The Best ///M/Barge/General Rant/Look at this/O/T (Vol XVI)
Discussion
A Ford f
king Fusion is not a fking estate car.... been looking for a cheap barge and every time I search for an estate, parkers, autotrader etc there are hundreds of these tiny bd things in the search results and thats before I have to scroll through Vauxhall bloody Aglias and Suzuki Wagon-Rs.... as you were.
king Fusion is not a fking estate car.... been looking for a cheap barge and every time I search for an estate, parkers, autotrader etc there are hundreds of these tiny bd things in the search results and thats before I have to scroll through Vauxhall bloody Aglias and Suzuki Wagon-Rs.... as you were.Edited by anonymous-user on Friday 26th December 20:32
tdm34 said:
hornetrider said:
I'll answer my own question. 4 x B5 and 1 B5S.
I can personally attest to the fact that a B5 in doesn't in fact have 492bhp, my butt-dyno rates it at closer to 550bhp, they really are hilarious things to drivetdm34 said:
Bloody Kidney Stones!!!
Xmas dinners in hospital aren't good at all!
And in other matters e39s given the choice M5 or Alpina B10V8? A year ago there would be only one, but as I approach my 55 birthday with my dicky left knee the Buchlovian appeals more and more.....
Your thoughts gentlemen.....
Sorry to hear about the stones. Hope you're on the mend.Xmas dinners in hospital aren't good at all!
And in other matters e39s given the choice M5 or Alpina B10V8? A year ago there would be only one, but as I approach my 55 birthday with my dicky left knee the Buchlovian appeals more and more.....
Your thoughts gentlemen.....
Edited by tdm34 on Friday 26th December 09:53
With regards M5 vs B10, I thinking large part it's a case of different strokes for different folks, but I'd have been happy with either. The M5 is undoubtedly the better drivers' car, being a manual and having the LSD. But the B10 is a smoother ride and has (or feels like it has) more low down torque. And there's little difference, ultimately, in "go" between the two, judging by arse dyno alone.
I spent a while driving examples of both and, in the end, just picked the best example (in terms of history, colour combo, condition, etc) of all those I drove. I ended up with a B10 but it could equally have been the M5.
The B10 seemed to suit our needs a little better as a new family, living in London, doing most of its miles on motorways or in town. But it does desperately need a LSD. The good news is that I now have "approval" for a Quaife in the new year.
If you need an auto, and that inevitably leads to a B10, I wouldn't for one minute feel short changed... But only if you do something about the diff.
Completely wrong. Yet I rather like it, in particular the interior and the lack of any form of practicality, particularity for more than 2 people in a Rolls Royce http://www.carandclassic.co.uk/car/C553579#
Edited by 0a on Saturday 27th December 12:54
0a said:
Completely wrong. Yet I rather like it, in particular the interior and the lack of any form of particularity for more than 2 people in a Rolls Royce http://www.carandclassic.co.uk/car/C553579#
Now THAT, is absolutely stunning! Great find 
Edited by LaurasOtherHalf on Saturday 27th December 08:53
olly22n said:
E24man said:
olly22n said:
Having driven both, the m5 is in a different world. B10 is closer to a 540i than m5 imo
I've driven all three and would politely disagree 
Either way, I wouldnt buy another e39 unless it had an m badge on its arse
ATM said:
Mods look like all the right ones. That's a biblical amount of thrust per pound!
ATM said:
Somehow makes me a bit sad that the original and only owner punted that into the trade. Ah that old M5 v B10 chestnut.
Entirely personal, and because I'm grown up and dull, I soon worked out that a B10 would be the better car for 90% of the time I'd spend driving it. The daily commute in a line of traffic, trips out with the family, 85mph schleps down the motorway, that sort of thing. So, for me, B10.
M5 is the poster car, the headline grabber, the Top Trump winning card. I'd still love one. Will probably end up buying one some day. But I suspect that if I'd have chosen an M5, it wouldn't have stayed in the family as long as the B10 did.
Funny innit, nobody amongst us would automatically choose the performance car that works better at 47mph, when in reality that's what we end up doing with it almost all the time
You'd never jump in the B10 and go for a spirited drive. The involvement just isn't there, mainly due to the dull old slusher. But by jove it could cover some ground. We still talk in the pub about chasing a 996, four up plus kit, down the A road running parallel to Hadrians Wall while spectating a rally. Speeds were considerable and the Porker was trying: twitching on crests, gravel flicking up, brake lights pinging. Of course it's always easier following someone than being out front, but the B10 matched it yard for yard on every bend, straight and overtake. Not a car to be flung around: you pour a fast moving B10 gently into a bend, transfer the weight gradually and let the big tyres find the grip. Extremely fast and effective, but involving? No.
Olly's right; the B10 is far closer in character to the 540i. No surprise: it's the car it's based on. But own the two cars back-to-back (I did) and it soon dawns that they are poles apart in terms of ability.
But Gruber sums it up best: you would indeed be delighted with either car. Any gestation of an E39 is a damn fine machine. As a high performance saloon, both are unbelievably capable, but just in very different ways.
Maybe if those numbers came up, a B10V8S with comfort seats, 19"s binned and replaced with the earlier 18's, and an M5 manual 'box would be the E39 for life. Certainly in our household.
Entirely personal, and because I'm grown up and dull, I soon worked out that a B10 would be the better car for 90% of the time I'd spend driving it. The daily commute in a line of traffic, trips out with the family, 85mph schleps down the motorway, that sort of thing. So, for me, B10.
M5 is the poster car, the headline grabber, the Top Trump winning card. I'd still love one. Will probably end up buying one some day. But I suspect that if I'd have chosen an M5, it wouldn't have stayed in the family as long as the B10 did.
Funny innit, nobody amongst us would automatically choose the performance car that works better at 47mph, when in reality that's what we end up doing with it almost all the time
You'd never jump in the B10 and go for a spirited drive. The involvement just isn't there, mainly due to the dull old slusher. But by jove it could cover some ground. We still talk in the pub about chasing a 996, four up plus kit, down the A road running parallel to Hadrians Wall while spectating a rally. Speeds were considerable and the Porker was trying: twitching on crests, gravel flicking up, brake lights pinging. Of course it's always easier following someone than being out front, but the B10 matched it yard for yard on every bend, straight and overtake. Not a car to be flung around: you pour a fast moving B10 gently into a bend, transfer the weight gradually and let the big tyres find the grip. Extremely fast and effective, but involving? No.
Olly's right; the B10 is far closer in character to the 540i. No surprise: it's the car it's based on. But own the two cars back-to-back (I did) and it soon dawns that they are poles apart in terms of ability.
But Gruber sums it up best: you would indeed be delighted with either car. Any gestation of an E39 is a damn fine machine. As a high performance saloon, both are unbelievably capable, but just in very different ways.
Maybe if those numbers came up, a B10V8S with comfort seats, 19"s binned and replaced with the earlier 18's, and an M5 manual 'box would be the E39 for life. Certainly in our household.
I've spent least time in an M5 and I'm pretty sure that a 540 and a B10 V8/V8S are poles apart. Even contemporary testers found a V8 and an M5 almost too close to call as a daily driver with the performance edge more obviously falling down for the M5.
I always ask this; if you spend more of your time driving at 10/10ths then get the M5, no question, but if you don't or only prefer to go to 9/10ths then consider the B10 V8 - I do take both of mine out 'just for a drive' and find the Switch-Tronic as good as a manual, and for me personally the B10 V8 has one obvious advantage, being available as a Touring.
When the rhd E39 M5 Touring was tentatively put up for sale my interest was certainly raised but the Alpina also pulls other special strings somewhere so I stayed true..... and threw my money at a B12 5.7 instead
I always ask this; if you spend more of your time driving at 10/10ths then get the M5, no question, but if you don't or only prefer to go to 9/10ths then consider the B10 V8 - I do take both of mine out 'just for a drive' and find the Switch-Tronic as good as a manual, and for me personally the B10 V8 has one obvious advantage, being available as a Touring.
When the rhd E39 M5 Touring was tentatively put up for sale my interest was certainly raised but the Alpina also pulls other special strings somewhere so I stayed true..... and threw my money at a B12 5.7 instead
Gassing Station | General Gassing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff