My BMW E65 745i

[E65Ross]

Ej74 said:

Falkens on my old car were somewhat quick wearing also the thing I noticed was there was quite a lot of road noise


Goodyear asymmetric - fantastic tyre - low road noise and hard wearing and most importantly confidence inspiring in the wet

Think you've made my mind up. They are good tyres.

[E65Ross]

There is simply no denying the fuel economy is better now. I reset the trip computer Monday and last night it was showing 27.2mpg. Admittedly most of my driving is motorway to work etc but I'm really quite impressed with that.

It has been mentioned before by my indy and my MOT tester (and my driveway will attest to it) that the car has an oil leak (they all do that, sir) but I checked today and in the last 1200 miles (approx) it's used about 200ml.....so hardly anything major. It's currently running Castrol Edge 0W-30; should I stick with this come the next oil change, or is it worth going to 5W-30? Not sure it'd make much difference to be honest, the 0W-30 will give marginally better cold-start protection too.

Thoughts? I'm not sure whether it's worth fixing just yet.....it could (potentially) be quite a large bill for something that really isn't causing any issues. Once the oil consumption gets higher than yes, but for now....any point?

[E65Ross]

JakeT said:

E65Ross said:

and the old man asked me to clean his, but i couldn't be bothered and it's not that dirty

Funnily enough, living in Southampton I saw this very car the other day in instantly recognised it as 'E65Ross' dad's car'. Sakhir looks lovely on the car. Saw it near Debenhams and the royal oak.

Yeah was probably him, can't imagine there are many M6s around Southampton in Sakhir orange! It's a really odd colour. It looks a lot more "burnt orange" than in my old phone pictures. I really think it looks nice and stands out from the usual white, black and silver (guilty as charged!). Hard to describe it without it sounding horrible, as orange is generally an odd colour for a car, unless it's a McLaren!

It's a nice car, just wish the engine had a little more character (though it was always going to be hard to match character after an E92 M3).

[E65Ross]

gaz1234 said:

Not read all this.
Was looking at the 730. What should I look for?

Petrol or diesel?

General E65 items would include suspension checks (shimmy under braking, shouldn't make any knocking noises, the ride should be comfortable and compliant (well, mine is on 19s)

The gearbox should be smooth as well. They're supposedly sealed for life but ZF don't claim that. I had mine partially rebuilt for almost £700 and it transformed the box, it's very smooth. My only criticism of the box is slow speed crawling in traffic it will change from 2nd to 1st at around 10mph and you can feel this /increase in engine braking etc) and I'd rather the box stay in 2md,the V8 can easily pull away in 2nd....not a fault to look for just something I find irritating. Check that the box doesn't thud on kickdown or slip etc.

If it has it, check the automatic boot open/close feature works as that can be expensive to fix.

Obviously check all the electrics, Idrive etc. I think it's developed a bad reputation from those who say it goes wrong rather than there being common problems with it. They can fail expensively but they are quite reliable I believe


Other than that just the usual car stuff really.... Check for leaks, smoke etc (mine leaks a bit of oil, early V8s do that.... It's used 1.25litres in the last 6k miles so not too bad, that includes any it'll naturally burn, and I'm using 0W-30)

[E65Ross]

JakeT said:

E65Ross said:

Yeah was probably him, can't imagine there are many M6s around Southampton in Sakhir orange! It's a really odd colour. It looks a lot more "burnt orange" than in my old phone pictures. I really think it looks nice and stands out from the usual white, black and silver (guilty as charged!). Hard to describe it without it sounding horrible, as orange is generally an odd colour for a car, unless it's a McLaren!

It's a nice car, just wish the engine had a little more character (though it was always going to be hard to match character after an E92 M3).

I agree, it's an odd colour which doesn't show up on screen as well as in the flesh. But it's a lovely looking car. It was actually your dad's car as it was on the same plate also! I have a very odd thing for plates, so many stay in the back of my mind... I'm sure it's much easier to live with than an E92 M3. It's got a load more torque as is, and has it much lower down. Do you know how the DCT is in traffic? If I ever had the opportunity that would be the thing that would set me off them.

DCT is absolutely fine in traffic, certainly easier than the manual he had in the M3. It's an extremely smooth box when set to its relaxed setting..... Like REALLY smooth. Gear changes are insanely fast and imperceptible. When in full bore attack mode it does give a slight thud on upshifts which I personally haven't made my mind up on whether I like it or not. You can easily change it so it doesn't do it though.

But for traffic, it's just like a normal automatic really, only better when pushing on.

[E65Ross]

gaz1234 said:

Cheers. The petrol one.

Think the 3.0 petrol is a pretty reliable unit, but check the cooling system thoroughly.

[E65Ross]

As per my post on the barge thread, I've just given it a fairly comprehensive suspension rebuild. The front tyres were wearing considerably on the outer edges, there was a high speed braking shimmy and the passengers side front and rear was sitting 15mm or so higher than the drivers side.....My mate works high up for a very busy tyre/service site (no, not st-fit, or national) and was able to get a lot of work done for me with part prices all-but at trade price and I paid not a penny in labour!!!!

Pollen filter £32
Air filter £16
Fuel filter £50
R/H anti-roll drop link £30
L/H anti-roll drop link £30
2x suspension buffers £20
2x bump stops £17
2x spring £110
2x spring £90
2x front tyres £323.48
2x rear tyres £339.78
Mass air flow sensor £170 (from 2-3months ago, wasn't yet billed for it)
2x lower arms £230
2x top mounts £80
2x top mounts £32

Plus 4 wheel alignment etc

steering wheel vibration is totally gone. The car feels like it rides a little better but most noticeably is just how much more tight/taught it feels! SO much flatter in the corners with no compromise in ride quality. It's a shed load of money but now the car feels absolutely amazing!

I've no idea how much that would have cost me if I had paid full part prices and, more so, labour! Surely that's a good 6-8 hours labour there...? Either way, I think I've saved a good few hundred £££.

Am I nuts? Probably. But in my defence....whilst it was in I borrowed a 2010 Audi A6 3.0 TDI which, clearly, is newer and fresher than my car.

The E65 is cheaper (even after all these bills!!), it rides MUCH better, it has a nicer interior (IMO), it's faster, the engine is MUCH more refined and smooth, it's more spacious, the engine sounds nicer and....it just feels more special. The A6 does have a better stereo, mind.

The E65 is just fantastic, it's a lovely, lovely barge and feels really rather nice now!

Edited by E65Ross on Wednesday 5th November 21:08

[E65Ross]

PlayersNo6 said:

Well done Ross - when are you selling?

Why, you asking?

[E65Ross]

gaz1234 said:

E65Ross said:

Think the 3.0 petrol is a pretty reliable unit, but check the cooling system thoroughly.

How?

There are tons of threads on these engines, if you can't find one try making a thread in the BMW section before this goes off topic too much