IND F10 M5 Transformed With Carbon Fiber Roof, BBS FI, KW, CF Recaros, GruppeM
Posted on Monday, October 1st, 2012 at 2:45 pm by IND Distribution
For most dedicated BMW enthusiasts, the F10 M5 is a car they simply had to have. BMW promised us great things with this new M car, and the M division rarely disappoints. The car’s amazing new twin turbo power plant, extremely versatile personality, and typical M chassis dynamics told us at IND to expect this M5 to be nothing short of the next sports sedan icon.
Thanks to Steve Thomas BMW, our dream of owning an F10 M5 has become a reality. IND’s own M5 will be an homage to the M tradition of building the world’s best sports sedan, albeit taken to an extreme a few levels above what BMW themselves are willing to do.
IND Distribution has joined with the best and brightest in our industry with one simple goal in mind- to create the absolute best F10 M5 possible. IND is proud to introduce our team of technology partners:
While we cannot disclose the specifics of this project just yet, it is absolutely without question that all of us at IND are tremendously excited about the months to come. We hope that in developing our own F10 M5 and pushing the car to it’s absolute maximum we will be able to learn valuable lessons useful not only for IND, but for the entire M5 community.
Please check this thread often, as in the next few weeks we will continue to post updates while we test and develop our F10 M5 project car.
iND M5 hits Steve Thomas BMW-
[URL]http://f10.m5post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=735373&highlight=Steve+thomas+BMW+IND[/URL]
I am proud to announce that IND’s last round of baseline testing is complete. After a busy week we have managed to record and log some track miles at AutoBahn Country Club’s south course, as well as a series of runs at our local drag strip, Great Lakes Dragway. If I could walk away with one impression of the M5 after putting the supersedan through it’s trials, it is that this M5 works “exactly as advertised”. Most M5 owners can now attest to the fact that the F10 M5 is a performance car of the highest caliber, and after our rounds of testing last week we are happy to report the same.
Our build schedule for our M5 project did not allow us to be as thorough as we would have liked- the extremely tight timeline between now and SEMA means that we are not able to wait for private days and closed courses as normal, and had to simply test the car as soon as possible. This did result in some limited opportunities, but we were still able to gather the key points- a consistent lap time and quarter mile time.
Each member of IND’s staff waited with eager anticipation as our M5 took off for AutoBahn Country Club for the first time. We’ve known of course that this car has enjoyed rave reviews from journalists worldwide even when put through it’s paces on a race track, but how would it perform in the hands of a real driver in the real world?
The car captured the eyes of many onlookers while it rolled onto Autobahn’s South Track pit, with only the roar of the Eisenmann system and the Eisenmann graphics on the side differentiating this M5 from an “off the showroom floor” car. I joined our test driver for his first few laps, and as he grew familiar with the car’s behavior we quickly developed a respect for the car’s composure on the track, and also it’s forgiving but interactive nature.
Our driver was able to dip below the 1:40 mark with the M5 in factory trim, a very impressive time for a 4,300lbs sedan! More than the lap time itself, the balance and ability of the car was what was truly impressive. The car was able to remain cool throughout the sessions, and although the brakes faded with time, they were still up to the task of decelerating the supersedan throughout the day. We certainly have our work cut out for us in improving the car’s performance, but will be able to do so as we improve the braking, power output, and weight of our M5.
A mere two days later the car was headed to Great Lakes Dragway, this time accompanied by Ivan of AMS Performance, our hot shoe for all straight line tests. We expected good performance from the car, but were hampered by our lack of launch control as we performed the test with a mere 900 miles on the clock.
AMS Performance have developed an absolutely incredible program for the Nissan GTR, and will be bringing their engineering expertise to the table with our project as official technology partners of IND. Ivan, the driver for AMS Performance has a great deal of experience with DCT style transmissions, and although we were restricted to an open day was able to learn the transmission and get a good launch in just a few runs. Our best time was an 11.978 at 119mph, with a 1.9 60’ time, and although this can clearly still be improved with better tires, launch control, and some more time in the driver’s seat, it still managed to turn some heads at the drag strip! Few present that had seen a sedan capable of a sub-12 second quarter mile right from the factory.
Enjoy the photos from both test days! We will update this thread with video at the beginning of next week.
[img]http://www.bimmerpost.com/goodiesforyou/m/m5/f10/ind/update/indm5-a19.jpg[/img]
Although our ultimate goal for this car must remain veiled to a certain degree, we can confess to our readers that our performance goals will require more safety than is available from BMW’s own design. Late last week our M5 was left with the expert fabricators at Fall Line Motorsports for some help in the safety equipment department, a crucial step in the evolution of our M5.
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on Monday, October 1st, 2012 at 2:45 pm and is filed under BMW News, F10 M5, M5, Tuned.
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9:48 PM 9/5/2012
You guys are setting the bar high very quickly!
3Way Clubsports?! CF Roof and Trunk?!
Please tell me you're going to throw in Recaro SPGs like the Safety Car ;)
10:08 PM 9/5/2012
10:17 PM 9/5/2012
SPA?! Holy Carbon Kevlar Batman!!
So 115lbs a seat to 11.5lbs.......
10:24 PM 9/5/2012
So 115lbs a seat to 11.5lbs.......
That's pretty funny that the numbers worked out that way. Definitely meant to be :lol:
But seriously, losing over 200lbs just from seats is crazy! With everything else, I'm sure you'll easily get below the gargantuan 4000lb checkpoint.
11:23 PM 9/5/2012
11:43 PM 9/5/2012
2:42 AM 9/6/2012
6:21 AM 9/6/2012
*subscribed* :popcorn:
1:05 PM 9/6/2012
2:33 PM 9/6/2012
7:47 PM 9/6/2012
Are you guys dynoing what the Eisenmann Vinyl puts down to the wheels or other mods? ;)
11:56 AM 9/7/2012
10:02 PM 9/7/2012
10:19 PM 9/7/2012
10:54 PM 9/7/2012
12:13 AM 9/8/2012
2:20 PM 9/8/2012
10:21 PM 9/8/2012
I'm thinking carbon kevlar hood, roll cage, harness, fire suppression system... :thumbsup:
SICK
:cool:
12:08 AM 9/9/2012