[Saarth]

So as some of you may know, I've been wanting a sports car for a while, but every time something else kept coming up and we went with other cars. Now I still don't have the opportunity to get myself a sports car, but I am getting a very good deal for a BMW F10 5-series, (I cannot mention the amount of discounts, so please don't ask. Sorry :( )

Now the thing is, I can get a 523i or a 530d. I also wanted to make this a project car for myself, something which I have always wanted as well. I know Ideally it should have been an M car for projects, but the nature of the deal doesn't permit me to do so.

Now the question arises between the 523i and 530d, firstly because I want a black car, and the 523i is available in black but the 530d might take some time. Secondly, as I will be doing many performance parts on the car, I wanted to know if everything you can do to a petrol car could be done on a diesel?

The list of mods I am thinking of carrying out is given below. Options that are followed with a (?) are those I'm not sure of which company/make I should get and am open to suggestions for those as well.

Body/Aero Mods

• Vorsteiner Rear Diffuser in Carbon Fibre
• Vorsteiner Rear Spoiler in Carbon Fibre
• Manhart Racing Carbon Fibre Bonnet with Louvres
• Black Gloss Kidney Grilles

Rims/Brakes

• Brembo Brakes in Verde Ithaca
• ADV1 10.01 Rims in Gloss Black

Exhaust

• Eisenmann Quad (530d)
• Meisterschaft GTS Quad (523i)

Engine Performance Mods

• ECU Tune for 523i (?)
• Manhart ECU Tune - 245bhp bumped to 306bhp - 530d (?)
• Air Intakes (?)

So, what do you guys think?

Thanks.

[Akshay1234]

Firstly, forget the 523i, its slow. Secondly, the 523i was discontinued a while ago, the 520i is the current base petrol sold. Are these cars new or used?

Also the 530d now comes with the M sport bodykit, rims, seats, steering wheel etc standard. Are you being offered the car with all that? Also the engine on the 530d is now 258bhp and 560nm stock.

Also before I continue, why not consider the 535i? Its 300bhp stock and you can take it well above 400 easily. The twin turbo engine is a real gem.

Ok now the visual bits, get whatever looks best to you. Do also look at other tuners like Hamann, AC Schnitzer and Hartge for other body parts. Also the Vorsteiner front and rear spoiler seem to be designed for the M bodykit which only comes on the 530d now. Another thing to check out are whiteline taillights, which will look hot on a black 5.

Check this site for some other parts too
http://www.trademotion.com/partlocat...subcat1=183176

Now for the 530d even Manhart just has a tuning box, but the newest 258bhp engine doesn't seem to be listed. I would suggest you stick to Hartge for the tuning box, they do exhausts too. The power improvements are pretty good.

On the 530d after hitting around 305-310bhp and 670 odd nm of torque you can't really do much without major mods. So consider that the limit for now. Even though the mods you can do on a petrol engine are more, the 523i will not come close to the power of the 530d. Only the 535i would better it by a big margin.

[Saarth]

Let me check on the 523i, I was pretty sure that's what I was told and not the 520i. But I could be wrong. Both cars are new, getting this as a part of an order we placed from BMW for our employees.

The 535i is not available in this order, its a CBU and upwards of 70lc OTR. I'd just get an SLK or Z4 if I was getting that.

Yes the 530d comes with the M-Kit, but I'm only really interested in the whittling tail-lights as everything else will most likely be replaced with aftermarket parts.

[Akshay1234]

Well if the 535i is out, then forget the 523i and stick to the 530d.

As for the 530d, if you are planning to replace bumpers and all with stuff like vorsteiner ones, then see if they have stock of a 530d without the M kit since you can probably save a few more lacs. If you are only planning things like a front lip, or rear diffuser then stick to the M kit since it looks best on the F10.

After getting all the carbon and aero bits do consider a wrap, the car will look crazy. Something like 3M matte grey aluminium.

[Sahil]

Its a no brainer- The 530d fits your needs. The M-Kit is great. Get the car then decide what you feel is lacking before planning any mods.

[Saarth]

Originally Posted by akshay1234

Well if the 535i is out, then forget the 523i and stick to the 530d.

As for the 530d, if you are planning to replace bumpers and all with stuff like vorsteiner ones, then see if they have stock of a 530d without the M kit since you can probably save a few more lacs. If you are only planning things like a front lip, or rear diffuser then stick to the M kit since it looks best on the F10.

After getting all the carbon and aero bits do consider a wrap, the car will look crazy. Something like 3M matte grey aluminium.

I don't think I'll get rid of the entire bumper, I'll just get a front lip and rear diffuser. I want to keep it clean and all black something like this pic. Its a bad photoshop on my part, but I want it to look something close to this.

[Akshay1234]

Originally Posted by Saarth

I don't think I'll get rid of the entire bumper, I'll just get a front lip and rear diffuser. I want to keep it clean and all black something like this pic. Its a bad photoshop on my part, but I want it to look something close to this.

That will look pretty good. Aah so you should get the M-sport bumper because the other normal one doesn't have half as many options for lips, etc.

The grilles you can get official M performance ones.

[fre2bpowerless]

Originally Posted by Saarth

Body/Aero Mods

• Vorsteiner Rear Diffuser in Carbon Fibre
• Vorsteiner Rear Spoiler in Carbon Fibre
• Manhart Racing Carbon Fibre Bonnet with Louvres
• Black Gloss Kidney Grilles

Rims/Brakes

• Brembo Brakes in Verde Ithaca
• ADV1 10.01 Rims in Gloss Black

Exhaust

• Eisenmann Quad (530d)
• Meisterschaft GTS Quad (523i)

Engine Performance Mods

• ECU Tune for 523i (?)
• Manhart ECU Tune - 245bhp bumped to 306bhp - 530d (?)
• Air Intakes (?)

So, what do you guys think?

Thanks.

The Car : The 523i is now 520i with a 4 cyl instead of the I-6, you have more mod potential with the 4cyl (N20). A 530d stock is better option than a tuned out 520i. Keep in mind, with your mods, you are looking to spend nearly 535i money in which case get a 535i & install a $300 piggyback by Burger Tuning.

Brakes : You don't 'need' brake upgrades with either models, they have a good feel and bite. If you do decide to upgrade the brakes, you may have to upsize the wheels as Brembo's BBK won't fit inside those tiny 17" alloys that come stock on the 520i/530d. 530d also needs a tire upgrade if you bump up the power anymore, the tires don't even put down all the power of the stock tune without the TCS jumping in.

Intake/Exhaust : Intakes on the N20 make sense if you are getting a tune/remap for it , avoid the open element filters as they tend to suck hot air from the bay and you'll lose power due to heat soak. Get an Intake from AFE which uses a similar set-up as the stock airbox but pulls in more air. On their own, no intake provides a huge bump in power.

An exhaust on a diesel doesn't sound very pretty. On the petrol, you'd require one if tuned. I'm not sure if its available but get downpipes as well and not just a cat-back exhaust, on BMWs the downpipes are very restrictive.

CF Bits : The M-kit looks pretty, you could couple that with a good cf diffuser and spoiler. The CF hood is a bit too much but if it works for you, go for it.


Do a little more research before you decide on either car, see what suits you best.