In the car modding Mecca of the world it's common to see an endless line of vehicles (usually stuck in traffic) with new wheels and body kits on the many freeways crisscrossing Southern California. Other modifications that are not so noticeable on the Pacific Coast Highway happen under the hood and inside the vehicle. Twenty-two-year-old Eric Szeto was raised in the "Southland," so he has been fortunate enough to see many modded vehicles. Even before he received his license, he knew that he would modify whatever his first car would be. As soon as he acquired that precious, laminated piece of plastic, he made a trip to BMW and rolled away in a 1999 BMW 328i. With the Bimmer just several miles old, it received a body kit and was then off to the stereo shop for some goodies. The very subtle system did the trick, taking up precious little space, which he liked. However, he felt that the system was lacking power and this is something he wanted to correct. Before he ever had a chance to make the changes he needed, his modding plans changed in a big way.
When BMW released the E65 chassis Sport Activity Vehicle, aka the X5, it instantly caught the eyes of the American public. A pair of those eyes belonged to Szeto. He decided that the E65 platform was a "must have," so the E46 was traded in for a new Topaz Blue X5 4.4.
The Sport Activity Vehicle is a much larger platform compared to Szeto's original E46. This meant more expensive modifications. First on the list was a trip to Traffic Jamz in Encino, CA. Szeto learned a great deal about power and design in his first vehicle, so with this system, he made sure that it would come out right. "I wanted the system in the X5 to sound good and look different, but mainly I built the one in the X5 purely for enjoyment," states Szeto. Before getting started, he sat down with Frank Sbrocca and Will Lee from Traffic Jamz and the three collectively put together system design for the X5.
Molded Dash
Starting up in the dash, a Pioneer AVX-P7300DVD video head unit runs the system chores. It is mated to a Pioneer AVM-P9000R processor, which includes a three-band parametric equalizer, three-band independent equalizer per channel (when the DSP is engaged), full time alignment, source level control, and the ability to decode Dolby Digital and DTS. The source level control and equalizer functions are most important to Szeto, as these are the ones he uses frequently. A Pioneer GEX-P7000TV TV tuner is also attached to the head unit for viewing pleasure.
The head unit was installed in the factory location using a custom fabricated Masonite mount. The Pioneer sleeve slides and attaches itself to the Masonite, keeping the unit firmly in place. The plate was finished with black Formica and screwed into the dashboard. MDF was shaped to fit flush with the radio and dash. No body filler was used to get the perfect shape, just hours of countless sanding. Once fitted, the piece was painted silver with pearl coat to match the already modified interior trim panels.
Diamonds are a Man's Best Friend
Diamond Audio HEX S600 6.5" components were used up front. An MDF mounting plate was fabricated and attached to the door over the existing opening for the OEM driver. Once secured in place, the new Diamond Audio midrange driver was fastened to the MDF baffle. Accumat damping material from Scosche was applied to the inner and outer door skins to seal it up. Although the door panel itself already had damping material from the factory, more was added. All of this work was done in order to create an enclosure for the speaker.
The tweeter was mounted in the factory location on top of the door, with little modifications. The rear speakers are Diamond Audio HEX S500 5.25" components. The same mounting procedures as the front were used in the back. "I was unfamiliar with the Diamond Audio line, but once I heard it, I knew that I had to have it," explains Szeto Dual 12" Diamond Audio TDX 12 subwoofers provide the low end for the X5. The installation team utilized the dead space in the spare tire area to fabricate an enclosure. Before construction, the factory air suspension reserve tank was moved forward. A custom bracket was made to hold the tank in place. Fiberglass was used as a base to ensure that every nook and cranny of volume was utilized. The enclosure uses a common chamber for the two subwoofers and has a total internal volume of 1.8 cubic feet. To strengthen the enclosure, a 1-inch MDF brace was added in the middle. The baffle board was laminated with black Formica and trimmed off with a vinyl trim.
Three Diamond Audio Amplifiers power all of the speakers. A D7056 amplifier runs the front stage in four-channel mode providing 50 watts to each tweeter and 200 watts to each midrange. The rear components are powered with a D7152, 150 watts per side. Finally, the D51200 bass amplifier gives 1200 watts to the subwoofers. Two of the three amplifiers stand vertically side by side behind the rear seats. To the right is a system diagram with the third amplifier hidden behind it. Half-inch MDF comprises the amplifier rack. The amps were screwed into the amplifier rack using security screws. Black vinyl on the amplifier rack and on the floor of the truck finishes off all areas. Hidden behind the two visible amplifiers is blue neon to help attract attention at events. Total system power (considering all impedances) is a staggering 1800 watts.
Video
Video entertainment is provided by the Pioneer DVD head unit, Pioneer TV tuner, and Sony PlayStation 2. Viewing the sources is done through the front Pioneer monitor and two Kenwood LZ-800W 8-inch monitors, installed in each headrest. The Kenwood monitors were attached to the headrests using metal plates that were massaged into the headrests. All of the video sources and monitors were looped through the Pioneer AVMP900R brain and all three can operate independently from one another, giving passengers in the rear the ability to choose their own video source.
tUNINGwERKS Competition
To say that Szeto's time is limited is an understatement. Szeto is a full-time student in Baltimore, MA, and is also the Director of Operations for Tuningwerks Competition Vehicles. He runs the latter via e-mail and his cell phone. His weekends are usually split between writing term papers and making sure the east and west coast teams are ready to attend an event. Tuningwerks is a team comprised of individuals dedicated to being the elite in the European Tuning Community. With Szeto's help, the team now spans the country, coast to coast. Several awards and publications have been received by the team. "It is a lot of hard work, but the returns are extremely rewarding," states Szeto.
Aside from the audio/video system, the X5 has many other enhancements. They include a twin dual round exhaust system, roof spoiler, sport pedals, front and rear wide fenders, sidesteps, front spoiler with stainless steel-integrated bumper bar, front roll bar, and rear apron with stainless steel-integrated bumper bar. All of the parts mentioned above are courtesy of Hamann, a BMW tuner. Engine and transmission software from Dinan has been downloaded. Twenty-two inch HRE 641R Series wheels in gunmetal finish fill the large wheel wells. The wheels were custom made (22x9.5 front and 22x10 rear) with custom rear offsets making it the only X5 with these wheels. The Hamann wide fenders and custom exhaust piping make it possible to fit the wheels. Pirelli Scorpion Zero tires in 295/30-22 all the way around keep the X5 connected to the road. For a stout appearance, H&R Sport Springs lower the SAV. The interior has new interior trim (silver with pearl coat), suede door panels, and a custom-fabricated tUNINGwERKS Titanium E-brake handle.
This X5 has won numerous awards on the West Coast and is destined to take home more hardware this year. Of course, when competing, you must stay on top of things and keep upgrading. Szeto claims that he will still continue to do upgrades on the X5, but that he does not want to reveal his secrets. Oh, one more thing, Szeto is bringing the X5 to the East Coast this year to try his luck with the fierce competition there. We're sure that doesn't make some peeps too happy.