Joined the X5 Family! Need input on Non-M front lip

[FourDoor]

So we just got a 2014 X5 S Drive 35i this past weekend for the wife for her daily driver. We ended up with the non M sport model but that’s not going to stop me from making a few cosmetic upgrades for the wife so that her car doesn’t blend in with the rest of the herd.

After looking at pics and reading a ton of threads, the basic mods planned for the first couple of weeks are:

• Front window tint
• Remove all traces of chrome on the exterior
• Vinyl wrap the roof a gloss black
• Black 22” 599 Replica wheels (although I’m starting to wonder if 22s may bend easily from the occasional parking lot mishap)

I also really want to enhance the look of the bumpers of the X5 but I’m not seeing many options here for the non M sport model. I saw this thread for an official BMW aero kit that looks to be a Russia exclusive? Has anyone been able to order one Stateside?

http://f15.bimmerpost.com/forums/sho....php?t=1109647

Are there any aftermarket front/rear lips for the regular old F15 without the M package? Has anyone made some kind of custom lip for this thing? I have not had any luck whatsoever trying to find one and it’s driving me crazy!

At this point, if I can’t find a lip for the regular F15 35i, I may consider buying a used M sport front bumper to add a lip to which will be a much harder sell than me telling the wife that I am just getting her a front lip spoiler.

Thanks in advance and I look forward to participating in the bimmerpost community!

[Neuera09]

Congrats on the purchase. You're going for the storm trooper look I see. Are you sure it's the wife's car? LoL.

I believe that kit is only available overseas. Ya might want to hit up Ben to see if that is something he could get for you. There's a M Sport or Wide Body kit on FleaBay, enough said!

Getting a used M Sport bumper is going to cost you more $ for the additional parts since they are not interchangeable. The CF front lip will cost you a pretty penny as well.

But if that is what is going to make you, I mean you wife happy, I say go for it! Good luck!

[P1]

Congrats on the new car. Not sure if a front M Bumper on an otherwise stock vehicle will look good, and be worth it.

Arches and wheels are probably a better idea.

[FourDoor]

Originally Posted by Neuera09

Congrats on the purchase. You're going for the storm trooper look I see. Are you sure it's the wife's car? LoL.

I believe that kit is only available overseas. Ya might want to hit up Ben to see if that is something he could get for you. There's a M Sport or Wide Body kit on FleaBay, enough said!

Getting a used M Sport bumper is going to cost you more $ for the additional parts since they are not interchangeable. The CF front lip will cost you a pretty penny as well.

But if that is what is going to make you, I mean you wife happy, I say go for it! Good luck!

(sorry which one is Ben again? I'm still new here)

I do like my Star Wars so the strom trooper look was a no brainer with this car.

I started reading up on the bumper conversion and it looks fairly straightforward except the additional costs of the grills and other pieces. I wouldn't mind paying the extra $ for say something like a CF front lip but I guess I need the compatible bumper first! LOL

I don't think I'd be able to get away with a full wide body kit when all I was originally after was just a front lip. And PS, I have to drive the car too sometimes for the weekend roadtrips so I have to make sure it looks good too while I'm driving it!

Originally Posted by P1et

Congrats on the new car. Not sure if a front M Bumper on an otherwise stock vehicle will look good, and be worth it.

Arches and wheels are probably a better idea.

But the goal is not to make it look stock when I'm done. I'm on Team OEM+ to make the car look more enhanced as opposed to major mods

I don't want the X5M bumper, I just want the M Sport Bumper so that I have option for some front lips as so far I haven't found any front lips for the non M sport bumper.

[Neuera09]

here's one of his threads ...

http://f15.bimmerpost.com/forums/sho....php?t=1001636

LoL. weekend warrior huh? We'll see. Next thing you'll want to add is an MPPK then a piggyback tune. By next month, you'll be back at a BMW dealership buying your wife an X3 or you buying an X5M.

[FourDoor]

Hahaha I'm resisting any kind of performance mods but I must say the X5 handled its first 700 mile road trip this past weekend like a champ so I'm not completely ruling out other mods down the road as I drive it more. LOL

[Neuera09]

Something to read about .....

http://f15.bimmerpost.com/forums/sho....php?t=1157810

on the days you're not behind the wheel .... U can thank us later .....

Originally Posted by FourDoor

Hahaha I'm resisting any kind of performance mods but I must say the X5 handled its first 700 mile road trip this past weekend like a champ so I'm not completely ruling out other mods down the road as I drive it more. LOL

[IvanLZ]

Ive always wanted an aero kit for the non msport car. Sadly there is nothing out there for us unless you are in russia. All i've done is installing black grills and black out all the chrome pieces.

[Kzang]

I think P1et was talking about the side lower trims and the rear bumper area where you have black plastic showing. It will look weird with a msport front bumper with a stock body and no wheel fender flares. Either get a Msport X5 or do a complete conversion front side skirt and rear bumpers. Good luck.

[FourDoor]

Originally Posted by Neuera09

Something to read about .....

http://f15.bimmerpost.com/forums/sho....php?t=1157810

on the days you're not behind the wheel .... U can thank us later .....

Bookmarked but I read the first page already. You guys are a bad influence! LOL

Originally Posted by IvanLZ

Ive always wanted an aero kit for the non msport car. Sadly there is nothing out there for us unless you are in russia. All i've done is installing black grills and black out all the chrome pieces.

Originally Posted by Kzang

I think P1et was talking about the side lower trims and the rear bumper area where you have black plastic showing. It will look weird with a msport front bumper with a stock body and no wheel fender flares. Either get a Msport X5 or do a complete conversion front side skirt and rear bumpers. Good luck.

That's pretty disappointing to hear that there are no aero options for the non M sport trim. Going a custom route will cost me just as much probably as a conversion.

Yeah I hear you on the rear and sides not matching. I did see this on eBay for the rears which could be painted along with the side skirts/running board to give it a more cohesive look to avoid having to do a full conversion for the back as well:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/131899964254...%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

[r33_RGSport]

@FourDoor , any mods is possible. Just let me know what is your goal.
Stop by next year (next week) and we talk.

[FourDoor]

So after a couple of nights searching sites and using Google translate, I've come up pretty much empty as there are not many options at all for the Non M-Sport bumper people like me in the US. I figured I would update this thread with what I found to maybe help save some people some time down the road.



BMW OEM Aero Kit for Non M-Sport Bumper
Availability: Russia Exclusive
Reference: http://f15.bimmerpost.com/forums/sho....php?t=1109647



Kelleners Aero Package for X5 F15 Non M-Sport Bumper
Availability: Asia/Europe only but found 1 listing on eBay or the US
Reference: http://www.kelleners-sport.de/en/New...rogram_F15.php



And that is it for front lips! That is unless you want the Pep Boys special "Universal Carbon Fiber Front Lips"

The other options are new or used OEM M Sport or X5M bumpers or you could go with Replicas on eBay. For the replicas on eBay:

Duramax M Sport Style Front Bumper
Notes: Made out of fiberglass and needs holes drilled for parking sensors and does not come with grills. Also they would not confirm if the front lips that fit the OEM M Sport bumper would fit the Duramax bumper since it is not a 100% replica. They said "it would require modification" of the front lip. Unless you're desperate it looks like this is the one to avoid.


100% Replica M Sport Style Front Bumper
Notes: These come with all the grills and are supposed to be a 100% direct fit replacement without the brand new OEM price.


100% Replica X5M Front Bumper
Notes: Same 100% replica as the M Sport bumper but for the X5M design

Last but not least are the 3rd Party body kits from AC Schnitzer, Hamman, etc but that's for a different market.

[Doanster]

I'd just paint/wrap the lower grille trim black, get black kidney grilled as well, and call it a day for the front end. Use the $$ you would've spent for a lip or other aero kit on a new set of wheels (other than OEM styles). They'll give you "more" appearance-wise over other mods IMO.
Welcome, btw!

[Kzang]

Originally Posted by Doanster

I'd just paint/wrap the lower grille trim black, get black kidney grilled as well, and call it a day for the front end. Use the $$ you would've spent for a lip or other aero kit on a new set of wheels (other than OEM styles). They'll give you "more" appearance-wise over other mods IMO.
Welcome, btw!

Same here... OP are you adding a lip just for the sake of having a lip? Because some of the options above looks less than desirable at least for me. Why didn't you get a Msport line to begin with? I think that would be have the easiest and less costly. Good Luck again!

[FourDoor]

I wanted to add a lip the same reason people with M sport bumpers add lips. I just had no idea that the non M Sport bumper literally has zero options here's in the US. The Russian lip is the best option out of all of them and like you guys said, it's not saying much.

An old contact is looking into what he can import for me but until then the wrap and new wheels will have to be it for the outside.

[Mexecutioner]

Originally Posted by FourDoor

Hahaha I'm resisting any kind of performance mods but I must say the X5 handled its first 700 mile road trip this past weekend like a champ so I'm not completely ruling out other mods down the road as I drive it more. LOL

Let's see how long this self-restraint lasts...

[FourDoor]

So 2 weeks into the vehicle and the CEL goes on...

Scheduled an appointment with the dealership next week since they don't have loaners available for the weekend.

[Mexecutioner]

That sucks. I've found that dealers in the LA area are so busy and have such a high volume of cars in need of service that sometimes the wait for a loaners is much longer that one would want.
Hopefully it is something easy that will clear out and not come back.

[FourDoor]

Originally Posted by Mexecutioner

That sucks. I've found that dealers in the LA area are so busy and have such a high volume of cars in need of service that sometimes the wait for a loaners is much longer that one would want.
Hopefully it is something easy that will clear out and not come back.

Yeah the closest dealership to me said that it typically takes 5 days minimum to reserve loaner. They should just let me drive an X5M for the weekend.

It happened during the "heavy" SoCal rain yesterday so I'm guessing some kind of sensor tripped. I wouldn't be surprised if it clears itself over the weekend.

[Mexecutioner]

Originally Posted by FourDoor

Yeah the closest dealership to me said that it typically takes 5 days minimum to reserve loaner. They should just let me drive an X5M for the weekend.

It happened during the "heavy" SoCal rain yesterday so I'm guessing some kind of sensor tripped. I wouldn't be surprised if it clears itself over the weekend.

I think they should still be able to find some information about what triggered it, even if the CEL is gone.

[Almaretto]

Originally Posted by FourDoor

Yeah the closest dealership to me said that it typically takes 5 days minimum to reserve loaner. They should just let me drive an X5M for the weekend.

It happened during the "heavy" SoCal rain yesterday so I'm guessing some kind of sensor tripped. I wouldn't be surprised if it clears itself over the weekend.

Did it clear before the first loaner was available?

Best thing to do is get a copy of ISTA+. You can both save time and minimize surprises by quickly scanning vehicle before to Service.

I partially think they gave me a stripped loaner last time to make me appreciate my loaded vehicles. But, it would have been nice to get an upgrade, for once, to "entice" me to shop for something new. I would be thrilled to get an X5M as loaner.

[FourDoor]

Originally Posted by Almaretto

Did it clear before the first loaner was available?

Best thing to do is get a copy of ISTA+. You can both save time and minimize surprises by quickly scanning vehicle before to Service.

I partially think they gave me a stripped loaner last time to make me appreciate my loaded vehicles. But, it would have been nice to get an upgrade, for once, to "entice" me to shop for something new. I would be thrilled to get an X5M as loaner.

It was an actual fault code. They had to replace the pressure switch in the fuel tank. They said that the fuel tank wasn't pressurizing completely and it wasn't the fuel cap.

I didn't even think to scan it for myself first. I usually use my bluetooth obd2 dongle and the Torque app running on a tablet to read and clear codes for my vehicles. ISTA+ looks a lot more robust. I'll have to look into it later.

And a little update on the whole lip situation. The OEM lip for the non M-Sport bumper is $1,500!!! That's before shipping or anything. I told my friend to buy one, make a mold and we'll make a killing at selling a replica lip for $500 a pop... To all 3 people in the US who wants one!

Needless to say, a front lip of any kind is now completely out of the question for this thing but I have some ideas to spruce up the front end some more. The black kidney grill and taking off the license plate already did a lot to help enhance the front of this thing!