slenser

Thank you for the quick response! That's a pricey piece for sure. I had a few tell me they couldn't do it that close together and now it makes sense. I'm already liking what's on the link you sent me. I think it'll do well. Now to find the right exhaust tips to go with it and I'll be rockin!

I'm getting the secondary cats removed too, since TX doesn't use a sniffer here.

rev run d

Evan,

I'm blown away every time I check your thread. Can you list what m5 suspension parts are actually beefier? I get lost and distracted by all your upgrades!

ucsbwsr

Thank you. For the suspension, compared to a 535xi E61, the E61 M5 has slightly beefier: rear upper guide arms, rear integral links, and front lower control arms. The 535xi has beefier front tensions struts than the M5 (so I kept them of course). Rear wishbones, swing arms and everything else is exactly the same between the two.

If you have a 535i vs M5 then the front suspension should be the same: both have skinny tension struts and beefier control arms. The rear should be the same as the wagons, wishbones are the same but guide arm is slightly beefier on the M5.

I have a set of M5 front control arms so I will be able to confirm fitment, they should fit just fine. When it is all said and done my "Hybrid" M5 Suspension on paper is beefier than the oem M5 setup since I kept my front tension struts, I wonder if there are any adverse effects of keeping them in place with my wagon being RWD.

Evan

Tiago

Wow, your car should name Frankenstein due to all the good work involved to date. With the stronger transmission, i can only expect next a single turbo conversion and 800hp. I wonder why you choose M5 LSD vs quaife or other?

Major props for all the patience for redoing things and keep evolving the mods. You must have more experience disassembling a e61 than most of oficial bmw mechanics.

One thing i noticed is that you never mentioned the oil cooler (???) behind the right brake duct.

ucsbwsr

I don't have plans to extract much more power out of the engine. Until there is a LPFP solution for the E6X series to move the platform past "stage 2" then my hands a tied with making much more power. I would like to increase the fuel, add some more E85, and up the boost from 22psi to 25psi. The single turbos have their advantages but I prefer the response of smaller turbos, the "right now" power is great for a daily driver and it leaves me yearning for very little.

I went with the E60 M5 LSD for a few reasons: price, compatibility, and the clutch style engagement. Drop in LSDs seem to go for $1,000+ which is reasonable but when M5 units can be had for sub $500 (I got mine for $275) the price difference is substantial. The visco-loc style clutch system in the M5 diff may not be the best solution for track heros and drift enthusiasts but for my application where absolute grip is the first priority I am ok having a diff that may take a moment to lock up. This diff is shared with the E46 M3 and E9X M3 and, from what I gather rarely fail. Lastly, I have E60 M5 drivetrain going in and replacing all my oem 535xi (auto) components so the LSD bolts up to the driveshaft and axles.

I never mentioned the 6AT oil cooler since it isn't anything special, as I know it it was standard on any E6X with the Auto Trans, so most E6X in the US.

Evan

ucsbwsr

Bimmerfest is coming up soon (for a procrastinator like myself) so I need to get my ducks in a row and execute this 6MT and M5 Drivetrain swap soon so I can defend my title!


...but in the meantime, feeding time!



VTT hot-side CP vs stock (fvcking stock, get the fvck outta here stock!)


Prepped for install


Clean



Gave my inlet system a cleaning


You win some, you lose some. I was hopeful these M5 front lower control arms would fit, no dice. But it's OK, the M5 control arms are beefy since their larger thrust arms are dainty relative to the ones found on the 535xi so I consider the stiffness a wash. Now all possible M5 suspension component upgrades have been made, with the exception of these control arms everything is M5-spec, rather "M5 Hybrid Suspension"

ucsbwsr

With the rotor off you can see the business end of my rear suspension:
- KW V3 + oem Air
- M5 brakes + SS lines
- M5 front upper guide arm
- M5 integral link
- Oem wishbone (same as M5)
- Bullet-nosed studs, LOVE studs


For my manual conversion I sourced the pedal assembly from an E60 M5, the first unit I bought (with 2 pedals on the left) was damaged during shipping and the mounting location for the clutch return-spring was broken. The second pedal assembly I purchased (right) was supposed to be complete with clutch pedal and master cylinder but as you can see it was brake pedal and sensor only. Luckily between the 2 assemblies I was able to piece together a fully functional unit.



I am a big fan of machined pedals, I ran some on my old M5 and this will be my second set for the E61. I went with a brushed aluminum finish and it looks absolutely tits and should blend into to my interior well.
Oem vs. Brushed


Drilling holes to mount the pedals


Old pedal (raw Al cut for grip) bottom brushed up top


Pedal assembly ready for install


Here is the DIY for stuff like this: Bentley Manual and Google


Picked up a transmission jack for the differential, transfer case, and trans. Test fitting the M5 LSD here


In position


Fits into the non-M subframe without issue


Huge heat-sink wraps around the rear of the subframe


Test fitting with my custom 3" exhaust, close but I will trim the heat stink to give a cushion for diff movement


The E61 has these huge pull rods which connect to the brace my LED reverse light is bolted to and run to the jack points in front of the rear tires. The heat sink will need to be trimmed to accommodate these as well. There are some different pull rod combos for the M5 sedan, M5 wagon, and 535xi wagon, I feel what I currently have is the strongest setup so I will make them work.


I used a Sharpie to mark the heat sink that will be trimmed, all of the black areas will be cut off. I don't plan to track my wagon much if at all so I think the trimmed heat sink will still be fine for my application.


Up next was comparing my 535xi driveshaft (top) to the M5 shaft (bottom). I was originally going to have the M5 shaft customized to mate with the N54 but I want to explore the possibility of configuring a hybrid driveshaft: front half 535i and rear M5. The downside of running a hybrid is the M5 6MT output flange, guibo, and bearing will all be smaller compared to a full M5 spec driveshaft setup. The upside it is would be a bolt-on solution and save some coin on custom fabrication costs. The difference in diameter between the non-M and M5 output shaft and guibo is under around 5% or less so rather insignificant big-picture. It is a long-shot but the M5 bearing may be compatible with the non-M front 1/2 of the driveshaft, once I get the halves separated I can confirm.


M5 knuckles dwarf the non-M


Notice the inner diameter of the bearing, pretty close! This is one reason why I think there may be chance to run a hybrid setup


Comparing bearing diameter


Here are some comparison pics of the non-M AT axles compared to M5

ucsbwsr

Draining ATF. I have the smell of ATF!


Rotating engine to get access to the torque converter bolts, turning the engine kind of sounded like a rock tumbler!


This little orange slice fell out while turning the engine, lol


Risky business, do not try at home.


Unbolting bell housing, thought I could be clever and access the torx bolt from the top with a wrench....


...and my trusty Thompson seatpost.


Well that didn't work, started to strip the bolt so jumped shipped, dropped the trans down and with the help of my neighbor, was able to navigate the socket and clusterfvck of extensions onto the bolt while I broke it free from underneath the wagon


A little tricky guessing where to position the trans jack on this beast of a 6AT+TC, the transfer case ended up being heavier than I thought but it was balanced well enough I didn't run into any real problems. As I was pulling the AT off I noticed the torque converter was staying attached to the block, the Bentley manual said you should NOT allow this to happen. It turns out I only removed 4 of the 6 torque converter bolts, the Bentley manual never specified the amount of bolts that needed removal and the photo only showed 4. Shame on Bentley for not being more detailed with instructions and shame on me for not being more thorough!

I ran tie down between the subframe for added security, sliding a huge heavy trans off the engine while you are laying on the ground right next to it is quite exhilarating.


The beast is out, or should I say the malignant tumor has been removed.


#WeightSavings


Beauty and the Beast


I did some "testing" to check the weight of the two units. 6MT has fluid, 6AT does not but TC does. I know the the 6MT weighs about 97lbs and based off that I would sat the 6AT+TC must be around 185-195lbs, essentially twice the weight.


Can't wait to drive a manual


Front


SO much larger


Something new to sort through. The 6MT I sourced was from a 335i, the bracket closer to the camera is what arrived on the 335i trans, the bracket behind it is intended for a manual 535i and 550i, the top mounting holes are too wide for my trans so I will have to look into where I went wrong and see if it can be resolved or if I will need a custom bracket to mount the trans to the main trans support.


Took the driveshafts apart to see if a hybrid shaft was possible


NO, it is not


LEFT: Non-M RIGHT: M5


535(x)i


M5


So yolked bro!
:banana

pocholin

It is coming along! Thanks for sharing all the pictures, at least we can live a project like this via camera and your experience.

RockChalkKU

Exactly. I live vicariously through his modifications and beautiful car.