Got the bug. 2017 sDrive35i m-sport build thread

[papadooks]

What’s up guys. Sharing my journey as I begin to mod my 2017 x5. I found Sukh and Brian’s build threads super helpful, so I figured I’d pay it forward and hopefully get some further advice as we move forward. The ultimate goal is one of two things: it feels “fast enough” to me or I hit sukhk527 ‘s performance numbers!

Looking for the car to be stupidly fast but also reliable, so I won’t be pushing past 500WHP and 5k torque, and I want to be able to hit those numbers without pushing it to the limit.

Basics:
2017 X5 sDrive35i
39k miles (new-to-me from CarMax at 27.5k two years ago)
Alpine White
M-Sports Package
M Leather Steering Wheel
M Aerodynamics Package
Black Dakota Leather
Sports seat
Aluminum hexagon interior trim
High gloss shadow line
Headlining anthracite
M Performance Carbon Fiber Fender Trims
M Performance Dual Slat Kidney Grille - blacked out

I plan to keep this as a living document so people don’t have to hunt through the thread to find the new mods, so I’ll move things up from the phases to the “mods to date” section as they occur.

Mods to date:
XLR (deactivated on 12/28/23 in favor of XHP, but keeping it installed as a convenient way to neuter the car by putting it in “valet mode”)
BM3 - Stage 1
K&N Drop-in filter (dry)
Front license plate delete + filled with color matched bumper plugs
Swapped out 19” 467M wheels for 21” 599M (refinished and powder coated gloss black by the boys at Wheels Doctor in Miami, who I highly recommend) - thanks to my dude Storm_F22 for the hassle free sale
XHP Stage 1 (added 12/28/23)

Phase I / Immediate to do list (parts on order or in hand and will be installed by end of Jan):

Eibach pro kit - thanks to my dude titanjc for the hassle free sale
ApexBuilt Race Downpipe
ER chargepipe (black)
ER lower chargepipe (black) - thanks to r33_RGSport for answering my questions and selling me the chargepipes (his customer service is above and beyond)
VRSF FMIC
Dinan N-series performance ignition coils
NGK 97506 (1-step colder)
BM3 OTS Stage 2 Tune

Phase II (assuming Phase I doesn’t scratch the itch):

Turner Motorsports F10 N55 Carbon Intake Pipe
FTP F10 N55 Turbo Inlet - thanks to sukhk527 for blazing the F10 parts in the F15 trail
Nostrum Stage 2 Bundle (stage 2 injectors + big bore HPFP)
Walbro 450 or 525
FlexFuel kit (undecided on brand etc)
BM3 OTS Stage 2+ FlexFuel Tune (or maybe go custom)

Phase III (assuming PI and PII don’t get it done):

Pure Stage 2

Recent maintenance:
Oil changes at 33k and 38k
Coolant and brake fluid service at 38k
Engine oil pan and oil pan gasket replaced at 38k (gasket had a very slow leak and pan was in decent shape, but managed to get both covered by MaxCare warranty, thank goodness)



And here are some photos for the boys!

[destroy26]

Best of luck! I'm excited to watch your progress!

[sukhk527]

Nice, excited to see the progress! I’d highly recommend you add an XHP TCU tune to your list for the first phase, it’s that good lol.

[Ascotgrun]

Love the Alpine White. I have pretty much the same year/model/spec but mine is Glacier Silver with wood interior trim.

I'm not into performance mods, but I did get Eibach springs and didn't notice any drop. You may want to look into something else if you want a significant difference in ride height.

[papadooks]

Thanks, guys. Will look into adding XHP tonight. Do you know if that includes a throttle tune which makes the XLR entirely superfluous? I’m still tempted to keep it because I love that I can use it to neuter the car by putting it into “valet mode,” but don’t want it messing with the XHP’s settings/performance. I guess I can just switch it off except for when I want to valet mode it.

[papadooks]

Originally Posted by Ascotgrun

Love the Alpine White. I have pretty much the same year/model/spec but mine is Glacier Silver with wood interior trim.

I'm not into performance mods, but I did get Eibach springs and didn't notice any drop. You may want to look into something else if you want a significant difference in ride height.

Thanks for the heads up. Will make sure to take measurements before and after. I’m not looking for anything too dramatic. Id be happy with dropping an inch all around.

[Ascotgrun]

I did before and after measurements and got about .5" lower in the rear. Car didn't look any different at all. From what I gather you will need coilovers for a one inch drop. While that would look great I am not willing to spend that much and potentially lose ride comfort.

[papadooks]

Woof. Yeah that would be disappointing. We’ll see how it goes!

[sukhk527]

Originally Posted by papadooks

Thanks, guys. Will look into adding XHP tonight. Do you know if that includes a throttle tune which makes the XLR entirely superfluous? I’m still tempted to keep it because I love that I can use it to neuter the car by putting it into “valet mode,” but don’t want it messing with the XHP’s settings/performance. I guess I can just switch it off except for when I want to valet mode it.

Definitely try XHP without the throttle booster first. You’ll likely not need it.

[Edwardsc1]

It really is amazing what a difference wheels make in the overall look of the car. Not sure why BMW ever made the 467M wheels, but they ruin the look of an X5. Great choice on the 599M's and good luck on the build!

[papadooks]

Originally Posted by Edwardsc1

It really is amazing what a difference wheels make in the overall look of the car. Not sure why BMW ever made the 467M wheels, but they ruin the look of an X5. Great choice on the 599M's and good luck on the build!

Agreed, and thank you!

[papadooks]

Originally Posted by sukhk527

Definitely try XHP without the throttle booster first. You’ll likely not need it.

Flashed to XHP stage 1. Haven’t had a chance to drive it yet but will keep you posted.

[destroy26]

Originally Posted by papadooks

Thanks for the heads up. Will make sure to take measurements before and after. I’m not looking for anything too dramatic. Id be happy with dropping an inch all around.

I added the Eibach kit to my 2017 back in May and made a fairly detailed post with updates on measurements, drop over time, etc. That post can be found via the following link:

https://f15.bimmerpost.com/forums/sh....php?t=2023672

It really depends what you're looking for. I simply wanted a slight drop and I feel like the Eibach Pro Kit was perfectly suited for that goal. If I didn't have a wife and two young kids, I probably would have gotten a little more aggressive with the drop. That said, I love the current ride height on mine.

[papadooks]

Originally Posted by destroy26

I added the Eibach kit to my 2017 back in May and made a fairly detailed post with updates on measurements, drop over time, etc. That post can be found via the following link:

https://f15.bimmerpost.com/forums/sh....php?t=2023672

It really depends what you're looking for. I simply wanted a slight drop and I feel like the Eibach Pro Kit was perfectly suited for that goal. If I didn't have a wife and two young kids, I probably would have gotten a little more aggressive with the drop. That said, I love the current ride height on mine.

Great post. Thank you for sharing. I think I’d seen it already and that’s what gave me the 1” all around benchmark in my mind. Hopefully I’ll have the same results. Mine are also used, so perhaps they won’t have a breaking in / settling period, but I’ll do the immediate / 1 week / 1 month measurements too, just for the sake of the boys.

[papadooks]

Originally Posted by sukhk527

Definitely try XHP without the throttle booster first. You’ll likely not need it.

Tried out stage 1 in stop and go and WOT on the highway and it’s impressive. The smoothness of the shifting, if it did nothing else, would make it worthwhile. With the stick to the left and the car in sport+, it always felt pretty jerky to me, but that is just gone.

Flashing to stage 2 now. Will report back.

[sukhk527]

Originally Posted by papadooks

Tried out stage 1 in stop and go and WOT on the highway and it’s impressive. The smoothness of the shifting, if it did nothing else, would make it worthwhile. With the stick to the left and the car in sport+, it always felt pretty jerky to me, but that is just gone.

Flashing to stage 2 now. Will report back.

Stage 2 is what I ran for a year on just a RaceChip piggyback and it was great. Just do yourself a favor and do a gearbox service.

[papadooks]

It’s really great, and I’ll look into the gearbox service asap.

[papadooks]

Originally Posted by sukhk527

Stage 2 is what I ran for a year on just a RaceChip piggyback and it was great. Just do yourself a favor and do a gearbox service.

How much does the service run at your local shop?

[sukhk527]

I don’t know the price off hand but you can get the full service kit from FCP Euro plus add a couple hours of labor to drain and fill to spec.

[papadooks]

Appreciate the tip. Will grab that kit and ask my shop what they’ll charge for the labor.

[papadooks]

Originally Posted by sukhk527

I don’t know the price off hand but you can get the full service kit from FCP Euro plus add a couple hours of labor to drain and fill to spec.

Did you upgrade to a 3.5 bar TMAP sensor? Recommend I include that in my phase I? I also saw you added a turner oil catch can - what size did you go with?

[Aries326]

Sweet build! Just got my 2018 X5 Xdrive 35. Wish I had bought alpine white. It looks better with all the exterior mods. I’ll be reading these threads and looking for inspiration.