RE: BMW 540i (E39) manual: Spotted

[hornetrider]

Seb d said:

Here's a pic of my 540i auto - started out as a standard SE but as you can see it's had a few mods since then

Decent car ruined.

[dublet]

Seb d said:

Here's a pic of my 540i auto - started out as a standard SE but as you can see it's had a few mods since then

You want that seen to, the suspension appears to be collapsed.

[Gruber]

Lowtimer said:

Motorrad said:

You'd have to be insane this is M5 money.

It is not 20,000 mile full-history spotless M5 money, though. A comparable M5 is £20k now.

More like £25-30k in the current market.

[si_xsi]

Theres a lovely silver E39 540i sport with black leather driven around Oxford, i see it regularly, it looks so fresh still. Lovely beasts.

[Gruber]

On the subject of ropey old e39s, I picked this up at the weekend:


Essentially, a 540i fettled by some Germans who know what they're doing.

Great engine, great ride, but it's the build quality that really stands out.

[Monty Python]

It's amazing to think you can get more power out of a 3-litre 6-pot nowadays - that's progress for you.

I wonder if there's an automotive equivalent of Moore's Law?

[Leins]

Gruber said:

On the subject of ropey old e39s, I picked this up at the weekend:


Essentially, a 540i fettled by some Germans who know what they're doing.

Great engine, great ride, but it's the build quality that really stands out.

Awesome, congrats!

[magic torch]

ManOpener said:

Take it you've never seen the "Horrors in the PH classifieds" thread then...

Does it also have PH staff contributing in the same way? If it does then it answers my original question.

[hwajones]

Motorrad said:

Lowtimer said:

It is not 20,000 mile full-history spotless M5 money, though. A comparable M5 is £20k now.

Who gives a fk. One is an M car the other is just another E39. The manual boxes are horrible anyway I know, I own one.

I agree, an Auto box is the way to go with a motor like this...

[Motorrad]

hwajones said:

I agree, an Auto box is the way to go with a motor like this...

Only problem is they're prone to failure and fk the economy. Obviously MPG is not really an issue with a V8 as you don't buy one to scrimp on fuel. However if you're wanting an economical diesel utility vehicle the manual is sadly the only way to go IMO.


edit: bd predictive text

Edited by Motorrad on Tuesday 19th August 15:18

[Boobonman]

Firstly, I am a lover of the manual box.

However, if the ratios on these are anything like the ones on the E60 550 and 545 manuals I drove then they are totally unsuited for having any fun. Would be excellent witha much shorter final drive ratio.

[jamespink]

TIGA84 said:

Surely 10k on an E39 would be better spent on this:

http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/b...

or this.

http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/b...

Love the Alpina... Far nicer than a boggo 540

[buggalugs]

walsh said:

If I recall correctly, the gearbox on the 540i is the same as the one in the M5? Wonder if it is better than mine.

I have a manual e39 (528i vintage), and its just the wrong 'box. Gearing is way too tall in the low gears (48 mph in first..), and the throw is very, very long (lean forward, move whole shoulder, hurray second), and it's vauge. That may just be my car, it has done 160k.

Clutch on mine is also a bit of a bd. Easy enough to use, but getting of the line quickly can be annoying, apparently to do with the clutch delay valve. Sometimes it feels like its sliping, then it engages in an elastic fashion. Sometime it doesnt, engages very quickly, and bogs. More throttle, and it either sounds like a cvt, or transfers all the rubber of the inside wheel to the road in a james bond smoke screen. I have given up trying to "launch", get it rolling at walking pace and properly engaged, then apply power.

There's a couple of little bushings you can change in the gear linkage to tighten up the action; it's also worth changing the fluid in the clutch circuit as it will probably have a pretty horrible consistancy by now. It can be bled out through the little nipple on the back of the slave cylinder.

IIRC I changed the fluid in the box on mine too which made it much nicer, there will be a sticker on the side of the box showing what to fill it with. I could be dreaming but I think mine took ATF??

[Amirhussain]

Not a fan of those alloys tbh.

[Ellieb10]

Doesn't cost too much more and has better fuel economy, better steering and suspension and is (slightly) quicker than a 540i. Makes a perfectly acceptable noise too.

http://www.pistonheads.com/news/default.asp?storyId=30681

[ccr32]

pSyCoSiS said:

You can get a nice genuine Sport model, unmolested with low miles for under £5k...

Yep. I should know, I sold mine for (less than) that.

Worse decision I ever made that was - as an uber-barge waft-mobile, it really was superb.

[Neil_M]

I've a mate that has an E39 528i.

Absolutely cracking car, that goes well and is hewn out of granite.

I'm sure a 540i would be a great barge.

Many jobs are DIY on them too, so running costs could be reduced.

[Patrick Bateman]

Who's looking for a non-M e39 that wants to spend anywhere near £10k when you can pick up a cracker for half that? Even then that's on the high side of things.

[Theophany]

balls-out said:

I suspect ownership costs will be somewhat lower. Buying an M5 can be the cheapest part of the process...

Depends on what goes pop. The 540i shared some of the M5's running gear, so you could be in for M-sized bills for a non-M car. Even a dicey 530i E39 seems more appealing to me than this.

[Lowtimer]

chungasarnies said:

Can anyone who's actually had both tell us how big a difference there really is, or is this just something people on the internet say?

I've had a bunch of 6-cyl E39s and have also spent a fair amount of time in an immaculate and perfectly maintained E38 740i, which is pretty much the same deal steering-wise as a 540i.

My first E39, a 525D SE, was a bit tired and neglected when I bought it - probably should have bought a different one TBH, though it plodded on well enough for a year and 25,000 miles and I moved it on at a decent price. That did not have the best steering feel, it was prone to a sort of dead and slightly sticky feel. I was coming out of a Honda Accord so didn't really notice until I drove a better E39. I think the rack may have been very slightly bent, or was perhaps just grimed up with the muck of ages.

My second E39 had lovely steering: that was a 20,000 mile (when I bought it) 530D SE on 16" wheels. I always maintained it regardless of cost and it stayed lovely.

The current one is just as good. It is a 530i, again SE on 16", and therefore a bit lighter at the front than the oil-burners. The rack is very smooth and precise, enables you to feel the camber change and the changes in self-aligning torque as you approach the cornering limit are clearly signalled through the steering wheel. I picked that up about 120K miles with a fat wodge of receipts which didn't include steering rack work, so that is original, but I have had the whole of the suspension replaced except for the front springs: all the joints and bushes, drop-links, dampers etc.

The E38 was perfectly OK, accurate on centre and pleasantly weighted. Better than on my rough 525, and as good as any modern electric-steered barge. But you could not really feel the road through it, so not as good as on the 530i.