666bxg

Hi

I'm just wondering if its possible to....

1. upgrade standard air con controls to advanced air con?

2. upgrade business nav to professional nav?

Besides the physical installation, I would imgaine the car will need re-coding by the dealer.... or am I completely wrong?

thanks

seoulman

I saw a thread on this forum on which someone changed the standard HVAC controls to the auto climate control unit. There was also a thread on which someone wanted to add the business NAV on a car with no NAV. Whether a retrofit is feasible or not depends on two things. Time and money. If you have the money and the time you can retrofit almost anything. The only caveat being, would it be prudent to do it. Upgrading your HVAC and your business NAV to Professional would be extremely costly. You might be better off just changing your car for a car that has both those options.

timewa

1. Never say no but... in this case it's very close to impossible. The extended A/C has many additional valves, a completely different recirculation system (including auto recirc) so this change requires replacing many parts deep inside the dashboard. And of course the A/C panel and all the recoding/idrive changes etc etc. Not worth it.

2. This can be done. Replace the M-ASK by a CCC, change the display (6.5" -> 8.8"), change the I-drive controller, the cables and recode the car. It will be very costly and time consuming though.
On a LCI E60 the business nav (2D maps) is more modern and faster than the professional nav (which is now also replaced by a new revision in the 3 and 7 series, not in the 5). I would never do the upgrade.
On a post-LCI I agree that the business nav is very basic and that professional nav is much better, but I still wouldn't spend 2K or more plus all the time for such an upgrade.

Tim

dirksqjaw

I've done a lot of research into this since Business Nav is all but useless in the Middle East (no addresses!), and it really is an expensive job. If you're someone who would use it a lot/needs it a lot, and doesn't want the bulkiness of a superior Garmen system, then it may be worth it to you. But for me, it makes more sense to buy the top of the line Garmen and live with the aesthetic hit inside the car. Something to consider with the BMW nav systems is the damned DVD is about a grand!

I've got a bud in Boston who did the upgrade as he drives all over new england and he has the cash, he loves it - but those roads don't change much! For me, it makes so much more sense to get an aftermarket nav since the Dubai roads change all.the.damned.time and Garmen has a good reputation for keeping up with a lot of it out here.

My two fils.