norsecarnut

Nice shot! Good and purposeful! When you look in the 2008 535xiT brochure, those 17's actually look nice, but maybe you are just itching for some personalization.

Well, before I did wheels I did more important, to me, items: 9500ci, reverse camera, top notch ceramic tint, sweet as hell window screens (these pop into place in my rear passenger side windows, cargo area sides, and cargo area hatch glass. Very nice, nearly 100" privacy under any lighting conditions and the added bonus of bug netting when napping on a long road trip if it's warm enough for bugs, but I usually do that in the winter anyway. The privacy is awesome.

I also got the cool "rear seat back organizer". At first it looked a little dorky, like a photo "vest", but it's just like a functional vest, you just don't have to be seen in it Also put in the sport seat covers which help with food and beverage retention if you find that a problem, or muddy legs from mountain biking, but they are also not sticky of hot, etc.

Then the full size spare including tpm sensor and the ARB freezer fridge.
Dinan stage 2 & Dinan exhaust.

All the above prior to "wheels"...

Just remember, your car came with wheels, and presumably has not worn out it's tires and you are not in winter yet. Therefore, wheels are solely a "want" not a need, not even a somehow justified whimsy. Wait, at least to find the right wheel.

Some more digging ought to bring up someone who has successfully done a trailer wiring project. You do not want to f-up the electronics!

Sarge

Jwest - Thanks VERY much for all the time that went into those detailed responses.

BOXES: I've used Packasport boxes in the past (fiberglass) and I'm currently using one on my Wrangler in the winter as it's the only way I can squeeze my Jeep into the garage (skims the roof as I enter). I also have a 'Suburban' sized version of it (taller, wider). These seem pretty aerodynamic. I've driven a friends Outback @120 and no issues at all (side windows peel out at high speeds, but that's it). I'll probably keep using the Yakima box pictured in the previous post as it holds our toddler's Chariot stroller/trailer, and I can put bikes on hitch or roof depending on distance of the trip.

The Jeep box is small, but still holds four pair of skis:


TINT: I'll be taking the car down to SLC for some Huperoptik tint at some point soon.

CABIN COMFORT/MISC: I use Yeti coolers in various sizes. They keep stuff cold for a very nice long time (up to a week), whether the car is running or not. I use a couple on my Boston Whaler too. Can't recommend them enough. The seats are leatherette, which is awesome stuff with regard to wear/tear. One of the key things I liked about this car. It also has the side shades built in for the kid in the back seat. I wouldn't mind getting some suction shades for the rear cargo area if they fit in the windows tight - haven't found them available yet though. I also have all the requisite rubber floor mats from the dealer. I hard-wired my Valentine 1 on day one. I'm going to switch out the interior bulbs with an LED kit. It came out nice in my Wrangler, hopefully the bulbs will last...

COSMETICS/WHEELS/ETC: I'm thinking I'll use Umnitza's poly M Tech bumper and side skirts, which also looks good with the M5 wheels. I know forged is better, but I'm sick of watching them get trashed by road rash out here in the mountains. If I were still living in San Diego maybe, but here they're hardly worth the expense up here (Jackson, WY). From the threads I've read, it seems the reps are not all terrible quality, and the OEM wheels aren't all forged either (also heavy). If I didn't want an OEM look, I'd probably get some much lighter weight wheels, but this car isn't destined to be a track star anyway. I want it to look nice and cover long distances reliably. Which is also why I'm probably not going to bother with even a chip, given the HPFP issues (mine was replaced 11/2010, so it should be fine now), and the stress the turbos will already be under operating in the thin mountain air (more RPMS's to get the same oxygen). Previous lady owner says the turbos were also replaced (dealer didn't find that in the notes, so I'm not sure they really were). Regardless, since I generally travel roads with few cars, passing isn't a problem. (I would like the speed limiter raised or removed though) and generally top speed is limited by the road quality.

WINTER: I had a set of 215-width Michelin Xice2 tires on my allroad. Narrower is better, and we get a lot of snow in the winter. 800" up high here last year. They don't look 'phat', but they grip/track/brake/turn/drift very well.
I'll probably do the same size but give Hakka or Blizzak the business this year (they're a little better braking of late).

HITCH: yours

That's about the size of my 'list'. I'm also trying to source some whiter (but not blue) LED's for the angel eyes, as the OEM ones look rather dingy. I'll keep thinking about the wheels...

norsecarnut

I'm confused, why would you have "had" an Allroad and now you don't? It's the ideal car for your area... I want to try one someday and have some things upgraded like the suspension to Arnott sport air spring, RS4 brakes, etc.

The window screens- You can get these from bmw parts. They are the exact same shape as the designated window and "pop" right in as they are mounted on a flexible rubber covered frame.

Tires, yeah, where you are a serious winter makes sense.

Sarge

I 'have' an allroad, but I consider it in past tense sometimes... I paid a 'tooner' in New Jersey who was supposedly reputable to build it into a monster, but it has never run properly, and has been sitting 'dead' for a couple years now. The specs are 2.7t to 3.0L conversion, using ported/polished 2.8 heads, 3.0 crank, custom forged pistons/rods, custom exhaust/headers/DPs, cryo-treated gears, custom 40/60 F/R center torsen, 6 pot stoptechs, wider wheel flares, etc. I haven't replaced the springs, as mine still work (car only has about 42k miles on it if I recall right). I also have a full euro recaro interior (seats, suede headliner, etc), RNS-E head unit with Sirius, TV, iPod, etc, and OEM RS4 wheels. I've never even installed the interior as it never ran properly. It was originally going to go in a couple car magazines (I know a few of the editors who were interested in doing a 'specialty file' on the car). Bottom line now is I need to refile my suit against them in NJ (was thrown out of CA for jurisdiction after I moved to WY). At this point it's just a headache, but it will be dealt with soon...

It would be a great car for Jackson, and if Audi made a newer allroad I would've bought one of those instead of the 535xiT just to have the adjustable suspension. It can also tow up to 5k lbs (euro spec) and hauls up to 7 people with the optional third row seat (kids mainly) and has lots of ground clearance when needed. All things considered it's the ultimate swiss army knife of cars. The flip side is, driving all over the place, miles from anywhere, I need a reliable car too.

And that is why I'm not even looking to so much as 'chip' the 535xi. Frankly the HPFP still scare me. Mine was done last November, and as I continue reading, it seems like December 2010 is the 'newest' pump... which means mine is likely to fail again. I'm thinking I may try to buy a pump and a shop manual just to keep in the car in case I break down in west BFE sometime with the wife and kid...

The 'winter' setup, taken here in Jackson:


The summer setup, taken at my parent's back in NC. I drove the car from NJ to NC, and had them come pick it up to fix it. Another year later they shipped it back to me, still burning 1+ quarts of oil per tank of gas. My guess is the rings are mis-sized (they put a hand-picked set of valve guides, thinking that was the problem, but sent it back to me again, still burning oil. Then it blew a turbo...)

norsecarnut

Yes, I hear you, the BMW is by far more suited for the reasons mentioned.

If you want to move on from the Allroad, I'll buy it from you. Seriously. I'm planning to sell my LR3, bring my 04 Discovery to Seattle, and have an Allroad to work out of in NC. Or take the BMW to NC, and have the Allroad in Seattle. Either way, I've been looking for an Allroad and I could use a project to keep me from looking at new expensive cars

Sarge

sent you a PM. The audi would certainly be a 'project'... I'm also looking for a replacement for my Wrangler, as it's not quite up to the job of boat towing, which was previously the realm of the X5... too much for the 535xiT

Sarge

These are the wheels I'm contemplating. Undecided on the 'punk black' vs 'classy silver' look... (quick and dirty photohack of wheels, tinted windows and corner reflaectors). I'd also do the M Technik/M5 front bumper and side skirts.

The more I look at the numbers, and after talking to the dealer about the CPO warranty, I may just stay with the OEM size and use a 245/40/18 tire...

norsecarnut

if those wheels included the big drilled brakes it would be a bargain

Lotus99

Hey J,

BIKES and HITCH - Too bad they didn't keep a set of your hitch diagram... So if you had to pick and you were in my shoes, which option would you go for a bike rack? I'm leaning towards a roof system now, especially since you got me thinking about putting the little bikes in the box as another option...

I'm not clear why you got your hitch? You couldn't put enough things on the roof and needed more space for bikes, or was the hitch your first choice for bikes?

ROOF RAIL BARS - You've got a good point on the roof rail bars width and how to mount the bikes and box. Thanks. I'm totally new to roof carrying. Going off the dimensions on the brochure, the car's rails are about 40" apart. So you must have like 60" bars I guess. So they hang over the edge of the car roof like 5" and it doesn't bother you? You don't bang your head on them getting in?

TINT - I've got the OEM rear door shades, which is nice, but was thinking of tinting the windows and trunk anyway, as we have a dog, so it'll keep things cooler back there for all. What brand and type did you go with?

Glowin

Sarge, I see you're concerned about your turbos and HPFP. I've been reading a lot on the E90 forums, where tons of cars are chipped there, and have been for 10's of thousands of miles. A handful of turbo failures only reported and those were in some exceptional situations where the guy was really pushing his car. Lots of people running them in high altitudes too without issues. So I wouldn't bat an eye, seeing you're used to modding your car.

Out of all the popular solutions out there now (Procede, JB4, Dinan or Cobb), I'd say look into Cobb, if you want an easy, reliable solution for under $1000. Lots of good reviews on it. You're out of warranty I believe, so pass up on Dinan which costs double that. Who can pass up another 70 HP or so for that money?

Many have been running with a tune and are still running on their original HPFP's even. So there's no direct cause and effect that's been established b/w running a tune and having your pump die. If your HPFP is dying though, the tune might precipitate it. The latest HPFP was out in Dec. 2010, and what got replaced as part of the recalls, which I assume you've had done on your car. The recall tech bulletin stated:

"If the high-pressure pump was recently replaced with P/N 13 51 7 613 933, no more action is required. If the HDP was not replaced previously with P/N 7 613 933, install new high-pressure fuel pump P/N 13 51 7 616 446."

Before the 933 pump came the 13517594943 one, which replaced 13517592881, and I guess none of them were up to the task, as they continued to fail.