[Noggie]

Originally Posted by bmwZ

Yes, of course is the m550xd also close to a M5 with Xdrive

It is a very nice an special car you own. Congrats with that one

I think I will get my rear bumper this week. When it arrives I have to install it on the car. When I have done that, I have to do the exhaust Really looking forward to hear the true sound of the V8 Now it sounds like a Rolls Royce, too quiet

Thanks, yours will look something special when done too.

I know what you mean, I changed the exhaust on my 850, and now it's too loud

[Bbb34]

Originally Posted by bmwZ

Really glad to get rid of those wood panels:love

Looks great, I really like how that turned out.
If I had your confidence/experience in modifying this is something I'd like to attempt in mine, but am worried about messing it up as you only get one shot to do it right (I think).

How do you think black will wear over time, would you guess that paint and polish will make it hard enough? My concern would be that fine scratches would be more visible over time on black than on stock wood panels.

The rest of your mods, while not personally my thing, amount of work and patience you're putting into it is very impressive, hope it turns out better than expected for you.

[twelve535i]

Wow. It's great to see someone turn a car into exactly what they want their car to be.

[bmwZ]

Originally Posted by Bbb34

Looks great, I really like how that turned out.
If I had your confidence/experience in modifying this is something I'd like to attempt in mine, but am worried about messing it up as you only get one shot to do it right (I think).

How do you think black will wear over time, would you guess that paint and polish will make it hard enough? My concern would be that fine scratches would be more visible over time on black than on stock wood panels.

The rest of your mods, while not personally my thing, amount of work and patience you're putting into it is very impressive, hope it turns out better than expected for you.

Thanks

Yes, it is harder to maintain black panels. That's why I painted them black metallic and not just flat black. You see less scratches with metallic paint.

The trim is really easy to remove. So can allways polish them again

[bmwZ]

Originally Posted by twelve535i

Wow. It's great to see someone turn a car into exactly what they want their car to be.

I really hope so, Thanks

[bmwZ]

Since my fog lights are removed because of the new bumper, I had to replace the original light switch with a M5 light switch. Would have looked stupid with fog light button still there

[bmwZ]

I got some parts back from the paintshop before the weekend started So today I finally finished some major work to the car.

I will go for a non chrome finish for the 550i. So first step is to get rid of the chrome around the M5 grille and side vents. Mostly I think black i Perfect, but not on a black car. I think it looses the grills when everything is black.

So I had an idea of making the color "Frozen Chrome" on them.

This is the steps:

-Take the chrome apart from the grills.

-Use a special wet sanding spunge (3000 grid) to get a even sanded surface. Do it in the direction of the grill lines.

-Go to a paintshop to get it coated with a silky matt clear.

A little sanding:


This is the result

[bmwZ]

Also the doorhandles have got some new paint. The chrome parts is easy to remove, they are just mounted with double sided tape. The color is shiny black and just need a polish to look great

[bmwZ]

Also the M5 rear bumper came back from the paintshop
It require some new mounting parts behind the bumper, but is an bolt on job.



Only issue where that my 550i exhaust tips did not fit into the M5 diffuser. But this was something I was aware of. So until I do a new exhaust I have to wait on mounting the M5 diffuser



A new 550i badge painted glossy black was mounted

[bmwZ]

The car has got new 19" M5 replica wheels mounted. They are my winter wheels. The tires are Michelin Alpine in M5 winter tire dim 255/40-19 and 285/35-19.

It has also got the M5 sideskirts

So here is some bad pics of how it looks today, I will give better pics when more are mounted

[ARKONE]

Damn, nice car! I too drive a 550i, I've been meaning to do a few of the conversions you did:

-Black 550i emblem
-M5 rear bumper, not a fan of the front, but the back of the M5 is just too sexy, plus that is what all the others on the road will be seeing....


I also got rid of the chrome on my door handles, but I used a matte vinyl that matches the color of my car, Dark Graphite. Here is a link to check out my transformation:


http://f10.5post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1026810

[r33_RGSport]

@bmwZ, nicely done, very clean job.

[sickwithit]

This is crazy man...as in crazy good. Car looks amazing!

[bmwZ]

Originally Posted by tfa372

Damn, nice car! I too drive a 550i, I've been meaning to do a few of the conversions you did:

-Black 550i emblem
-M5 rear bumper, not a fan of the front, but the back of the M5 is just too sexy, plus that is what all the others on the road will be seeing....


I also got rid of the chrome on my door handles, but I used a matte vinyl that matches the color of my car, Dark Graphite. Here is a link to check out my transformation:


http://f10.5post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1026810

Nice car with great mods

I will say that the M5 front is 10 times meaner than the M package bumper, so not feeling you there

[bmwZ]

Originally Posted by r33

@bmwZ, nicely done, very clean job.

Thanks, my goal is to do it as clean as possible

[bmwZ]

Originally Posted by sickwithit

This is crazy man...as in crazy good. Car looks amazing!

Thanks for a really great comment

[ARKONE]

Originally Posted by bmwZ

Nice car with great mods

I will say that the M5 front is 10 times meaner than the M package bumper, so not feeling you there

I meant doing a conversion, the front of the M5 is sexy, but it's not worth $2,000 to me when I already have a M-Sport front bumper. If I had the regular 550i then I'd just an entire M5 conversion.

[The Beast]

Looks great, a couple of points

Does the exhaust still need adjusting? It looks like it's not fitting flush, especially the drivers side.

Also those black wheels don't look right, don't like black wheels on black cars but if you are going to have them they have to be 20's. Otherwise they just look really small imho

Not trying to hate, just my personal views.

You have done a great job in a very short time frame

[bmwZ]

Originally Posted by The Beast

Looks great, a couple of points

Does the exhaust still need adjusting? It looks like it's not fitting flush, especially the drivers side.

Also those black wheels don't look right, don't like black wheels on black cars but if you are going to have them they have to be 20's. Otherwise they just look really small imho

Not trying to hate, just my personal views.

You have done a great job in a very short time frame

Thanks!

If you look close to the pics. The rear M5 diffuser are not mounted yet. This is because the original exhaust do not fit the M5 diffuser. The exhaust on the M5 is sitting more towards the middle of the bumper. When I have built me a new "M5" exhaust, then I can mount the diffuser. This will be done 2 days from now

Those black wheel is my winter wheels. It is nice with a little comfort in the winter. So 19" is a good choice. But I'm totally with you on the "to small thing". That is why I bought black wheels. They look bigger than silver. Because you don't see them that easy. The M5 tire dimension that are bigger than oem 550i dimension is also helping them to look smaller.

I have bought 20" summer wheels, just for the record

[The Beast]

Originally Posted by bmwZ

Thanks!

If you look close to the pics. The rear M5 diffuser are not mounted yet. This is because the original exhaust do not fit the M5 diffuser. The exhaust on the M5 is sitting more towards the middle of the bumper. When I have built me a new "M5" exhaust, then I can mount the diffuser. This will be done 2 days from now

Those black wheel is my winter wheels. It is nice with a little comfort in the winter. So 19" is a good choice. But I'm totally with you on the "to small thing". That is why I bought black wheels. They look bigger than silver. Because you don't see them that easy. The M5 tire dimension that are bigger than oem 550i dimension is also helping them to look smaller.

I have bought 20" summer wheels, just for the record

Right, thought the bumper looked odd!

Still think the wheels would look better silver. I have the opposite opinion to you, I think a smaller wheel with a large tyre looks better in silver due to the matt black vs shiny black contrast. I think this makes the wheel look even smaller... if your going with black got to be 20'' minimum with 35/30 tyres. I would leave winter set silver and summer set black/graphite.

[Bbb34]

Originally Posted by bmwZ

Since my fog lights are removed because of the new bumper, I had to replace the original light switch with a M5 light switch. Would have looked stupid with fog light button still there

Ha ha, because imagine having one small button in a car that serves no purpose, that'd just be horrible to live with

Talk about detail oriented, impressive

[ARKONE]

Originally Posted by The Beast

Looks great, a couple of points

Does the exhaust still need adjusting? It looks like it's not fitting flush, especially the drivers side.

Also those black wheels don't look right, don't like black wheels on black cars but if you are going to have them they have to be 20's. Otherwise they just look really small imho

Not trying to hate, just my personal views.

You have done a great job in a very short time frame

I think there is no diffuser, because the M5 bumper can't fit a 550 exhaust.