My Slow F15 Build Thread! ***Update pics page 1****

[twelve535i]

EDIT: 5/8/16
After 11 months, I've purchased and slapped on a set of 22" Summer Wheels

Before taking delivery of my X5 almost a year ago, I promised myself (and my wife) I would leave my car stock. No rims, no lip, no mods.

I wanted a family ride that didn't draw too much attention or money from my wallet.......but it looks like I've been bitten by the mod bug again!

As I was lying to myself, I was researching wheels. My favorite set of wheels on the forum was Taran.J VMR V702 wheels but the largest size available was 20". They looked great but I wanted 22's. I looked for similar styles and I stumbled upon the DUB s121 wheels.
My initial plan was to buy the wheels and plasti-dip them different colors to figure out what color suited the wheels best and then powdercoat them. After putting the wheels on, I was shocked how much I like the original color (black with double dark tint). I think I may keep them this color for a while

So Far:
M Performance Power Kit
M Performance Exhaust
Continental DWS tires for 469M (Winter Set up)
****Newest Mod***** DUB S121 Wheels
Specs: 22x10.5 all around wrapped in Pirelli Pzero 295/30/22 tires











Hi All,
I decided a few months ago I wanted a X5 and after a lot of research, I finally decided to have one built to my liking. This forum in particular has been extremely helpful with many other members posting their builds and suggestions.

This is my second BMW. My first was a 2012 535i. I loved that car. It was fast (fast enough for me) and fairly agile for a 4300lb sedan. I modded it to my liking and made the car my own. The cargo room was getting a little tight as I had a spare tire in the trunk. It was difficult stashing away the stroller, bags and other baby related items. It was manageable but I felt having an SUV would be more useful.
I'll surely miss it, but this F15 is helping me feel better about the trade in.

This is the first car I've ever had custom built. All my past cars have come off the dealer lots, which was fine until now. I tried my best not to tick off all the options boxes, but ended up doing so anyway. It was hard for me to justify a 35i that cost about the same as a base 50i with an Exec Package. In the end, no matter how much I played with the configurator, there was still a 10k difference between both being built with same options. Price difference, along with the fact that I never used the full potential of the N55 in my 535i, I decided to get a a X5 35i with all the options I wanted.

2015 X5 35i
Mineral White Metallic
Terra Dekota Leather
Fineline Oak Wood Trim
M Sport Package
20" 469M wheels
M Adaptive Suspension
Premium Package
Cold Weather Package
Lighting Package
Drivers Assistance Package
Rear Manual Sunshades
Harmon Kardon
Surround view
Compact Spare
Comfort Rear Seats
Parking Assistant


My 2012 535i
Throughout it's different phases...





New X5 35i
No mods.....yet!

[Doanster]

Welcome to the F15 fray! Tastefully modified 535i so I'm sure you'll carry that over to the X5.
Now why do I get this feeling that the 469Ms aren't going to last too long on the car???

[Kzang]

Congrats on your new X5! Did you go to the dealer on route 17? I went to Park Ave at this location but they would not give me the same deal I got from Tenafly. How was your dealer experience?

Let us know your thoughts on handling and drive coming from your 535i Msport to X5 Msport with Adaptive M suspension engaged to sport and sport+

[Alan l.]

Wow that was fast!

Solid build. I think you will be very surprised just how well the F15 with the adaptive M handles compared to the F10. More so once you get rid of the RFT. I was driving my car yest. and I thought to myself wow this thing really handles well for a suv. I got the 22"s for aesthetic reasons but they also made the car handle/ride so much better.

What mods do you plan on doing to it? Let me know if you need any help since you are local.

Alan

[r33_RGSport]

@twelve535i , congrats!!!
Time to mod.

[twelve535i]

Originally Posted by Doanster

Welcome to the F15 fray! Tastefully modified 535i so I'm sure you'll carry that over to the X5.
Now why do I get this feeling that the 469Ms aren't going to last too long on the car???

Thanks. When I first started my search, I told myself I wasn't going to buy wheels. My 5 series drew a lot of attention, which was nice at first but then it became a bit too much. My wife hated the attention also. Every time someone told me the car was nice, she told me there going to steal my car lol.
Now that I look at the pictures I posted, 20 inch wheels look big on a F10,
They look small on the F15 so we shall see ha ha

Originally Posted by Kzang

Congrats on your new X5! Did you go to the dealer on route 17? I went to Park Ave at this location but they would not give me the same deal I got from Tenafly. How was your dealer experience?

Let us know your thoughts on handling and drive coming from your 535i Msport to X5 Msport with Adaptive M suspension engaged to sport and sport+

I went to Park Ave BMW and John Park was my client advisor. Honestly, it was a very good experience. From reading the comments on the "best price received" Thread, he beat all the NYC/NJ deals I've seen. A couple of other dealer offered similar deals also. I was originally going to shop around and then go to Rallye like Alan recommended, but I got really tired of visiting differnt dealers. I got a deal I thought was good and just took it.
John is a straight shooter. There wasn't really too much haggling involved.

M Adaptive suspension is amazing! The cars feels smaller than it actually is and seems to absorb all the crappy NY/NJ roads well. No big floaty SUV feel.

Originally Posted by Alan l.

Wow that was fast!

Solid build. I think you will be very surprised just how well the F15 with the adaptive M handles compared to the F10. More so once you get rid of the RFT. I was driving my car yest. and I thought to myself wow this thing really handles well for a suv. I got the 22"s for aesthetic reasons but they also made the car handle/ride so much better.

What mods do you plan on doing to it? Let me know if you need any help since you are local.

Alan

The M adaptive suspension held up my order for a week. I can't really complain though, because the car arrived to the dealership in 2 weeks and 1 day. Their build slot must of only been a few days after I put in the order.
Your car makes it hard not to slap differnt parts onto my own car, but I told my wife I'm not going to mod this car too much.
Purchased black grilles so that's first. I also found a decent deal on A MPPK and MPE so I'll go for that also.
I really want the front lip and rear diffuser but I know that will draw lots of unwanted attention. Every time I was stopped at a red light, people walking across the crosswalk would look at my F10 carbon fiber Lip.
I think I want 22" wheels. I like TaranJ's VMR wheels but I wish they came bigger than 20" and were low pressure cast VS gravity cast.

[Alan l.]

Originally Posted by twelve535i

I told my wife I'm not going to mod this car too much.

I told my wife the same thing before I got the X5....

Def. go with 22"s if you are getting wheels. 21's actually cost more due to limited tire choices and you are stuck with RFTs in that size unless you get a narrower setup.

Alan

[Kzang]

Originally Posted by twelve535i

M Adaptive suspension is amazing! The cars feels smaller than it actually is and seems to absorb all the crappy NY/NJ roads well. No big floaty SUV feel.

I just wanted to quote this here because apparently some people think 2VF is B.S. in a F15

[stewy604]

Mineral White M Sport on black Dakota...nice choice!

[twelve535i]

Mineral white on terra Dakota. Would of gone with black but my last 3 cars had black leather. Wanted something different

[chrisny]

Originally Posted by Kzang

I just wanted to quote this here because apparently some people think 2VF is B.S. in a F15

Getting the "Sport package" on my E70 (2007), which at that time gave you the adaptive suspension (called "Adaptive Drive" at the time, ARS and active dampers), was the single best thing I did on that car and not getting it was the single biggest mistake I made on the F15.

I'm now shopping for an F10 and finding it hard to find anything with DHP unless I order, which I'm hesitant to do given how little I drive my car vs the X5 (can get a better deal on an exec demo). Trying to convince myself I don't need it but can't even find one to drive with DHP to compare.

[Alan l.]

^^ Chris

If you are going with the F10 I HIGHLY suggest you get the DHP. Even with the adaptive suspension the F10 it floats more than the F15 with the adaptive M.

[Kzang]

Chris, from my research DHP is very similar to AD in the E70 because it has the dampers + ARS. I would have gotten the DHP but I just couldn't bring myself to paying for it and came to a compromise by getting the next best thing 2VF ( adaptive M suspension ).

[chrisny]

Originally Posted by Kzang

Chris, from my research DHP is very similar to AD in the E70 because it has the dampers + ARS. I would have gotten the DHP but I just couldn't bring myself to paying for it and came to a compromise by getting the next best thing 2VF ( adaptive M suspension ).

Yes, exactly. People didn't realize then and still some seem not to realize now how much that suspension does for these "trucks" even beyond just the handling. I wish I had done at least what you did (2VF). The F15 is primarily my wife's car, so I thought the standard suspension was sufficient for what she needs and likes. But I drive it as much or more than my own car now, so regret not getting DHP or at least 2VF.

[chrisny]

Originally Posted by Alan l.

^^ Chris

If you are going with the F10 I HIGHLY suggest you get the DHP. Even with the adaptive suspension the F10 it floats more than the F15 with the adaptive M.

not to hijack this thread, but if I could ask quickly.. what are your thoughts on the DHP in the F10 vs no DHP and doing an aftermarket suspension upgrade of some kind (nothing crazy, maybe $1 - 2000 or so tops, not race car stiff but just to reduce the float and body roll)?

[twelve535i]

Originally Posted by Kzang

I just wanted to quote this here because apparently some people think 2VF is B.S. in a F15

Definitely helps. It feels less floaty than my 535i. I haven't sat as a passenger in the back yet, but I bet that rear air suspension help out on bumps.

I want to look into retrofitting X5M sway bars. M5 sways on the F10 offers much better handling. I would imagine thicker sway bars would help with body roll on the F15 also.

[Alan l.]

Since your are in NY I am guessing you are going with a xdrive F10. If so you can forget about getting KW Coilovers which made a significant change to how my F10 handled but they only have RWD fitment. There is no xdrive coilover system period.

Forget springs. All they really do for the F10 is lower it to make it look better but does very little for improving handling. I had ACS springs on both F10s and I stand by that statement. The car road like stock but only lower.

I also had one F10 with the Dynamic Damper Control and one without. Both still felt more floaty and disconnected compare to my 2VF F15. Never drove a DHP car but everyone who has it raves about it. Given that I've tried all other suspension combos on the F10 and none of them really satisfied me I'd say DHP is the only way to go for you.

Alan

[Alan l.]

Originally Posted by twelve535i

Definitely helps. It feels less floaty than my 535i. I haven't sat as a passenger in the back yet, but I bet that rear air suspension help out on bumps.

I want to look into retrofitting X5M sway bars. M5 sways on the F10 offers much better handling. I would imagine thicker sway bars would help with body roll on the F15 also.

I think the X5M's have the active sway bars as standard so don't think its possible to retrofit this? Not 100% sure.

Another option is to look into the M50D to see if they have sway bars thicker than ours but honestly i don't think its really needed in the X5. I am so happy with the 2VF and 22" non RFTs I don't even want to lower it.

Alan

[chrisny]

Originally Posted by Alan l.

Since your are in NY I am guessing you are going with a xdrive F10. If so you can forget about getting KW Coilovers which made a significant change to how my F10 handled but they only have RWD fitment. There is no xdrive coilover system period.

Forget springs. All they really do for the F10 is lower it to make it look better but does very little for improving handling. I had ACS springs on both F10s and I stand by that statement. The car road like stock but only lower.

I also had one F10 with the Dynamic Damper Control and one without. Both still felt more floaty and disconnected compare to my 2VF F15. Never drove a DHP car but everyone who has it raves about it. Given that I've tried all other suspension combos on the F10 and none of them really satisfied me I'd say DHP is the only way to go for you.

Alan

Yes, definitely need xDrive. That's what I've been afraid of, thank you. Appreciate the feedback. Basically what I've been reading on the F10 forum, but thought it was interesting to get your opinion given how you feel about the 2VF on the F15 by comparison.. makes me wonder if even DHP is enough on the F10, or if I can't find one with DHP, if there's a sway bar option after market that might do it.

Edit: just googled and found your post on Bimmerfest from 2013 about the M5 sway bars on your F10. Sounds like that made a big difference?

[Alan l.]

It did but it still doesn't ride and handle as stout as the 2VF in the F15 honestly.

[chrisny]

Originally Posted by Alan l.

It did but it still doesn't ride and handle as stout as the 2VF in the F15 honestly.

Crazy. And yet, awesome at the same time (as the F15's concerned ).

Thanks again. Reading through that other thread now, great information.

[twelve535i]

Ah well....No need to go the extra mile for sway bars. I think this SUV handles well enough (I know, I know. SAV ha ha ha)