pynacl Posted July 1 Report Share Posted July 1 New but same. In late 2023 I sold my F15 35d - mainly because I desperately wanted M Sport, but also because the 35d notoriously had timing chain issues at higher mileage. Mine was up there at 150k, so I decided to trade up. I sought out an Alpine on Mocha M Sport with the N55. After a few weeks of searching I found this one relatively local to me in Minneapolis at a dealer with 89k miles. It doesn't have a ton of options aside from M Sport, unique interior, and comfort access (idk if this is standard?). I did lose my cold weather package that I had on the 35d, so no more rear heated seats or steering wheel, oh well. Here’s some photos from the first day after immediately removing a rear M badge and shitty amazon chrome side vent covers... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pynacl Posted July 1 Author Report Share Posted July 1 After peeling off shitty aftermarket badges, washing it, and changing fluids I got it tinted - ceramic 20% in the front and 70% windshield. I also drilled out the front plate mount and installed paint matched bumper plugs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pynacl Posted July 1 Author Report Share Posted July 1 I bought a ColourLock steering wheel refresh kit because the wheel was pretty rough looking. The kit comes with sandpaper, dye, and protective sealant. I'd say I got it looking 90% perfect, looks brand new! Amazon link to the kit I bought: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07PPHH51P/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pynacl Posted July 1 Author Report Share Posted July 1 I found it a bit frustrating to use the iDrive nav or hold my phone in weird positions so I gave it a shot to retrofit an MMI box in the car that retains the factory screen, but offers wireless CarPlay. Life changing Jdesign 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pynacl Posted July 1 Author Report Share Posted July 1 I noticed some suspension noises / play so I opted to replace the lower control arms, shocks, spring bushings, and sway bar end links. Jdesign 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pynacl Posted July 1 Author Report Share Posted July 1 I also found some flawless Style 451 wheels locally with 8/32" tread on them for a fair deal. These are a 20" staggered set with 20x10 in the front and 20x11 in the rear. Tires are 275/35/20 and 315/40/20 respectively. These pics are with no spacers, but I might experiment with 10-15mm to get them a bit more flush with the fender flares. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YoungCR Posted July 2 Report Share Posted July 2 what MMI box did you go with? steering wheel turned out great. pynacl 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pynacl Posted July 2 Author Report Share Posted July 2 2 hours ago, YoungCR said: what MMI box did you go with? steering wheel turned out great. I bought the Andream unit here: https://www.android-car-dvd.com/collections/apple-carplay/products/ew-bmcp-nbt01a. I see they offer a few variants if you have a CIC, NBT or EVO headunit. These things tap into the car's AUX and some folks say its a tiny degradation in audio quality (phone pairs to box via BT, then the box to the car via AUX). I'm not an audiophile so this is an excellent option for me, works great! These do also retain the steering wheel controls too of course. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gilber33 Posted July 2 Report Share Posted July 2 Very nice! Almost identical to my white/brown m-sport. Absolutely loved that car. I sold it to my brother so I get to see it every once in a while. pynacl 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jdesign Posted July 10 Report Share Posted July 10 Steering wheel looks awesome, I clicked your link to order the same kit and its no longer available Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pynacl Posted July 11 Author Report Share Posted July 11 7 hours ago, Jdesign said: Steering wheel looks awesome, I clicked your link to order the same kit and its no longer available That is a huge bummer! I think I paid $65 with free shipping since it was on Amazon, but you can also buy it directly from ColourLock and pay the international shipping of $15 (and wait a bit): https://www.colourlock.com/Leather-Repair-Kit-for-Steering-Wheel-Black/850729-us/. Totally worth it IMO, I think it's enough material to do 2-3 wheels. Jdesign 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pynacl Posted September 16 Author Report Share Posted September 16 For months I've been chasing a clunking noise in the suspension. So far I've replaced shocks, spring bushings/rubber, sway bar links, lower control arms, adjusted steering rack pre-tension, and just yesterday replaced the thrust arms. After all this work and well over $1000 in parts I realized it was just one of the upper shock bolts wasn't tight lol. Fresh front end though, eh? P_Roloff 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pynacl Posted September 16 Author Report Share Posted September 16 Also @Rekpoint stopped by with his piece of shit Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pynacl Posted September 16 Author Report Share Posted September 16 I also lightly polished and ceramic coated the headlights because they were starting to get a tiny bit sun damaged at 10+ years old. Before/After: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pynacl Posted September 19 Author Report Share Posted September 19 Picked up a ceramic iDrive controller, which was an uncommon factory option on the 50i variant. You can also get a matching shift lever and HVAC control knobs if you’re willing to shell out. Kinda silly the knobs are integrated, so you need to replace the entire iDrive control unit. jc43089 and Rekpoint 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pynacl Posted September 28 Author Report Share Posted September 28 99,105 miles After replacing most of the front suspension I took the X5 into EuroTech in Minneapolis for an alignment. They charged $223 which felt pretty high considering these don't have camber adjustment. Anyways, while there they diagnosed an oil leak from the oil filter housing. I knew this thing seeped, but honestly just didn't care much until I read how these N55s like to suck serp belts through the crank seal if they get oily. Out of curiosity I asked them the rough estimate to have that gasket replaced - $1800! I was feeling lazy, but not for that price. I was able to knock it out in roughly an afternoon and it wasn't too bad at all. The only tricky part is BMW designed it so that you cannot reach the 3rd bolt holding the housing to the block without removing the intake manifold. Other than that the trickiest part was just managing the fluids and trying not to spill - once again those giant 500ml Amazon syringes came in clutch to suck most the coolant out of the reservoir before starting. Also de-greased the hell out of the front of the engine while I was in there, but didn't take any great photos. While in there I replaced: - Oil filter housing gasket - Oil cooler gasket - Oil pressure sensor - Accessory drive belt - Belt idler pulley - Belt tensioner - All mounting hardware P_Roloff and jc43089 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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