BimmerFest BMW Forum banner

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!
 
See less See more
15
#3 ·
I guess I'll make this my offficial upgrade thread.. I just ordered up a Flex-a-lite fan with an aluminum shroud....hope I can make it work!
 
#4 ·
It looks great! I've also removed the child seat anchors completely in mine and I'm pondering how to cover the holes left behind. What have you decided? Are you planning on putting the anchor covers back in place?
 
#5 ·
I'm going to put the anchor covers back, but paint the beige parts black so they blend in better. I hope to need those child seat anchors some day. :)
 
#6 · (Edited)
Hello all, I got the Front and Rear M-Tech bumpers as well as a few other upgrades done recently. Will do a few other upgrades soon, but for now here is a list of upgrades and some new pics I took yesterday. The car has come a long way since when i bought it last year.

Bilstien Sport Shocks/Struts
Eibach Pro-Kit Springs
OBX Cat Back Exhaust - Painted Black
Grey Speedo and Tach Gauge Faces
M-Technik Front & Rear bumpers
Shadowline (Glossy) Window Trim
Aluminum Strut Tower Bar
18x8" - 18x9" M-Parallel Replicas with 235/40/18 - 265/35/18 Nankang NSII's
Umnitza Ice Lite AE's
Pioneer Double Din Head Unit
JL Audio 10" Subwoofer pushed by a 300w Orion Amp

Much more to come.....



































 
#14 ·
uhh looks like your car was running a lil hot... :yikes:
and nice so far but i think you should kept the trim white :p
 
#7 ·
:thumbup:

I noticed your trim is now black.
Did you paint it or use a plasti-dip type spray?

I'm considering doing the same with my car cause I love the black accent.
 
#12 ·
I actually bought the ///M waste line trim from ECSTuning.com. I too prefer having a visual divide between the top and bottom.
 
#13 ·
Will post a muffler video/sound clip tomorrow. I will say that I like it a lot...sporty rumble.
 
#17 ·
Rebadge...probably will just rebadge.... 518i I think. :yikes:...j/k

I love that Kuda mount...my wife doesn't like the protrusion into the passenger area, but it's the price of convenience!

Light upgrades I will do eventually...just not that high on my priority list. Next up are brakes...
 
#18 · (Edited)
Video clip of the OBX Exhaust... and my latest upgrade... $40 ebay intake with Cosmo Racing Heat Shield.

http://youtu.be/0NgfJYw4LfU
 
#20 · (Edited)
My latest "upgrade" to the E39.... an E90 shift knob:







New pic of the same:

 
#21 · (Edited)
Installed a Forge Motorsports Powersteering reservoir after cuting down the tops of the slowly leaking ps hoses that were connected to the old reservoir. ....

Drained the PS system and filled with Royal Purple ATF... the steering has greatly benefited.

Here are a few pics:







 
#22 ·
Also worked on the front brakes recently.

Cross Drilled rotors with Power Stop Ceramic pads and G2 Gold Caliper paint on the calipers:





 
#23 ·
#59 ·
#24 · (Edited)
Yesterday, I installed Gary's (germanautosolutions.com) DISA rebuild kit. I definitely feel the difference between the old, decrepit setup and the reinforced and properly functioning one. I highly recommend this kit...you don't really notice what you've been missing until you rebuil dthe DISA. Can't wait for the CCV to be done, too!
 
#26 · (Edited)
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...
 
#27 ·
ya know i like you...Ya doing a lot to ya car and i like that :thumbup:
but i do hope Your going get the rest of ya trim silver to....
 
#28 · (Edited)
If your talking about the engine bay, then no... I intend to paint the silver items wrinkle-finish black.
 
#30 ·
Haha...doht! That went right over my head... I plan on wrapping the wood trim in silver di-noc.
 
#31 ·
very nice mods :thumbup: do you plan on doing m5 mirrors? seems like the only thing missing outside :rofl:
 
#32 ·
idk... i kinda like white e39s stock mirrors
 
#34 ·
How difficult was the stereo upgrade? My MID pixels are slowly going away, so am thinking about a unit like yours. Will keep stock amp and speakers. The installation manual on the Pioneer site does not address specific vehicle install. Will the wiring be easily adapted to the stock setup?
 
#36 ·
Super easy install. I spent about 1 hour total installing the headunit and maybe 5 minutes for the steering wheel interface.

I used a Metra install kit, Scosche harness and eventually a Metra Axxess steering wheel interface.

Also...the head unit that i used was shallow enough that there was no need for cutting vents or anything.

I'll update this thread with part numbers tomorrow.
 
#37 ·
i was wondering wat is what that i aint like bout ur pics, and now i realize that its the camera!! better pics please !!
 
#39 ·
Yeah... I know.. I have a bad habit of just using my IPhone for pics. Next Round of pictures will be from my REAL camera.
 
#38 ·
#43 ·
I know i promised no more crappy pics, but I wanted to document the Shadow Black Grills ....



 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top