BMW E60 Build Sticks to Style
After finally acquiring his dream BMW E60, this 5series member takes it to the next level visually.
The term “build,” in and of itself, can mean a lot of things. When it comes to building a BMW, your options are pretty much unlimited. In the automotive world, chasing performance can have you spending your time and money either under the hood, or on the suspension. Or you can stick to the outside, making your ride truly stand out from the crowd. Some go all the way and do both, of course. But for 5series member shawn.ahmadi, this BMW E60 project is all about style. And this thing’s got it in droves.
“In January 2016 I finally got the love of my life, also known as my dream car. I had been wanting this thing for as long as I can remember and even started buying parts 3 years before owning it. The car is a 2004 Jet Black BMW 530i (M54 I6 of course). I wish I could have gotten an N54, but the price was a little more than my budget.”
Not a bad start, of course. But as nice as a stock E60 looks as is, our OP wanted to make this one even better.
“The first thing I had to do was to change the Halo bulbs. Not the best, but I needed something to change the yellow OEM ones into something a little more BMW. After that, I really needed to do something with my car and went the typical route of painting my OEM wheels black. Not my favorite decision, but I figured why not since I was getting new wheels anyway. But it did give the car a more aggressive look.”
Soon thereafter, the OP picked up a set of Eagle Motorsport taillights and installed them. But these few bolt-ons were just the beginning.
“I have always wanted the 1M bumper, and ever since the group buy days I knew I had to have it. I thought it was a dream come true when Extreme Dimensions came out with the replicas for all BMW models. Seeing as how expensive they are for an OEM plastic weld, Duraflex was my best bet. So I actually managed to find a used one on eBay with some little cosmetic issues. I got those fixed and also ordered a Duraflex rear M5 style bumper from Andy’s Autosport.”
Of course, saving a little money up front meant that the OP was buying parts that needed some work.
“They did not paint well, line up well, or even have any holes to drill through. Also, the front bumper was a lot smaller than my actual car and only had mesh in the center grill. I had to make some mesh for the bumper out of gutter drain mesh that turned out to work perfectly.”
The rear bumper required quite a bit of work, too. And since the OP’s BMW E60 didn’t come with parking sensors, he had to fill those in. After working through those issues, it was time to address the car’s stance.
“Finally received my coilovers. I wanted it slammed and couldn’t afford KWs or bags. So I settled for the infamous FK coils. I got the AK Streets from Venom Motorsports for about $400 and they shipped reasonably fast from Germany.”
Despite the fact that this is a pretty simple, budget build, the results obviously speak for themselves.
Be sure and check out the entire build by heading over here!