Installer BiographiesName: Steve Brown
Age: 32
Occupation: Application R&D Engineer Supervisor
First car: 1976 Toyota Celica
Current ride: Lexus GS430, Toyota Tundra, 1987 Mustang w/601 rwhp, Honda CBR900 RR.
Favorite car of the moment: Ferrari Enzo
How much is the insurance on the X5: "Ask our V.P., Jim O'Neill"
How much did the X5 project cost: $500,000
Next project: I'll never tell.
Name: Mike Vu
Age: 29
Occupation: Application R&D Engineer
First car: 1989 Honda Accord
Current ride: 2000 Toyota Tacoma to tow my 2003 CBR 600RR
Favorite car of the moment: 2005 Toyota Tacoma.
How much is your insurance: Ask my wife.
How much did the X5 project cost: $500,000
Next project: Look out for upcoming projects from MV Designs.
Components and UpgradesComponent List
- Alpine F#1 Status DVI-9990 DVD-Audio/CD tuner
- Alpine PXI-H990 Multimedia Manager(tm) digital processors (2)
- Alpine MRV-F900 4-channel amplifiers (6)
- Alpine SPX-Z118T 3-way component speakers
- Alpine SPX-Z15M 2-way single channel component speaker set (2 pair creating the front and rear center channels and rear pillar speakers)
- Alpine SWX-1022D 10-inch subwoofers (2)
- Alpine TME-M770 6.5-inch touch screen monitors (2)
- Alpine KCA-500B IONBUS to Ai-NET bus connector which allows for the connection of the SIR-ALP1 Sirius Satellite Radio tuner
Aftermarket non-electronic upgrades
- Custom fabricated wide body kit
- Laser cut Alpine logo, back-lit in white, is molded into the front bumper
- Laser cut Alpine F#1 Status logos are molded into the two side sills and are backlit by LCD monitors which play graphical screen saver designs.
- The exhaust system was rerouted to hand-made exhaust tips which also built into the side sills. Two Defi gauges supply the vital statistics for the X5 ULM.
- Defi Link Display gauge is also mounted in the overhead console, to provide readouts for temperature, oil pressure, the tachometer and speedometer. A second Defi gauge, a heads-up display, is installed in the dashboard facing the windshield. This gauge uses a reflector to display speedometer data directly onto the windshield.
- Monster Cable wiring is used throughout the vehicle26-inch KMC custom-machined wheels, 26x10-inch front and 26x12-inch rear
- Brembo Gran Turismo brake kit, 13.6-inch rotors and two-piston calipers in the rear, and 15-inch rotors with 8-piston calipers (the biggest kit they make) in the front.
- Virtus brand clear coat and primer were supplied by Coast Airbrush
- Meguiar's provided color sanding, buffing and polishing for the paint job.
- Oakley provided protective eyewear and clothing for the vehicle build-up.
