Hello fellow E60 & E61 fans,

10 days ago I purchased my first E61 after months of searching for the perfect car. I was immediately in love with this car and my wife was happy too! Car came with a CPO warranty to 100k miles and it only had 64k miles when I bought it. This car was CLEAN - not a scratch on it. It even smelt good!





Within the first 24 hours off the lot I discovered a fuel tank leak and an oil leak, so I took it in to the dealer and got everything fixed for free. Awesome. So after a few days at the dealer, I picked up my beautiful E61 all washed up and ready to go. I made a quick stop by my shop to install new side marker lights, a carbon fiber hood badge, and have the headlights reconditioned (they had started oxidizing so I had them refinished).

 

Assuming you have a 535, grab a Cobb flashing unit for like $800, asap! Best $ you'll ever spend to get like 60 HP / ft lbs instantly!

Yank out the orange reflectors in the bumper and paint them to match the body colour, and replace the grills with black ones.

I didn't even know you can get OEM BMW wheels in chrome, LOL!

Looking forward to your build!

 

Heading home later that day I made a right hand turn on a green light and was struck by a drunk driver.
Most importantly, I am okay and thank God for that. The car however...




The entire front-end was trashed. Headlights, bumper, hood, fenders, everything. The impact literally ripped the driver-side frame rail right off!

 

WOW! You were very lucky. It could have been much worse just a second or two later. Are you sure the front end is not bent? If the engine support/front rails are even slightly off then it is usually a total write off. Hope it isn't, I will love to see what you do to the car. M3 this thing did a great job with his... I would recommend getting a front strut bar - it does help stiffen the front structure a bit and gives the car a tighter feel. Ultra Racing makes one (rubs just a bit on the air box cover), Cusco also makes one but it is a hinged model versus a solid piece (ultra racing).

Can't wait to see the transformation!

 

Glad you're ok. On a side note. Are the headlights damaged? If they are, I'll buy them. I just need the stuff inside the headlights. Not ballast or ignitors.

 

Yes I am really fortunate. God was watching over me for sure.

That's a great idea for the strut bar. I'm all about it. I'm a little confused by their website, as the imagery isn't very clear. Have you seen this done before?

 

I have one on mine (ultraracing). Others have done it as well. As I mentioned it just touches the air box cover not a real big deal. There is a lower bar that attaches to the front lower bushings which works well also. I have not tried it. There is a long thread about Ultra Racing bars started by a member in Hong Kong that fitted his car with all the bars available. If you search under "Ultraracing" you wll find the topics. The rear bars won't fit our car due to the factory pull rods that are fitted from the factory. If you look underneath your car at the rear you will see the rods forming a "V". It was designed to give back some lost torsional rigidity due to the large panoramic sunroof we have.

 

Interesting. I did something similar on a GTI I had a few years back and I was amazed at the difference it made. Do you have any photos?
This is definitely being added to the list of to-do's for the E61...

 

Okay so we completed tear-down today @ Top-End MotorWerks in Costa Mesa, CA. The engine is still in PERFECT shape. No damage. The cooling system is damaged, so I'm replacing the entire thing.

Does anyone recommend or know of upgrades for the following items:
- intercooler
- oil cooler (if available)
- Fan

I figure if I've got all of these items out of the car right now, I might as well replace them with the upgrades and save the time and $$$.

As you'll see from the photos, the main problem is that the frame rails were sheered off from the impact. I'm going to have to have a specialist weld new frame rails back on after I ensure the frame is completely straight. Since the rails are made of aluminum, this is going to be a difficult task. But of course, I'll document it...

 

All I know about is intercoolers , I had a custom one made, but xclone had some luck with this..

http://bimmerboost.com/showthread.php?16965-Article-Finally!-A-FMIC-(front-mount-intercooler)-option-for-the-535-from-CP-E-Pictures-of-the-install-on-a-2008-535i-with-the-N54