Just thought I would share my most recent photos, even though I still need to work on my photography skills, but these are decent.
I recently had all of my interior trim (including the bottom steering wheel trim) painted titanium silver with clearcoat to match my exterior perfectly. Also, another reason was that the light silver satin silver OEM BMW trim I bought a while ago was just so hard to clean up and it holds fingerprints like a SOB! So, now...no fingerprints, easy cleanup, everything matches perfectly, it looks awesome, and I am very happy with the results. Magnum body shop here in Atlanta did a 99% perfect job, really amazing work on their part.
Other than that, not many modifications in the last two or three weeks except I did add the silver chrome lined main door round speaker grills, which add a little more spark to the interior.
So, what is next? I am really thinking something like Powerchip and a Dinan or Gruppe M intake? I love the sound of the car with the Britalman exhaust, it is intoxicating...but I would love to add some intake hiss and growl...I have the Active Autowerke intake kit already...so maybe a Gruppe M or Dinan intake will have a nice airy hiss when I put it on?
You guys have any feedback on the Gruppe M in terms of sound, performance, and quality? I guess if the Gruppe M has a nice sound, and even more performance when coupled with Powerchip, then that is the next step.
I know it needs to be lowered...and I am also having thoughts of a custom stereo, but the M Audio is not horrible for now. My mind is really still on performance...what do you guys think? What should I blow the next few thousand bucks on? Intake, Chip, Headers, Cats, Gears, Suspension, Sway Bars, Stereo, Brakes?
So much modding already done, yet so much still to do!
Garrett
__________________ 2003 M5 Titanium Silver/Black - A Few Mods 2005 330i Alpine White/Tan - Wife's Daily 2006 M5 Silverstone/Silverstone - Family Sedan
The trim was painted the same way any exterior trim pieces on a car would be painted...lots of sanding, priming, paint, and clearcoat...and they had to be extra careful with the center console piece since it is more involved, but it is amazing...it looks like the BMW factory painted it...I'm not sure exactly how they did it, but they definately took their time and did it right.
I love the direction you've taken with your modding. Very classy and clean yet aggressive.
I like how you had the ACS flippers molded in. I think it looks so much cleaner. I molded in all the ACS pieces on my E46.
This may not translate to the M5 but I'll try...
I had 3 different intakes on my E46 323i M52TU B25. GruppeM being one of them. Nice sound. Quiet at idle, nice low growl at WOT. Butt dyno says low to mid gains. No hissing. Nice quality piece.
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Respect a mans car, a man respects you. "In every detail, the M5 was a poster child of the M philosophy: superb driving dynamics, luxurious interior and above all, uncompromised performance." - BMW.ca regarding the E39 M5
Given how awesome your car looks, every next dollar I would put on performance to catch up to the aesthetics ...
PC first, then headers (coated).
So you have a full AA CAI or you simply have the front grill? If the latter, than definitely do the entire setup, I noticed a (slight) increase in growl (Supersprints rock my boat ), and arguably, more throttle happiness. I've heard more cons than pros for the Gruppe M CAI. Looks aside (IMO the best available), you may want to consider these two concerns, neither of which has either been proven or refuted conclusively:
The Gruppe M uses an open-design, which means that there isn't a perfect seal between the bottom edge of the Gruppe M filter housing and the area where it contacts the engine compartment. This is part of the design, but some feel that this "openness" can cause hot air from the engine compartment to enter the Gruppe M housing, and therefore be sucked into the air intake filter. This hot air does not compress as well as cool outside air, the end-result being performance which is less beneficial than a "closed-design." Kinda defeats the purpose of the word "COLD" in CAI, doesn't it?
The Gruppe M uses a K&N filter and by now you know were I am heading. It's oiled, and can be re-oiled as part of the regular filter maintenance but some folks have stated that it has poluted their MAFSs, maybe worth the risk since David S still has the $115 MAFS GB, but I would recommend swapping these with OEM to assure of no headache down the road.
Keep up abreast of your decisions.
PS
As far as audio mods, the biggest bang for the buck is swapping your factory woofers+tweeters with a nice brand name. I personally chose the MB Quart, you can go with Focals or JL Audio alterntaive. Night and day difference without having to mess around with head unit and extra amps (but they do come with crossovers which you should install since they are superior to OEM).
The Gruppe M uses an open-design, which means that there isn't a perfect seal between the bottom edge of the Gruppe M filter housing and the area where it contacts the engine compartment. This is part of the design, but some feel that this "openness" can cause hot air from the engine compartment to enter the Gruppe M housing, and therefore be sucked into the air intake filter. This hot air does not compress as well as cool outside air, the end-result being performance which is less beneficial than a "closed-design." Kinda defeats the purpose of the word "COLD" in CAI, doesn't it?
Very good points with one exception.....
The GruppeM is considered more of a SRI (Short Ram Intake) than a CAI.
CAI is too much of a general term being used today in the aftermarket in regards to non-OE air intakes whether actual CAI or not.
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), and arguably, more throttle happiness. I've heard more cons than pros for the Gruppe M CAI. Looks aside (IMO the best available), you may want to consider these two concerns, neither of which has either been proven or refuted conclusively:
Linear Mode
