**PIX OF THE BEAST**
 

After 5 weeks of waiting for delivery and 2 weeks in the body shop for the usual upgrades, here she finally is. She's a 2012 Alpine White LCI E70 X5 50i Sport - LOADED

People ask why I didn't do the M Kit and chose the new LCI Aero Kit instead... A few reasons:

1. Everyone has the M Kit and I wanted this to be different (not to mention, I already own a real M :p:)
2. This is a truck and I think the new Aero Kit gives it the look it deserves (I like the beefy, yet sporty and aggressive look of the new Aero Kit, over the old one)
3. I had the Running Boards on the X5 when I ordered it (the wife demanded it), but after installing the new rocker panels, I think they're going to stay off permanently.

Mods:

• Blacked-Out Hood and Trunk Roundels (Custom Painted High Gloss Black)
• Tinted Rear Lower Reflectors (sprayed, not film)
• Tinted Rear Tails (Clear Section Only -- sprayed, not film)
• High Gloss Black Exhaust Tips (Heat Shields behind exhaust were also painted black, so chrome would not reflect when driver from rear was viewing -- yes, I have problems!)
• High Gloss Black X5 Emblem
• High Gloss Black 50i Side Emblems (XDrive emblems removed and thrown in the garbage)
• High Gloss Black Kidney Grills
• Black BMW Wheel Center Caps
• Front Side Reflectors custom painted Alpine White w/ Aero Kit
• 20mm H&R Rear Spacers
• 10mm H&R Front Spacers
• 6000K HID's
• WeissLicht Clear Front Turn Signal PY24W Bulbs w/ Amber Illumination
• 3500K Yellow GP Thunder Fogs
• 20% Tint (This is in addition to the already tinted rear section from the factory)
• LED Interior Lights
• TUNE: Evolve: 480HP/550TQ (93 Oct)

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Looks awesome! Love the aero kit. The pics are almost too large though. Would love to see some where the whole truck fits on the screen (I know I am being picky). The black trim and badges really contrast well on a white vehicle.

lol on throwing the xDrive badges in the garbage. Looks much better without them, imo.

You're totally right. I was messing around with my UWA lens when taking these. I need to find a good location (maybe the beach?) and take some standard shots with my 18-200 lens. I'll try and take some this weekend, along with a few interior shots. Thanks for the feedback. :thumbup:

The one interesting thing I did NOT do this time was the wheels. I decided to leave the 336's stock, as I love the contrast of the Ferric Gray and Silver within the spokes. I also think the black wheel/white car is a bit played out these days and a bit too much. I was considering having the entire wheel redone in Ferric Gray, but for now, I'm just going to keep it as is. It's a big change in looks from my 2009 4.8, but I love it.

you and your cars never fails to impress me...

one sexy e70... a head turner for sure...

LOVE it!

How much ground clearance do you lose with that front chin spoiler?

Thank you. That's really nice of you to say -- I appreciate it. :thumbup:

Thanks! Not much at all. I have a pretty steep driveway and was concerned this would be an issue, along with parking curbs. So far, every parking curb has been way under. I think it's a bit deceiving at first, but when you compare it to the stock set-up, it's not much lower. As you can see, it folds up in the center section of the car, which helps. If it were to stay flat all the way across, that would be a problem. Thanks for the compliment!:thumbup:

okay, great. I currently have a challenge with the front lip on my SRT8. So i had originally dismissed the aero kit. but man... it looks tight!

hey... if you want to trade those 336's for my 214's, let me know! (LOL):D

I love the BEAST!!!

James with ECS

I agree. I think the wheels look really good as is. I wouldn't change them either.

Thanks! The SRT8 (my cousin's daughter has one) is MUCH lower than this lip. You would be fine with this kit on your X. Thanks for the compliment!

I actually loved my 214's on my old 4.8, but these new 336's are growing on me (although I must admit I was not a fan at all of these 336's a couple of years ago and even referred to them as "gross" on one thread. LOL!).

Thank you, James. :thumbup:

You should tint the entire tail light. Too red and the only red.

Also instead of all blk emblems, just make the blue part blk, so you will have some contrast, from afar it looks like a big hole.

Nice "truck".

Not a fan of the whole light tinted. Too much for me. I hate looking at all blacked out rear tail lights when I see them on the road. Just looks too 'pimped out". LI-X5 is a good friend and neighbor of mine and we always talk about the difference between the two. We've actually agreed that the contrast works with the red, even though he did all black on his. I guess it's just personal preference.

As for the Roundels, I actually used to have it this way on my 4.8, but really like the all black look now. I have the same thing on the M5 and get compliments on it all the time. It's starting to become quite the trend over on M5Board, with many members doing custom black Roundels with 3rd party vendors logos on them instead. Not sure I would go that far, but to each his own.

Thanks for the compliment! :thumbup:

BTW - The WeissLicht LED front turn signal bulbs are GREAT! I highly recommend them. I used to run Solaris Invisibulbs, but these are much, much better!

love it... especially the blackened lettering - that's a nice touch against the white. Are those ordered or is there a paint process? And yes the 336s would look great in ferric gray against a white in my opinion. The rear lights dont' have to be dark, if you do a slight tint I think it looks better than the red (the sun lightens it up too). ;) What's the interior color you got there? Cinnamon?

I'm sure you're also enjoying the upgraded features like the better backup cam, idrive, and top view... not to mention the motor. Does it have adaptive drive? How does it compare to the M5?

BTW, you should do a walk-around vid and throw it up on Youtube... I'm sure people would appreciate the beauty from a vid a lot more.

It's all a paint process. I actually ordered all new OEM lettering and reflectors and had my body shop start fresh with all new everything -- much cleaner and much nicer. I'm also a perfectionist and have to have it done the right way. I hate cutting corners, especially on a truck like this.

The interior is Cinnamon with Dark Bamboo trim. I wanted Alum trim, but this is my wife's car, so she got final say on the interior. Hahaha! I have to tell you though, it looks really good. I was skeptical at first, but I was wrong.

I did EVERY Package and a la carte Option except Tech (I probably should have just done the Tech Pack at this point -- oh well! Hahaha!). I did the $3500 Adaptive Drive Option and the $1500 Active Steering Option -- what robbery, but they got me! LOL! Adaptive Drive was a must since I have the M and like to push my cars hard.

As for how it compares to the M5, it's completely different. I still LOVE my M5 and the NA V10 (I also much prefer SMG over SAT). My M5 is very, very raw. I've tuned and modified it for the track, so it's really hard to compare the X to it. For me, it's not just about power, but handling, feel and feedback to the driver. This is what makes my M5 such a blast to drive, even after owning it 4 years later. It still puts a smile on my face every time I start it up and pull it out of my garage -- just like the first day I got it. That's pretty amazing, but then again, that's a BMW M.

This new X5 has an amazing amount of power and the TT V8 is truly remarkable. The thing I'm really happy about (and so is my wife) is that I will really look forward to long, family road trips in the X5 and not miss my M5 as much. With the old X5, I really didn't like it much and had that thing loaded up too. I always chose the M5 over the X5 when we would go on road trips. I returned that truck with ~19K miles on it and it was a 3 yr/30K lease (if that tells you anything... :p:). I dreaded taking it on long road trips and always opted for the M5 -- even on weekends for shorter trips. My wife didn't like this, especially with 2 kids in the back and the attention my M5 would draw to itself. This new addition to the family has definitely created much better harmony all around, so I'm a huge fan. :thumbup: I think the real question will be is how much I'm going to like the F10 M5 compared to this X5, when that comes out. ;)

Oh, and the new iDrive, Rear Cam, Top View and BMW Apps are awesome. It's so much better than the iDrive system in my M5 and my M5 is an LCI E60 M5 ('08). If there was one thing I would upgrade in the M, that would be it. :thumbup:

Instead of a video, let's just meet up in person since you live around the corner from me. ;)

How did you manage to get one of those white & blue plates? From your old "truck"?

^ you can keep the plates... I believe even for a transfer. I renewed my registration and kept mine for no extra charge. You actually have to pay more to get the puke yellow ones. Who opts for that?! :D Well maybe Bumblebee.

Looks decent. Not a huge fan of the aero kits for some reason. It reminds me of those tricked out Escalades with huge body kits on them to make them appear to be 2 inches off the ground. Then again, I suppose if I saw yours in person, I may change my mind. I dig the black emblems though. Thinking about doing matte black emblems on my Black Sapphire Met 07.

I'm special

No doubt about that. :)

Yes, I'll admit that I'm envious but this does not seem like a "wife's SUV"...

Titz looking X, well done mods, very good pics!
GL, mD

[ps emoticons still don't work for me :( ]

You're wife's X. Is that like Homer giving Marge a bowling ball with his name on it for her birthday?

Ha! ;)

It's actually funny, as my wife used to get stopped by a lot of car enthusiasts when she would step out of the old X and get the kids out of the back. They would walk over and ask her all about the truck and where she got the work done. She actually got really into it and would tell them who my body shop was, the owners name and all the other little details that went into making the X the way it was. Ironically, while the current X was in the shop getting all made up, she was driving the M5 to work each day and came home every night saying how much she loved driving the M and missed it (she drove it quite a bit when I first got it). She knows how to approach driveways and slopes and knows to avoid potholes and curbs. She's really great about it and I love that she appreciates it. I guess I'm also lucky. :)


Thanks for the comment -- I appreciate it. :thumbup:

LOLOLOL!! Love it! :thumbup:

Thank you, sir! :)

I agree with the Escalades looking awful, but I do think Germans do a much better job of bodykits than Americans. They keep things much more subtle, but allow the lines of the car to be much more fluid and easy on the eyes.

One thing my wife did point out was that the rear bumper reflectors were a bit too dark. She felt a few shades lighter would have been better. I think she might be right. Gotta love it!

It looks amazing !! Great job and great results .If you don't mind me asking is there a site that sells the Blacked-Out Hood and Trunk Roundels ?? Thanks in advance.

Thank you very much. I don't mind at all. I got the Roundels and Wheel caps from Khoalty. I had my body shop paint the chrome circumference of each roundel, high glass black, to complete the look. Hope this helps. :thumbup:

You gotta have a wife that fully supports your hobbies! If my wife didnt have an interest in our cars, and/or didn't support my hobbies in general we wouldn't have lasted a week. Of course, in turn I have to support hers as well!

Kudos to you and your cool wife, C... And again... The X is looking awesome. Love the AW!

I went with Space Grey, but had a hard time deciding between it and the AW. We already have a white ride, so opted for something different.

Looks amazing. back up a little for the next pictures though! need to see all her glory at once. out of curiosity, did you ever think about doing the center grilles in black as well to match the kidneys and side grilles? That could look pretty mean as well.

looks great... love that color...

BTW.. how's the tune? 480/550 sounds nice...

feel the difference??

You got that right! Happy wife makes for happy life!

Thanks for the nice note. :thumbup:

Thanks man!

I actually did and was strongly considering it for this X, but decided in the end I wanted a little contrast. I might change my mind down the road and it shouldn't be that hard to do (I might even attempt it myself). ;)

The Tune is going in, in 2 weeks (after I reach 1000 miles). I will def let you know! The best part about it is that I get the OBD plug and can swap the stock tune back onto the car whenever I want. Evolve is a huge Tuner over on M5Board and currently the Board favorite. They are a great company and their prices and services are top notch. :thumbup:

Thanks!

Seems Legit.
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That's a stunning X5! Well played sir. I'm curious though, does the Aero kit help with the huge area of negative pressure in the back? Do you find that you get less dirt flying up onto your rear window?

Cheers,

Thanks! :thumbup:

If it's actually doing something beyond aesthetics, you got me. :dunno:

Thanks CW! :thumbup:

make sure you post a quick thread on the tune once you get it installed..

i just got my 2012 X5 50i also and am contemplating it once i break her in too...

i also got the m-sport AW w/Cin interior and was talked into getting the aluminum triim by the dealer... glad i did, it looks awesome...

can't wait for the tune...

do you know if it will also change the tone of the exhaust a bit?

would love to have a deeper or more exciting exhaust...

One of the best looking AW X5 out there...enjoy that beautiful beast.

Congrats! Pix? The Cin interior isn't as bad as I thought. I wanted black like my M, but I'm glad my wife convinced me otherwise. I like how it pairs against the black trim and alcantara headliner. It's a nice change.

The tone won't change and I'm not planning on modifying the exhaust as my M5 already takes care of that part, and I want to keep this Bimmer as my "sleeper". BTW - Have you stood behind your new beast and let someone else drive off so you can hear how it sounds? It actually sounds really good as stock. It sounds much different under load and when you're standing behind it. Try it. You might be surprised. :thumbup:

Thank you for the kind words! :thumbup:

Nice X! Its similarly themed to mine :) I actually got the M kit on my X for the exact same reason you didn't, no one had on the pre-facelift. And I LOVE the new aero kit btw, looks better than the new M kit for sure! But you need to back out the front aluminium... all of it ;)

You are totally right about the Alum Mesh being blacked out. It doesn't work with the theme of the car now. It's so funny, as my wife was saying this when I got the car back from the bodyshop and it's something I totally missed. Hahaha! I'll repost some new pix when it's all done, including the interior. Thanks for the feedback!:thumbup:

I cant believe you all fell for this. C is the master at this. This is actually a hyundai santa fe with an awesome body kit. His body shop happens to be really good. Fooled you all. You can tell something is up if you see it in person. You just cant mask the sound of a 4 cylinder.

Sorry C. Couldnt allow you to continue to hoodwink fellow enthusiasts any longer

Obviously... :)

BAWAHAHAHAHAHA! It's really a SMART. :p:

As always c' looks awesome , i just wish i had the same fashion sense as you when it comes to cars !:rofl:

NEIL

NEIL!

I must give credit where credit is due -- the body shop I go to is all bc of Neil. He introduced me to this place a long time ago and I've been going there ever since.

Good seeing you last week, bud. As always, your M looks ridic! I'll stop by the store tonight with the money I owe you. :thumbup:

Hyundais have a 10 year warranty. Can they slap that on these things too?

Beautiful X man! Id love to see how it would look with the innards of the wheels painted the color of the body of the X. not the face of the spokes, just the innards

That sounds pretty good! and leave the face machined polish as it is :)

Interesting... I never really thought about that. However, I'm not really a fan of white on wheels.

FIVE OH Looks Great C! …. Any update on the Evolve Tune now that you have had the car for a while? Pros or Cons(if any cons)

Any issues to date with doing this from a performance or from warning lights/computer issues considering how sensitive our cars can be.

Btw, have you ever considered customizing all the black plastic material of the arches, trim on doors & front/rear fender and getting coated and painted same AW as body? Car looks sick as is but just curious as I have seen it done and came out Real smooth.

I would have just done the M Kit then. I like the black trim, as it really shows off the LCI Aero Kit and makes it different from the M Kit. I actually had the 336 wheels PC'ed a Satin Black (30% Gloss) recently. Here's how the X looks now...


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