Successful bumper swap story (with pics)...
 

So I am turning in my 2010 X5 (lemon'd) on Monday 1/10/2011 and wanted to sell the aero kit and the hitch (http://www.xoutpost.com/classifieds/...-lci-sold.html).... after negotiating the sale , Justin from NC came up to NJ (during a snowstowm) and earlier today we had Marc at Marc Motors in Madison NJ perform the bumper swap and hitch install.

Mad props to Justin for making the 550+ mile one way trip on his 20's in the snow... hope you get home safe tonight buddy.

Mad props to Marc for taking on the project and performing excellent work in 5 hours!

And finally some props to Nautilus diner in Madison NJ for letting us hang out for 5+ hours while only having breakfast.. We did get plenty of dirty stares and finally the manager asked us to vacate the booth and then politely asked to order or leave..

Below are some pics from the beginning of the project.. Justin was too busy to take pics of the end product and had to start driving back .... Justin, please post some pics later.. (My car has the NJ plate and 19's. Justin's car has no front plate and 20's.)

Justin, Marc .. if you feel like chiming in on the experience, please do so.

Overall, very pleased with the whole experience and glad a fellow X5'er was able to get a great deal on the Aero Kit and Hitch rather than giving it to the dealer.

Wow that's awesome. What happened with the hitch? Didnt you have to cut the aero for it? Did justin have a hitch?

Justin had nothing.. i gave him my hitch and aero kit (already had the cutout)

Just made it home....finally! I'll get some pics posted up tomorrow after I get everything cleaned up, and a little sleep of course. Thanks Gene and Marc for a great day in Jersey!

Nice job on the bumper swap.

Growing up in Summit, I can recall countless extended visits to the Nautilus diner--particularly during snow days!!!

Some idiot in an 05 ML just backed into my 50i last night. Thank god all he did was damage the lower piece of the front bumper. I thought for a second the fenders would have to be taken off. Glad to see this section can be removed.

Ok, so i made it back fine, got the truck somewhat cleaned up and took some pics. I still have to finish relocating the trailer light harness into the lower piece of the aero kit, but I ran out of time. I'll post pics of that once I get it done. I have also attached the installation instructions for the OEM BMW hitch and wiring harness. I didn't acquire this myself, but I forgot where I found it (on another forum somewhere) so when I figured it out I'll edit this post to give them credit. It will give anyone else all the info they need if they want to order and install the hitch themselves (and probably do a better job than dealership). Ask Gene and Marc, when they installed his Aero Kit and hitch, they choose not to re-install all the screws for the bumper. All you'll have to do it get it reprogrammed by the dealer before you tow anything heavy. Well I gotta go to dinner with the wife, but I'll post more later.

Great work guys!!!! Looks proper with the aero kit!

Thanks! Gene is a great guy, and Marc did an incredible job switching everything over. The long drive was more than worth it!

looks great Justin.. I miss it..

first time i saw an aero kit on an E70 with trailer hitch, looks great!! how difficult was it to cut/modify the rear aero kits? do you have any close up shots without the hitch cover?

I used a dremel to cut the smaller insert under the hitch, and it was pretty easy. I just lined everything up right for proper fit, and marked the piece, then took a dremel and cut it. I started conservatively and trimmed off a little more after the first cut and got it how I wanted it. Gene already had the aero kit modded for the trailer hitch when I I got it from him, but I would imagine if you have a little patience, a steady hand, and a Dremel you'd be able to easily make it work easily. I'll take some close up pics for you with the hitch cover removed so you can take a look.

ok excellent! you've done a great job on modifying it.....good stuff mate.

your friend gene is very generous :)

it was a 3 man team effort and right timing to get it all done.

Very true. Luckily we found a day that we were all available, and the switch went very smooth.

Sorry it took me so long to get these pictures put up. I just now had time to finish relocating the brake hookup. I finished everything up and took some pics for you without the cover in place so you can see how it all looks. Enjoy!

awesome job!

Thanks! I still have to go to the hardware store and get the last bolt for the trailer light plug (I was only able to come up with 3 in the garage). You like the location of the radar detector sensor better now? You can't even see it now when you approach the car from behind making it even better for when I drive through Virginia :thumbup:

yes, excellent.. did you get my txt?

I did, i was actually replying to you and I got a phone call and it interrupted me. Then I got side tracked and started working on the relocating the trailer plug that I completely forgot about it until just now. :dunno:

The third picture of the hitch from below is kinda phallic!! haha. Sorry, I had to be the juvenile one to point it out and make the joke :) Aero kit looks great!!

:iagree:LMAO! I didn't even realize that until you so kindly brought it up.

thanks for putting up the photos! looks great :) i'm about to order the aero kits for my E70, but contemplating the upgrade because of the tow hitch. so you reckon cutting it using dremel should do the job?

do you have to trim the center carrier (i.e. the black inner panel) as well?

very clean

The dremel worked great for me. I made my cuts on the inside (non painted) surface and just took it slow. If by black inner panel you mean the original bumper cover, then yes it must be trimmed as well to acomadate the hitch. I only personnally modified the lower portion of the Aero kit where I reloacted the trailer brake harness. When I received the bumper from Gene, it was already cut. Looking at it though you should easily be able to take measurements, make your marks, and cut it to fit.