M3 Guy's 2012 Monte Carlo Blue X5M Journal

[m5 guy]

Originally Posted by gixxerboy63

Beautiful rolling shot!
...So have your downpipes already been installed and tune revised?

Originally Posted by gixxerboy63

Wait... do I see a alcantera flat bottomed steering wheel in there? Whoaaa!


Just when I thought my modding had come to a close.

Originally Posted by gixxerboy63

Dude, all you need now is some LED headlights!!!

It's the least you can do after you peer-pressured me into a front spoiler, rear diffuser and Dimisa tips!

1. Thanks for the compliment on the roller! Easily one of my favorite shots. Still waiting on the downpipes and I'm working with Omar right now on getting my new tune good to go.

2. There is one for sale right now in th X6M classifieds.

3. I jones hard for some led headlights. Still need to see if someone can do the coding locally. Just found out one of the shops here supposedly has an autologic so I will be giving them a call. Will be the last thing I do to the car. Just have to recover after my latest set of purchases.

You wouldn't be willing to disclose your vendors and pricing for the necessary items would you? If so send over a PM.

Originally Posted by JeST

Your car is beyond fresh! Looks killer!

Thanks man. It's getting there, just a few more things to do.

Originally Posted by X5M_DA

Kimo how do u like the P3 gauge ? I had for few months before i got rid of X5M ...I like the gadget-aspect of it for the price ...however was disappointed the boost didn't work ..I also like the fact it went on the side not like the Awron that took up the center ....BtW every time I visit this thread I'm always amazed at how beautiful your car looks !

Thanks for the compliments! I'm really liking the gauge, had one in my old F30 as well. Just have to figure out the air intake temp problem and I'll be good to go. The highest boost I have hit so far is 19.3 digitally and I have no idea if that is a stock or tuned value. I plan on switching the boost from digital to analog, but want to solve the air intake temp problem first.

Originally Posted by X5_MSPORT

Dem floor mats!

Straight fit no issues?

Definitely dem floor mats ! They fit just fine, go for it!

Originally Posted by BAKZOOM

Just when I think this X5M can't look better, I get another surprise. Absolutely gorgeous!!!

Thanks!!! Can't wait to see how yours starts to look after some modding. You have a great base. Melbourne Red and leds !

[m5 guy]

[theaudir8fan]

^ ball so hard...

[m5 guy]

Originally Posted by theaudir8fan

^ ball so hard...

Thanks!

The only other teaser pic I have:

[theaudir8fan]

Originally Posted by m3 guy

Thanks!

The only other teaser pic I have:

Not at all, I guess this is why you are missing the LED headlight and the powerdome hood, still I approve performance over cosmics everytime

[m5 guy]

Parts are slowly starting to arrive. AR Design downpipes with extended o2's showed up yesterday. Got their black ceramic coating option. Should hopefully put an end to the volcanic heat in the engine bay.

[Cattivo]

Nice new mods brother! I just ordered a set of dp's as well...I'm heading over to my INDY shop next weekend along with JeST to get our calipers painted soon

[m5 guy]

Originally Posted by Cattivo

Nice new mods brother! I just ordered a set of dp's as well...I'm heading over to my INDY shop next weekend along with JeST to get our calipers painted soon

Thanks!

Congrats on the dp purchase! What dp's did you end up getting? What color for your calipers?

[gixxerboy63]

I noticed a huge difference in engine bay temps when I installed my Active Autowerkes downpipes... much cooler and they're not even coated!

Gixxer - Drooling over your mods.

[m5 guy]

Originally Posted by gixxerboy63

I noticed a huge difference in engine bay temps when I installed my Active Autowerkes downpipes... much cooler and they're not even coated!

Gixxer - Drooling over your mods.

That's awesome news on the temps. Also installing them with the PTP turbo/downpipe blanket so hopefully this volcanic heat will be a thing of the past. As it stands I have a warranty service this weekend where they are replacing two more hoses and three plastic panels due to the volcanic properties of the stock downpipes.

[Cattivo]

Originally Posted by m3 guy

Thanks!

Congrats on the dp purchase! What dp's did you end up getting? What color for your calipers?

I went with the 3'' catless dp from Ultimate Racing...when they arrive I'm going to have them ceramic coated. As far as the calipers go, I'm still deciding on either MCB or a Porsche blue

[smolieri]

I really enjoy your journal. I am on the second month in search of my X5M. Still searching.. Your journal is given me some ideas on mods once I acquire the truck.

[m5 guy]

Originally Posted by Cattivo

I went with the 3'' catless dp from Ultimate Racing...when they arrive I'm going to have them ceramic coated. As far as the calipers go, I'm still deciding on either MCB or a Porche blue

Nice! Body colored or contrasting blue. That's a tough one. Can't wait to see what you decide.

Originally Posted by smolieri

I really enjoy your journal. I am on the second month in search of my X5M. Still searching.. Your journal is given me some ideas on mods once I acquire the truck.

Thanks! I'm glad you are enjoying the journal. Good luck on your quest too, these beasts are an amazing daily driver. A more practical M5 imo.

[m5 guy]

So you guys see that downpipe picture above, well, they are the wrong ones. As some of you know BMW went from a two bolt fitment with an intermediate bend pipe to a slip on fitment downpipe wise that did away with the intermediate bend pipe. Before I ordered the downpipes I crawled under and saw the slip fit clamp so I ordered accordingly.

It turns out our cars for whatever reason were the guinea pigs for this change in fastening techniques. Went to do the install and I still have the bolt downpipes. Only on mine the intermediate pipe is bolt on the downpipe side and slip fit clamp on the midpipe side. As such my warning to you 2012 and 2013 guys, make sure you crawl underneath enough to actually look up past the transmission to see if your downpipes are indeed still the bolt on style even if you see the slip fit clamp.

I ordered the downpipes through Omar at Velos and he has been awesome in dealing with this for me. They are already en route to AR Design so hopefully I'll receive the new ones in the next week or so depending on AR Design's stock and ceramic coating times. Believe me, I felt like a complete idiot when I saw it too lol...








In a completely unrelated note my dealer has proven to be awesome. I told them about the LED headlight retrofit and they want to do it; even though it's euro only and the coding is locked. They beat the lowest new part pricing I could find online and are giving it a go this weekend. Service Advisor got the go ahead from upper management and everything. They think they might have a way of getting around the locked coding. If nothing else at least I'll have the warranties on parts and labor from them and can just go to the autologic shop here to get it coded if it does not work out.

[gixxerboy63]

Originally Posted by m3 guy

....In a completely unrelated note my dealer has proven to be awesome. I told them about the LED headlight retrofit and they want to do it; even though it's euro only and the coding is locked. They beat the lowest new part pricing I could find online and are giving it a go this weekend. Service Advisor got the go ahead from upper management and everything. They think they might have a way of getting around the locked coding. If nothing else at least I'll have the warranties on parts and labor from them and can just go to the autologic shop here to get it coded if it does not work out.

Awesome Kimo!
your truck will be complete now.

[m5 guy]

[gixxerboy63]

You haven't tried the downpipes and you're already putting an Eisenmann on?
You really want to wake up the neighborhood, huh? LOL!

[m5 guy]

Originally Posted by gixxerboy63

You haven't tried the downpipes and you're already putting an Eisenmann on?
You really want to wake up the neighborhood, huh? LOL!

Believe it or not deciding on an exhaust setup was the hardest decision for me with this build. I had certain constraints that needed to be met and the only way to do that was to piece meal the thing together. The constraints:

1. Downpipes - Had to be catless, ceramic coated, and have a flex joint of some kind
2. Midpipes - Had to have a x pipe and cats
3. Muffler - Oem valve control required

With those constraints not a single company provided a solution that satisfied all requirements. As such it was time to pull a captain planet and combine brands. Solution:

1. AR Design catless downpipes - They have a ceramic coating option, have a flex joint, and as an added bonus are a full 3 inch up until they need to mate with the midpipes. I'm combining these with a PTP turbo blanket for ultimate engine bay heat reduction.

2. Supersprint section 1 - Have the no resonator and no cat option. Basically just straight pipe. I did this because I have a set of 100 cell MilSpec cats that will be welded in for the smell. I could not justify the extra 2k plus required for Supersprint's own catted option. The Mil Spec cats are a few hundred and the install will be simple enough. I only want the cats for smell and not emissions.

3. Supersprint section 2 - The only section 2 on the market that can be purchased separately. Has an xpipe. Should help the flow and improve the sound.

4. Eisenmann SPORT muffler - Sport option is a must imo as my setup is for the most part just straight piped until the muffler. The oem valve control will prove to be invaluable in the morning on cold starts. Plus I love the eisenmann sound so that sound mixed with the other components should make for some X5M :eargasm: action. They also offer a black series option, which hides the cans aesthetically. So I went with that, but had them keep the tips shiny. I like me some shiny tips. Something classic about it and I will never have black tips on any of my cars. Went with the 90mm rolled so it will have a total oem + look.

This was my thought process. Long winded and way too much time spent on it.

[Gatoferoz25]

Originally Posted by m3 guy

Believe it or not deciding on an exhaust setup was the hardest decision for me with this build. I had certain constraints that needed to be met and the only way to do that was to piece meal the thing together. The constraints:

1. Downpipes - Had to be catless, ceramic coated, and have a flex joint of some kind
2. Midpipes - Had to have a x pipe and cats
3. Muffler - Oem valve control required

With those constraints not a single company provided a solution that satisfied all requirements. As such it was time to pull a captain planet and combine brands. Solution:

1. AR Design catless downpipes - They have a ceramic coating option, have a flex joint, and as an added bonus are a full 3 inch up until they need to mate with the midpipes. I'm combining these with a PTP turbo blanket for ultimate engine bay heat reduction.

2. Supersprint section 1 - Have the no resonator and no cat option. Basically just straight pipe. I did this because I have a set of 100 cell MilSpec cats that will be welded in for the smell. I could not justify the extra 2k plus required for Supersprint's own catted option. The Mil Spec cats are a few hundred and the install will be simple enough. I only want the cats for smell and not emissions.

3. Supersprint section 2 - The only section 2 on the market that can be purchased separately. Has an xpipe. Should help the flow and improve the sound.

4. Eisenmann SPORT muffler - Sport option is a must imo as my setup is for the most part just straight piped until the muffler. The oem valve control will prove to be invaluable in the morning on cold starts. Plus I love the eisenmann sound so that sound mixed with the other components should make for some X5M :eargasm: action. They also offer a black series option, which hides the cans aesthetically. So I went with that, but had them keep the tips shiny. I like me some shiny tips. Something classic about it and I will never have black tips on any of my cars. Went with the 90mm rolled so it will have a total oem + look.

This was my thought process. Long winded and way too much time spent on it.

Now waiting on pics
Good job Brother u still modding this beast there's no end to this game it's always something new

[m5 guy]

Originally Posted by Gatoferoz25

Now waiting on pics
Good job Brother u still modding this beast there's no end to this game it's always something new

It never ends!


Btw this just happened:

[Cattivo]

Damn brother those LED's look good!

[m5 guy]

Originally Posted by Cattivo

Damn brother those LED's look good!

Thanks! Coding at the autologic shop is today so :fingerscrossed:.


Now it's time for you and Jest to take the plunge.