newbie in the woods of X... and bit of a rumble :)

[centurion]

hi guys,

i'm completely new in the world of X's having bought one of the iconic drives for a bit of fun (as my wife likes to put it ... I really like the ride and the style but as I never owned 4x4/SUV here are couple observations I noticed re E53 4.8is that would probably apply to other engines in the range,

- steering wheel - it seems a bit heavy albeit PAS is working fine and I have had no errors/issues on the car. I guess combination of 20" wheels certainly does not help... however it is very precise at speed.

- window opening is a bit of a bugger as door handle stands in the way... some things got to be designed by Italians .

- Premium sounds  system - i'd certainly drop the Premium prefix... just for the sake of comparison my very first car's system was on the par if not better (and yes it was Fiat Uno 1.0e).

- it has amazing engine but does feel tad heavy moving off the standstill and requires some force to stop at emergency breaking.

- again I understand it is a nearly 10 year old car and gearbox is far from perfect but it could have been better... smoother is probably more appropriate. I like the idea of kickdown and droping two gears down but it does get 'confused' when stopping abruptly alsmot immediately after.
Q: is there a procedure to reset the gearbox so as to re-learn the driving habits as some cars offer that?

Other than above the drive is really enjoyable and I have taken it  on several round trips and it feels really nice... fuel consumption is not my major concern as I mainly use at weekends and would probably never fulfill it's potential but great motor and piece of eng...

i'm also planning to do couple minor mods ot the car and was wondering what your opinion is of those... mainly cosmetic,
- K&N induction kit
- rear LED upgrade
- interior LED light upgrade (will start with convenience lights
- de-badging to use black/grey and white carbon fibre badges all around (incl. wheel caps)
- wheels in black to match the car's colour
- carbon fibre interior trim (steering wheel + handbrake handle and possibly extending to gear lever too)
Q: what do you think of the carbon based dash and how challenging is it to remove the clock on it?
- tuning box- tbc...
Q: I have been planning to use the OBD based variant... any thoughts?

it does need bit of polishing to remove some very minor scratches and aluminium board will get a decent clean but all in all it's been very impressive thus far... do not want to jinx it (just yet) but air suspension had been just fine for last 3.5 weeks of ownership  .

Hope that helps and I will keep you posted with some pics soon...

[Raj]

Nice idea on some of the planned mods. I'm starting to consider parting out my 4.8is and can possibly do a deal on some of the mods etc 

[Chrisw4266]

Sounds like you've got the modding bug there. Have a look on the gallery section and you'll see my carbon wrapped interior, wasn't a hard job worst bit is remove g the centre console trim.
By clock do you mean the dash pod ? If so it's a doddle 2 screws and it pops out. A little more challenging to strip down.

[X5-D-Sport]

Hi,
Welcome to the world of X5's, you will find the guys here are very knowledgeable and share their findings easily, humour can be very dry - but always respectful & I'd like to meet some of these people some time, maybe at a club meet or gathering maybe.

I've only had my X5 just 6 months & love it - 2004  218hp diesel facelift.

I disposed of the 255 tyres/wheels on the front for a matching set all round, and now have 19 x 45 x 285's all round....
The steering is a little heavier at stationary & you know you got more rubber spinning for sure, the Plus side is matching tyres and cheaper too...
Steering is a lot more precise as a result, & 35psi all round, and the front end is pulled around positively now in the wet.
I went for a set of "Roadstone" high speed tyres, deep treads & good water dump channels, and have virtually no pull to one side thru surface water. These are a cheaper tyre, but pleased with them so far.

Re the dash, maybe Carbon wrap the plastic trim parts and see how it looks 1st.... I went for wood trims -  console & handles, looks nice & puts a bit of class into the vehicle - but we all like different things I guess...
The centre console was a bitch to swap out & refit - never again lol...

Power / Remap.....
Strongly recommend a re-map.
I have loads of additional power, and can regularly get 600 a tank, incl regular rush dashes for 3 hrs a time up the motorways.
There is some one on site here that does this with good feedback.
However, I bought a good Plug-In module from Flea-Bay that delivers excellent results....
The standing start is now so fierce that I have pain sympathy for the transmission and rarely push it hard now... but when in Germany it easily pulls up 120mph and has instant pull for more if nrequired..

Brakes....
I bought a set of vented slotted drilled disks all round & RED STUFF pads.
These pads squeak like hell for a week initially, but silence soon after, and get more efficient the hotter they get.
I can do a Rapid pull-up from 100mph with no noticeable brake fade at all - very impressed.
Before these disks & fancy pads the braking was OK, but just soggy... now the braking is seriously good, better than I hoped for even for a big vehicle...
The big tyre combination works well too.

Rear dirt drag collection....
I fitted a secondary tail-gate spoiler & rear side splitters behind the rear wheels..... Makes for less wind drumming from the rear, and a little less dirt on the rear end - but she is a fat lady and will always get grubby on the arse !!

K&N air filter replacement works well, bloody pain to fit tho...
a tiny bit more MPG, but nothing notable in performance.
Keep the intake mouth where it is, as it draws COLD air directly from the front & having used Thermal probes with an aftermarket intake, it was a waste of time & money - the OEM intake above the Rad is ok.

Window switches - sodding pain.... we just suffer this one lol.

Air suspension....
There's a topic for a seminar...
It is actually very simple, and works well.... and when working gives fab ride results & load carrying.
I have learned the hard way, that the sensors do fail, but easy to change, the pumps live in the wheel well under the spare in the boot in a Pyramid in the middle...
A failing of these is.... power cable being worn thru under the tyre that drives the pumps, air pipes wearing thru, module failures.... etc...
Keep the tail-gate seal surrounds clean and silicone sprayed to prevent damp getting in, ensure the modules stay DRY..

Many electrical issues throughout the vehicle are attributed to battery standing voltage creeping down with an old battery.... additionally, the battery gasses from a tired battery could possibly add to substantial  corrosion of the multitude of electronics & modules in the boot floor compartment....
The battery should read about 12.2 - 12.5volts on a cold battery. Battery voltage with engine running should be 13.5 or better..
If you lose a battery cell, she will still start on 11 volts, but likely to give various electrical errors - beware.

Sound system...... Mute point indeed.
However, I fitted a slim-line sub unit under my passenger seat - with good results.

Enjoy.
Regards
Grant B

[violet]

Hi, i am also new (had mine about a month now) and i have a lot of the mods you are plannning on will try and take some pics, got a carbon dash (i am not a wood fan) thougth quite like that smokey grey wood, sorry dont know the name, got carbon badges.  My dash is the schinzter one not wrapped but have noticed there is a bit of wood still in the back, need to get that wrapped.  use to sell the car wrap at my previous company and its not the easiest thing to apply without a bit of pracitce.

Cannot help you with how they are to fit as mine was done when i bought it.  i am taking things off mine as it is a little over modifed, but love the carbon badges and dash.  22" wheels are coming off, they look stunning but not that comfortable for me when i have lots of speed humps and pot holes to get over on the way to work.

I quite like sound system, but i have that extra sub woofer thing in the back, but it was not as good as my landrover discovery premium sound system, that was amazing.  Messing around with some of the settings makes a difference.

generally love my car, but as it has spent a little time in the garage having stuff done to it.  Be glad when its all fixed and i can really start to trust it and really drive it.

Welcome to the world of X5s

[centurion]

cheers for your input... at least we share the same thoughts or are in alignment on majority of them .

I think some of you mentioned an amplifier... is this something that could be retrofitted and had anyone tried to do it?

one other point I thought of is to replace stock speakers (e.g. upgrade) hence was wondering how viable that would be assuming I do not plan to replace the existing sat/nav+radio system.

[briankerrys47]

[quote="centurion"]
cheers for your input... at least we share the same thoughts or are in alignment on majority of them .

I think some of you mentioned an amplifier... is this something that could be retrofitted and had anyone tried to do it?

one other point I thought of is to replace stock speakers (e.g. upgrade) hence was wondering how viable that would be assuming I do not plan to replace the existing sat/nav+radio system.
[/quote]I have a 900watt amp fitted to rear of a rear seat,was in when purchased car awesome!!!!