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  #1  
Old 01-06-2015, 01:58 AM
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SMOKEY - My 2005 E53 3.0D Run Sheet

Hi guys

This is a thread for anyone interested but also for me to track progress on the modification, maintenance, challenges and success stories of my 2005 X5 3.0D.

I'll be updating the first post with any milestones as I go along. Feel free to ask questions about anything on my 'completed' list; it's likely I'll be the one asking the questions about things on my 'incomplete' list!


Back Story:

I'd been hunting for an X5 for about 6 months. Ever since new I loved the bulldog shape of the E53. I had a Le Mans Blue E39 a few years earlier and loved the car to bits, but at the time, it was my only car and I needed something a bit more reliable and economical to run so I had to move it on. Knowing the similarities between the e39 and e53 I saw the X5 as a natural choice so started researching.




The Search Is On

My heart wanted a 4.8is (and I came close on a couple) but with the price of fuel in Australia, the brain said to look for a 3.0 diesel as the purchase costs are pretty much the same but the diesel stands to hold it's value much better. Ideally I wanted a 3.0d Le Mans blue special edition (features nappa, Style 168's and arch extensions frm factory) but the market wasn't forthcoming - and 12 months on I've yet to see one come up.

Instead I bought a Sapphire Black version of the same car. I saw it as a good compromise on a 4.8is. It looks almost identical, doesn't have air suspension (which was a pro for me), has mountains of torque and drinks less than a small sedan.



The One

The car I found was interstate, I had a PPI done which revealed leaking turbo and VCG and thrust arms. I was feeling a bit shakey about the purchase given the issues, but the km's were right, the price was right, and the PPI indicated the car was in good condition cosmetically. I had the dealer fix the issues (at his cost) and the car was put on a truck and delivered to my door.



I want to say it was love at first sight, but in all honesty, the car was very dirty and much rougher than I expected. There was a deep gouge near the fuel filler that had been badly touched up, one of the rear arches was badly gouged, the rear bar had obviously been hit and badly repaired - looked as though it had been painted with a rattle can and was about 1/2 inch out of alignment, the front wheels on both sides were trashed with gutter rash and a front shock was blown with the rest not far behind. Needless to say I was less than impressed with these inconsistencies compared to the PPI.

Nonetheless, it was a project and I was keen to dive into it. I didn't waste any time getting started on it......and it didn't waste any time before throwing a hissy fit and demanding mechanical attention. Read on.....Maintenance & Mods
__________________
2005 3.0d Sport - Sapphire Black
Engine : Bluefin Superchip Tune,
Wheels & Sus: Style 168s (10.5s all round), H&R RDA Spacers, Bilstein B12, Eibach 40mm drop, Whiteline RSB
Exterior: Le Mans flares, 4.6is kit F&R
Interior: Dynavin N6, Blackvue DR650 dash cams

My Build Thread: http://www.xoutpost.com/bmw-sav-foru...run-sheet.html

Last edited by SMOKEY53; 01-06-2015 at 02:06 AM.
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  #2  
Old 01-06-2015, 02:06 AM
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SMOKEY - My 2005 E53 3.0D Run Sheet

Mods

Engine- Bluefin Superchip http://www.mybluefin.com.au/search?m...2&variant=1628
- EGR Delete

Wheels
- 10.5" Style 168's on front & rear
- 25mm H&R RDA spacers
- Rimskins Rimskins
- black center caps

Suspension
- Bilstein B6
- Eibach 40mm lowering springs
- Whiteline rear sway bar

Exterior
- 4.6is rear bar
- 4.6is front lower lip
- rear wiper glass delete plug
- LED side repeaters
- Titanium front grills
- badge delete
- Umnitza ICE VXX angel eye bulbs

Interior
- Dynavin N6 (reversing camera, DVB-T)
- LED Interior Bulb kit
- Blackvue DR650HD dash cams (front & rear)
- Vanshades.co.uk mesh sun blinds (rear doors, cargo area)



Maintenance


Engine
- 11/11/14 - Motul X-Clean 8100 + Mann Oil Filter
- 20/11/14 - Reseat injectors, injector seals, fuel filter, PCV, EGR clean, air filter


Wheels & Suspension
- 20/10/14 - Caster bushes (OEM)
- 14/12/14 - Repair crack to LHS rear wheel
- 4/1/15 - Lower control arms (Meyle)
- 21/3/15 - Front and rear suspension top mounts
- 21/3/15 - Front top mount bearings

Exterior
- 11/11/14 - Replace lower windscreen scuttle panel
- 23/12/14 - Replace rear bar with resprayed OEM 4.6is rear bar
- 26/12/14 - Replace LHS rear arch flare
- 04/01/15 - Replace upper windscreen rubber trim
- 30/01/15 - Full paint correction and OptiCoat+

Interior
- 11/11/14 - replaced all dash cluster bulbs
__________________
2005 3.0d Sport - Sapphire Black
Engine : Bluefin Superchip Tune,
Wheels & Sus: Style 168s (10.5s all round), H&R RDA Spacers, Bilstein B12, Eibach 40mm drop, Whiteline RSB
Exterior: Le Mans flares, 4.6is kit F&R
Interior: Dynavin N6, Blackvue DR650 dash cams

My Build Thread: http://www.xoutpost.com/bmw-sav-foru...run-sheet.html

Last edited by SMOKEY53; 03-26-2015 at 09:11 PM.
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  #3  
Old 01-06-2015, 09:19 PM
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Update - Mods - Engine

Bluefin Superchip Tune : Knowing the potential that a tune would unlock, after much research I decided to go with Bluefin. They are a UK based firm, and the process works by using their proprietary handset to plug into your OBDII, download your factory map, send to Bluefin via the net where they tweak the map to suit your local condition, send back a new file which you then upload to the car. This whole process took less than an hour, the results are very impressive. The car idles better, shifts more smoothly, and is overall a nicer car to be in - as if it's the way it should have been. Performance wise, you get a 20% increase in hp and a 30% increase in torque (approx). The increase in torque is most noticeable and the car will pull hard at any point in the rev range. from a standing start it will trigger the DSC, but in the interests of keeping my transmission happy, I try and refrain from launching the car. The tune puts the torque at 600NM which is bang on the maximum figure the 6HP ZF trans is rated to.

Shot of the handset and sneaky shot of the Dynavin also:


Prior to this mod I also did the EGR Delete. This is an easy mod for the diesel guys. Put simply, it only exists as an emission requirement. By simply blocking the vaccum line that actuates the valve, you no longer get all that low quality air recirculated through the intake and also avoid a lot of the carbon build up issues that plagues diesels. Even though I have just had my EGR removed and cleaned, I still blocked it off and there was a noticeable increase in idle quality.
__________________
2005 3.0d Sport - Sapphire Black
Engine : Bluefin Superchip Tune,
Wheels & Sus: Style 168s (10.5s all round), H&R RDA Spacers, Bilstein B12, Eibach 40mm drop, Whiteline RSB
Exterior: Le Mans flares, 4.6is kit F&R
Interior: Dynavin N6, Blackvue DR650 dash cams

My Build Thread: http://www.xoutpost.com/bmw-sav-foru...run-sheet.html
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Old 01-06-2015, 09:36 PM
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SMOKEY - My 2005 E53 3.0D Run Sheet

Update - Mods - Wheels

10.5 Inch Style 168s on all four corners: Because my front wheels were trashed, I had the option of getting them refurbished, or try to track down a set of better wheels. I found a set of 168's on eBay that looked to be in better shape and the cost was similar to having mine refurbished minus the inconvenience of having a car with no wheels for a few days. So I bought them, and then remembered Jay Belknap had done a square setup on his car, and now I have 10.5's all round. At first I had some issues with severe tram lining which was on account of the rear tyres that I had switched to the front end being quite camber worn. Put the more evenly worn set up front and that has gone away.
Pros: can rotate tyres front to back to better manage the camber wear in the rear. Looks awesome. Turns in more aggressively.
Cons: Heavier rotational mass, noticeable load on the power steering especially at carpark speeds.

Pic with 10.5s and 25mm spacers:



Installed Rimksins: this product is designed to save your wheels from light contact with gutters. They're intended to be sacrificial, so once they're beat up, you just remove them and replace with new items. They're not the best things to look at up close, but it beats having to look at gutter rashed wheels which is a pet hate of mine, and given my missus has a tendency to parallel park by 'feel' it gives me some peace of mind. Cost is about $50 which is a hell of a lot cheaper than refurbishing wheels! I have pressure washed them once and they are holding up fine.

Link to website here: Rimskins

Pic of installation:

__________________
2005 3.0d Sport - Sapphire Black
Engine : Bluefin Superchip Tune,
Wheels & Sus: Style 168s (10.5s all round), H&R RDA Spacers, Bilstein B12, Eibach 40mm drop, Whiteline RSB
Exterior: Le Mans flares, 4.6is kit F&R
Interior: Dynavin N6, Blackvue DR650 dash cams

My Build Thread: http://www.xoutpost.com/bmw-sav-foru...run-sheet.html

Last edited by SMOKEY53; 01-07-2015 at 08:56 AM.
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Old 01-07-2015, 05:30 PM
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I love build threads. Nice work. Keep the mods coming... as fast as the pocket book will allow anyway. The wife and I hit a stopping point after the holidays. More maintenance coming... but mods are probably done for a bit.
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2005 X5 4.4i Build 04/05 Maintenance/Build Log
Nav, Pano, Sport (Purchased 06/14 w/ 109,000 miles) (Sold 8/15 w/121,000 miles)


2006 X5 4.8is Build 11/05 Maintenance/Build Log
Nav, DSP, Pano, Running Boards, OEM Tow Hitch, Cold Weather Pckg (Purchased 08/15 w/ 90,500 miles)

2010 X5 35d Build 02/10
Nav, HiFi, 6 DVD, Sports Pckg, Cold Weather Pckg, HUD, CAS, Running Boards, Leather Dash, PDC, Pano (Purchased 03/17 w/ 136,120 miles)
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Old 01-08-2015, 07:23 PM
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Nice!! More pics of 315's all around. Looks great.
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Previously owned: '03 4.6iS Dinan Supercharged
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Old 01-09-2015, 03:20 AM
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SMOKEY - My 2005 E53 3.0D Run Sheet

Update - Mods - Exterior

4.6is Front Lip: As you're aware, there aren't a lot of options for facelift owners to add a lower front lip. You can either go the eBay fiberglass replica route, buy an entire front 4.8is front bar new, or be lucky enough to find a 4.8is front bumper at a wrecker. Or, with a bit of patience, you can fit a 4.6is front lip. I managed to score this one from a wrecker at the same time I bought the 4.6is rear bar. It cost me less than an unpainted eBay replica so I figured it was worth a shot.

The 4.6is front lip does require some trimming to fit. There are small tabs all along the rearward edge that slot into the grey plastic bumper section on the 4.6is. You can either cut these slots into your bar, or cut them off the lip. I chose to do the latter. A dremel with a cut off wheel makes light work of this. Then you need to enlarge all the U-shaped slots in the top edge of the lip where it meets the air dam on the standard bumper. This takes a fair bit of trial and error work, trim a bit, offer it up to the car, trim a bit more etc.

To fix the lower lip to the car I used Sikaflex Fix-AU, basically a flexible automotive adhesive that can withstand vibrations. Cure time is about 12 hours so I held it in place with quik-clamps. The quick clamps also help get a good fit around the corners as there will be a slight gap (the 4.6is lip has squarer corners than the facelift front bumper).

Very happy with the outcome.

Pics below:







__________________
2005 3.0d Sport - Sapphire Black
Engine : Bluefin Superchip Tune,
Wheels & Sus: Style 168s (10.5s all round), H&R RDA Spacers, Bilstein B12, Eibach 40mm drop, Whiteline RSB
Exterior: Le Mans flares, 4.6is kit F&R
Interior: Dynavin N6, Blackvue DR650 dash cams

My Build Thread: http://www.xoutpost.com/bmw-sav-foru...run-sheet.html

Last edited by SMOKEY53; 03-26-2015 at 09:18 PM.
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Old 01-09-2015, 03:28 PM
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Looks pretty good to me... I'd love to find something like that at one of our local yards... but we are lucky to even see an early e46 in there, let alone an e53. Never seen a BMW SAV at the yard I frequent for my e30/e36 parts...
__________________
2005 X5 4.4i Build 04/05 Maintenance/Build Log
Nav, Pano, Sport (Purchased 06/14 w/ 109,000 miles) (Sold 8/15 w/121,000 miles)


2006 X5 4.8is Build 11/05 Maintenance/Build Log
Nav, DSP, Pano, Running Boards, OEM Tow Hitch, Cold Weather Pckg (Purchased 08/15 w/ 90,500 miles)

2010 X5 35d Build 02/10
Nav, HiFi, 6 DVD, Sports Pckg, Cold Weather Pckg, HUD, CAS, Running Boards, Leather Dash, PDC, Pano (Purchased 03/17 w/ 136,120 miles)
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  #9  
Old 01-09-2015, 11:04 PM
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SMOKEY - My 2005 E53 3.0D Run Sheet

Update - Mods - Exterior

55w HID conversion : one of the downsides of a diesel is that 95% of them came with halogen lights as standard, with the adaptive Xenons being a very expensive option. Only the 'is' and 4.4L came standard with xenons in Australia.

I have remedied this by installing a kit from The Retrofit Source. I love these guys, their shipping kills me but their products are great - I've used them for a number of retrofit projects in the past and they make life so easy. . I got 35w Morimito 5000k H7 bulbs, 55w Morimoto XB ballasts and the Canbus error cancelling units.

This isn't strictly PNP. First thing you need to do is remove the metal bulb holders from the factory connector. They can be separated by lifting the tabs with a small screwdriver. You will also need to bend down two small tabs where the bulb meets the holders to ensure a flush fit - you can see them in the image below at 12 And 6 o'clock. - but this will be obvious when you try put it all together.


There is a bit of cutting involved to the rear covers, need to drill out a 25mm hole with a hole saw, trim the tabs back a bit with a dremel in order to seal the supplied grommet against the covers.




The end result is a dramatic increase in light intensity and a much cooler colour. I need to do some alignment to make sure the cutoff is acceptable as my car doesn't have an active headlight levelling system, but here is a shot comparing stock halogen to HID.





Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
__________________
2005 3.0d Sport - Sapphire Black
Engine : Bluefin Superchip Tune,
Wheels & Sus: Style 168s (10.5s all round), H&R RDA Spacers, Bilstein B12, Eibach 40mm drop, Whiteline RSB
Exterior: Le Mans flares, 4.6is kit F&R
Interior: Dynavin N6, Blackvue DR650 dash cams

My Build Thread: http://www.xoutpost.com/bmw-sav-foru...run-sheet.html

Last edited by SMOKEY53; 01-11-2015 at 09:45 PM.
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Old 01-10-2015, 06:24 AM
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Looking excellent,Smokey and all nicely done..Congrats
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