Introduction to my newish 530i...

Originally Posted by champaign777

Nice modes but i would like to do everything in opposite
First take care about your engine ( Filters, plugs, CCV, Vanos, Cooling system , Vaccum leaks , etc ) ,
second take care about your suspension and after all do all your modes above
For example wheels , tires and spacers should come only after suspension upgrade
GL

Thanks for the advice.....and I agree with you. I changed the belts and plugs shorlty after I bought the car with about 69,000 miles on it. I inspected the cooling system at the same time and felt as though the car's cooling system had been refreshed recently sans the radiator, which was original. Hoses were in excellent shape as was the coolant reservoir and thermostat housing.

I chose to leave them alone until my 100,000 refresh which i am in the process of now.

All other "upgrades" were done opportunistically:

Shocks/Struts needed replacing - Bilstein Sports all around with Eibach springs

Wheels/Tires I adapted from my E90, sold the LM's later and bought the M-Par Replicas on the cheap

Headunit was a birthday gift from my brother - Subwoofer left over from an old project.

Aesthetic upgrades were all good deals i found on ebay and such as time has gone by. Shadowline trim was $275...i really couldn't pass that up, even though it wasn't perfect.

M-Tech Bumpers came out of necessity as well. A big chunk of road debris took a nice size chunk of my front bumper with it and left behind a heck of an eyesore. I kept it together with duct tape and epoxy for a while, but eventually rationalized front and rear replacements (not bad for about $800 painted and installed).

Of course, the exhaust had to follow.

My plans for the next couple weekends:

Rear Crossdrilled rotors and Powerstop ceramic pads.

New motor and transimssion mounts.

New thermostat, waterpump, hoses and a psuedo-custom aluminum radiator setup. I will be using an E46 specification radiator with dual 10" electric fans along with a bimmerworld wiring kit I've had laying around for a year or two. Meant to install it into my old E46 325xi, but that didn't work out.

Vanos and CCV are on the short list of things to do soon as well, but I am interested in an improved CCV solution if G.A.S can come up with one.

Also plan on draining and refilling the transmission at some point soon...