New Mods - Metamorphosis in Pictures
04-19-2009, 03:31 PM
#31
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My Ride: 2005 545i | Titanium Silver | Sport, Premium, Cold Weather, Navigation packages | Style 124 staggered rims | iPod integration | Tinted windows
Thanks everyone for the positive comments and suggestions!
With regards to preparing a DIY write-up, I think Mike (nigxdoof) would probably be able to do a better job. I actually received a lot of help from friends at a body shop.
Here are some comments concerning the Umnitza bumper. This should answer most of the questions I have been receiving.
So far, I am very pleased with this project. I thought that my car would look odd with the M bumper and OEM side skirts, but I'm quite impressed with how it looks right now. Umnitza sells the M-Tech skirts for $200 and they are an easy DIY, so I may get them in the future.
It sure is nice driving with a new bumper that has absolutely no stone chips! Anyone that drives anywhere on Highway 401 in Toronto has stone chips on their car. But it's a necessary evil - there is no other way to get around the city!
I welcome any comments or suggestions.
With regards to preparing a DIY write-up, I think Mike (nigxdoof) would probably be able to do a better job. I actually received a lot of help from friends at a body shop.
Here are some comments concerning the Umnitza bumper. This should answer most of the questions I have been receiving.
- Good alternative replica bumper at decent price.
- Product sourced from www.umnitza.com for $350 + shipping. Follow this link: http://www.umnitza.com/product_info.php?cP...roducts_id=1244
- Matt (owner of Umnitza) is a decent guy and I enjoyed my conversations with him. He was prompt in shipping the product.
- Proven fitment for E60's '04-'06. Their website states that product will fit newer models including LCI, but I don't believe any members have tested it yet.
- Unfortunately, Umnitza cannot ship this bumper to Canada. At this point, I believe they are unable to ship outside of the US.
- This bumper is made of Polypropylene (PP). The body shop that I used for painting has been around for years and they have much experience working on high-end cars and are experts on difficult jobs. They mentioned to me that the bumper material was a little weird to work with. For any plastic material, they use an initial pre-paint primer product that helps the paint to adhere. They had a difficult time getting the primer to stick properly on this PP material. After several coats, it worked and they were able to paint the next day, but they said they had never experienced this before... The finished painted product looks great, but he said the PP material is definitely unique. Only time will tell if the paint will chip or peal easily.
- PDC holes and inner plastic housing are deeper than OEM which caused the sensors to sit recessed and not flush with bumper. They had to file and reshape the PDC housing and the body shop guys spent a little over an hour getting it right. Then, with some glue, they were able to get the sensors to fit snug and flush. This required patience and persistence.
- For the inner bumper foam, Mike (nigxdoof) had to cut small squares at the bottom where the brackets are for a perfect fit. Please refer to this post from member: rodybmw. http://forums.e60.net/index.php?showtopic=12675
- Cutting the foam on the bottom allows the brackets to sit straight and not pushed down. If the brackets are not sitting straight, the bumper will not align correctly and you will have a gap on top. I was initially ready to cut the foam, but my brackets were not being pushed down. The bumper was fit on the brackets for the initial inspection and everything fit snug - no gaps. So, we didn't have to cut anything. Not sure why my car was different? Only explanation is if the OEM foam or bracket fitment is different for the 545i compared to others?
- The OEM fog lights fit perfectly on the new bumper, but from Mike's comments, it does appear that the fogs are pointing a little higher than normal. If you have HIDs, it might cause glare. It is not easy to point the fogs lower. That said, I don't have a problem with this. With my OEM bulbs, the fogs look like the are pointing almost exactly the same as with the original bumper and I have no glare.
- The headlight washers were a pain. The position for the headlight washers on the new bumper is different from OEM. You will need the M-Tech brackets. Part #'s: (left) 51117896601 & (right) 51117896602. Price for both is ~$20 from BMW. To align the washers, you will have to wiggle them back and forth and make adjustments. It's hard to explain, but not overly difficult to do. It just takes time because you have to fit the bumper to see if the alignment is correct and keep trying until you get it perfect. Again, another hour or so was spent on this.
- The brake ducts are weird and we are getting inconsistent reports from other members. As I mentioned before, I got help from friends at the body shop and unfortunately, I was not present when they finally fit the bumper with the brake ducts. At first, I thought we would have to remove the ducts because it didn't look like it fit correct. By the time I got back to the body shop, the bumper was already on with the brake ducts installed. The guys said they simply fit the ducts on the original location on the car, and then slowly fit the bumper. They had to be careful with the alignment and not move anything out of place while fitting the bumper, but the brake ducts, bumper foam and sensors sit perfect and they didn't have any problem in securing the new bumper in. Nothing was forced or squashed. So, unfortunately, I can't comment on how the ducts fit. Now that I've got this beautiful M grill in the front, I can look through it and sure enough, the brake ducts are there. The position is a little weak because a part of the duct opening is right in front of the edge of the fog light housing - so maybe it's not as effective, but air is definitely being forced through the ducts to the brakes.
- The kidney grills fit perfectly, just like the OEM bumper.
- The hardest part in this entire install was screwing that dumb license plate bracket into a newly painted, beautiful bumper. Painful experience! But, I had to be legally responsible. We just can't get away without a front license plate in Ontario.
So far, I am very pleased with this project. I thought that my car would look odd with the M bumper and OEM side skirts, but I'm quite impressed with how it looks right now. Umnitza sells the M-Tech skirts for $200 and they are an easy DIY, so I may get them in the future.
It sure is nice driving with a new bumper that has absolutely no stone chips! Anyone that drives anywhere on Highway 401 in Toronto has stone chips on their car. But it's a necessary evil - there is no other way to get around the city!
I welcome any comments or suggestions.
04-19-2009, 03:46 PM
#32
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My Ride: 2008 335i, Jet Black / Terra Dakota, 15k miles
Originally Posted by Silver_545i' post='852087' date='Apr 19 2009, 07:31 PM
Thanks everyone for the positive comments and suggestions!
With regards to preparing a DIY write-up, I think Mike (nigxdoof) would probably be able to do a better job. I actually received a lot of help from friends at a body shop.
Here are some comments concerning the Umnitza bumper. This should answer most of the questions I have been receiving.
So far, I am very pleased with this project. I thought that my car would look odd with the M bumper and OEM side skirts, but I'm quite impressed with how it looks right now. Umnitza sells the M-Tech skirts for $200 and they are an easy DIY, so I may get them in the future.
It sure is nice driving with a new bumper that has absolutely no stone chips! Anyone that drives anywhere on Highway 401 in Toronto has stone chips on their car. But it's a necessary evil - there is no other way to get around the city!
I welcome any comments or suggestions.
With regards to preparing a DIY write-up, I think Mike (nigxdoof) would probably be able to do a better job. I actually received a lot of help from friends at a body shop.
Here are some comments concerning the Umnitza bumper. This should answer most of the questions I have been receiving.
- Good alternative replica bumper at decent price.
- Product sourced from www.umnitza.com for $350 + shipping. Follow this link: http://www.umnitza.com/product_info.php?cP...roducts_id=1244
- Matt (owner of Umnitza) is a decent guy and I enjoyed my conversations with him. He was prompt in shipping the product.
- Proven fitment for E60's '04-'06. Their website states that product will fit newer models including LCI, but I don't believe any members have tested it yet.
- Unfortunately, Umnitza cannot ship this bumper to Canada. At this point, I believe they are unable to ship outside of the US.
- This bumper is made of Polypropylene (PP). The body shop that I used for painting has been around for years and they have much experience working on high-end cars and are experts on difficult jobs. They mentioned to me that the bumper material was a little weird to work with. For any plastic material, they use an initial pre-paint primer product that helps the paint to adhere. They had a difficult time getting the primer to stick properly on this PP material. After several coats, it worked and they were able to paint the next day, but they said they had never experienced this before... The finished painted product looks great, but he said the PP material is definitely unique. Only time will tell if the paint will chip or peal easily.
- PDC holes and inner plastic housing are deeper than OEM which caused the sensors to sit recessed and not flush with bumper. They had to file and reshape the PDC housing and the body shop guys spent a little over an hour getting it right. Then, with some glue, they were able to get the sensors to fit snug and flush. This required patience and persistence.
- For the inner bumper foam, Mike (nigxdoof) had to cut small squares at the bottom where the brackets are for a perfect fit. Please refer to this post from member: rodybmw. http://forums.e60.net/index.php?showtopic=12675
- Cutting the foam on the bottom allows the brackets to sit straight and not pushed down. If the brackets are not sitting straight, the bumper will not align correctly and you will have a gap on top. I was initially ready to cut the foam, but my brackets were not being pushed down. The bumper was fit on the brackets for the initial inspection and everything fit snug - no gaps. So, we didn't have to cut anything. Not sure why my car was different? Only explanation is if the OEM foam or bracket fitment is different for the 545i compared to others?
- The OEM fog lights fit perfectly on the new bumper, but from Mike's comments, it does appear that the fogs are pointing a little higher than normal. If you have HIDs, it might cause glare. It is not easy to point the fogs lower. That said, I don't have a problem with this. With my OEM bulbs, the fogs look like the are pointing almost exactly the same as with the original bumper and I have no glare.
- The headlight washers were a pain. The position for the headlight washers on the new bumper is different from OEM. You will need the M-Tech brackets. Part #'s: (left) 51117896601 & (right) 51117896602. Price for both is ~$20 from BMW. To align the washers, you will have to wiggle them back and forth and make adjustments. It's hard to explain, but not overly difficult to do. It just takes time because you have to fit the bumper to see if the alignment is correct and keep trying until you get it perfect. Again, another hour or so was spent on this.
- The brake ducts are weird and we are getting inconsistent reports from other members. As I mentioned before, I got help from friends at the body shop and unfortunately, I was not present when they finally fit the bumper with the brake ducts. At first, I thought we would have to remove the ducts because it didn't look like it fit correct. By the time I got back to the body shop, the bumper was already on with the brake ducts installed. The guys said they simply fit the ducts on the original location on the car, and then slowly fit the bumper. They had to be careful with the alignment and not move anything out of place while fitting the bumper, but the brake ducts, bumper foam and sensors sit perfect and they didn't have any problem in securing the new bumper in. Nothing was forced or squashed. So, unfortunately, I can't comment on how the ducts fit. Now that I've got this beautiful M grill in the front, I can look through it and sure enough, the brake ducts are there. The position is a little weak because a part of the duct opening is right in front of the edge of the fog light housing - so maybe it's not as effective, but air is definitely being forced through the ducts to the brakes.
- The kidney grills fit perfectly, just like the OEM bumper.
- The hardest part in this entire install was screwing that dumb license plate bracket into a newly painted, beautiful bumper. Painful experience! But, I had to be legally responsible. We just can't get away without a front license plate in Ontario.
So far, I am very pleased with this project. I thought that my car would look odd with the M bumper and OEM side skirts, but I'm quite impressed with how it looks right now. Umnitza sells the M-Tech skirts for $200 and they are an easy DIY, so I may get them in the future.
It sure is nice driving with a new bumper that has absolutely no stone chips! Anyone that drives anywhere on Highway 401 in Toronto has stone chips on their car. But it's a necessary evil - there is no other way to get around the city!
I welcome any comments or suggestions.
Thanks for all of this information. Now I can present these to my body shop when I go get mine done. Looks great, titanium silver is king
04-19-2009, 10:12 PM
#34
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Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: UK
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My Ride: Jan 2006 E63 650i Sport
.
Options:
Sport version (includes: sport-seats, sport-suspension, M-Sport steering wheel, Anthracite headliner, Shaddow Line), Saphire Black, Black Dakota Leather, Anthracite Maple Wood trim, Steptronic Auto, Xenons, NAV-Professional with Voice Control, TV, CD-Changer, Bluetooth, Logic7, Head-up Display, Comfort Access, Seat Heating front, Auto Dimming & Folding Mirrors, Extended Auto Air Conditioning, PDC.
.
Mods:
Spacers 5mm front & 15mm rear
.
Wheels:
20" Alpina Softline (Classic) with Dunlop Sport Maxx non-RFT (255/35/20 & 285/30/20)
Two simple mods that totally transformed the look of the car -- looks great!
Thanks for the sharing all the pics.
Thanks for the sharing all the pics.
04-26-2009, 08:04 PM
#35
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My Ride: 2008 535xi / Platinum Grey / Black leather / Step Auto / Sport / Premium / Cold weather / 18" wheels / Logic 7 / Comfort / ipod / Navigation / Fold Down Rear Seats / Rear Airbags / Sirius SAT / Spoiler / Extended Clear bra / Bluetooth. (Previously owned a 2002 sport 525I Loaded).
On order: 535xi Platnium Grey with Black interior, Step Auto, Sports package, Premium package, Cold weather package, 18" wheels, Logic 7, Comfort access, ipod adapt, Navigation, Sat radio, Rear spoiler, Extended Clear coat bra.
Great job with the bumpers guys and this was a very entertaining post, writeup and all. !!! 
04-26-2009, 11:03 PM
#36
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Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: Lahore, Pakistan <---> Los Angeles, CA
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My Ride: 2008 BMW 550i Silver Metallic w/Sport Automatic Transmission, Ventilated Comfort Seats in Beige Nasca Leather, Light Poplar Trim, NAV, HUD, Active Steering, Night Vision, Active Cruise Control, Logic 7, Blue tooth Hands Free, Dynamic Stability, Soft Close.
Mods: RPI Exhaust, Scoop + FIlter, License plate LED lights
What If a car has NV, any difference in the procedure or something?
04-27-2009, 08:43 AM
#38
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My Ride: 2008 550i Jet Black on Black Leather, SAT with Paddles, Logic 7, Comfort Seats, NAV, Sport Package, PDC, Xenons, Sirius, Trinity 12W LED Angel Eyes, RPi GT Exhaust, M rear spoiler, ACS Roof Spoiler, Tinted Tail Lights, Bimmian Carbon Fiber Pillar Trim, Bimmian Shadow 550i emblem, RPi Scoop, E60 Forum Cling, Mtec bulbs in fog lights, Mtec 2W LED for License Plate Light Bulbs, K&N Filter, Bimmian LED Smoked Side Markers, Blackout roundels, Carbon Fiber Kidney Grills.
Retired Rides - 1989 325i convertible, 1995 M3, 2002 X5, 2005 545i, 2008 X5 (Lemon)
Great looking Mods, congrats!!
04-27-2009, 08:47 AM
#39
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My Ride: 2007 530i. Purchased 6/28/07. Titanium Silver Metallic, Black Dakota Leather, Dark Poplar Trim, Steptronic, Premium Package, Cold Weather Package, Bluetooth, Adaptive Control Xenons. 10/30/07 Added OEM 124s with 245/40/18 & 275/35/18 Michelin Pilot Sport A/S tires. Installed red Cal Covers� from BavAuto. 11/21/07 Added OEM all-weather floor mats (for winter, carpet in summer) and coat rack. 6/26/08 installed M5-style rear spoiler. 6/30/08 put on red reflectors. 8/22/08 Euro turn signal stickers applied. 3/20/09 Installed Shadowline Trim. 3/27/09 Added Matte Black Kidney Grilles from Trinity. 4/03/09 Installed Bimmian Shadow Matte Black 530i Badges. 4/04/09 Installed LED license plate lights from Trinity. 5/01/09 Installed Brabus Interior LED Kit and White Angel Eyes. 5/02/09 Put in Brabus 6K Fogs. 5/14/09 Removed charcoal filter. 5/15/09 Installed light smoke LED side marker lamps from Trinity. 5/21/09 Sprint Booster. 6/12/09 Painted exhaust tips flat black. 6/13/09 Pulled red Cal Covers and painted calipers low gloss black. 6/27/09 RPI Ram Air Scoop from Trinity. 8/15/09 Installed Brabus's silver invisibulbs front and rear. 9/24/09 Installed R-Dash license plate LEDs from Brabaus (John).
Really nice. Love the color and wheels especially! 
04-27-2009, 08:51 AM
#40
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My Ride: 2005 BMW525i 20 inch wheels, tinted tails windows, and headlights, acs style spoiler, painted calipers, HID fogs, angelibrights, 1999 Chevy S-10-lambo doors, retractable license plate, rims, lowered, custom thru body kit exhaust w/twin slash tips, ect..., 2007 gsxr750 fully modded.
SICK, those grilles look awesome. i love the m5 front end
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