Aro's x5 35i

[Mr_ArO]

About my car
X5 2011, black with white interior, N55 engine and 8-speed automatic in a very good package.
Bought at auctions in USA, with a damage only on the trunk lid. When it arrived in my country sadly it got scratched in almost every corners. So I had to get the whole car repainted. And because the last owner's poor maintenance the timing belt snapped, it sucked the parts of the belt inside the engine, clogged the oil lines and spun the rod bearing, snapped a connecting rod and cracked the crank shaft. So the engine got fully rebuilt as well :/
But right now after doing all of this and some other maintenance stuff on the drivetrain, the car runs perfectly.

==== What's done ====

==== DRIVETRAIN ====

- Complete rebuild of the engine
- Turbocharger rebuild
- Replaced the pump and the thermostat
- Replaced arms and silent blocks of the front suspension
- Replaced the front shock absorbers
- Changed oil in the engine, transmission, transfer case and diffs
- Fixed the emergency brake for 2$ with relays from Lada

==== EXTERIOR ====

- Replaced the damaged trunk
- Replacing the rear bumper with a bumper from X5M
- 4 tip muffler with M performance attachments
- Added side extensions
- R20 style 300 wheels
- Lip on the front bumper
- Body repainting
- Repainting matt black plastics
- M low roof rails
- Black f15 style radiator grills
- Blacked out emblems
- Polished headlights
- LED angel eyes

==== INTERIOR ====

- Replaced and repaired the leather on seats and upholstery
- Painted peeling plastic elements
- Repaired the foam on the front seats
- Black headliner
- Replaced gears of the thigh support
- Replaced bulbs with LED
- Repaired broken rear curtain handles
- Added 19 inch spare tire and a jack
- Custom phone mount
- Chrystal start-stop button
- Custom M5 F80 style instrument cluster

Some winter drift

Before and after

[ryansbmw]

Looks amazing! Great job!

[argento]

Wow, what a ton of work and it looks fantastic! Well done, thanks for sharing!!

How hard was fixing the thigh support? And surely the cluster wasn't plug and play was it?

[Mr_ArO]

Originally Posted by argento

Wow, what a ton of work and it looks fantastic! Well done, thanks for sharing!!

How hard was fixing the thigh support? And surely the cluster wasn't plug and play was it?

Thanks!) It's very easy to fix the thigh support, I did it in 30 minutes with watching some tutorials. Replaced both with these from aliexpress.

They are a bit noisy though.

The cluster was the hard part. I soldered white LEDs instead of orange ones, also soldered a external module for 2 step fade effect. First the arrows light up then slowly the gauges. I connected it to number plate lights, so when the car get's unlocked the dash lights up.

Also wrapped the needles in red headlight tint. The tricky part is with needles, they need a certain pressure to stay in place. At first I put them in too hard and they where jiggering, so I had to disassemble everything several times to make it right. And also connecting the module to car's wiring.


But it was worth it.

[Mr_ArO]

Originally Posted by ryansbmw

Looks amazing! Great job!

Thank you very much!)

[Mr_ArO]

Installed xiaomi dashcam. I used 12v to usb module and a fuse adapter.





I mounted the dashcam behind the mirror on the driver's side, and ran the usb wire to the side of the console, where I installed usb to 12v module.



The ground of the module is connected to the console mounting bolt and the power is connected to the fusebox. The dashcam stays on for 15 minutes after shutting the car down.

[argento]

That's a great hardwire idea. I did the full blown hardwire in my thread, this looks much easier... Nice job!

The cluster work is amazing, btw...I'm keeping that on my radar...

[Mr_ArO]

Originally Posted by argento

That's a great hardwire idea. I did the full blown hardwire in my thread, this looks much easier... Nice job!

The cluster work is amazing, btw...I'm keeping that on my radar...

I thought about hardwiring to dome light, but I already connected cluster's light module to it. So I had to improvise )) I can send the website of the guys who made the gauge faces. They are from Ukraine but international shipping wouldn't be a problem. Gauge faces are optitron btw. Meaning that when the car is off the cluster is full black like lcd ones.

[argento]

Originally Posted by Mr_ArO

I thought about hardwiring to dome light, but I already connected cluster's light module to it. So I had to improvise )) I can send the website of the guys who made the gauge faces. They are from Ukraine but international shipping wouldn't be a problem. Gauge faces are optitron btw. Meaning that when the car is off the cluster is full black like lcd ones.

Yes, please share. Thanks!

[Mr_ArO]

Originally Posted by argento

Yes, please share. Thanks!

Here - https://pandora-studio.com/shop/bmw/...0-style-detail