.us/a/img811/5903/img2762x.jpg


New X5 is a 2004 with 3.0i, manual transmission and only 44K miles! No good pics yet, sorry!...

http://imageshack.us/a/img69/3846/im...1183103063.jpg


It was not long after I sold my S2k, I needed to perform some upgrades to the X5. I started with installing AFE intake kit hoping to add growl (not so much) as well as angel eye LEDs and for a slight face-lift. Here is a shot depicting AFE intake as well as before/after LED angel eye install. I used 6W 7L color temperature LEDs from Amazon....

http://imageshack.us/a/img203/3659/i...2554639420.jpg


Being the mod happy geek I am, I quickly moved on to my interior. I was not a fan of the wood trim. The dash was alittle outdated and needed a new headunit. I started my search and could not find a quality navigation unit for less than $600. The Dynavins are outdated out of the box and the newer "dynavin clones" are just as expensive and very buggy. Something had to be done.

After about 5 hours of research and testing with my Android cellphone, it was time to pull the trigger on Nexus 7. Five more hours playing with the Nexus, it was time to install. Yet another 30 hours but only $300 later, I had my Nexus 7 fully integrated, OEM radio relocated w/ hacked media buttons and trim wrapped....

http://imageshack.us/a/img844/1493/s...eforeafter.jpg


I am going to embed my youtube video below (and link for failsafe.) It offers a concise outline of what was involved and what the system is capable of. While I will be tentative to youtube questions, I am most attentive to my new family. You! So if there are any questions or comments, we can use this thread to build our knowledge base. So, check out my install and drop any feedback here or at video....



Link: Nexus 7 car install 2004 E53 BMW X5 - YouTube

I look forward to "plugging in" to the wealth of knowledge on here. I actually hope to share, in a few weeks, some REALLY big news for anyone with an E53 X5 3.0 6 Speed :yikes: SO, if you have one- chime in! :stickpoke

Happy viewing and talk to you all soon :D


BTW- May I cross-thread part of this to our audio/video forum for search-ability?

Awesome N7 mod! Thanks for sharing :thumbup:

Welcome aboard.....Outstanding work!

Personally I'm not a huge fan of the N7....or android in general, but do appreciate the time and effort you put into this!

I can't wait to see what else you cook up!!

I like how you mod and put the MID there.

looks great!
 

the interior looks great!

I like your mod a lot and the location of the MID. I had the idea of Nexus 7 in the X 4 months ago but haven't find the time to lay out the plan. As for the MID location do you have to cut any of the plastic to fit in that location? Or just pop it in? How's the Nexus screen on the sunny day? Take some pictures of the console.

welcome aboard!!!

i guess you don't smoke... lol... :)

nice, very nice mod... i am not fan of aftermarket but when you do not lose factory function and add aftermarket ones, i am all for it.. well.. you lost the ashtray... lol....

Thanks everyone!

bugbyte- I am loving the location, especially since it is much more natural to drop my hand by shifter for controlling music instead of up. (Almost as convenient as steering wheel which could be achieved as well with bluetooth to CANBUS adapters.) The X5 also looks like a spaceship at night which is very tasteful to a geek like me! To answer your questions.....

Location- The relocation took me about 5 hours. You have to remove center console then remove trim. The trim frame is very strong steel considering its role and you have to dremel into the $80 trim piece....

http://imageshack.us/a/img855/6811/i...8125435225.jpg

After you are done fitting, you will have to fabricate sides so the MID matches the contour of its new home. I used thin plastic which was easy to trim, only 10 min/side....

http://imageshack.us/a/img5/4775/img...8242556856.jpg

You will have to vinyl wrap to cover your trim modification then you will have to cut away a small piece of plastic in center console so it fits and voila! You can get away with doing this without extending or cutting wires. That was a nice break :)


Brightness: The screen is 1280x800 @ 400 nit brightness. This surpasses many aftermarket stereos at 300 nit and I find it brilliant in any light but direct hit from sun. Even then, as evident below, it still is legible. Voice navigation and my buttons may have helped but I have not had to shroud the display once.

Picture of screen with direct hit from sun, exacerbated from fingerprints ....
http://imageshack.us/a/img812/6651/i...5135405019.jpg


TerminatorX5- no more real cigarettes since I started smoking e-ciggs back @ New Years. I'm not really bragging about it though, nicotine is a terrible drug!

Thanks again for the support everyone :D

Welcome aboard! Looks great!!

Wow! Very nice write up! It looks like you put a great deal of time and effort on that install!! Looks Great! I would like to do the vinyl wrap over my wood as well. Is that hard to do and where did you get the vinyl from? Thanks!!

Holy $hit!! Just watched the video, awesome work..

I have the 6 speed manual too so I'm interested in what you have in the works.

Bcred- Thanks, means alot coming from someone with legit carbon fiber interior! ::drool::

starbiker- Thanks! By virtue of install and MID relocation, it was an intense job. The video took a bit too but I felt that it made go each hour of my hard work go further. Here is the info that you were looking for:



VINYL WRAP: 3M Scotchprint Car Wrap Vinyl Film 1080 Series Matte Dark Gray M261 60"x24" (10 Sq/ft)

VENDER: metrorestyling (highly recommended because below...)

PURCHASE NOTES: I went w/ dark gray after ordering about 30 splotches LOL. Metrorestyling can be found on Amazon and the web. On the web, you can order samples of the 3M line and they offer the most complete collection of samples and rolls that I found. (Nothing is more annoying than having to split up sample order among different venders!)

INSTALL NOTES: Generally easy as long as you have patience. Make sure you have a trim removal kit. I recommend using a heatgun for center console and saving that for last. The contour and thruputs in center console are much more difficult to manage. With that said it can be done but I cheated by splitting that piece up. Three strips actually make up my center console. I really did this because I ran low on wrap and could not wait for more to finish the job.

Let me know if you have any more questions; thanks for interest!

Hey Stray, this is super nice. Although, I really liked your wood finish personally over the 3M Vinyl. I might do this. I may however opt to do it a different way ;).

I'm thinking of putting my Pebble watch to (even more) good work ;)

wow... Amazing work

XVII - Noted, I will keep you posted.

Persian- Keep me posted on Pebble Watch, I looked for bluetooth kb alternatives without luck; that fits the bill perfectly!

Thanks again everyone :)

Sport package 6 speed facelifted X5's are rare, I have literally only seen a handful, and with low miles you have a good find there! Do you have xenon's? I don't see dual heated seat buttons so I'm guessing no cold weather package?

For me, sport package is a must with the X so nice find, and good luck with her, the 3.0i is very reliable. Nice job on the console/Nexus too, you're braver than I am! Plus the fact that I have DSP so any modification to the head unit/MID with a different one would requiring ripping out the DSP amp and rewiring all the speakers.

:D It was hard enough giving up the s2000 gearbox; the X5s 6 speed makes my switch much more manageable!

I seem to have everything (Xenons, fogs, window shades, downhill descent, etc) but no cold weather package. I will be installing heated seat kit like this one during the Fall months though.....

Dual Setting Universal Carbon Fiber Seat Heater : Amazon.com : Automotive

Yes- DSP or OEM GPS would have thrown me hurdles. I wanted to perform the conversion with the ability to bring her back to stock if I wanted to. At this point, I have only irreversibly modified the center console trim. I am really enjoying the location so no regrets so far though.

Thanks again for ur input!

So I took the chance and rooted the Nexus which, thanks to some great developers, is done with one click and with no wipe! Un-rooted in one click as well :) Rooting went quick and enabled the following:

-Charge and use USB port as host at same time via timur-usbhost-2013-01-29-jb42-fi.zip ROM.

-Install program called StickMount which creates a virtual directory of USB storage on internal storage. This ensures all my chosen media players still work with all 70+ Gigs of media. Woot!

Any questions at all in respect to install and configurations, drop me a line.

that's exactly what i was telling someone else to do. looks great. congrats on an awesome mod!

Outstanding job!! What impresses me most is keeping the stock MID so that you have access to the on board computer functions. Very impressive project.

Love your work. I'd love to have the MID there unfortuantely I am horrible at that kind of work.

Wow! Fellow X5 6M checking in here. I saw your vid a couple days ago on YouTube and I was like holy cow, sweet mod and another six speed. My hats off to you. You are the geek I can only wish to be! JK.

So, you gotta give a hint to your next modification you are cooking up? The nerd in me senses a back lit shifter knob...... But perhaps more? Please do share.

Welcome to the family and awesome ride. There is a manual registry thread on here for the three pedal club. We get secret nerd rings with a clutch pedal and gear shifter imprint. It's an exclusive club and only the cool kids are in it. Jk ;)

This man speaks the truth!

Having DSP in this setup will make no difference. He is using the aux input for the tablet. So if you want to do it, DSP is not a roadblock.

I wonder if this part 25112282450 will work for the backlit shifter... :dunno:

For the price it should light up your life at the same time.