Test drove an E63 M6 @ the weekend.....

[Schermerhorn]

MPG was no biggie for me, a smaller engined Ferrari consumed more petrol, as does a Gallardo etc.

The fuel range was annoying but I could eek out 25mpg on the motorway sitting at 75mph all day long.

Obviously around town it plummets to 10-12 mpg but it is a hefty old thing with a big engine!

[Mikeeb]

My CL manages about 11-15 on the commute and I've never seen more than 22.5 on the motorway @ 75-80. All just taken off the OBC, I've never bother to measure it.

[andygtt]

cosworth330 said:

Well it's well over 2 years ownership now and I've never had to use my warramty on my E60 M5, its been just as reliable as any other car I've owned so far. Don't really have any issues with how the SMG works either, much easier to drive in traffic than my previous E39 M5 as you don't have to worry about a clutch pedal which gets tiresome in heavy traffic.

exactly the same as mine... had it 2 years never missed a beat and did 30k in it.

Then I had an SMG red cog and a further 2 years on the car has never returned to the road... on the plus side the engine now resides in a Capri and I 'think' i have convinced my wife to let me have another M5 V10 as an everyday car again

The biggest issue with these cars is the lack of people that actually know anything about them or how to fix them... that includes BMW main dealers hence so many have issues.... there are genuine experts starting to surface so hopefully the car will become less intimidating financially and become the classic it deserves to be.

[ATM]

andygtt said:

The biggest issue with these cars is the lack of people that actually know anything about them or how to fix them... that includes BMW main dealers hence so many have issues.... there are genuine experts starting to surface so hopefully the car will become less intimidating financially and become the classic it deserves to be.

I think it's the engine everyone loves. The rest of the car and possibly even the gearbox are just packaging.

[JMBMWM5]

Nat_H said:

I love mine, and MPSS tyres have really helped get all the power down.

The engine really does come alive at the 5k point, and 3rd - 4th - 5th - 6th gears are great fun to the redline.

YEA and just were can you do that in the UK?.
Having had all the "M" cars including the LCI F10 M5 and just sold the M6 GC CP, i can tell you using 20% of the power is 90% of the time end of.

[andygtt]

JMBMWM5 said:

Nat_H said:

I love mine, and MPSS tyres have really helped get all the power down.

The engine really does come alive at the 5k point, and 3rd - 4th - 5th - 6th gears are great fun to the redline.

YEA and just were can you do that in the UK?.
Having had all the "M" cars including the LCI F10 M5 and just sold the M6 GC CP, i can tell you using 20% of the power is 90% of the time end of.

He said earlier in the thread he does this at bruntingthorpe.

Know-one in almost any car drives it at full chat 100% of the time, or even 50% of the time on the road as they wouldn't have a licence even in a mundane diesel. However we have cars like this purely for that 10% of the time.

[Nat_H]

andygtt said:

JMBMWM5 said:

Nat_H said:

I love mine, and MPSS tyres have really helped get all the power down.

The engine really does come alive at the 5k point, and 3rd - 4th - 5th - 6th gears are great fun to the redline.

YEA and just were can you do that in the UK?.
Having had all the "M" cars including the LCI F10 M5 and just sold the M6 GC CP, i can tell you using 20% of the power is 90% of the time end of.

He said earlier in the thread he does this at bruntingthorpe.

Know-one in almost any car drives it at full chat 100% of the time, or even 50% of the time on the road as they wouldn't have a licence even in a mundane diesel. However we have cars like this purely for that 10% of the time.

Yeah, it was at Bruntingthorpe for VMAX, but otherwise you are right, I never really use the car in anger outside 2nd and 3rd - its just to fast for UK speed limits. I included a cheeky pic of 7500 rpm in 6th @ 165mph

Even with 2000 miles in Germany this summer, I rarely got over 140mph on the Autobahns, things happen quickly, and there just is not enough space.

[JMBMWM5]

Nat_H said:

Yeah, it was at Bruntingthorpe for VMAX, but otherwise you are right, I never really use the car in anger outside 2nd and 3rd - its just to fast for UK speed limits. I included a cheeky pic of 7500 rpm in 6th @ 165mph

Even with 2000 miles in Germany this summer, I rarely got over 140mph on the Autobahns, things happen quickly, and there just is not enough space.

I found the early M6 to be such a heavy drinker it put me off.
The F10/12 are way better but at a price, J

[Mikeeb]

Well took the wife on Saturday. And to my delight she prefers the M6 to the CL55.

So deposit put down on a Silvertone car with Silverstone interior.

Happy days!

[cosworth330]

Mikeeb said:

Well took the wife on Saturday. And to my delight she prefers the M6 to the CL55.

So deposit put down on a Silvertone car with Silverstone interior.

Happy days!

Excellent, Silverstone is a great colour. What year is it and how many miles ?

[Shaoxter]

Congrats, pics and details needed!
My wife loved the S85 the first time she heard it too

[Mikeeb]

She's a 55 plate so an early one, very clean and straight and you'd never believe the 90k miles from the interior. All the big jobs done in the last 2 years

Clutch/flywheel and slave
Smg pump
Vanos hp pipe
Throttle actuators

And I negotiated the bid ends being checked too

[Shaoxter]

Mikeeb said:

And I negotiated the bid ends being checked too

Hmmm would be curious to see the results of this!! Especially on a 90k miler...

[cosworth330]

Sounds like it's had most of the usual stuff replaced which is good, you obviously read the buying guide.

The sump would need removing to inspect the rod bearings and if the sump was off then you'd just renew them.
Maybe they had an oil sample tested for traces of metal ?

Hope you enjoy it. Let us know how you find it after a few weeks of M6 ownership.

[Mikeeb]

Yeah I'm sure once it's off we'll come to an arrangement to get them swapped. It would be stupid to put the old ones back regardless of condition.

[andygtt]

Mikeeb said:

Well took the wife on Saturday. And to my delight she prefers the M6 to the CL55.

So deposit put down on a Silvertone car with Silverstone interior.

Happy days!

Ive done the same, took the wife to see an M6, she liked it but put her foot down for 5 seats... perfect I said we can get another M5.

Deposit down and going to collect on Thursday, really looking forward to getting behind the wheel of that V10 again

[cosworth330]

andygtt said:

Ive done the same, took the wife to see an M6, she liked it but put her foot down for 5 seats... perfect I said we can get another M5.

Deposit down and going to collect on Thursday, really looking forward to getting behind the wheel of that V10 again

Good choice, the first one didn't put you off then.

Purchased a private plate for my M5 on Friday, just waiting for the transfer to go through before I can display it .
Plate is M5 SMG which I've been after for a while as I missed out on it over a year ago when it was for sale previously.

[andygtt]

cosworth330 said:

andygtt said:

Ive done the same, took the wife to see an M6, she liked it but put her foot down for 5 seats... perfect I said we can get another M5.

Deposit down and going to collect on Thursday, really looking forward to getting behind the wheel of that V10 again

Good choice, the first one didn't put you off then.

Purchased a private plate for my M5 on Friday, just waiting for the transfer to go through before I can display it .
Plate is M5 SMG which I've been after for a while as I missed out on it over a year ago when it was for sale previously.

I still have the other M5, spent quite a bit replacing the entire SMG pump and system and fixing the flood damage electronics done by the garage (Engine and box ecu and engine loom replaced)... only to find it was misdiagnosed by them as well lol... I simply downed tools and have put the engine in a Capri

The new M5 has had a new clutch etc, new throttle actuators among other bits and is a later model so has the better SMG pump.... I also have a complete car for spares and some much more experienced contacts who know the electronics inside out.

I will be transferring the plate from my old M5 to the new one... and at last I have a car in my fleet thats not black

[cosworth330]

Sounds perfect having a spare M5 for parts !
Have been reading the Capri thread,very cool.

[Mikeeb]

andygtt said:

Ive done the same, took the wife to see an M6, she liked it but put her foot down for 5 seats... perfect I said we can get another M5.

Deposit down and going to collect on Thursday, really looking forward to getting behind the wheel of that V10 again

Excellent. Loving the work on the Capri!