19birel's Silber-Grau BMW E60 Progression Thread

[19birel]

So yesterday I decided to throw a front plate on my car, always wanted to try the europlate look but was never going to spend $30 on a novelty fake plate, so instead I did something a little unique and installed a plate I picked up in Uganda.



My car already had holes drilled for a euro plate since it was euro delivery, so I decided to make a mounting bracket that utilized those.


Pretty basic, I painted it over too but the color match wasn't good, I think my base coat was too dark.

Here is a pic of it installed, don't love it, nor do I **** it. I'll probably have a go at improving the bracket, as the edges could be smoother, but for now it'll do.

[Mr Stance is love]

That number plate looks really cool on the car.

[19birel]

That number plate looks really cool on the car.

Thanks!

[19birel]

When out and shot a few pics of Effs last night, finally got the hang of using my new light box too







Side note, I need to replace my front rotors so I just ordered some Bosch blanks, and some Akebono ceramic pads. Gonna paint the Calipers too while I'm in there. The parts should be arriving early this coming week.

[Mehowski]

this photo reminds me of the first mission on call of duty black ops 1... fucking love that game.

car looks wicked dude! Funny how those wheels are rare for you guys in america, you can pick em up here in england for a good price!

get some thin tires, coilovers and space the wheels out and you'll be set

[bjk]

This is nice as man! And those wheels are sick, suit the car perfectly.

[19birel]

this photo reminds me of the first mission on call of duty black ops 1... fucking love that game.

car looks wicked dude! Funny how those wheels are rare for you guys in america, you can pick em up here in england for a good price!

get some thin tires, coilovers and space the wheels out and you'll be set

Thanks! Yeah legit AC Schnitzer wheels are a rarity over here, last set of these I saw for sale went for around $1,500 which isn't crazy money, but certainly way more than I paid. I can't wait to get them on! Unfortunately I think the only coilovers available for this car are KW V3s with are $2,500 haha (I have X-Drive so my suspension options are limited) I think I'll probably just save up for a nice set of Bilstein dampers and H&R lowering springs

This is nice as man! And those wheels are sick, suit the car perfectly.

Thanks man! I really do like the way they flow with the lines of the car


So this past weekend I put on the new brakes, ended up not painting the calipers as it was a little too cold and I didn't really have the time. I'll probably paint them at some point though.

Untitled by Ayrton @ Drive19, on Flickr

Also test mounted one of the wheels, with some spacers I think they'll look perfect, maybe some slightly meatier tyres too. I'd like it to sit similarly to how my Audi did as I miss the wide look of that car.

Untitled by Ayrton @ Drive19, on Flickr

BTW disregard the wheel gap, while the car is still riding on stock suspension, the actual gap is a bit less, it was just sitting funny because it was still partially jacked up lol

[19birel]

So I've made some minor progress on one of the wheels, started sanding down the lips, the lighter imperfections seem to be coming out.



Lots of heavier ones though that are likely going to need the help of a dremel and some bondo

Any advice on refinishing wheels is greatly appreciated, this is my first time so I'm prone to newbie mistakes hahaha

Side note/shameless plug, I became a brand ambassador for The Cassette Company, they make some sweet, high quality sunglasses and for every pair sold they donate a pair of reading glasses to someone in need. If you guys want a pair use my code DRIVE19_20OFF for a 20% discount! Link Here

[19birel]

So with finals week looming over me I haven't been doing too much to the car, but the other day I did fit my winter wheel & tyre setup. They're another set of Style 138s but they are from a rwd car so have 23mm wider offset than the ones I have been running, and I must say I'm enjoying the fitment. Tyres are a pretty tired set of Pirelli Snowsports, not ideal, but the wheels and tyres came free with the car so I won't complain. They're still way better in the cold than my ContiTouringContact all-seasons.







My ACS Type 3s are 30mm offset so will sit slightly narrower than this, still unsure if I'll toss spacers on with them or not.

I've also come up with a game plan for what I want to do to the car during 2018.

Exterior
- Clear front indicator bulbs
- Wheels (obviously) X
- Front lip
- M-Tech side skirts w/skirt extensions
- ACS Style trunk spoiler
- Gloss Black shadow-line trim (mine is matte black and looks cheap imo)
- Gloss Black Kidney Grills
- LCI style tail lights (Maybe if I have the $$)
- Black painted brake calipers
- Window tint (on the fence about it)
- OEM BMW roof bars
-Weisslicht LED Angel Eye bulbs
- Maybe a europlate to replace my Ugandan plate that fell off

Interior
- Restore Steering Wheel Leather X
- M Performance pedal set
- M5 titanium iDrive knob

Performance
- Burger Motorsports Power Box (Tired of the weird throttle response, and a 10hp bump would be cool too)
- Strut Brace
- M-Performance SSK
- Zeckhausen CDV

Maitenance
- A/C compressor
- Engine mounts
- Spark Plugs
- Accessory belt & pulley
- Front strut mounts
- PCV heater recall
- Oil change X

Let me know what you guys think, and feel free to input any suggestions. If you're wondering why I left out suspension, it's because with almost 174k miles my stock setup's days are probably numbered (even though the car still rides exceptionally well) so my plan is to wait until they give up the ghost and then hopefully have the money saved to go all out with the upgrades when the time comes, still not sure exactly what I'd buy tho.

[19birel]

Happy New Year everyone! figured I'd post up a few pics of the 5er out in the winter weather.







Knocked the oil change off the to-do list, restored my steering wheel (lost the SD card with the before and after pics :P )and finally got the dry rotted tyres off the ACSs so I can finally get those ready for paint. Side note, I've really been wanting M-Sport bumpers, thoughts? Would be expensive, but I think I might have to find a way to swing it as I've always loved the look- Being on a college budget sucks lol

[Darkyoshi154]

I think M-Sport Bumpers would be rad, but make sure it's a plug and play situation. Depending on how much they are, and how much time you have left in school, it can always wait...

I used my summers to fuel car part 'needs'...

Love the E60, though! Those ACS wheels are gonna look great!

[C2_mad]

m sport is always good...

[19birel]

I think M-Sport Bumpers would be rad, but make sure it's a plug and play situation. Depending on how much they are, and how much time you have left in school, it can always wait...

I used my summers to fuel car part 'needs'...

Love the E60, though! Those ACS wheels are gonna look great!

I priced it out and it looks like it'll be about $1k for the whole body kit if I try painting it myself and that would be using ebay replica parts which I'm not entirely keen on. My other option would be to buy a used OEM front bumper and re-spray it, then get a set of skirts which would be around $650ish all in. I'll just wait and see what sort of shape my wallet is in when the time comes, worst case, I just stick to my original (and much cheaper) idea of a lip and skirts and then save M-Sport for when I have the money to do it properly. Last thing I want is to empty my wallet in order to install an ill fitting bumper with a shoddy color match haha.

And thanks! I can't wait to get them on just have to finish repairing the curb rash and they should be ready for paint!

m sport is always good...

Agreed!


In other news I went to a local show called World of Wheels this past weekend and shot some video/took pics. Video coverage of the show will be up on my YouTube channel this Wednesday so subscribe Here so you don't miss! Here's a few stills


easily my favorite from the show

[19birel]

Did some car stuff this past week, on of my license plate bulbs went out so I threw in a set of LEDs.


They're super bright, they actually make it easier to see when backing up at night haha




Then much to my dismay, one of my rear tyres got a nice puncture. Since it's in the sidewall it can't be fixed, and since they are around 50% tread depth or so, I can't just replace the two rears, I'd have to replace all 4 to avoid issues with X-Drive. My AC Schnitzers still need some work, one has a small hairline crack that needs welded, so I can't just buy rubber for those. Not wanting to spend the money on tyres for my stock wheels I hit the classifieds and found a set of 19" Niche Targas wrapped in Toyo Proxes for a reasonable price.



They had some curb rash, but would clean up nicely, was just going to run them temporarily until the ACs were done and maybe dip them silver as I'm not a huge fan of the black.


Unfortunately when I went around to check the tyre pressures in them, one had no air, and when I tried filling it up, I could hear air rushing out. Of course it's on the sidewall too so like my all-seasons, I can't have it repaired. I bought them from a parts breaker so I called them up and the guy I dealt with said he'd talk to his boss about giving me a refund on monday since he had assured me they were fine. Hopefully that works out. If not I'll clean them up some more and sell them on, and hopefully that will give me the time needed to finish up the other wheels. Until then I'll be rolling on my winter wheels with bald tyres that make the car vibrate like mad

[19birel]

Small update- was able to get a refund on the Niche Targas since they weren't quite as advertised with the flat tyre. Decided to bust out the Type IIIs and throw fresh rubber on them. I had most of the smaller imperfections sanded out of the wheels but they still have quite a bit of sanding to go, here is the first one I have pretty much finished up.



One wheel has a hairline crack, so I'm going to try and get that one sanded this weekend as I got it booked in at my buddy's shop to get repaired next week. I have next week off for spring break so my goal is to have all the wheels at least in primer by the weekend, and then, weather permitting I'll spray them next weekend. Any tips on getting a good result with wheel refinishing & curb rash repair are appreciated!

Random interior pic I took the other day


Also, on another note, my front suspension has started making a few noises, so it looks like I'll be doing a suspension refresh this summer once I have some more money