My 635d Story So Far (Warning – long post!)
12-13-2008, 03:18 AM
#1
Members
Thread Starter
Join Date: Sep 2004
Location: The Netherlands
Posts: 168
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
My Ride: [b]1993 Toyota Supra MKIV (6-speed Targa top) - SP67DBB Single Turbo[/b]
When I decided to trade in my M5 Touring it took me a while to find the right car. I wanted a performance diesel with at least all the options I had on the M5 and preferably some more. After considering a BMW X6 35d but not being the able to find the right car for the right price I finally decided on a 2008 model year Deep Sea Blue BMW 635d Coupe with Saddle Brown interior and most of the available options such as Active Front Steering, Dynamic Drive, Active Cruise Control, Head Up Display, Night Vision, High Beam Assistant, Comfort Access, Softclose Doors, Individual Leather Dash, Shadowline Highgloss Exterior Trim, Electric Sunroof, HiFi Professional, Navigation Professional, 6CD-Changer, USB Audio, Individual Dirac Audio, Bluetooth, Voice Control, Autodim Electric Folding Mirrors, Electric Memory Sport Seats & Steering Wheel Column and Adaptive Xenon Lights.
It was a BMW approved second hand car so came with a full 2 year warranty.
Stock
I already knew it wouldn’t stay stock for long so here’s a description of all the modifications I made to the car so far. This is how the car looked when I bought it.
Modified
This is how the car looks now.
Exterior
When I bought the car part of the deal was that the Chromeline exterior trim would be replaced by Shadowline High Gloss trim. The dealer took care of that although there were some problems with wind noise when I collected the car. It turned out the door rubber seals need to be refitted in a specific way after replacing trim. If you don’t do this correctly you get horrible wind noise.
Because I’m a sucker for details I also had the chrome strip of the fender grilles painted gloss black as well as the windscreen wiper fluid nozzles replaced by black ones.
Through the forum I bought a set of original M6 mirrors, thanks. They are the latest LCI versions with the larger housing (because of EC regulations). These were basically plug and play once you took off the door panels. To make them look a bit different I had the base and edges painted gloss black to match the exterior trim of the car.
One of my business contacts has a Trimline dealership and when I visited him I saw one of his cars with a nice window tint. I decided to get a 50% smoke tint all round (except the front windshield). It’s not legal in Holland to tint your front door windows but it’s barely noticeable. The quality of the tint is very good, it’s from 3M, from the inside you don’t see it’s tinted even when it’s dark.
Also to protect the body work against chipping I had them fit a 3M protective film across the front of the car.
After the E60 meet in October I decided to get the Alpina B6(s) front and rear spoilers. Unfortunately the B6(S) rear diffuser was not available but I am still trying to get it via other channels.
Again to finish the exterior in details I replaced the BMW emblems with gloss black ones to match the rest of the exterior trim.
Also at the same meet I saw that the OEM chrome kidneys looked nicer than the black ones that were fitted to my car so I ordered a set of these as well.
Interior
When I bought the car the interior trim was aluminium. I decided to get it all painted piano black gloss before taking delivery of the car. It turned out vey nice, it looks very classy and is a nice contrast with the brown leather. I also had the door switch panels painted piano black at a later stage.
When all the audio and video stuff was fitted my installer also fitted the original BMW cup holder to the centre console. The BMW dealer did not want to do this, he only supplied the parts. The centre console is pre-drilled for the screws but it was still a difficult job to position the hole for the cup holder base to be in the exact right position.
I had my Hartge Carbon steering wheel from my M5 fitted to the car. It was a matter of switching the shift-paddles and button panels from the original steering wheel to the Hartge wheel. I had that done when I collected the 635d so I didn’t have to go through the trouble of having a car with no steering wheel for a week or so. It was a 15 minute job because everything is plug and play.
Because the Hartge wheel has carbon trim and there’s nothing else in the car with carbon I had the carbon parts trimmed in shiny black foil at the same time the windows were tinted. This was easier than taking off the steering wheel and painting it.
I also had a Hartge leather handbrake lever left over from the M5 so I had that fitted as well.
I wanted a set of Hartge alloy pedals but they do not have the right size dead pedal so I decided to get a universal alloy pedal set.
Electronics
I’ve had extensive audio/video installations in al my cars since the early 90’s when I was a frequent car audio competitor. I had some stuff left over from my M5 but I also decided to improve on some things.
I had a Hirschmann DVB-T TV tuner from the M5. The problem with getting this to work on the I-Drive screen is finding the right interface. Luckily a MOST Interface came out recently. This allows you to connect an AV source to the I-Drive system and the cool thing with this interface is that it makes the I-Drive system think it has the OEM TV tuner.
You can switch to the TV screen with the I-Drive and also operate most of the tuner functions (like changing channels and inputs) with the I-Drive controller. All of this while driving of course!
One other advantage of this MOST interface is that you can watch TV on the left part of the display and have your navigation map on the right part of the display. It doesn’t completely take over the display like other AV interfaces,
The only thing you have to be careful with is when you have your car software updated because this will wipe out the MOST interface software as well. With a dongle you can reprogram the MOST interface software afterwards though.
In the M5 the reception with the Hirschmann tuner was not very good so we changed the aerials in the 635d to Funke diversity aerials. I am very pleased with the reception so far. Even in my area of Holland where the DVB-T signal is notoriously weak I get a decent signal in the car.
I also had an Alpine 6-DVD changer left over from the M5 and I had this connected to one of the AV inputs of the Hirschmann tuner. The IR eye was fitted in the ‘hood’ of the I-Drive display.
There was some serious alternator noise but we solved it by using an AudioControl Matrix Pre-Amp (which I had lying around collecting dust) between the DVD changer and the Hirschmann tuner. The system has no interference noise at all now.
In my M5 I had a Dension Gateway 500 iPod interface. Although it worked okay I though the interface was pretty cumbersome. Since I never use playlists but navigate through Artist and Album folders and since the 635d has a USB port I experimented with several hard-drives.
I wanted my whole CD collection, preferably in uncompressed format, in the car. A Freecom 120GB Toughdrive worked but only with MP3 files. When I filled it with a certain amount of WMA files the system started acting strangely with loud noises coming out of the system or playing only through one channel. The same thing happened with a 320GB Freecom MicroXS drive. I still haven’t figured out what the problem is but I suspect it has something to do with the power supply through the USB port.
In the end I decided to get a 64GB USB stick that can hold all my CD’s in MP3 format. This works perfectly. I made separate folders for all the letters of the alphabet to make navigating through 600 CD’s somewhat easier.
Ever since it came out I have had the Stinger DSI radar detector (see www.stinger.com). I’ve had the DSI display fitted in various positions in my previous BMW cars but in the 635d I decided to fit it centrally below the DVD slot. The Stinger DSI with radar warning software is illegal in Holland but with a push of a button you can wipe the radar warning software making the system legal again. Handy when you are being stopped by the police. When you get home you can upload the radar warning software again.
Because my installer also does a lot with LED lighting I had a couple of blue and red LED floor lights installed. With two buttons I can choose between blue, red and purple floor lighting.
Finally I had a Sanyo rear view camera fitted in the edge of the rear numberplate holder.
The Sanyo camera has warning lines in the display, green for 50cm and red for 0cm. Very neat and almost stock like. The BMW stock rear view camera was too expensive, it was like 3 times the price of he Sanyo camera.
Suspension
I had the G-Power 21” Silverstone wheels from my M5 Touring and after getting different spacers from G-Power (25mm front and 25mm rear) they were an easy fit. G-Power makes wheels with one offset and make it fit lots of different BMW models by changing out the spacers, very clever.
Once the 21” wheels were on the car it was clear the car needed to be lowered so I ordered a set of Eibach springs and had them installed. Despite various online reports that the Eibachs were just as comfortable as the stock springs the car became noticeably stiffer but after a while you get used to it.
Because the G-Power wheels were sort of anthracite in colour they didn’t really stand out from the car so I had them painted in a bright silver. They look much nicer now next to the dark blue of the car.
Future
I have a set of 7500K H8 bulbs on order for the Angel Eyes and fog lights.
Also I’m still trying to get a Sprint Booster for 150 Euro (I know I’m cheap …)
I also really want to get the Alpina B6(S) rear diffuser.
Lastly when I feel I need more power I will have the ECU remapped. So far I’m still happy with the performance of the car.
A big thanks to Arnold from Wheels Online (www.wheelsonline.nl) in Sliedrecht and Arthur from Connect Inbouwtechniek & Service in Rotterdam who have supplied most of the parts and have done most of the work.?
Any questions feel free to post! If anyone wants some hi-res pics please PM me.
It was a BMW approved second hand car so came with a full 2 year warranty.
Stock
I already knew it wouldn’t stay stock for long so here’s a description of all the modifications I made to the car so far. This is how the car looked when I bought it.
Modified
This is how the car looks now.
Exterior
When I bought the car part of the deal was that the Chromeline exterior trim would be replaced by Shadowline High Gloss trim. The dealer took care of that although there were some problems with wind noise when I collected the car. It turned out the door rubber seals need to be refitted in a specific way after replacing trim. If you don’t do this correctly you get horrible wind noise.
Because I’m a sucker for details I also had the chrome strip of the fender grilles painted gloss black as well as the windscreen wiper fluid nozzles replaced by black ones.
Through the forum I bought a set of original M6 mirrors, thanks. They are the latest LCI versions with the larger housing (because of EC regulations). These were basically plug and play once you took off the door panels. To make them look a bit different I had the base and edges painted gloss black to match the exterior trim of the car.
One of my business contacts has a Trimline dealership and when I visited him I saw one of his cars with a nice window tint. I decided to get a 50% smoke tint all round (except the front windshield). It’s not legal in Holland to tint your front door windows but it’s barely noticeable. The quality of the tint is very good, it’s from 3M, from the inside you don’t see it’s tinted even when it’s dark.
Also to protect the body work against chipping I had them fit a 3M protective film across the front of the car.
After the E60 meet in October I decided to get the Alpina B6(s) front and rear spoilers. Unfortunately the B6(S) rear diffuser was not available but I am still trying to get it via other channels.
Again to finish the exterior in details I replaced the BMW emblems with gloss black ones to match the rest of the exterior trim.
Also at the same meet I saw that the OEM chrome kidneys looked nicer than the black ones that were fitted to my car so I ordered a set of these as well.
Interior
When I bought the car the interior trim was aluminium. I decided to get it all painted piano black gloss before taking delivery of the car. It turned out vey nice, it looks very classy and is a nice contrast with the brown leather. I also had the door switch panels painted piano black at a later stage.
When all the audio and video stuff was fitted my installer also fitted the original BMW cup holder to the centre console. The BMW dealer did not want to do this, he only supplied the parts. The centre console is pre-drilled for the screws but it was still a difficult job to position the hole for the cup holder base to be in the exact right position.
I had my Hartge Carbon steering wheel from my M5 fitted to the car. It was a matter of switching the shift-paddles and button panels from the original steering wheel to the Hartge wheel. I had that done when I collected the 635d so I didn’t have to go through the trouble of having a car with no steering wheel for a week or so. It was a 15 minute job because everything is plug and play.
Because the Hartge wheel has carbon trim and there’s nothing else in the car with carbon I had the carbon parts trimmed in shiny black foil at the same time the windows were tinted. This was easier than taking off the steering wheel and painting it.
I also had a Hartge leather handbrake lever left over from the M5 so I had that fitted as well.
I wanted a set of Hartge alloy pedals but they do not have the right size dead pedal so I decided to get a universal alloy pedal set.
Electronics
I’ve had extensive audio/video installations in al my cars since the early 90’s when I was a frequent car audio competitor. I had some stuff left over from my M5 but I also decided to improve on some things.
I had a Hirschmann DVB-T TV tuner from the M5. The problem with getting this to work on the I-Drive screen is finding the right interface. Luckily a MOST Interface came out recently. This allows you to connect an AV source to the I-Drive system and the cool thing with this interface is that it makes the I-Drive system think it has the OEM TV tuner.
You can switch to the TV screen with the I-Drive and also operate most of the tuner functions (like changing channels and inputs) with the I-Drive controller. All of this while driving of course!
One other advantage of this MOST interface is that you can watch TV on the left part of the display and have your navigation map on the right part of the display. It doesn’t completely take over the display like other AV interfaces,
The only thing you have to be careful with is when you have your car software updated because this will wipe out the MOST interface software as well. With a dongle you can reprogram the MOST interface software afterwards though.
In the M5 the reception with the Hirschmann tuner was not very good so we changed the aerials in the 635d to Funke diversity aerials. I am very pleased with the reception so far. Even in my area of Holland where the DVB-T signal is notoriously weak I get a decent signal in the car.
I also had an Alpine 6-DVD changer left over from the M5 and I had this connected to one of the AV inputs of the Hirschmann tuner. The IR eye was fitted in the ‘hood’ of the I-Drive display.
There was some serious alternator noise but we solved it by using an AudioControl Matrix Pre-Amp (which I had lying around collecting dust) between the DVD changer and the Hirschmann tuner. The system has no interference noise at all now.
In my M5 I had a Dension Gateway 500 iPod interface. Although it worked okay I though the interface was pretty cumbersome. Since I never use playlists but navigate through Artist and Album folders and since the 635d has a USB port I experimented with several hard-drives.
I wanted my whole CD collection, preferably in uncompressed format, in the car. A Freecom 120GB Toughdrive worked but only with MP3 files. When I filled it with a certain amount of WMA files the system started acting strangely with loud noises coming out of the system or playing only through one channel. The same thing happened with a 320GB Freecom MicroXS drive. I still haven’t figured out what the problem is but I suspect it has something to do with the power supply through the USB port.
In the end I decided to get a 64GB USB stick that can hold all my CD’s in MP3 format. This works perfectly. I made separate folders for all the letters of the alphabet to make navigating through 600 CD’s somewhat easier.
Ever since it came out I have had the Stinger DSI radar detector (see www.stinger.com). I’ve had the DSI display fitted in various positions in my previous BMW cars but in the 635d I decided to fit it centrally below the DVD slot. The Stinger DSI with radar warning software is illegal in Holland but with a push of a button you can wipe the radar warning software making the system legal again. Handy when you are being stopped by the police. When you get home you can upload the radar warning software again.
Because my installer also does a lot with LED lighting I had a couple of blue and red LED floor lights installed. With two buttons I can choose between blue, red and purple floor lighting.
Finally I had a Sanyo rear view camera fitted in the edge of the rear numberplate holder.
The Sanyo camera has warning lines in the display, green for 50cm and red for 0cm. Very neat and almost stock like. The BMW stock rear view camera was too expensive, it was like 3 times the price of he Sanyo camera.
Suspension
I had the G-Power 21” Silverstone wheels from my M5 Touring and after getting different spacers from G-Power (25mm front and 25mm rear) they were an easy fit. G-Power makes wheels with one offset and make it fit lots of different BMW models by changing out the spacers, very clever.
Once the 21” wheels were on the car it was clear the car needed to be lowered so I ordered a set of Eibach springs and had them installed. Despite various online reports that the Eibachs were just as comfortable as the stock springs the car became noticeably stiffer but after a while you get used to it.
Because the G-Power wheels were sort of anthracite in colour they didn’t really stand out from the car so I had them painted in a bright silver. They look much nicer now next to the dark blue of the car.
Future
I have a set of 7500K H8 bulbs on order for the Angel Eyes and fog lights.
Also I’m still trying to get a Sprint Booster for 150 Euro (I know I’m cheap …)
I also really want to get the Alpina B6(S) rear diffuser.
Lastly when I feel I need more power I will have the ECU remapped. So far I’m still happy with the performance of the car.
A big thanks to Arnold from Wheels Online (www.wheelsonline.nl) in Sliedrecht and Arthur from Connect Inbouwtechniek & Service in Rotterdam who have supplied most of the parts and have done most of the work.?
Any questions feel free to post! If anyone wants some hi-res pics please PM me.
12-13-2008, 07:09 AM
#5
Contributors
Join Date: Oct 2008
Location: Los Angeles, CA
Posts: 5,701
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
My Ride: 2009 Alpine White e92 M3
from the pics, I was like where are the mods, okay he got his rims and m6 mirrors done but what else? 
now I see that I have to look closely to see the detailed mods 
, great job!!
now I see that I have to look closely to see the detailed mods , great job!!
12-13-2008, 08:03 AM
#7
Members
Thread Starter
Join Date: Sep 2004
Location: The Netherlands
Posts: 168
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
My Ride: [b]1993 Toyota Supra MKIV (6-speed Targa top) - SP67DBB Single Turbo[/b]
Originally Posted by AlexFW' post='744449' date='Dec 13 2008, 03:54 PM
Why a 635d when you could get a 650i? 
12-13-2008, 11:35 AM
#9
Members
Thread Starter
Join Date: Sep 2004
Location: The Netherlands
Posts: 168
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
My Ride: [b]1993 Toyota Supra MKIV (6-speed Targa top) - SP67DBB Single Turbo[/b]
Originally Posted by tbal' post='744595' date='Dec 13 2008, 09:19 PM
Wow looks sexy! Alpina kit looks so clean, any thoughts on exhaust, lowering?
This is how it looked with the stock springs.
This is with the Eibach springs.
I don't want it any lower because the ride is already pretty bumpy on bad roads.
I'd like to have quadruple exhaust tips but I don't want to replace the mufflers.
I'm looking into getting some custom tips made.
