RAArmstrong
///Member
Where'd you get the LED's?
-
Read the WELCOME ALL BMWFANATICS post.
My wife's 2008 Alpine White X3 3.0d
- Thread starter Gizmo
- Start date
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Gizmo
Banned
http://diebloumeul.co.za/index.htmlRAArmstrong@TheFanatics said:
Gizmo
Banned
Latest mods, transferred the towbar over from the black X3.
Modified the tow hitch cover so as to get a cleaner look.
Xenon headlight retrofit using E46 Bi-xenon internals.
As you can see, the X3 uses a different style xenon ballast to the E46.
There is a lot of space inside the headlight to work with.
Making space for the projector.
Merc shroud.
Cleaned before refit.
Plastidipped kidney grills.
Almost finished.
Complete.
Low beams.
Hi beams.
Modified the tow hitch cover so as to get a cleaner look.
Xenon headlight retrofit using E46 Bi-xenon internals.
As you can see, the X3 uses a different style xenon ballast to the E46.
There is a lot of space inside the headlight to work with.
Making space for the projector.
Merc shroud.
Cleaned before refit.
Plastidipped kidney grills.
Almost finished.
Complete.
Low beams.
Hi beams.
Sabretooth tiger
///Member
Great work :clapper:
What is this world coming too, first Gizmo buys a diesel, now he is using plastidip :rollsmile:
What is this world coming too, first Gizmo buys a diesel, now he is using plastidip :rollsmile:
Sabretooth tiger
///Member
Gizmo said:
Completely forgot about that. Where do you still buy plastidip. Cant seem to find it anywhere?
Gizmo
Banned
The time has come that I start modding the X3 for maximum efficiency, I took the car past Budler motorsport yesterday for software upgrade and DPF delete but only software was done as the car has no DPF to delete, it has a catalytic converter only which Boetie said he will cut open and hollow out for me. However that isn't the best way of removing it so I will ask him to cut the whole cat out and replace with straight pipe.
Last night I followed Andy1GP's advice of cleaning the intake charge air temp sensor and MAP sensor using Liqui Moly MAF cleaner, at the same time I removed the EGR and cleaned that as well using petrol, the exhaust port was pretty well caked up with soet so it took some time to clean it out. Under Andy's advice the EGR will not be deleted as the car is used more for shorter trips rather than long distance highway cruising so the quicker the engine gets up to temp the better.
I am taking advantage of comparing Splintheter's former Estoril Blue E46 330d engine against my wife's X3 engine and seeing the differences first-hand between the M57 and the M57N2. One thing for sure is the M57N2 is far quieter than the M57 which sound more like an Isuzu.
The more I learn about these motors the more excited I get over the diesel concept, I must admit that I have definitely moved over to the dark side! No doubt my next car will be a diesel!
Some pics:
M57N2 with top cover removed.
EGR after cleaning.
Will remove and clean or replace all the piping and mini heat exchanger for the EGR at a later stage.
As you can see, there is no DPF, only a catalytic converter which will be replaced by a custom downpipe.
Splintheter's former 330d coming in handy for some M57 comparison pics. It is here for some maintenance and upgrades.
Special thanks to Andy1GP for all the advice and answering all my questions in getting the most amount of efficiency out of my wife's X3, thank you Andy, you are a legend! Rep added.
:clapper:
Last night I followed Andy1GP's advice of cleaning the intake charge air temp sensor and MAP sensor using Liqui Moly MAF cleaner, at the same time I removed the EGR and cleaned that as well using petrol, the exhaust port was pretty well caked up with soet so it took some time to clean it out. Under Andy's advice the EGR will not be deleted as the car is used more for shorter trips rather than long distance highway cruising so the quicker the engine gets up to temp the better.
I am taking advantage of comparing Splintheter's former Estoril Blue E46 330d engine against my wife's X3 engine and seeing the differences first-hand between the M57 and the M57N2. One thing for sure is the M57N2 is far quieter than the M57 which sound more like an Isuzu.
The more I learn about these motors the more excited I get over the diesel concept, I must admit that I have definitely moved over to the dark side! No doubt my next car will be a diesel!
Some pics:
M57N2 with top cover removed.
EGR after cleaning.
Will remove and clean or replace all the piping and mini heat exchanger for the EGR at a later stage.
As you can see, there is no DPF, only a catalytic converter which will be replaced by a custom downpipe.
Splintheter's former 330d coming in handy for some M57 comparison pics. It is here for some maintenance and upgrades.
Special thanks to Andy1GP for all the advice and answering all my questions in getting the most amount of efficiency out of my wife's X3, thank you Andy, you are a legend! Rep added.
:clapper:
RAArmstrong
///Member
If that M57 is sounding like an Isuzu then either the viscous fan is on or it needs engine mounts :biglol:
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Sent from my SM-N920C using Tapatalk
RAArmstrong
///Member
Mileage on the car?
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Sent from my SM-N920C using Tapatalk
RAArmstrong
///Member
Gizmo said:
Mounts on my E39 were shot after 100k km. Good idea to check them out. I was amazed how quiet the car became once I had them changed :inlove:
Gizmo
Banned
I started fabricating my own downpipe/cat delete today, wasn't too keen on the hollowed out method Boetie was going to do. I pulled out the storeroom a couple stainless steel 63mm mandrel bends, some s/s straight pipe and a s/s oxygen sensor bung that will replace the cat section. I started off by cutting the top and bottom flange sections off the cat which will be re-used. All welding will be tig welded by Marius Oosthuizen from Full Boost Performance.
Inside the cat.
Inside the cat.
Gizmo
Banned
Thank you Herman, its all new and exciting for me, plus Im learning a great deal along the way. While the car is on downtime and all the under covers are off I will strip out and clean the intercooler, boost pipes and change the O-ring seals on the boost pipes following more of Andy's advice.WaNaV8GoCart said:
