My E39 540i Touring

[RS Grant]

Long time Pistonheads lurker, many time BMW owner but first time 5-series owner.

Based in Dundee in Scotland, so if any of you are local or there are any meets, then we may bump into each other.

Recently bought myself an E39 540i while I recover from shoulder surgery and so far I really rate it. Very comfy, very practical, not horrific on fuel either which is quite a surprise for a big ol' bus running a 4.4 V8 petrol... although I'll not be putting that many miles on it anyway. The colour is called 'aubergine' under the bonnet and it's a non metallic, lavender/purple colour which is a nightmare to try and photograph properly.

Details of it are:

540iA SE Touring
72k miles
Full BMW History
One owner from new










Not really planning much; maybe a slight drop in ride height, new wheels and fabricate a back box to release a wee bit of the V8 rumble without it being stupid.

Will try to keep this thread up to date with any changes, photos and repairs which occur along the way.


Cheers,
Grant

[Pappagallo]

That is a lovely thing, well done.

I've an E60 550i (v8) and one of the first things I did was change the back box.

[anonymous-user]

wow, that was a find! 1 owner, rare colour (is it an "individual"?), extended leather by the look of it and the comfort seats, also used in Range Rovers. And a 4.4 V8, like in the old Rangies too. What a nice place to travel.

[16plates]

Wheres the yawning smilie when you need it??

What was the thinking going to this from the 3 series estate you had before?

(It's Colin T by the way... )

[RS Grant]

Pappagallo said:

That is a lovely thing, well done.

I've an E60 550i (v8) and one of the first things I did was change the back box.

Thank you!! I was following a C63 through traffic yesterday, which has made the rear box modification more of a priority!!

Polynesian said:

wow, that was a find! 1 owner, rare colour (is it an "individual"?), extended leather by the look of it and the comfort seats, also used in Range Rovers. And a 4.4 V8, like in the old Rangies too. What a nice place to travel.

Yeah given its rarity/history, it was a bit of a no brainer when it appeared. It doesn't have individual sill trims, but it's a very rare colour.. be interested to know exactly how many 'aubergine' cars are in the uk actually, can't think I've seen the colour before, on any model of BMW. It's a very waft-tastic place to be, hard to believe it is c16 years old when you drive it.

16plates said:

Wheres the yawning smilie when you need it??

What was the thinking going to this from the 3 series estate you had before?

(It's Colin T by the way... )

I've had that 335i for 6 months and I've had enough of it, should NEVER have got rid of my M3. Sick to the back teeth of niggly little problems which have totally taken the shine off it and when you add in the fact that Birds Garage have disappointed me on a massive scale, it's better that me, the 335i and Birds part ways at all costs..... my issues with Birds will re-appear on another thread at some point.


Cheers,
Grant

[McSam]

That looks absolutely lovely! The interior is just overwhelmingly tan, I rather like it call me strange but I'd love an E46 330ci in this colour scheme. Though I would keep my darker wood trims.

Unlikely question for a big auto estate, but how quick does it feel? I've been tempted by a 540iA saloon before now, don't do many miles so anything over 20mpg is acceptable, but I worry about the power being lost to the mass and the gearbox.

ETA: This would be even more spectacularly incongruous in your car

Edited by McSam on Friday 26th September 18:40

[Max M4X WW]

McSam said:

Unlikely question for a big auto estate, but how quick does it feel? I've been tempted by a 540iA saloon before now, don't do many miles so anything over 20mpg is acceptable, but I worry about the power being lost to the mass and the gearbox.

My 2001 saloon went fairly well, not sure it felt quick (apart from in 2nd/3rd) but it always had power and seemed to go better than a mates B6 S4.

[RS Grant]

McSam said:

Unlikely question for a big auto estate, but how quick does it feel? I've been tempted by a 540iA saloon before now, don't do many miles so anything over 20mpg is acceptable, but I worry about the power being lost to the mass and the gearbox.

It doesn't feel quick; but once it is off the mark, it has a relentless (currently muted!) surge and will pull right round the speedo if asked. It's around the same level of WOT performance offered as my dads 635d Coupe..... NB: if you use the mid range of the 6er correctly then it's a far faster car in the real world.

McSam said:

ETA: This would be even more spectacularly incongruous in your car

Haha, that LSD conversion would be fantastic fun.. not sure the car will be staying with me long enough to justify the outlay, since I only tend to keep my cars for around 6 months, but depending on how ownership goes and how much it grows on me, it may be one of the few that survive the 6 month itch.

Max M4X WW said:

My 2001 saloon went fairly well, not sure it felt quick (apart from in 2nd/3rd) but it always had power and seemed to go better than a mates B6 S4.

Not had anything similar to compare it against, it wiped the floor with some wee gimp in a new Fiesta ST but then that's 1.6 Turbo versus 4.4 V8 so not a fair comparison really.


Cheers,
Grant

[RS Grant]

On another note.. wanting to change the standard 16" wheels and cannot find a set of reasonably priced 18" M-Parallels for sale.... they're usually in need of a refurb and/or tyres yet still strong money in the first place.

What do you guys think these CSL wheels from my 335i would look like on my 540i?? I'm not sure, I know I'd need hubcentric spacers, but struggling to decide if its worth the outlay or whether they wouldn't work on an E39.




Cheers,
Grant

Edited by RS Grant on Saturday 27th September 19:30

[McSam]

RS Grant said:

Haha, that LSD conversion would be fantastic fun.. not sure the car will be staying with me long enough to justify the outlay, since I only tend to keep my cars for around 6 months, but depending on how ownership goes and how much it grows on me, it may be one of the few that survive the 6 month itch.

I hope it does, it looks brilliant! Do feel free to drop me a PM if you want rid of it, it's an itch I need to scratch at one time or another.

Reassuring words from you both about the pace, sounds quite impressive actually

[sixpistons]

CSLs look great on the right car, but I think they'd look a bit brash on an old 5 series. I reckon stick with something that was originally available with the E39 - something like style 32s can be had on ebay pretty cheap and look great.

Like this:

[philmots]

Saw this on ebay, was on there a while! I was half tempted but I've a different plan at the minute!

[Pappagallo]

Style 32s are a very good suggestion for yours I think.

M Parallels always look good but suit a Sport model more.

The CSLs would be just wrong!

[Dannbodge]

RS Grant said:

On another note.. wanting to change the standard 16" wheels and cannot find a set of reasonably priced 18" M-Parallels for sale.... they're usually in need of a refurb and/or tyres yet still strong money in the first place.

What do you guys think these CSL wheels from my 335i would look like on my 540i?? I'm not sure, I know I'd need hubcentric spacers, but struggling to decide if its worth the outlay or whether they wouldn't work on an E39.




Cheers,
Grant

Edited by RS Grant on Saturday 27th September 19:30

Sod the 540 I want that 335i. That is actually awesome.

If I get one....I'm getting those wheels for it!

[Greggyboy]

That looks in great condition from the pictures. I have fancied one of these for a while now. Love it!

[Usget]

Looks more like an Alpina colour!

Style 5s or 89s would look suitably OEM+ I think.

[Pappagallo]

RS Grant said:

Pappagallo said:

That is a lovely thing, well done.

I've an E60 550i (v8) and one of the first things I did was change the back box.

Thank you!! I was following a C63 through traffic yesterday, which has made the rear box modification more of a priority!!

Sadly it'll never sound like one of those but you'll get a nice tune or two out of it! I was lucky and found a lightly used Eisenmann 550i rear section for a bargain price. It gives just enough noise without being lairy or annoying.

[Max M4X WW]

Pappagallo said:

RS Grant said:

Pappagallo said:

That is a lovely thing, well done.

I've an E60 550i (v8) and one of the first things I did was change the back box.

Thank you!! I was following a C63 through traffic yesterday, which has made the rear box modification more of a priority!!

Sadly it'll never sound like one of those but you'll get a nice tune or two out of it! I was lucky and found a lightly used Eisenmann 550i rear section for a bargain price. It gives just enough noise without being lairy or annoying.

This was mine with both rear cannons removed and the Y still there, see my channel for a video with just one rear cannon removed..

http://youtu.be/_a33CLgP7GY?list=UUPc4PvwyEyhSsUlW...

[Pappagallo]

Max M4X WW said:

This was mine with both rear cannons removed and the Y still there, see my channel for a video with just one rear cannon removed..

http://youtu.be/_a33CLgP7GY?list=UUPc4PvwyEyhSsUlW...

Much more cost effective than an Eisenmann I'm sure! My E60 still has all the resonators, just the rear section is replaced. There is no drone.

[Pappagallo]

RS Grant said:

it's better that me, the 335i and Birds part ways at all costs..... my issues with Birds will re-appear on another thread at some point.

Would be interesting to hear about this as I often dream about getting them to fit a Quaife LSD.