2008 BMW 535i (E60) Mods...

Hey guys, I've been seeing alot of people asking about bumpers, tunes, exhausts, etc for the 535i. I had a chance to go take a few photos today of the car (it's dirty but, oh well) to give you an idea how some of these things look. I've got a list below of the actual modifications for you.

M5Tech Front Bumper - Umnitza
Canbus xenon fog bulbs
M5 fog light housings
M5Tech Brake Ducts (in shipping)
CP-E FMIC
Cobb Tuner (stg 2+)
BMW WW Meth kit
Injen Intake
Evolution Raceworks Charge Pipe (2 meth bungs)
Turbosmart Diverter Valves
BMS Oil Catch Can
VMR 710 19" rims in gunmetal - 245 front, 275 rear (8.5 & 9.5 staggered)
AR Design downpipes (with race cats)
Magnaflow Exhaust
secondary cat delete
primary muffler delete
Lux h8 Angel Eye bulbs
clear LED side markers
Space Gray Metallic overlays

Originally Posted by xclone

Hey guys, I've been seeing alot of people asking about bumpers, tunes, exhausts, etc for the 535i. I had a chance to go take a few photos today of the car (it's dirty but, oh well) to give you an idea how some of these things look. I've got a list below of the actual modifications for you.

M5Tech Front Bumper - Umnitza
Canbus xenon fog bulbs
M5 fog light housings
M5Tech Brake Ducts (in shipping)
CP-E FMIC
Cobb Tuner (stg 2+)
BMW WW Meth kit
Injen Intake
Evolution Raceworks Charge Pipe (2 meth bungs)
Turbosmart Diverter Valves
BMS Oil Catch Can
VMR 710 19" rims in gunmetal - 245 front, 275 rear (8.5 & 9.5 staggered)
AR Design downpipes (with race cats)
Magnaflow Exhaust
secondary cat delete
primary muffler delete
Lux h8 Angel Eye bulbs
clear LED side markers
Space Gray Metallic overlays

Beautiful! what color is that E60?

Originally Posted by SolidWolf34

Beautiful! what color is that E60?

Thanks! It's space gray metallic.

You've custom built one heck of a performance machine, and it looks great! What is your 0-60 and 1/4 mile? You're probably in M5 territory.....

Very nice! If I get around to it I may play with pipes
and a JB4. I don't think I could stay married if I did
all the rest. Love that front end, too.

Originally Posted by polski7

You've custom built one heck of a performance machine, and it looks great! What is your 0-60, I'm sure it's close to M5s.

Thanks Polski! It's been a heck of a lot of fun!

4.289 0-60 with no rollout. Should be at 4 flat with the standard 1' rollout allowance. Ran a 12.7 at the 1/4 mile track before meth and on OEM tires, rims and stock exhaust. Hoping to be close to 12.1 or 12 flat when I go back in March.

An E60 M5 lists 0-60 in 4.2 and 1/4 mile in 12.3, so you are within spitting distance I'd say.
Your tuned 535 has much more torque due to the high pressure turbos. It's an advantage on launch and first 1/8th mile, then the raw hp of the M5 kicks in. Another difference is the transmission and power band. The M5 redlines at 8,200 rpms whereas the 535's power peaks at 5,500. That means the M stays on peak power longer in the rev band while the 535 has to shift at 6,000 and spooling back up to peak.
Anyway, it is awesome that the performance gap can be so drastically narrowed for a few thousand in mods. Base MSRP for the two was around $50k for 535 and $90k for the M, add another $10k in options for each. But the real beauty is that the 535 costs a fraction to operate, when factoring for warranty, insurance, maintenance, etc. The 535 is also 40% more efficient on gas.

Great looking ride, especially with rims and M front. Maybe add tint, 35%??

Hey Peder! Ya, it's got tint on it - the photos were taken at noon so you can see thru the tint much easier. It's not as dark as i could go but it's close enough for now at least. I would love to run an M5 on the strip. I know mine is faster 0-60 then one (having driven one on a track) but you are exactly right, he will hunt me down the faster we go.

Wow, those are amazing numbers, didn't think the N54 had that much hidden power.

I finally got my Cobb Accessport but have to wait another week to get a new ROM since the dealer programed the latest software on my 535 during my last service. I will play it safe with the drive map while I'm still in Germany since I get my thrills from driving over 100mph on the autobahn, but once back in the US I will run a sport or aggressive map to keep pace with the red light to red light racers......

Have you done any preventive maintenance prior to the mods? I just changed out all the fluids and filters, spark plugs, and ignition coils to get her ready for the Cobb tune.

I changed the spark plugs prior to tuning it but, since then, I havent had to. I am going to get the intake manifold walnut blasted because with the N54 engine being DI, it gets fouled (it never gets touched by gasoline so additives wont work). The Oil Catch can is preventive as well to hopefully help filter out some of the gunk going back into the intake. I change my oil every 4000 miles running meth (the meth break down oil).

Originally Posted by xclone

Hey Peder! Ya, it's got tint on it - the photos were taken at noon so you can see thru the tint much easier. It's not as dark as i could go but it's close enough for now at least. I would love to run an M5 on the strip. I know mine is faster 0-60 then one (having driven one on a track) but you are exactly right, he will hunt me down the faster we go.

Your 535 will launch much faster as M5s have trouble hooking from a standstill. Wouldn't surprise me if you beat him to 60mph by a second.
Even with 2d gear launches they have to feather the throttle, so unless the driver is a pro he will post terrible 60 ft times.

I have run against an M5 many times myself and know how it goes.
They are built for autobahn sprinting and can cruise at +180 mph without breaking a sweat.

Originally Posted by xclone

I changed the spark plugs prior to tuning it but, since then, I havent had to. I am going to get the intake manifold walnut blasted because with the N54 engine being DI, it gets fouled (it never gets touched by gasoline so additives wont work). The Oil Catch can is preventive as well to hopefully help filter out some of the gunk going back into the intake. I change my oil every 4000 miles running meth (the meth break down oil).

Maybe you should have them take a before and after when you get it walnut blasted. I do not run meth but some have claimed cleaner intake valves with it. It would be great if you can post the before/after.

BTW... I envy your mods.

Originally Posted by Nube1kenobi

Maybe you should have them take a before and after when you get it walnut blasted. I do not run meth but some have claimed cleaner intake valves with it. It would be great if you can post the before/after.

BTW... I envy your mods.

They definitely are going to do that as I will be the first on their media blasting machine. Given how meth works I doubt very seriously that there is any validity to a cleaner intake. It will clean other parts of the engine though...

Great work man!

I am freaking jealoug

I had a few people ask for updated engine photos - here are a few with the methanol, hobbs switch and OCC.

Originally Posted by xclone

I had a few people ask for updated engine photos - here are a few with the methanol, hobbs switch and OCC.

How did you integrate the Meth with the Cobb tuner?
I talked to Cobb last week and they said that they are still working on it and that the only way to safely integrate a Meth setup with their tune, was to run a JB4 piggy back and switch it to some bypass mood?
I didn't really understand how that would work.
I'm thinking about getting a BMS WW meth kit for my 535 but I need it to be safe.

That's a great looking car, thanks for sharing!

Originally Posted by hp jnkey

How did you integrate the Meth with the Cobb tuner?
I talked to Cobb last week and they said that they are still working on it and that the only way to safely integrate a Meth setup with their tune, was to run a JB4 piggy back and switch it to some bypass mood?
I didn't really understand how that would work.
I'm thinking about getting a BMS WW meth kit for my 535 but I need it to be safe.

The Hobbs switch activates at a boost pressure that you set by the dial. For right now, it's a "nice" measure for the car as it dramatically lowers the IAT's and raises the octane. I'm not getting any additional boost, yet, from it (the only current way to do that is run the JB4 on top of the Cobb). Cobb is releasing a "meth friendly" race map that should be run with Race gas on top of meth to handle the more advanced timing and boost.

The JB4/Cobb combo is nice but it's alot of work that I wasn't prepared to spend the time logging to make sure it's functioning. What it does, essentially, is use the JB4 in Map 0 mode (bypass) as a meth controller and you can set it so when you need it, the JB4 will add additional boost over and above the cobb.

Originally Posted by xclone

The Hobbs switch activates at a boost pressure that you set by the dial. For right now, it's a "nice" measure for the car as it dramatically lowers the IAT's and raises the octane. I'm not getting any additional boost, yet, from it (the only current way to do that is run the JB4 on top of the Cobb). Cobb is releasing a "meth friendly" race map that should be run with Race gas on top of meth to handle the more advanced timing and boost.

The JB4/Cobb combo is nice but it's alot of work that I wasn't prepared to spend the time logging to make sure it's functioning. What it does, essentially, is use the JB4 in Map 0 mode (bypass) as a meth controller and you can set it so when you need it, the JB4 will add additional boost over and above the cobb.

I also have a JB4 that I bought second hand. It's the pnp with usb cable and is maybe 4 months old.
Bought it to compare it to the Cobb but like you, I don't feel like messing around with tearing the computer apart. Then I also found a WW meth kit that was in a 535 but know I'm not sure if I want to screw around with the meth. Power from Cobb stage 1 91 octane is very similar to the Jb4, this according to Terry @ BMS, but JB4 can control the meth.
I love the Cobb cause it's so simple and it also is giving me better gas mileage compared to stock. Went to Phoenix last month and going there with the stock tune I got 25 mpg but coming back I loaded the Cobb tune and immediately I noticed and increase in gas mileage. Got 28 mpg coming back to San Diego driving the same speed as going there.
Not sure if the JB4 would do the same thing and I would hate to loose that increase in mileage, especially with 91 costing 4.55/gal.
A friend who has a JB4 in his 335, said he would help me install mine if I want to try it out.
I think it's worth trying it out, if I already have one.
Still on the fence with the meth but it's really tempting.
How does the car feel when the meth is turned on? Is it like a shot of nos?

Originally Posted by hp jnkey

How does the car feel when the meth is turned on? Is it like a shot of nos?

Nah, nothing even close to that. With the JB4, the meth allows advanced timing and higher boost levels so it's simply able to up the HP/TQ. I was on teh fence with Meth as well for quite some time but once you look into it, you realize its not a big deal and it's easy to maintain (especially with a WW kit).

Just put a note on your WW filler cap saying "DO NOT FILL" so no one throws actual WW fluid in there.

Nice mods. Seriously well done. It gives me something to use as a reference for the future. How much did everything cost? Having a stock 535i.....what would you think would be the first investment in terms of mods? Tune the engine or the wheels/body?

Originally Posted by Echo1189

Nice mods. Seriously well done. It gives me something to use as a reference for the future. How much did everything cost? Having a stock 535i.....what would you think would be the first investment in terms of mods? Tune the engine or the wheels/body?

Honestly I have lost track of the cost. It's a personal investment for me so my records have been, well, a little lax.

Man, first investment for mods.. that really is a personal preference. I went with all the engine mods first. That way, any "exterior" changes could be adapted for the extra power (like putting on staggered wheels and 275 rears).

For the money - get your tune in first (cobb, jb4, whatever). It's between $500 and $800 and will really wake the engine up and give you about 50-60hp. The downside of that though is you will likely get the mod bug. It can get to be a very expensive bug. Personally, I wanted to have a ridiculously fast 4 door sedan that didnt look like a fast car before i made it look fast.

Originally Posted by xclone

Honestly I have lost track of the cost. It's a personal investment for me so my records have been, well, a little lax.

Man, first investment for mods.. that really is a personal preference. I went with all the engine mods first. That way, any "exterior" changes could be adapted for the extra power (like putting on staggered wheels and 275 rears).

For the money - get your tune in first (cobb, jb4, whatever). It's between $500 and $800 and will really wake the engine up and give you about 50-60hp. The downside of that though is you will likely get the mod bug. It can get to be a very expensive bug. Personally, I wanted to have a ridiculously fast 4 door sedan that didnt look like a fast car before i made it look fast.

Thanks. I was leaning towards getting the Cobb tune first and then see what happens from there. I can see that once you start with the mods.....it really becomes hard to stop.

Originally Posted by xclone

wow! this is a monster. very sick car and great pictures. love it!