Build Log: M57 X5

[ryansbmw]

Looks great Evan.

I find myself constantly going thru this thread looking for ideas. Unfortunately, when I try something, it usually fails haha.

[Letsgo]

Great thread, well documented. Thanks.

[Letsgo]

Originally Posted by ucsbwsr

Stud Conversion in the works, waiting for spacers and fender flares.

What length are the wheel studs? Where did you buy them from?

[ucsbwsr]

Originally Posted by Letsgo

What length are the wheel studs? Where did you buy them from?

Lengths are 75mm and 85mm or something like that, but don't copy me. Measure your own setup and buy what you need.

I bought them directly from Motorsport Hardware

[ucsbwsr]

Originally Posted by ryansbmw

Looks great Evan.

I find myself constantly going thru this thread looking for ideas. Unfortunately, when I try something, it usually fails haha.

You learn best from your failures, at least I do. Don't let that stop you, just use it as feedback to learn.

Originally Posted by Letsgo

Great thread, well documented. Thanks.

You bet

[RL18]

Originally Posted by ucsbwsr

m
Measure your own setup and buy what you need.

This is exactly what I did when you made your custom intake

Those wheels fit super tight!! Can't wait till I hit the appearance part of my mod list on my x5d. I too use a lot of your post as guidelines to my own projects. Keep up the great work man your x5d is super clean

[Letsgo]

Originally Posted by ucsbwsr

Lengths are 75mm and 85mm or something like that, but don't copy me. Measure your own setup and buy what you need.

I bought them directly from Motorsport Hardware

I was going to go with 75mm all around, trying to determine how much the stud will stick out past the wheel with OEM wheels w/ 10mm spacers. Looks like 75mm might be right length for me or 85mm if I go with 20mm spacers.

[ucsbwsr]

It has been about a month since the last update and the X5 hasn't received any fancy upgrades or major maintenance, instead it has been put to work.

Here are some updated thoughts on a few items. The Brembo BBK is but the Ceramic Hawk pads I purchased squeal like crazy with a little bit of heat in them, upon further research this seems to be fairly common. The temporary solution others use is to put a TON of grease on the back of the pad which will only work for a short amount of time. No thanks. I will be replacing the pads when I have free time.

The Hankook tires are great, especially for the price. Cornering grip isn't the best but considering how I usually drive the X5 they are well suited for cruising + occasional spirited driving. In general they roll smooth and quiet but do pick up some textures and small undulations in the road periodically. It's a bit odd because I am used to a tire either being very communicative to what it's rolling over of it's a mushy/smooth ride, it's usually one or the other. The Hankooks are quiet 95% of the time but do transmit some vibrations/hums depending on the surface. It's not a big deal or a major annoyance, I just find it peculiar since it is selective on the what the tire transmits.

Cargo Box. This thing was installed for a trip out to AZ in which I also had 2 bikes on a hitch rack. I am a large human and ride a large bike so my handlebars, seat, and tires protrude over and around the perimeter of the X5 and add a bit of drag, much more than what "normal" people experience with their average sized bikes. I was a bit disappointed to see such underwhelming mileage, I was seeing 22-23mpg where I was expecting closer to 30mpg.

During this past winter trip I achieved 30mpg for a tank, driving in snow, with the cargo box, on snow tires, and bouncing around between 3,000 and 8,500ft. So I always thought the cargo box wasn't adding too much drag. Since this winter trip I have added the BBK and taller/heavier Hankook tires which both add some unsprung weight so I was kicking myself that I ruined the fuel efficiency of the X5 with the brake and tires (still worth it!).

The last couple weeks I have been moving into a new house and once the main move was over I took the cargo box off and while running some errands doing an out and back on the freeway 65-75mph, soly highway driving I was able to hit 31mpg one way and 36mpg on the return. Nice. My cluster mpg read out is usually within .5mpg of actual mileage so I use it as a fairly accurate reference. There are many variables which can impact fuel efficiency so this isn't a hard science but my guesstimate for mpg loss due to cargo box (at highway speeds) has gone from 1-2mpg up to 5-6mpg.

Anyway, here are some pics of the recent adventures.

Riding San Juan Trail in Southern Orange County



Always using HPR when I can.


In the mountains for sunrise. Noble Canyon Trail, Mount Laguna.


My buddies bike matched the brake calipers!




Scoured a deal on some lightly used SwissTrax Ribtrax!





Fun Fact: The tiles were previously installed in a hanger which was featured on the Swisstrax website.


Working on the new house, replacing a warped 20ft 2x4. Aka Activate Joust Mode. lol


Just a pic!


The last items to be moved from my old house was my E39 Touring project, "DAS VADR" The goal was to get it running before the move buuuuuuuuuuut that didn't happen so in the engine and trans went with the essential components so I could roll and trailer the chassis. If anyone wants more info on the build you can Google "Das Vadr E39 Touring" and links should show in the results.

This was 3 days before the move



It wasn't easy loading the wagon myself and with $50 worth of Harbor Freight tools but it worked (barely).


PSA: Air Suspension is awesome



Unloading at the new house




Reunited at last! ...now time to finish the garage remodel so I can pull the E39 in and finish it up!

[JDAURIA]

540IT

[boneca]

this is awesome

[DVLDOG]

Any new updates Evan?

[ucsbwsr]

Originally Posted by DVLDOG

Any new updates Evan?

...actually, yes.

[ucsbwsr]

The X5D has been fulfilling it's role as the diesel workhorse running errands, hauling stuff, and dropping the hammer on unsuspecting "sporty" vehicles around town.

Here is a collection of random pics sprinkled in with some meaningful updates in chronological order.

Random pic 1


Tailgate FTW


20' 2x4s to reinforce my attic


Propane! This high-noon lighting shows the (sorta) flush fitment.


Shredding


I have decided that my next project will be a M57 powered, RWD, AT, E61 Touring. In addition to the E61 I will probably buy a e90 335D donor for the engine, trans, and misc parts. There will be a shipment of 535d specific parts from Europe like wiring harnesses, proprietary cooling, ducting, etc.

The dream was to make a BEAST AWD diesel wagon that could handle repeated launches. Unfortunately the front drivetrain on the 530xD is shared with the E61 535xi which doesn't like high loads especially at lower ride heights so it would be a ticking timebomb with the M57. I explored retrofitting the AWD from the E70 X5 which is much stronger but the larger ACT500 TC won't fit the E61 which is paired with an ATC300; a custom transmission tunnel would allow it to work but I am not interested in tackling that at this point. Although not as dreamy as an AWD diesel wagon the RWD configuration is the easier, simpler, and more reliable option -this is why I converted my 535xi to RWD.

Of course with RWD the issue becomes traction and the wagon will make somewhere between 600-700tq to the wheels, I also wanted a STRONG drivetrain which for me means OEM M5 drivetrain with a 210mm BMW LSD. Installing an LSD into a stock 188mm E60 open diff works but 210mm diffs are better Fitting M5 drivetrain to an E61 is easy, it all bolts up with the exception of the driveshaft which needs to be modified. The tricky part is getting a 210mm LSD with a diesel friendly final drive. E60 M5 comes with a 3.62 and a 535d comes with 2.56 lol. BMW 210mm diffs are now only found on M cars and certain older heavy-duty vehicles like V12 7 series, etc. and with all the gasoline cars in the US it's rare to find a ring and pinion that isn't in the 3.00-4.00:1 range. AFAIK BMW never fitted a 210mm diff on a diesel vehicle, ever, they all had the smaller 188 cases.

Through furious research and some luck I was able to track down a 2.65 210mm ring/pinion. Originally equipped on an E31 850i, V12, with a manual trans. This was a US-only import and after looking up the production numbers there are only about 300 in existence and through luck/fate I was talking with an eBay seller who had a 2.91 R/P and I mentioned the E31 and he said he had one not listed!!!! Sick. This was the missing link that allows me to build an essentially bulletproof differential, that has an OEM LSD, and near-perfect ratio for a diesel wagon. It also means I can run the complimentary M5 drivetrain which means more durability and peace of mind!

Anyway, the 3.62 I currently have in my white N54-E61 makes for very short gears and I have been meaning to "upgrade" to something taller. The E92 M3 has a 3.84 in the manuals and a 3.15 if equipped with the DCT. 3.15 is just about perfect for my intended use SOOOOOOOOOO I picked up a 3.15 LSD from a M3 w/ 43,000 miles. This will go into the N54 wagon and the M5 LSD will come out, be rebuilt with the 2.65 R/P, and wait patiently for the diesel E61 project.

The M3 LSD was located 90 miles north of me and it was a nice opportunity to do some highway cruising and check out MPG numbers. Normally my impressive fuel economy just gets decimated while driving around town since I drive hard. This highway testing got extended as the dismantler gave me the wrong diff at first so I did the drive x2 so about 350 miles when it's all said and done. The first leg I got 32mpg and return was 34mpg, highway only. On the following 2 trips averages were right around 33mpg and this is driving smoothly in the 60-70mph range. With some hard city driving the X5 was sitting with 1/2 a tank of fuel left, ~370 miles covered, and an 31mpg average, not bad!

A celebratory pic bringing the M3 LSD home, little did I know it was the WRONG one. lol


Better look at the beefy boys


I will do my best to break it


Enjoying the highway MPG before it's destroyed by spirited driving.


I had 2 oil leaks that were destroying my driveway. One was from o-rings that were failing on the vacuum pump, the other was my connection between my oil catch can outlet that connected to my dip stick via a T-fitting. The connection was leaking and it was due to Evan-error. Although an actual dipstick > electronic oil level, the X5 has both so for the sake of a clean and secure install I deleted my dipstick and plumbed the OCC output directly into the oil pan via the dipstick. I cut down the remaining dipstick, bored out the top, and pressed in a barbed joiner fitting. I have a 1-way check valve and it's working very well so far.





Due to the leaking vacuum pump the front of the block got saturated which assisted the AC belt in shredding itself. After the leak was fixed I cleaned everything with a power washer.



Meyle HD thrust arms fitting with monoball bushings. A bit of a bugger to remove, you need to turn the steering about 30 degrees towards the side you are working on and gently push the arm reward, upward, and inward to get them out.




My buddy picked up a nicely modded F10 M5. He replaced his manual single turbo 600awhp E90 with a 600whp F10 M5. Cool car but honestly I thought it was going to be faster. lol. I thought it would destroy my 550whp E61 but after driving it, I think it would be a really close race!

[DVLDOG]

Thanks. Just picked up a 2012 X5 35i M-Sport and it is hard to find any builds for good ideas to mod. Appreciate your time and effort in recording and sharing!

[wcs531]

Assuming you painted the lower grilles, how are they holding up and do you recall what products you used? Ive had poor luck in the past with painting plastic pieces that are subject to road debris even though I used plastic adhesion promoter.

I'm debating just buying the oem black lower grilles to replace silver, but would like to try to paint all the silver bits in a dark gunmetal before blacking them out fully.

Also I just noticed you used KYB struts. How are you liking them? I just assumed Bilstein b8s (with lowering springs) were the only option out there...but would love to save some money obviously.

[ucsbwsr]

Originally Posted by DVLDOG

Thanks. Just picked up a 2012 X5 35i M-Sport and it is hard to find any builds for good ideas to mod. Appreciate your time and effort in recording and sharing!

Thanks! I find a build threads very helpful as well which is one reason why I put the work into making my own. Glad its helpful.

Originally Posted by wcs531

Assuming you painted the lower grilles, how are they holding up and do you recall what products you used?

Also I just noticed you used KYB struts. How are you liking them? I just assumed Bilstein b8s (with lowering springs) were the only option out there...but would love to save some money obviously.

I have the OEM black upper grill and the larger lower grill is Plasti-Dipped which at this time, after almost 2 years of use does have some imperfections but all things considered is holding up great. Plasti-Dip holds up well if the surface is prepped well and it's applied properly but it will need to be freshed every year or two depending on use and sun exposure. Getting black OEM grills is the best option, properly applied Plasti Dip is 2nd, I wouldn't recommend painting; it won't stick well to the plastic and will easily chip from debris.

The KYBs are fine, I don't really have a reference point other than tired OEM struts.

[ucsbwsr]

Things are looking up for the X5. With a winter trip on the horizon it's finally time to install the 3.15 differential, to match my rear and complete the 3.64 to 3.15 conversion. I have been running the rear 3.15 for about 9 months in RWD mode and it's great, now time to finalize and flash back to AWD. There are some other parts which will be installed in addition:


- Upgraded Level 10/Sutphin Tuning Torque Converter
- 3.15 front diff (to match rear 3.15 and reactivate 4WD)
- Brake pads
- All new suspension F/R to compliment the just-installed monoball thrust arms.
- Mayle HD wishbones w/ adjustable camber
- Replacement AC belt
- Replacement pano roof surround
- Diesel Extreme injector cleaner
- Oil change

Items not pictured:
- Replacement exterior driver door handle
- Repair pano roof partitions
- Repair Vacuum pump seal (still leaking)

I am excited to observe the difference going from RWD with the sloppy and bullied stock torque converter back to AWD with the upgraded converter. My Dragy data shows about .5g during a launch with my current setup and that is with the tires hooking up well, not absolute grip but not bad all things considered. The Dragy data from another tuned diesel X5 with similar mods shows 1.1g from a dig which is awesome. With my 3.15 gearing and larger tires I am assuming my performance won't be as ferocious but it will still be a hoot. Response/driveability around town should also be much more pleasant.


Finally put the ZL1/Hankook combo on a scale. The tall tires have a very obvious weight penalty and offset the light ~27lb 20x11 ZL1 wheels.


Hike in the rain with the doggos.

[RL18]

Originally Posted by ucsbwsr

Things are looking up for the X5. With a winter trip on the horizon it's finally time to install the 3.15 differential, to match my rear and complete the 3.64 to 3.15 conversion. I have been running the rear 3.15 for about 9 months in RWD mode and it's great, now time to finalize and flash back to AWD. There are some other parts which will be installed in addition:


- Upgraded Level 10/Sutphin Tuning Torque Converter
- 3.15 front diff (to match rear 3.15 and reactivate 4WD)
- Brake pads
- All new suspension F/R to compliment the just-installed monoball thrust arms.
- Mayle HD wishbones w/ adjustable camber
- Replacement AC belt
- Replacement pano roof surround
- Diesel Extreme injector cleaner
- Oil change

Items not pictured:
- Replacement exterior driver door handle
- Repair pano roof partitions
- Repair Vacuum pump seal (still leaking)

I am excited to observe the difference going from RWD with the sloppy and bullied stock torque converter back to AWD with the upgraded converter. My Dragy data shows about .5g during a launch with my current setup and that is with the tires hooking up well, not absolute grip but not bad all things considered. The Dragy data from another tuned diesel X5 with similar mods shows 1.1g from a dig which is awesome. With my 3.15 gearing and larger tires I am assuming my performance won't be as ferocious but it will still be a hoot. Response/driveability around town should also be much more pleasant.

Okay I am very excited to hear your results with the torque converter. Did you also go with the upgraded valve body?

[mmitocky]

What brand / where did you get the monoball bearings for the control arms?

[ucsbwsr]

Originally Posted by RL18

Okay I am very excited to hear your results with the torque converter. Did you also go with the upgraded valve body?

No, my trans shifts well and was serviced not too long ago, I don't plan on opening the trans, just swapping the TC. In the future when I open the trans again I may replace the solenoids if they are looking worn aside from that I don't plan on upgrading/replacing anything unless there is reason too.

Originally Posted by mmitocky

What brand / where did you get the monoball bearings for the control arms?

I synced up with a guy on Facebook, he uses Lemforder monoballs and machines the cups/spacers himself and installs them into control arms I drop shipped him. These E70 arms were Meyle HD IIRC.

[Nyc Dito]

Originally Posted by ucsbwsr

No, my trans shifts well and was serviced not too long ago, I don't plan on opening the trans, just swapping the TC. In the future when I open the trans again I may replace the solenoids if they are looking worn aside from that I don't plan on upgrading/replacing anything unless there is reason too.

Would love to hear the feedback on the TC once installed

[ucsbwsr]

Before my winter road trip I was able to get some maintenance items addressed but not all. Torque converter and suspension still on to do list. Here is what has been accomplished.

- Front 3.15 installed, 4WD flashed
- Leaking vacuum pump cover resolved, hopefully for good this time
- Leaking coolant line deleted
- New brake pads
- Oil change
- 2020 iDrive maps update
- Driver door handle replaced

"Wrench Mode"


3.15 front diff serviced with fresh fluid, axle seal, and o-ring



The front diff swap was fairly straight forward, however some bonehead wrenching added a lot of unnecessary frustration. When lowering the subframe I assume my mistake was not dropping it little by little evenly which made the the subframe get hung up on the locating pins on the frame and it wouldn't hang freely. It took me WAY TOO LONG to figure this out but once I did a gentle tap on the subframe from a sledge hammer and iron rod from above freed up the subframe. By this point I had already removed the driver engine mount and mount bracket which was easy enough BUT getting the 3 bolts that hold the bracket to the engine block turned out to be a blind, awkward, and frustrating endeavor. patience and presistence prevailed but hours or time were lost. Live and learn .....or make mistakes, forget, and repeat. lol

The front diff does NOT come out this way


...it comes out this way



Driveway divas


My multi-use BMW special tool, great for propping up the passenger side front axle during front diff removal and great for supporting the subframe.


While under the vehicle I noticed some dried coolant on the top of the engine splash panel. Turns out it was caused by my own carelessness when deleting my EGR cooler and looping my coolant system, tension pushed the hose up towards the belt which was able to rub (I assume under high engine load), it looks like I caught it just in time since this could ruin a road trip very quickly.


The damaged coolant line is one that Ts into another coolant pipe between the radiator and the engine and then runs down and up behind the low pressure turbo and goes into the engine block. Doing further research it looks like the 335D doesn't have this coolant line at all, the engine block may not even have the cooling port. Instead of replacing the damaged coolant line I deleted it all together by buying a coolant blind plug for the front connection and a Vibrant reinforced coolant cap for the rear connection. If/when I remove the low pressure turbo at that time I will remove the engine block coolant connection and convert it to a plug by welding it shut.

Front connection BEFORE


Front connection AFTER w/ blind plug


Coolant line out


HPS caps


Rear connection BEFORE


Rear connection AFTER


My ATM ASV elbow had a fine oil residue on it. It was a bit odd since the silicone was covered in it but there was no obvious leak points at connections.


I removed, cleaned, and inspected the elbow and found this on the on the underside where the silicone bends. I haven't noticed any drop in boost or weird boost-leak noises (but I haven't data logged) but I assume there is a tiny hole allowing the oil vapor to escape. I haven't had the best luck with the ATM charge pipe connections so this is more motivation to build a custom charge pipe setup.


Vacuum pump cap was continuing to leak after a new set of o-rings so I cleaned everything and applied thin layer of silicone for added security.


Driver door handle had an annoying paint chip ever since we got the vehicle and I finally found a comfort access door handle in PGM for a reasonable price on eBay. It's not flawless but it's in much better condition than the old handle.


Clearance between ASV elbow and radiator shroud was too close for comfort so clearanced it a bit
BEFORE


AFTER


With the front diff installed I flashed back to 4WD


While updating the maps it was a 1+ hour upload so I hooked up the beast, this things can hold a perfect 14.3v for a full vehicle (all modules) overnight flash so it's not breaking a sweat here


My Hawk ceramic pads were squealing like mofos and the after hearing my complains the company sent me a set of 5.0 pads to try out. Their rep recommended I bed them aggressively and get them hot enough to smell. No problem, after a good thrashing they were smoking and I used an infrared thermometer to check rotor temps (400f) Potato pic
If these 5.0 pads don't work well (and don't squeal) then I have some EBC reds to try.



Cleaned and fitted with the cargo box and bike rack!



The cargo box is a life saver. It fit 2 snowboards, boots, bindings, snow gear, snow shoes, hiking shoes. MTB gear, helmets, bike rack, misc clothing, bike tools, misc tools, and more.