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coming along nice. what size tips did you go with?
I appreciate it! I'm not too sure the size, but I think they are 2.75" - 3" tips. It's only a 528xi, so piping from the headers to cats, to the aftermarket resonators, are factory 2". Then after the resonators are 2.5" piping to the quad tips.
Your project is coming along great. Question for your: how was the fit and paint quality of the Umnitza bumpers? Did the color match well and did you have to make adjustments to the pieces? Also, how is the ride on the BC Racing coilovers? I think I've read some reviews that said they were too harsh. There's not too many options for the X-drive cars, other the the KW V3s and maybe the new ECS coilovers that will ship soon. Thanks.
Clearance issue with 528xi on coilovers... possible solution.
Originally Posted by zoom750
Your project is coming along great. Question for your: how was the fit and paint quality of the Umnitza bumpers? Did the color match well and did you have to make adjustments to the pieces? Also, how is the ride on the BC Racing coilovers? I think I've read some reviews that said they were too harsh. There's not too many options for the X-drive cars, other the the KW V3s and maybe the new ECS coilovers that will ship soon. Thanks.
Thank you! I appreciate the compliment!
The Umnitza bumpers fit really well. I was surprised they bolted up perfectly, without any modifications. The quality was amazing too. As for the paint, I give it 4 out of 5. The paint was basically a great match... keep in mind that my exterior was in great condition. After a lil bit of polishing, matches the bumpers perfect. The only issues I had was that they did miss a couple spots on the bumpers where the edge of the wheel well arch is. And the rear bumper had a bit of orange peel, but a bit of wet sanding and polishing fixed it.
As for the BC Racing coilovers... I definitely recommend them. Amazing quality and amazing price. The ride comfort is adjustable as you will have 30 damping settings for front and back on each strut assembly. Currently I have the fronts set at 20 clicks from soft... and the rears at 19 clicks from soft. I have 8 Kg/mm front springs and 5 Kg/mm rear springs, however, you have the option of customizing your spring weight. The car feels very rigid in corners and very stable. The ride is comfortable, but you do feel the bumps in the road at the settings I'm at. I don't feel like it is too harsh. After running them for about 6,500 miles... still feel great!!
I did order the BR series Extreme Low kit. I knew with us AWD, we actually sit a bit taller than the RWD at stock. I'm lowered about 2" up front and back. I wanted to lower the front about half an inch more to have that subtle raked look and even gaps front and back... however, there is an issue of clearance. My coilover kit did come with shortened sway bar end links because factory ones would be too long. However, I'm not sure if it was meant for AWD... and searching through the internet, there is no aftermarket sway bar end links for AWD E60s. Anyway, they did get installed and being lowered as much as I am in the front, on hard cornering, the front sway bars come in contact with the front axles/front inner axle boot & clamp. Below are pics I tried to take with the car on all 4 wheels, however the wheels are turned so the the sway bar and end links are under tension to the right.
You can see there is hardly any clearance between the front sway bar and the front axles & inner axle CV boot/clamp... but you are unable to see the scrape marks inside the sway bar from the axle and CV boot clamp coming into contact with it. I did have to replace the clamp twice.
The current sway bar end links that came with my coilover kit measure 14 inches from bolt center end to bolt center end. Which in turn swing the sway bar up too close to the axles. The factory ones, from what I have been able to research, measure 16.5 inches. My suggestion would be to run with the factory end links. For now anyway. However, I am working with someone from Whiteline Suspension to see if we can come up with a solution of an Adjustable Sway Bar End Link for E60 525xi, 528xi, 530xi, and 535xi. This solution would be able to adjust the end links at a length where I can swing the sway bar back down a bit to help clear the axles... even if I lower the car a bit more in the front... and still retain a close 90 degree setup from sway bar to end links. In the next week, I should be able to update...
While waiting to receive my adjustable sway bar end links...
Took some time to make an air scoop. It's similar to the RPI scoop and the other DIY ones, but I wanted mine to be narrower, functional and yet less obvious. Plus I wanted it to be very subtle since there will be only one and it'll mess with my OCD if it was noticeable. I used 28 Gauge galvanized sheet of steel. Was less than $7 at Home Depot for a sheet of 12x12. Got metal shears, industrial strength adhesive metal weld, and a hand-held sheet metal seamer to help make tight bends. I let the adhesive cure for a good 30 hrs and then painted the scoop flat black. 3 self tapping screws hold it in place and it is solid. Went on a few test drives on the freeway and it's still holding. More than likely later will replace the screws with bolts and washer/nuts on the backside. It's inconspicuous, yet functional... and doesn't block the V bar
The Umnitza bumpers fit really well. I was surprised they bolted up perfectly, without any modifications. The quality was amazing too. As for the paint, I give it 4 out of 5. The paint was basically a great match... keep in mind that my exterior was in great condition. After a lil bit of polishing, matches the bumpers perfect. The only issues I had was that they did miss a couple spots on the bumpers where the edge of the wheel well arch is. And the rear bumper had a bit of orange peel, but a bit of wet sanding and polishing fixed it.
As for the BC Racing coilovers... I definitely recommend them. Amazing quality and amazing price. The ride comfort is adjustable as you will have 30 damping settings for front and back on each strut assembly. Currently I have the fronts set at 20 clicks from soft... and the rears at 19 clicks from soft. I have 8 Kg/mm front springs and 5 Kg/mm rear springs, however, you have the option of customizing your spring weight. The car feels very rigid in corners and very stable. The ride is comfortable, but you do feel the bumps in the road at the settings I'm at. I don't feel like it is too harsh. After running them for about 6,500 miles... still feel great!!
I did order the BR series Extreme Low kit. I knew with us AWD, we actually sit a bit taller than the RWD at stock. I'm lowered about 2" up front and back. I wanted to lower the front about half an inch more to have that subtle raked look and even gaps front and back... however, there is an issue of clearance. My coilover kit did come with shortened sway bar end links because factory ones would be too long. However, I'm not sure if it was meant for AWD... and searching through the internet, there is no aftermarket sway bar end links for AWD E60s. Anyway, they did get installed and being lowered as much as I am in the front, on hard cornering, the front sway bars come in contact with the front axles/front inner axle boot & clamp. Below are pics I tried to take with the car on all 4 wheels, however the wheels are turned so the the sway bar and end links are under tension to the right.
You can see there is hardly any clearance between the front sway bar and the front axles & inner axle CV boot/clamp... but you are unable to see the scrape marks inside the sway bar from the axle and CV boot clamp coming into contact with it. I did have to replace the clamp twice.
The current sway bar end links that came with my coilover kit measure 14 inches from bolt center end to bolt center end. Which in turn swing the sway bar up too close to the axles. The factory ones, from what I have been able to research, measure 16.5 inches. My suggestion would be to run with the factory end links. For now anyway. However, I am working with someone from Whiteline Suspension to see if we can come up with a solution of an Adjustable Sway Bar End Link for E60 525xi, 528xi, 530xi, and 535xi. This solution would be able to adjust the end links at a length where I can swing the sway bar back down a bit to help clear the axles... even if I lower the car a bit more in the front... and still retain a close 90 degree setup from sway bar to end links. In the next week, I should be able to update...
New adjustable sway bar end links came in from Whiteline Suspension. Been talking to George there about my issue. We were able to come up with a solution... an adjustable sway bar end link long enough AND adjustable to help clear the sway bar from the axle, but shorter than the stock factory end links. These are actually for the new A90 Toyota Supra... or aka, the new BMW Z4. Going to install them soon and report back! Current short end links are 14"... stock factory end links were 16.5"-17" in length...
New adjustable sway bar end links came in from Whiteline Suspension. Been talking to George there about my issue. We were able to come up with a solution... an adjustable sway bar end link long enough AND adjustable to help clear the sway bar from the axle, but shorter than the stock factory end links. These are actually for the new A90 Toyota Supra... or aka, the new BMW Z4. Going to install them soon and report back!
Current short end links are 14"... stock factory end links were 16.5"-17" in length...
Curious why you went shorter than stock? When the swaybar is the bottom point you'd want to go longer to keep the bar horizontal at ride height; this would also give even more clearance to the axle.
Edit: I'm guessing the coilover mounting hole is in a different location vs stock?
11-17-2020, 03:33 PM
I used 28 Gauge galvanized sheet of steel. Was less than $7 at Home Depot for a sheet of 12x12. Got metal shears, industrial strength adhesive metal weld, and a hand-held sheet metal seamer to help make tight bends. I let the adhesive cure for a good 30 hrs and then painted the scoop flat black. 3 self tapping screws hold it in place and it is solid. Went on a few test drives on the freeway and it's still holding. More than likely later will replace the screws with bolts and washer/nuts on the backside. It's inconspicuous, yet functional... and doesn't block the V bar 
