[M5TouringFan]

Hi all,

My UK F11 530d conversion project has been an interesting foray into the expensive and challenging world of modifying. I thought I’d share a summary of the work done so far and list the cost of parts. My intent is to might help others benchmark their own investments. I've listed the suppliers and garages used at the bottom too. Finding people I trusted was the most difficult part of the project.

You of course can disagree with what I’ve spent; and point out if I’ve overpaid for something; but please don’t flame me please over making cosmetic improvements that have no discernible performance benefits! Deal?



Wheels.

• M5 Replica Wheels. 343 M style. Gun Metal with machined fronts. 8.5J front. 9.5J rear. £485 delivered.
• 20” Pirelli P Zero tyres. All second hand off eBay; 255-35 & 285-30. They came with 6 to 7mm tread. £240 spent in total on tyres including delivery.
• Fitting tyres including HawkEye digital tracking to align wheels: Total was £80

Front End

• M5 replica Gloss Black kidney Grille. £45 off eBay
• Carbon Lip – from JC sportLine in China - $165 (£130 with delivery and import tax)
• Fitting of Lip and Grille - £40 cash at ABS Vehicle Services. These are very trustworthy guys and very good value.

Suspension

• Front – 30mm DIRENZA TUV LOWERING SPRINGS - £66.99
• Fitting front springs - £40 by ABS vehicle services
• Rear –ECU Controlled Air Suspension. Lowered by 30mm for free by CCL motors in Sheffield. They are truly amazing guys. It was also the first time they had done this! It took them 5-minutes.

Brakes

• Callipers sprayed BMW M5 Blue with Logos. £45 per corner (including wheel hub spraying black) - £180 in total.
• Work done by CleanDetail in Doncaster. Nick is an utter perfectionist. Have you ever seen anybody remove the wheels to vaccum the inside of a wheel arch?? Check out his FB page to see his stunning 12-hour polish on an Aston martin.

Rear End

• Genuine OE BMW Alpina D5 biTurbo rear bumper and diffuser €500 from eBay Poland. Same Sophistio Grey as the rest of my car.
• X 4 Carbon finish Diffusor Blades - £39.99 special order from eBay (still being made)
• Fitting the rear bumper, removing the “cubby box” and riveting in a customer made galvanised plate £80 done by ABS vehicle services (in order to be ready for Quad exhaust fitting)
• PowerFlow Quad exhaust. 3.5” bore at tip. Staggered by 12mm to follow the curve of the bumper. Manufactured and fitted by John at Hawleys Tyres, Sheffield. £550.
• I think the quad exhaust deserves a special mention; I visited 3 places as I wanted to see their workmanship before investing. One place offered a 2-hour “in and out” option for £349; however, on the car I viewed, they haven’t attached the right hand side exhaust so it would bounce up and down over bumps. Have a look at the quality of Tig Welding that John did. He is another perfectionist and I really rate the guy.
• I've ordered 4 carbon fins for the bottom of the diffuser for £40. The OE Alpina version is £289... can't quite justify that!
• I’m now wishing I had oval tips welded on like the Alpina D5. I think 3.5” high by 4.5” wide.

Next Mods

• 12 mm H R Spacers on the rear; 10mm HR spacers on the front to make the wheels line up a bit closer with the arches. £160 fitted by CLP automotive in Sheffield.
• I know I could buy cheaper ones off eBay; but the last thing I want is speed judder or wobbly balancing on my Car. Plus these guys lowered the suspension for free so I feel a bit indebted to them.

Grand total.
= £2506.98; However, I sold my old 19” M-sport wheels and tyres on eBay for £800; so my net investment is: £1,706.98.


Future musings

• 20” Hamann Replica Wheels (that look a bit like Alpina spoked wheels) - £800
• OE Alpina D5 BiTurbo Badges - €240
• Hamann replica Carbon Side Skirt - £400
• Holiday with my Boy to Mt. Etna and Mt. Vesuvius. £1500. I think I really need to do this one before any more money is *ahem* invested.

Thanks for reading, hope it was useful. Andy.

Suppliers / Garages
Carbon Parts China - www.jcsportline.net
CLP Motors Sheffield – www.clpautomotive.co.uk/
John at Hawleys Tyres (for Exhausts mods) www.protyre.co.uk
Andy & Stephen at ABS Vehicle Services, Drighlington, nr. Leeds www.absvehicleservices.co.uk
Callipers / Detailing – Nick , Clean Detail Doncaster at www.CleanDetai.co.uk

[lsturbointeg]

Love the build! Any pictures of what the fins will look like for the diffuser?

[M5TouringFan]

Thank you. I've always had company cars, so this is my first time playing around with a £20,000 car!

This is the parts list from the Alpina D5. They are 47mm deep shark fins by 120mm long.

This is the ebay page for the guy that is making them. He seems prety awesome!

[.BMW.]

Very nice build!

[Hasser]

good job - especially with the pricing as these things can tend to get out of hand.

[M5TouringFan]

Thank you...

It's difficult to stop looking at more mods... like Columbo, there's always "just one more thing"

I spotted these on ebay last night; really good price too; available in 19" and 20". However, the offset is ET20, which I think means they would hit on the wheel arch.

[lsturbointeg]

Nice...kinda like the Alpina design

[Jet in Oz]

20,000 pounds for an F11 ... Bargain! What's the mileage on it? I also applaud you for the cost-effective mods as long as the fitment doesn't compromise the integrity of the car. Love seeing this take shape as it sounds like you know where you're going with it

[M5TouringFan]

I think the ultimate aim is to make an Alpine D5 replica...it just took me a while to figure that out!

One word of caution to anyone getting their calipers painted... The paint seems to bake into a glaze on your disc pads and makes decelerating at speed quite scary... As the car doesn't slow down...

[N55_PL]

Those pipe must make it loud !

[remmib]

Very cool F11.

Originally Posted by N55_PL

Those pipe must make it loud !

It's a diesel, so probably not.

[BMW Steve]

Very Good, I like the way your going with this
My question is about this

Rear –ECU Controlled Air Suspension. Lowered by 30mm for free by CCL motors in Sheffield. They are truly amazing guys. It was also the first time they had done this! It took them 5-minutes.

Did you use the adjustable links or was it all done by coding?

I want to lower my F11 very soon so any pointers would help, I would even consider booking my car in with CLP automotive as I don't mind traveling to get things done if there good.

[M5TouringFan]

Hi there, it was all done via the ecu...and took less than 10 minutes.

The front springs I had fitted are really good and I don't feel there is any impact on performance. They were really cheap too...£60 I think.

Happy to answer and questions at all. Good luck. Andy.

[M5TouringFan]

A final update...

The final finishing touch was to source a replica diffuser too; as the B5 / D5 BiTurbo has 4 fins along the bottom. Alpina wouldn't sell one, even when i offered to pay the retail price of £480!

It cost about £100 with shipping which to me seems like a decent price.

Message me for the guy's details if you are interested.



Here is the image from the Alpina Parts Catalogue.
http://f10.5post.com/forums/attachme...8&d=1456266863


I also found a guy in Germany making the right badges... #justsayin

Alpina
http://www.fmw-tuning.de/BMW/3er-E46...ig::19807.html

D5BITURBO
http://www.fmw-tuning.de/BMW/5er-F10...ng::21126.html

[DanChapman90]

Originally Posted by M5TouringFan

A final update...

The final finishing touch was to source a replica diffuser too; as the B5 / D5 BiTurbo has 4 fins along the bottom. Alpina wouldn't sell one, even when i offered to pay the retail price of £480!

It cost about £100 with shipping which to me seems like a decent price.

Message me for the guy's details if you are interested.

Attachment 1434341

Here is the image from the Alpina Parts Catalogue.
http://f10.5post.com/forums/attachme...8&d=1456266863


I also found a guy in Germany making the right badges... #justsayin

Alpina
http://www.fmw-tuning.de/BMW/3er-E46...ig::19807.html

D5BITURBO
http://www.fmw-tuning.de/BMW/5er-F10...ng::21126.html

Hi Andy,

If you do decide to source some Alpina wheels, I'd be interested in your current alloys and tyres. I'm not too far away from you over in Grimsby
Car looks great by the way

[M5TouringFan]

Hi Dan, the wheels were flawless 2 weeks ago... then I went through an automatic car wash and the little guide rails on the floor scratched every wheel. Not 'kerbed' as such, but some annoying surface scratches that need polishing out.

A salutary lesson I guess... But yes, would be interested in selling the wheels with the caveat that they probably need refurbishing to look perfect again. PM or What'sApp me: 07584178568. Andy.

[jl1206]

Originally Posted by M5TouringFan

A final update...

The final finishing touch was to source a replica diffuser too; as the B5 / D5 BiTurbo has 4 fins along the bottom. Alpina wouldn't sell one, even when i offered to pay the retail price of £480!

It cost about £100 with shipping which to me seems like a decent price.

Message me for the guy's details if you are interested.

Attachment 1434341

Where have you found this fins? Mine has the Alpina Diffusor too, and I would like to put the fins in the middle?
Thanks

[M5TouringFan]

This is his eBay page, amazing guy but don'texpect a 1 hr response on email. I had to message him 3 times!!!

sium@hotmail.co.uk

http://m.ebay.co.uk/sch/race-craft-uk/

Send him my Diffuser pic so he know which fins you want. You'll need to send him a cardboard stensil for the large base plate as I doubt he would have kept mine.

Good luck!

[M5TouringFan]

You'll also have to specify the depth of the fins. Alpina are 38mm deep and quite hidden. I went for 46mm deep by 100mm long to make it slightly more noticeable.

[hamelzz]

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