Kasmo

Initially before I posted this thread I thought about supercharging it.

One of the main reasons why i kinda backed out of the whole 535i idea is because well im not comfortable with my financial situation as I am a college student hahaha, From what iv heard from my friends that own BMWs with N54 engines they have dumped a good amount of money for maintenance into those cars and they pretty much own a 2nd car just in case their n54 decides to crap out for some odd reason. The straight 6 is a good motor, and the e60 is a beautiful car, being what it is right now its the perfect daily and dependable, for a person like me I guess. Most likely ill end up getting a 2nd car (an E30) to actually mod and have that as a fun car. Less electronics, way more aftermarket, and well those cars are so damn awesome and easy to work on.

I know the N52 in the 525i/xi models is just a detuned version of the n52 in the 530i. The stock 525xi/i makes about 215-218hp. A stock 530i makes around 255. The only difference from what iv heard was the intake manifold and how the computer was programmed. So for about 2k im making my 525xi perform like a 530i. And i dont really want to switch cars since I already did a trans filter and fluid change and a bunch of other maintenance that I know has been done so I dont gotta worry about it.

We will see, maybe ill just stick with cosmetic mods. All id want for the exterior is new tints, different taillights and bumpers. The car is already lowered on H&R springs but they are somewhat annoying to drive around with, really bouncy, so I might go to ICS coilovers. I got wheels and tires for it last summer along with some LEDs, new angel eye bulbs.

As I was writing this post, I realized that I could just save that 2k and put it towards the 2nd car and bump up the budget. lol

Guess thats what happens when you sit down and your thoughts and ideas arent racing at million miles per hour in your head. haha

zoppp

Go for the 535. Great tuning potential and its relatively cheaper to maintain compared to the v8. Also read up on the warranty, the turbo warranty is only 8 year 82k miles. The HPFP is 120k 10 year or something. The years is relative to the MANUFACTURE date, not the model year of the car.

The cost of the turbo wastegate replacement is around 5-6k which happens around 100k but not to all cars. Just be ready to swallow that pill if it does come, but realize that is significantly cheaper than the repairs you will have to do on the v8.

Love this article: 10 Reasons The E60 535i Is Better Than The M5


I'm a college student also, (at Georgia Southern at the moment). I had 2 e46's and now I have an 08 528i because I didn't want to deal with the n54 issues. I love the n52, and it has more than enough power to satisfy me right now.

Kasmo

Thats the article that got me thinking about that in the first place hahaha, and nice!! Yea I came to terms that the N52 is enough. The 5 series isnt meant to be race car. Its just a sporty sedan. Just wish i could have went with an LCI instead of a PRE-LCI. Kinda trying to find LCI iDrive system for mine, along with headlights. I really hate the ambers in my headlights. At least my E39 i could buy covers, for this you have to cut the lamp open.

JDeezyNYC

don't worry about the headlights/taillights.Get the car you want and these guys will make them look however you want.

https://www.facebook.com/republicwerkz/

Kasmo

Already thinking about it haha, some of the E60s they did are amazing.

Wonder how much $$$ that would cost, probably around 600?

I gotta price stuff out, Im looking into to possibly getting a 2nd car mid-summer (a project, looking at E30s and some other older BMWs) If i dont buy a car Im gonna put extra 2,000 extra into the BMW E60 make it look awesome fund. lol

I just wish one of my dream mods for it were a bit cheaper, Its air suspension, and I was quoted 4,500-$5,000 for it. Which I rather find a beat up E30 and work on that for possibly half the price.

skrelnik

Kasmo

My E60 is a 2006 525xi, it has the amber reflector inside the headlight housing. So changing out a bulb wont do anything.

Im gonna try to find my build thread for my e60 and surface that out of the depths of the forum so if anyone is interested check it out.