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Introduction to my newish 530i...

125K views 544 replies 62 participants last post by  Albo 
#1 · (Edited)
I've been beating around the bush here for a few months and thought I'd do a formal "Intro Thread"

Here's the info and some pics from when I bought her:

http://www.bimmerboard.com/forums/posts/833213











Here she is today after all the upgrades in my signature.. You'll note the two-tone I've got going on in the rear deck. I just repainted it with some Dupli-Color Fabric & Vinyl Paint. Came out great. Also just added a JL Audio 10w6 subwoofer in a sealed box being pushed by a 300W Orion Amp. Sound is much rounder now...just the way I like it..:)





















Just crossed over 76,000 miles so a full tune-up is in process. Many more upgrades to come as well... M5 Bumpers and Exhaust are next....after I replace the Torque Converter. Also....does anyone know anyone that can straighten and refinish my LM Replicas? They've taken a beating unfortunately...:cry:

This is my 7th BMW, but I plan on keeping this one for a looooong time!
 
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#217 ·
Not the amazing pictures that I promised, but at least the car is clean. I do need to find some new locations!!



















 
#219 ·
Thanks for the compliment, but I think I have a mental problem....I keep taking pictures of my car:









 
#225 ·
Thanks for the compliment, but I think I have a mental problem....I keep taking pictures of my car:
Let me know when you find the cure for this. I have the same syndrome.
Car looks good BTW.
 
#222 ·
Albo - Looks great/clean! I am assuming currently those rears are 245/40R18 like you've mentioned before & a square setup?

Also what made you switch to MF? The OBX one couldn't get realigned? :dunno:
Yup...245/40/18 all around. The obx's tips seemed to be too far off ....but to be honest I didn't explore getting them straightened. I was exploring exhaust options for another car and came across this great deal on the 14816.

On the plus side....and I expected this... The manga flow has a more aggressive exhaust note. Me likey! Not the cheapest thing to do, but I'm happy.
 
#224 ·
That be the one...
 
#226 ·
I've had some good luck on EBay recently....managed to pick up this storage center console for $100. Luckily i had a new handle just waiting around for this purpose. I'll be installing it tomorrow...









Also started rewrapping my interior trim with 3M 1080 Brushed Titanium Wrap....looks good so far.







It's coming along nicely....
 
#228 · (Edited)
Got lucky on Bimmerforums. A Southern California (SpeedSource) company request for local E39 owners to volunteer for test fitment of some new DEPO Smoked Headlights. Lucky me...I happen to see the thread shortly after they posted it and was the first to reply. As compensation for my time and travel I got to keep the new headlights. Took my car over to them this morning and here are the results:

Old:





New:















I wasn't sure about smoked corners at first, but it's grown on me in the couple of hours that I've had them now. Seems to flow well with the black grills.
 
#229 ·
Installed this Trunk Storage Compartment today...it'll be the perfect spot to store my little electric tire inflator:

 
#232 · (Edited)
Spent the last few days with my cousin looking at E39's for his daughter. Came across this nice clean 1998 528i after a few 525's and 530's let us down (as did their owners).

He bought this car with 73,000 miles on it for $6,700. Clean body and interior. Dealer replace a belt tensioner, front and rear cupholders, front rotors and recharged the AC free of charge. Picked it up today and drove the 40 miles home. This car, totally unmolested, reminded me about the inherent goodness that is instilled deep within each one of these cars. In a sense, I was jealous on the ride home. My car will EAT this thing on any twisty road and run and hide from it in a straight line, but I had forgotten the serenity of a bone-stock E39. Smooth, responsive, peaceful bliss on the road.

I love these cars..... Here it is:











I HAD to drive my car along one of the twistiest roads in the area on my way home to remind myself why I made the compromises I did to the inherent goodness of my car. I am a performance junky, but at heart...I just love BMW's!

Now, we'll see if my cousin will actually let HIS DAUGHTER drive the car :)
 
#235 ·
Not an e39 for me, but i will be looking shortly for an unmolested E36 to use as a Daily Driver.
 
#236 ·
Had these Blue/White Carbon Fiber emblems sitting around for a while so I finally decided to install them.

Trunk:





Steering Wheel:









Hood:



 
#237 ·
Finished installing my rewrapped interior trim. Much happier with the finished product. I used 3M Brushed Titanium 1080 vinyl...excellent stuff:











Excuse the headunit....I've got more adjustments to make.
 
#238 ·
Good job Albo. Send me your old emblems if you dont want them. I have the blk CF from the PO, that I don't like.
 
#239 ·
Sorry bud, but all I have is the trunk emblem. The hood one was toast (clearcoat peeling and oth posts broke during removal). The steering wheel emblem is an aplique that goes over the OEM emblem.

If you want the trunk emblem, PM me your addy and I'll drop in the mail tomorrow. That way you only have to buy the hood.
 
#242 ·
Thanks for the compliments, but I assure you the car looks better in pictures than in real life. There are a few fit and finish items that need addressing.

I'm not really happy with the Appradio as-is. I would like to see if I can hack it to gain better functionality.
 
#241 ·
@Albo what sort of cup holder set up do you have? I've been searching for a proven set up that works well and holds up over time.
 
#243 ·
I've tried everything. I've settled on this cupholder I bought off of eBay along with a set of Ultimate Cupholders for bigger items (Smart Water, etc)











 
#247 ·
I like this one because it privde more lateral support then some of the other cheap options out there. I used to have the one with the open sides and my drink would tip over fairly easily. This one holds things in place pretty well.
 
#248 · (Edited)
Started installing the AMG Paddle Shifters in my car yesterday. Ntt quite done yet, but here's a step by step of how I did it:

Mercedes AMG Paddles:







Start by removing the sheathing on the two wires attached to the paddles:







Mark an outline of the shape of the paddles base on the back of the steering wheel:





I decided to use a rotary tool instead of a bladed instrument to cut out the holes. Not a great idea, but then again..I'm not as praticed with using a Dremel-type tool. Those with more experience may do better.



Start cutting to expose the metal backing plate that runs behind the 3 o'clock and 9 o'clock positions:







Drill two holes in each metal plate. One for the mounting hole on the paddles and one to run the wires from the paddles into the steering wheel.

Looks like a hackjob, but at least it won't be visible with the wheel mounted back on the car.
 
#249 · (Edited)
I started out by removing the steering wheel to gain access to the clock spring. Here you can see the old CS with the blank connector in the upper left had side of the connector cluster. We will be replacing this with the CS from a heated steering wheel so we have two pins in that location so we can pass the actuation signal for the paddles.





Start out by removing the four (4) Torx bolts on each corner and unplugging the four (4) connectors on the back of the CS.



Remove the control stalks from the original CS and transplant them onto the new one. I didn't document this, but it should be fairly intuitive.
 
#250 ·
I then spent some time mounting up the paddles to the steering wheel. this require a little trial and error until you get them to sit and function just right. I had to trim the out border of the cutouts I mad a couple time with an exacto knife to get fitment 100%.







 
#251 ·
To be continued... same Bat-Time, same Bat-Channel!!
 
#253 ·
No longer have those M-Par Reps....have BBS CK's now.
 
#256 · (Edited)
Ok.. wrapped up the paddle shfit install:

Here is a computer motherboard header cable that I trimmed down with my rotary tool to fit on the two pin connector in the CS. I connected the "positive wires" from the paddles to the wires on here to pass the signal to the back end of the CS, where another two pin connector is attached:





I then tapped into the appropriate ground wire on the back of the airbag to provide ground to the ground (black) wires on the paddles.



On the back end of the CS, I attached a length of wire to each of the two leads from the 2-pin connector and ran it through the steering column and down through the console:



I ran it through this mounting whole for the carpeted console sidecover to easily gain access to the shifter assembly area:





Then tapped in to the two middle wires on the forward facing connector to the right of the shifter assembly. This is the group of wires that passes the steptronic signals.





I partially reassembled for testing.. here are a couple videoes of what I found:

http://youtu.be/VbslwOFdSA8

http://youtu.be/WkP-INvhQ9g

I then manipulated the taps to hide underneath the console fascia... it looks well hidden now:







Finished reassembly... and took a fun test drive around my neighborhood!! I love the paddle shifters!

I had done a similar retrofit in my E46, but that included an OEM E46 M3 SMG wheel, so no "hacking" necessary like this time.
 
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