classic_erik F15 50i M Sport Build

[classic_erik]

Hey guys, wanted to put together a build thread for my first BMW. Pretty conservative build from the factory with a lot of potential. Joined Bimmerpost the first week I took delivery and was off to the races! Every single mod was influenced from what I've seen from others on the forum. I can't stress enough that I literally built this with you over the past 2.5 years. I love you guys. THANK YOU.

My goal with this build was clean and mean. I've never seriously modded a car or truck before so I have to say this was so much fun looking back through all of my experiences. Lots of ups and downs. I could probably say if I had to do each mod again I'd take a different approach with the install. That said I tried to install as much as I could within reason. With each mod I experienced a full spectrum of emotions ranging from joy, satisfaction, headaches, anxiety and even anger. Went through a million clips, lost pieces of random plastic stuff that I have no idea what they were for, and lost screws and torque bits in areas I will never be able to access or retrieve. Just got to move on to the next mod...Trust me it was all FUN!

Parts list with a few comments:

Exterior

• M Performance Carbon Fiber Front Splitter
• M Performance Carbon Fiber Rear Diffuser
• M Performance Carbon Fiber Rear Splitters
• RW Carbon F85 Carbon Fiber Mirrors
• RW Carbon Carbon Fiber Side Skirts
• M Performance Gloss Black Kidney Grill
• M Performance Gloss Black Rear Spoiler
• M50D Open Grill and Trim Conversion - Installed these at the same time as the IND front reflectors. These were the single biggest PITA mods I came across. Honestly not sure how you can do these mods without taking the front bumper off. That was fun...
• IND Gloss Black Roundels and Badges
• IND Painted Reflectors
• Autotecknic Carbon Fiber Fender Inserts
• Autotecknic Carbon Fiber F85 Grill
• Thule Aero Rack
• XPEL Prime XR Plus 20% Front Tint

Interior

• Alcantara and Perforated Leather Steering Wheel w/ F85 M Performance Carbon Fiber Trim - 2nd wheel I've ordered from Coby - Couldn't recommend them enough!
• F85 Napa Black Knee Pads - Another PITA mod.
• M Performance Carbon Fiber / Alcantara Trim
• M Performance Carbon Fiber Shifter
• M Performance Carbon Fiber Console
• M Performance Stainless Steel Pedals
• M Performance Illuminated Door Sills
• IND Polar Blue Start Button
• M LED Puddle Lights

Suspension

• BC Racing Coilovers - Good all around coilover from BC Racing. If you want a modest uptick in performance while lowering your truck at a good price, these are for you. Note they only make a kit to replace the standard 4 steel spring option. Take your time dialing these in - PATIENCE required.
• KMAC front adjustable bushings - Big fan of camber kits - Along with the SPC rear kit, these are the only ones available for our trucks. I was able to bring negative camber to exactly -1.0 on all 4 corners with this kit. I couldn't handle the tucked look so this was more of a cosmetic mod even though you will see a cost savings on tire life.
• SPC Industries adjustable rear control arms - See above.

Performance Upgrades

• M Performance Brake Kit with F85 Rotors - #1 favorite mod to date - The stock 50i setup is criminally unacceptable.
• Brembo Rear Big Brake Kit (Porsche Retrofit) - BMW needs to include 4 pot rear calipers on all of their performance vehicles. C'mon!
• Dinan Stage 1 Tune - I posted recently about my first Dynojet pulls registering 423 awhp / 478 awtq here.
• Dinan Cold Air Intake - Pretty carbon fiber housing that sounds mean but not worth the money - the modest performance gains don't justify the cost.
• SuperSprint Race Muffler w/ Gloss Black Powdercoat Tips - Beautiful Italian engineering that brought my truck to the next level.
• NGK Laser Iridium Plugs - Gapped at 0.60mm

Current Wheels

• BC Forged HCA162S - 22x10.5+30 / 11.5+16 (Matte Black Center/Gloss Black Lip/Black Exposed Hardware) w/ Atturo AZ850s. Experimented with my offsets relative to my first set of BC Forged 22s, going slightly more aggressive. I think these are the perfect offsets for those who are lowered on coilovers. Favorite wheels to date and only added an hour of detailing time with a 2 piece exposed hardware wheel! Give Atturo a shot - quite the underrated tire brand. Some additional photos here.
• 611M Winter Set - Gloss Black Powdercoat w/ IND custom black center caps. Running with 15mm spacers on all 4 corners.

Previous Wheels in Order

• 469M - Brief stint with original set off the lot.
• 467M (Winter set) - Paid full price for this winter set from the dealer at time of purchase. Still my worst buy to date but I was clueless at the time.
• 612M - Gloss Black - These were (and still are) my favorite OEM wheel.
• BC Forged RZ21 - 22+10.5+32 / 11.5+19 in Gloss Brushed Dark Black - Absolutely loved these wheels. First dive into a forged wheel and couldn't have been happier. Decided I wanted a satin black wheel so moved on.

AND I'M DONE!!!

[classic_erik]

Some photos over the years
The day we met (next to my wife's old SQ5) - BONE STOCK lease trade-in, but again - a lot of potential here!




Some of my faves

[classic_erik]

Some modding adventures!!!

My very first mods - Some IND blacked out roundels and badges, debadged sides and the very first attempt at painting the exhaust tips! See my writeup on my all-time Arch Nemesis mod here.



Cracked my M Performance Carbon Fiber Front Splitter while taking it out of the truck before installing. Figured out how to repair it here. Before and after:




Picked up my all-time favorite mod a couple months after I bought the truck. Again it's a crime that BMW puts that sin of a stock kit on the 50i. Beautiful upgrade! Convinced a dealer to upgrade the rotors to stock F85 for a nominal charge - make sure you check the box here.




She was starting to really come together with the Gloss Black 612Ms



Added a Thule rack and went on vacation with the family.



Moved over to the interior to upgrade the trim to all M Performance Carbon Fiber and added the F85 knee-pads. The knee-pad upgrade was a motherf*cker but worth the blood, sweat and tears.



My wife almost ripped my head off when I was taking apart the steering wheel in the kitchen. Tedious but easy. Went through a couple with Coby with excellent results. Half the price and you can retain your heating functionality. Take photos as you take apart!!! Here is a great DIY from Maverik259 that I followed.




Over the pandemic I took about 3 days to add the IND front reflectors (the old hardened double sided tape was a BITCH to remove - I can not imagine trying to do this without the bumper off. I also swapped out the left closed grill, added the M50D bumper splitters and an Autotecknic double-slatted carbon fiber grill. All of these things were tedious, but with the front bumper off it was doable. This was another moment where the wife came out to the garage with an axe when she saw my little project.





Next up was the suspension. Started with the BC Racing Coilivers before adding camber kits down the road. Had the suspension dialed-in by my Indy over multiple visits. Photo of the beast SLAMMED after...




Dinan Cold Air Intake



Supersprint Race Muffler. I decided to powdercoat the tips gloss black to finally win my what feels like life-long battle with black exhaust tips. Sounds mean!




Added the Brembo Rear BBK. Porsche kit from Tronik. Love these!




Powdercoated the winter 611M set gloss black and they came out sweet!



Honorable mention - Had a little too much to drink over Thanksgiving and bought a set of AA catted downpipes. I ended up changing my mind and selling to another forum member before installing. C'est la vie.

[sukhk527]

This is great man, thanks for sharing. I think I speak for a few of us saying you helped us a ton as well and we're modeling after you.

[Ascotgrun]

Looks great and very inspirational as I have the same exterior color. What is the offset of your current wheels?. Also, do you have any pics showing the coilovers drop before doing the camber correction?.

[classic_erik]

Originally Posted by sukhk527

This is great man, thanks for sharing. I think I speak for a few of us saying you helped us a ton as well and we're modeling after you.

Thank you! I'm happy if I was able to help out a few people as well.

[classic_erik]

Originally Posted by Ascotgrun

Looks great and very inspirational as I have the same exterior color. What is the offset of your current wheels?. Also, do you have any pics showing the coilovers drop before doing the camber correction?.

Just added the offsets - thank you!

22x10.5+30
22x11.5+16

I'll post some camber kit before and after photos of wheels and alignment sheets soon.

[jiggz]

Great work putting this all together! Really enjoyed all your honest, candid comments about certain mods, like paying full price for 467's at the dealer! I think most of us have some mod regrets over the years.

Off all those mods listed the MPBK is listed as your favorite... I've been eyeing that kit for awhile now, but was hoping to get more life from my original brakes (only 16K miles) before scrapping them out. If nothing else I need to order them before they're discontinued.

[classic_erik]

Deep Dive on the Perfect Stance - Suspension and Offsets

I feel like my OCD went to hyperdrive with my suspension and wheel set up. Lots of tweaking of ride height and camber over the past couple of years. Add in the analysis of varying offsets and it was fairly complex as I searched for perfection. It took me way too much time to really understand this formula: Ride Height + Camber + Offsets = STANCE!

Recap of Suspension:

Coilovers - BC Racing I-74 BR. These are marketed on the BCR site as only for the F16, however we know the F15 has an identical chassis and suspension. At the moment they are only selling a kit for Non-Air / Non-EDC.

Camber Kits - KMAC Front Adjustable Bushings (193816-5J) and SPC Rear Adjustable Upper Control Arms (72115). KMAC also makes a rear adjustable bushings kit but it's more expensive than the SPC kit, so it's logical to get new control arms while you're at it.

Phase 1 - New Wheels / Pre-Coilover - First custom offsets
Here are a few dune buggy photos of the flush look prior to lowering the truck. These offsets of 10.5+32 / 11.5 +19 were recommended directly from BC Forged (they had recommendations for both with and without coilovers). Standard alignment here and while I don't have a sheet I'd suspect I was within OEM spec.





Phase 2 - Installation of Coilovers / Pre-Camber Kits
It's no joke that you'll be dealing with serious excessive negative camber in the rear out of the gate. The front negative camber isn't as dramatic but it's not within factory spec and the wheels still look tucked in. Here are a few photos of the tucked wheel look, and my alignment sheet (all pre-camber kits). Note my negative camber was even worse (-3.0 / -2.7 in the rear) leaving the shop, so this alignment sheet is after a SECOND alignment. I was not a fan of the tucked look whatsoever, particularly when I had a heavy investment in my 22s. They just didn't look right, and the wheel arches took all of the spotlight. The camber kits fixed all of this.

P.S. Note my offsets in these photos were 22X10.5+32 / 11.5+19.






Phase 3 - Installation of Camber Kits
If you are starting from scratch with your suspension, save yourself hassle and cash by adding camber kits with the coilovers. The labor for this stuff is very high, plus you'll likely need less alignments. I paid close to the same amount to add the camber kits that I did to install the coilovers. It should add a marginal amount of labor to do it all at once, so do it right the first time.

I told my Indy that I wanted exactly -1.0 on all 4 corners, and voilà.

P.S. Note my offsets in these photos were 22X10.5+32 / 11.5+19.





Phase 3a - New Wheels & Offsets
I felt there was still slight room for improvement on the offsets from my first set of BC Forged wheels. While it was a very small change in mm both front and back, I'm happy with the results. I'd say that you may be able to get 1 or 2mm more aggressive on the front however I'd be concerned about caliper clearance. The 10.5+30 clearance is razor thin with my MPBK. Adding the 3mm in the back from 11.5+19 to 11.5+16 gave the rear a fuller booty and a very slight poke. If I didn't have camber kits my guess is this would have been perfection. I probably would have been fine leaving the rear at 11.5+19 since I was able to take a level to the side of the fender and tire with near perfect results.

Disclaimer - All of this will vary depending on how low you go and whether you have camber kits. I've tried to give as much info as possible so you can see how the wheel stance changes with every little tweak.





Final Thoughts on Camber, Ride Height and Offsets in Various Setups
Here is what I would recommend for camber and offsets in all of the different scenarios. As you know your negative camber will become worse the further you lower the truck. Even a quarter inch in ride height will tweak your camber. It's a delicate balance but I can stand by these. Break out your offset calculator if you have different width wheels!

• Pre-Coilover: 10.5+32 / 11.5+19 (flush on all 4 corners at stock height and camber)
• Post-Coilover / Pre-Camber Kit: 10.5+30 / 11.5+16 (w/ Ride Height 30 Front / 30.5 Rear and out-of-spec camber)
• Post-Camber Kit: 10.5+30 / 11.5+16 (w/ Ride Height 30 Front / 30.5 Rear and -1.0 camber on all four corners). I actually feel I could dial the front camber in further at -0.50 for an even further flush look but I'm trying to limit my OCD and settle. Got to pick your battles!

Final Thoughts on BC Racing Coilovers

I've honestly gone back and forth on how I feel about these coilovers through all of the various stages of tweaking. It takes time to dial in what makes you happy, and this requires serious patience.

Comfort - I ended up going with the softest dampening settings to take some of the rigid feeling out of the ride. I initially tried the medium dampening out of the box settings but I was really feeling the bumps in the road. Once I finalized the dampening I was happy with the comfort.

Sound - I felt the ride was a little noisy before I added the adjustable bushings. It is possible the rubber was dried out on my original bushings, but at a minimum there should be less stress on the components once the geometry is corrected resulting in less creaking / squeaking.

Performance - Slightly improved on cornering. I had previously mentioned that the Non-Air / Non-EDC 4 steel spring OEM suspension is equilvant to riding around in a bouncy castle. Certainly more comfortable than the ride with coilovers but the wavering and less grounded feeling was a detriment to the overall performance. I am able to take on-ramps at higher speeds and overall feel more confident cornering around town.

Ride Height - Plenty of room here to go as low as you want. I settled at 30" in the front and 30.5" in the rear when measuring ground to fender.

Bottoming out will happen. If you take a look at your rear wheel clearance after slamming the truck, you'll see there is only about 2 inches in the whole wheel well. It is impossible to think your springs could handle huge dips in the highway at 80mph. I don't think this is specific to BC Racing, but to being slammed. I'd love to hear an honest opinion from someone who owns the KWV3 Non-Air / Non-EDC set up (part# 35200BJ). Most of the reviews we've seen on KW for the F chassis are from F85 guys who have a completely different setup with Air / EDC, so I don't want to hear people trashing the BC Racing Coilver when it's not an apples to apples comparison. I'll keep saying it, bottoming out from time to time is par for the course!

Overall - I am happy with the coilovers. The combination of ride height satisfaction, dampening adjustment and comfort and cost to own do it for me. They still creak here and there, and you know you are slammed when going over speed bumps and potholes. The question of how does it compare to stock is almost impossible to answer without the right expectations. Maybe if I was bringing my truck to the track I'd consider upping the game to KWV3 for further adjustability and increased spring performance, but I'm mostly a dad driving around town.

[classic_erik]

Originally Posted by jiggz

Off all those mods listed the MPBK is listed as your favorite... I've been eyeing that kit for awhile now, but was hoping to get more life from my original brakes (only 16K miles) before scrapping them out. If nothing else I need to order them before they're discontinued.

Go for it! I was able to sell my stock 50i brake kit on the forum for $500 to help reduce the pain. That said the pads and rotors had roughly 5k on them so they were nearly new.

[DenBel]

Following your build in post pictures thread, like how it came out!
Let me name your next mod: nbt evo retrofit)))

[Violator]

Originally Posted by classic_erik

Go for it! I was able to sell my stock 50i brake kit on the forum for $500 to help reduce the pain. That said the pads and rotors had roughly 5k on them so they were nearly new.

Love the thread!

If I do another mod, it most likely will be the MPBK.

[FCX5]

Originally Posted by classic_erik

Thank you! I'm happy if I was able to help out a few people as well.

Yours is the most aesthetically pleasing X5 of any kind I have seen. I know you said the Dinan Air intake isn't worth it, but it looks cool and I might do it just for the looks since it doesn't make anything worse.

Mine came with the 469 wheels but for the winter I got the 467 (just like you). Interesting that you felt it was your worst decision. In my case, I find the ride quality so much better with the 19 inches in terms of ride comfort and road noise. I am having a hard time switching them out.

I agree the MPBK are a great upgrade. I am also pleased with how easy it was to upgrade the speakers to Focal Inside and how much nicer the sound is. Also, putting Dynamat on the doors help quieten the interior while giving the doors a nice hefty feel and close with the 'thud'.

Anyway, beautiful car inside and out. Everything is so much in balance...

[tlow98]

Nice thread! Thanks for documenting everything in here! Really came out great. Kudos to you for tackling a lot of this stuff yourself. Impressive.

I particularly like the M50d front intakes. Do you happen to have part numbers for those two pieces? The grille and the aero slat, I mean.

[classic_erik]

Originally Posted by tlow98

Nice thread! Thanks for documenting everything in here! Really came out great. Kudos to you for tackling a lot of this stuff yourself. Impressive.

I particularly like the M50d front intakes. Do you happen to have part numbers for those two pieces? The grille and the aero slat, I mean.

Thank you so much man, much appreciated!

Left M50D Lower Grill Trim - 51118056867
Right M50D Lower Grill Trim - 51118056868

I actually got the M50D lower grill trim from r33_RGSport. He sells an aftermarket version that looks great with a perfect fitment.

https://www.rgsportshop.com/index.ph...product_id=294

[classic_erik]

Originally Posted by Violator

Love the thread!

If I do another mod, it most likely will be the MPBK.

Thanks man. You are one of the F15 OGs I stole a lot of ideas from! Appreciate all the direction!

[classic_erik]

Originally Posted by DenBel

Following your build in post pictures thread, like how it came out!
Let me name your next mod: nbt evo retrofit)))

Thanks! The NBT Evo retrofit, along with the 6WB digital cluster, were two nice to haves on my list that I thought I may consider if a good deal hits on the forum. Pretty slim pickings for both I'd say. I saw your writeup on the NBT Evo retrofit and it looks sharp!

[classic_erik]

Originally Posted by FCX5

Yours is the most aesthetically pleasing X5 of any kind I have seen. I know you said the Dinan Air intake isn't worth it, but it looks cool and I might do it just for the looks since it doesn't make anything worse.

Mine came with the 469 wheels but for the winter I got the 467 (just like you). Interesting that you felt it was your worst decision. In my case, I find the ride quality so much better with the 19 inches in terms of ride comfort and road noise. I am having a hard time switching them out.

I agree the MPBK are a great upgrade. I am also pleased with how easy it was to upgrade the speakers to Focal Inside and how much nicer the sound is. Also, putting Dynamat on the doors help quieten the interior while giving the doors a nice hefty feel and close with the 'thud'.

Anyway, beautiful car inside and out. Everything is so much in balance...

Thanks man!

No issues with anyone going for the Dinan CAI. It does look pretty and gives the engine a nice throaty sound. If you can get a good deal on it it definitely beats out the AFE Power setup that trips a CEL for a lot of folks.

On the 467M winter wheels - the reason they were my worst decision ever was because I paid MSRP during the final paperwork like a fool. No issues at all - I think they are sharp.

On my next BMW I'll definitely opt for the premium sound system. The HK has been good but doesn't compare to the B&O in my SQ5.

[FCX5]

Originally Posted by classic_erik

Thanks man!

No issues with anyone going for the Dinan CAI. It does look pretty and gives the engine a nice throaty sound. If you can get a good deal on it it definitely beats out the AFE Power setup that trips a CEL for a lot of folks.

On the 467M winter wheels - the reason they were my worst decision ever was because I paid MSRP during the final paperwork like a fool. No issues at all - I think they are sharp.

On my next BMW I'll definitely opt for the premium sound system. The HK has been good but doesn't compare to the B&O in my SQ5.

For some reasons I find the B&O implementation on Audi better than what they had on BMW. I actually upgraded my B&O with Focal's for the much deeper bass and cleaner mids. Focals are much more punchy overall.


I agree, great audio makes a big difference in a car. I was also lucky to get mine with DHP.

All said and done, your X5 is one of a kind. I just love your aesthetic sense. You have basically perfected the look of the F15. Nothing more or less can make it look better 👏

This part was inspired by you. LOL. No way I would do them if I hadn't seen your car.

[maDjzo]

Super cool thread, very detailed and to see the journey from day 1 til now is such a treat too. One of the nicest F15's on this forum, lots of inspiration in this one for anyone looking to mod right! Thanks for sharing Erik

[classic_erik]

Originally Posted by FCX5

For some reasons I find the B&O implementation on Audi better than what they had on BMW. I actually upgraded my B&O with Focal's for the much deeper bass and cleaner mids. Focals are much more punchy overall.


I agree, great audio makes a big difference in a car. I was also lucky to get mine with DHP.

All said and done, your X5 is one of a kind. I just love your aesthetic sense. You have basically perfected the look of the F15. Nothing more or less can make it look better 👏

This part was inspired by you. LOL. No way I would do them if I hadn't seen your car.

Love it!! Looks great on the space gray!

[classic_erik]

Originally Posted by maDjzo

Super cool thread, very detailed and to see the journey from day 1 til now is such a treat too. One of the nicest F15's on this forum, lots of inspiration in this one for anyone looking to mod right! Thanks for sharing Erik