Deftronix X5d

[Deftronix]

I've been wanting to start a build log for years now to document my X5 project. Many mods have gone into it over 4 years now and has been a fun journey. The potential of the platform is truly amazing and definitely plan on driving it until the wheels fall off!

Will be adding much more to this as quite a few things are coming together soon to bring the X5 to a whole new level. Wanted to get a couple pics up with a general glimpse of the direction everything is going. Some mods are starting to pile up so need to get a move on! Hoping that starting this thread will give me some motivation.





Exterior mods
- LCI Aero performance kit - F/R + sides
- X6 LCI grill with color matched surround
- X6 power dome hood
- Msport roof rails
- IND color matched front reflectors and black rear roundel
- lower plastic door trim and vent splitters replaced with color matched trim
- 747M 22" x 10/11 replicas on Vredestein Ultrac Vorti 295/335
- 120mm supersprint tips
- Invisihitch with a Reese hitch ball kit

Engine & Misc Performance
- Unobtanium down pipe & mid pipe
- Stage 2 DDE tune / DWR TCU tune / Xdelete
- Torqbyte CM5 & Prometh meth/h2o system
- ATM intercooler & ASV pipe
- Fluidampr w/ clutched alternator pulley
- Insane diesel X2 oil bypass filter
- Provent 200 oil catch can
- F15 M performance brake kit (same as E70 X5M) with F85 rotors & ECS stainless lines
- Syncro Design Works monoball bushings
- Racehard 28mm rear sway bar
- Eibach prokit

Suspension install in progress
- AccuAir ENDO-CT 5 gallon
- AirRex E70 struts
- AirLift Performance 3H system - 1/4"



Trying to plan where to put everything, starting to run out of room! Imagine all the power draw. Looking to add a bank of supercapacitors (16V @ 500Farads) to supplement power during peak usage so I don't kill the alternator.

Infotainment
- Avin 10.25" android headunit
- 2 x Zapco X-150.6LX amps
- Mobridge DA1
- Mosconi 8to12 Aerospace DSP
- Mosconi RCD
- Morel MT350 tweeters
- Morel Hybrid MW4 mids
- Mosconi 8" shallow woofer for under front seats
- JL Audio 13 tw5
- XS Power D4900 battery
- Mikrotik hAPac + usb Verizon LTE card

Interior
- X5M steering wheel w/ SMG paddles
- Mperformance pedals & footrest
- F15 black floor mats
- Di-noc wrapped trim
- Full led conversion
- P3cars vent gauge

Not a good documenter compared to some fellow members but will do my best not to be all over the place and provide some useful information as things come together. Hope you guys enjoy!

[RL18]

Dang! That's a sweet looking x5! Can't wait to see the mods to come!

[Sophisticated Redneck]

Nice Aerokit! I put the same on mine along with the sides (had to special order from Germany), think your the only one I've ever seen post with the Aero side skirts too.

Have you taken it to a Dyno or ran the 1/4mile since all the performance mods?

[Deftronix]

Originally Posted by RL18

Dang! That's a sweet looking x5! Can't wait to see the mods to come!

Much appreciated!

Originally Posted by Sophisticated Redneck

Nice Aerokit! I put the same on mine along with the sides (had to special order from Germany), think your the only one I've ever seen post with the Aero side skirts too.

Have you taken it to a Dyno or ran the 1/4mile since all the performance mods?

Thx. I can see where most people probably draw the line at having to buy/install the new supports to switch out the running boards first to get them mounted. It's nice that the kit came with everything including the factory sill with holes already drilled and made it a very easy install. They compliment the msport/x5m roof rails perfectly IMO.

Always wondered why I haven't seen any x5m guys switch theirs out to get a lower profile side. You could paint the plastic factory color and wrap the aero side sill matte black or even wrap in carbon - would look amazing with their front bumper + lip combo!

Anyway, no dyno runs yet. Although much more doable now with xdelete. I have a 0-60 tracker on my p3 gauge and best I've run is 5.1 secs but have only clocked it a handful of times. This is without any meth/h2o. I am hoping Andrew comes out with his V3 hybrids soon and would really like to install a "gamechanger" torque converter at the same time.

[Deftronix]

Mikrotik hAPac router/access point + usb Verizon LTE card going to external antenna. Mikrotik OS is very customizable and amazingly stable. This router accepts 12v direct, small, takes 20seconds to boot and does ac wifi. Internet access for any device in car or good perimeter parked when acc is on since I slaved off the cigarette lighter outlet power in the rear. It also automatically VPN's into the house to access any device needed and to checkin. Avin headunit gets internet access this way as well.

Could potentially hookup wired ethernet devices in the future such as PoE cameras and better "dash cam" storage or other ideas with tiny single board computers/NAS available now, etc. For example could run plex media server and have a local video/music library ontap to any device (avin) over lan/wifi while on the road so you would never have to worry about dead spots. Lots of potentials.

[Spyro235]

The router idea is awesome- Do you just pay the 10$ device fee/ added a line to use teh router through verizon?
Quite the setup you've got. This thing is cool!

[Deftronix]

Originally Posted by Spyro235

The router idea is awesome- Do you just pay the 10$ device fee/ added a line to use teh router through verizon?
Quite the setup you've got. This thing is cool!

Thanks Spyro! The way I'm using the modem is currently "unsupported". They really dont like you using anything outside their mobile hotspots they provide because their routing capabilities are severely limited/locked down so you can't accomplish much other than basic internet access. The usb modem in a mikrotik is very different animal and they really dont want you to have that much freedom. I believe if you were to get the same USB modem I have now the new firmware tries to lock it down even further from allowing you to do this. That's why my modem is set to never check for firmware updates

Adding one of their hotspots to the car would still be a good alternative. Plus you would get the built-in battery as a way to keep it up for many hours after you shut the car off if that's what you're after. But I actually like that the wifi goes up and down with the car so its not sitting broadcasting in my garage or front yard for hours. I could see how if you go out on camping trips or tailgate a lot this would be very beneficial. Yes, it's just an additional line on a shared plan.

[ucsbwsr]

Can't wait to follow this! Cheers!

[Deftronix]

Originally Posted by ucsbwsr

Can't wait to follow this! Cheers!

Will try not to disappoint!

Update -

Got a couple things done this weekend but still in the planning stages so giving myself a little more time before I start cutting/drilling more holes into things. Layout is evolving nicely, everything feels like it's getting a proper place and will only have the torqbyte controller mounted to the outside of anything to keep it as clean/minimalist as possible.

Sleeved the power cables and 20pin connector since it will be exposed and visible.





Cut face plates for the torqbyte that is mounted to the fuse door on spacers to give a little room to route wiring through a hole behind and another for the cubby to house the regulator and pressure gauge for the exhaust manifold injection/air tool hookup. more on this later..









Biggest planning/execution hurdle is mounting the tank front to back pushed to the passenger side so I can still fold down the side with 2 seats and utilize the combined cargo space. I would very much prefer this and not center/ divide the space so will try my best to make it happen.

Another requirement is no connections from the tank to the floor and will be raised on a support platform using the chassis threads for stock latch points on all 4 corners ( I will use front and back). That way I can still take out the floor and have access to battery and everything without having to touch the air suspension side and also easily slide the all-weather mat in/out when I am loading her up.



Also cut a backplate for the driver side access door that will be for the motherboard/SBC that will be mounted to the other side.

Hope to have more updates soon.

[quick]

Great project and seems to be coming along well. Is there a better picture of the aero side skirts or better yet the part number to see how they look? I have always thought our X5M's could use better side skirts?

[Deftronix]

Originally Posted by quick

Great project and seems to be coming along well. Is there a better picture of the aero side skirts or better yet the part number to see how they look? I have always thought our X5M's could use better side skirts?

Thank you. The sides would look amazing on an X5M and have yet to see it done. Especially if you have a front lip. You wouldn't need to buy the underlying sill supports either since you don't have to swap out the running boards. Part number is #51192184430. For those that have the running boards, sill supports 51777207195 & 51777207196 are needed to mount them.

[tlewis950610]

Wish I had your skills: Your mods look really good and hope the updates work out really well. Keep it going, will certainly be following your post.

[Deftronix]

Originally Posted by tlewis950610

Wish I had your skills: Your mods look really good and hope the updates work out really well. Keep it going, will certainly be following your post.

Thanks for your kind words and best wishes. I'm a true mod addict, having to modify literally everything I own so have a lot of practice

Update - Ultra Capacitors

Another parallel project is building an ultra capacitor bank to supplement power to all this equipment. I have the bigger 275A alternator and XS power battery but still concerned about overall system draw in the instances where running @ high stereo volume, air compressor is on filling the tank and meth/h2o injection pump kicking on, with all the associated controllers/electronics.

When researching noticed that XS power ultra capacitors had the same endcaps as IOXUS ultra caps. This differs from every other manufacture, so most likely these are rebranded IOXUS.

I remember coming across a pretty detailed analysis comparing the different caps available and the IOXUS had a lower real world ESR than any of the other mainstream offerings which is the main reason I chose these. XS was not part of the test as they weren't released at the time. Regardless the ESR of any ultra cap is microscopic compared to a conventional cap but still wanted to make sure to get the best I could. Also like the two mounting points per side instead of the usual one and the extra headroom in the 2.85V spec as opposed to 2.7.

The cells used are 2.85V / 3150F each and wired for 17Vmax @ 500 Farads (the two zero's are not a typo ). Was able to track down a balanacer/protection kit meant for IOXUS caps to keep everything in check and seems to be working great. Balancing kit is iKIT60MM2V7A2S-001 but hard to find, I got mine on ebay.

Building the bank gives the flexibility of choosing size/shape as some of the prebuilt dont come with any balancing/voltage protection circuits either. May layout the bank 6 cells long and put it under the amplifier rack where the mosconi dsp is since it is already enclosed in wood or use in current config where the mobridge currently is and move that. Figuring out some sort of lexan or composite enclosure first, last thing I want is either side hitting anything conductive!

Sorry for the small incremental updates!

[Lunker325]

Originally Posted by Deftronix

Thank you. The sides would look amazing on an X5M and have yet to see it done. Especially if you have a front lip. You wouldn't need to buy the underlying sill supports either since you don't have to swap out the running boards. Part number is #51192184430. For those that have the running boards, sill supports 51777207195 & 51777207196 are needed to mount them.

Looks like another addition to the mod list, never knew these existed. Thanks for the post and part number OP!

Awesome build, lots of cool details and super clean!

[Deftronix]

Originally Posted by Lunker325

Looks like another addition to the mod list, never knew these existed. Thanks for the post and part number OP!

Awesome build, lots of cool details and super clean!

Much appreciated Lunker. Can't wait to see them mounted - make sure you post up some pics when done!

[Lunker325]

Will do, might be a little while, going to include this when I get my front bumper resprayed.

Hopefully will be getting the x6 power dome hood done as well!

[tlewis950610]

Originally Posted by Deftronix

I've been wanting to start a build log for years now to document my X5 project. Many mods have gone into it over 4 years now and has been a fun journey. The potential of the platform is truly amazing and definitely plan on driving it until the wheels fall off!

Will be adding much more to this as quite a few things are coming together soon to bring the X5 to a whole new level. Wanted to get a couple pics up with a general glimpse of the direction everything is going. Some mods are starting to pile up so need to get a move on! Hoping that starting this thread will give me some motivation.

Attachment 2151215

Attachment 2151216

Exterior mods
- LCI Aero performance kit - F/R + sides
- X6 LCI grill with color matched surround
- X6 power dome hood
- Msport roof rails
- IND color matched front reflectors and black rear roundel
- lower plastic door trim and vent splitters replaced with color matched trim
- 747M 22" x 10/11 replicas on Vredestein Ultrac Vorti 295/335
- 120mm supersprint tips
- Invisihitch with a Reese hitch ball kit

Engine & Misc Performance
- Unobtanium down pipe & mid pipe
- Stage 2 DDE tune / DWR TCU tune / Xdelete
- Torqbyte CM5 & Prometh meth/h2o system
- ATM intercooler & ASV pipe
- Fluidampr w/ clutched alternator pulley
- Insane diesel X2 oil bypass filter
- Provent 200 oil catch can
- F15 M performance brake kit (same as E70 X5M) with F85 rotors & ECS stainless lines
- Syncro Design Works monoball bushings
- Racehard 28mm rear sway bar
- Eibach prokit

Suspension install in progress
- AccuAir ENDO-CT 5 gallon
- AirRex E70 struts
- AirLift Performance 3H system - 1/4"

Attachment 2151217

Trying to plan where to put everything, starting to run out of room! Imagine all the power draw. Looking to add a bank of supercapacitors (16V @ 500Farads) to supplement power during peak usage so I don't kill the alternator.

Infotainment
- Avin 10.25" android headunit
- 2 x Zapco X-150.6LX amps
- Mobridge DA1
- Mosconi 8to12 Aerospace DSP
- Mosconi RCD
- Morel MT350 tweeters
- Morel Hybrid MW4 mids
- Mosconi 8" shallow woofer for under front seats
- JL Audio 13 tw5
- XS Power D4900 battery
- Mikrotik hAPac + usb Verizon LTE card

Interior
- X5M steering wheel w/ SMG paddles
- Mperformance pedals & footrest
- F15 black floor mats
- Di-noc wrapped trim
- Full led conversion
- P3cars vent gauge

Not a good documenter compared to some fellow members but will do my best not to be all over the place and provide some useful information as things come together. Hope you guys enjoy!

Deftronix, looking at your performance mods I'm considering the Stage 2 tune but I don't know enough to ask the correct questions. I have a 2011 X5d and a 2013 X5d, I would like to tune them both. From what I read on different post its possible to get more HP, better shifts, and better mileage through a tune. I don't track or drive very aggressively but I like to pass when I want to. I see you have a DDE/DWR tune but I don't know how to contact a rep to make that happen. I live just outside Orlando, Fl and not sure if there is someone in this area to make this happen. Any info you pass on will be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

[Spyro235]

Originally Posted by tlewis950610

Deftronix, looking at your performance mods I'm considering the Stage 2 tune but I don't know enough to ask the correct questions. I have a 2011 X5d and a 2013 X5d, I would like to tune them both. From what I read on different post its possible to get more HP, better shifts, and better mileage through a tune. I don't track or drive very aggressively but I like to pass when I want to. I see you have a DDE/DWR tune but I don't know how to contact a rep to make that happen. I live just outside Orlando, Fl and not sure if there is someone in this area to make this happen. Any info you pass on will be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

Hey boss, I've got a stage 2 deleted 35d. I'm going to pipe in and say, look on facebook and contact sutphin tuning. You'll need an XHP license, but the customer service you'll receive from Rod Sutphin is amazing. All said and done, I believe you'd be able $250 into a transmission tune, and it'll change the entire way the vehicle drives.

I have no experience with DWR, but tries the XHP tunes and rod's tuning is leagues better than XHP.

[sunny_j]

DWR is only offering TCU tunes for those running a BRR tune

[Deftronix]

Originally Posted by Spyro235

Hey boss, I've got a stage 2 deleted 35d. I'm going to pipe in and say, look on facebook and contact sutphin tuning. You'll need an XHP license, but the customer service you'll receive from Rod Sutphin is amazing. All said and done, I believe you'd be able $250 into a transmission tune, and it'll change the entire way the vehicle drives.

I have no experience with DWR, but tries the XHP tunes and rod's tuning is leagues better than XHP.

What he said . Derek gives pretty good support but is no longer coming out with updates for the guys that previously bought his tune. I've spoken with Rod a couple times and would not hesitate to recommend him, he is a stand up guy and offers amazing customer service. Will probably switch over to his tcu tune once I get the new torque converter.

Originally Posted by sunny_j

DWR is only offering TCU tunes for those running a BRR tune

Great to know he is still doing them for BRR customers, thanks.

[mkPOTO]

wow.. subscribed.
Haven't seen a thread like this in a LONG time, please keep posting and updating this!

[Spyro235]

Originally Posted by Deftronix

Will probably switch over to his tcu tune once I get the new torque converter.

.

When do you plan on the new converter? Sadly it's a pipe dream for the time being for me, about to move, and plan to move again a year or two after that... Just not a great use of money right now. When I rebuild the trans, I'll save up and go all out on the converter too. wont be for another 60ishk miles though.