E61 V8 Bearding

[Coker]

Been looking at these on and off for ages now, I love 'em. Actually started a thread on them on here a couple of months ago, off the back of seeing (what is now) yours for sale back then.

philmots said:

Nothing like a new thread though

Is that the one that was on the trader and eBay for last few weeks? How is it?

Excuse to post a pic anyway...

Yes! It doesn't get any better, other than it being Imola red... but I've yet to even see one.

First refusal when you sell?

[hornetrider]

I know it's not Imola but...



http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2015...

[quavey]

Great engine but needs a better shell



I keep thinking I should have bought an E61 instead of the E63 they are a damn good looking car in sport guise. Its interesting to read the previous thread that was mentioned that 535d's were only managing low 20's and early 30's on a run. Through europe last year on a long distance holiday I managed an average of 32mpg from the 650i, astonishing for a V8

[Output Flange]

jboy72 said:

I owned an e39 530i and recall that the general wisdom at the time was that the power hike in the 540i was not worth suffering the vague steering. Having said that, the 540i did have plenty of fans. I have never driven an e39 540i though, I just like the look of it on paper. Maybe I should go back to an e39 530i sport - it was a pretty good drivers car it must be said.

On another note, I drove a manual 523i and 525i (both e39s) and the box felt ok to me - admittedly not as good as the manual box in the e60 525d I had a go in.

Comments about the 540i's steering are massively over-hyped. It's not quite as good as the 6-pot's rack, but it's nowhere near as bad as is made out. Don't forget the M5 also has a box, albeit different to the 540's. You never know with a used car whether there are a bunch of worn components in the system, which obviously won't help.

The 3.0 petrol feels sluggish in an E39 Touring, and needs to be thrashed to make decent progress with an autobox. The V8 doesn't.

I'd agree with the manual gearshift though, it wants a bit of work out-the-box. Easily done though.

[ATM]

hornetrider said:

I know it's not Imola but...



http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2015...

Linky no worky

[hornetrider]

Sold already!

[hornetrider]

Output Flange said:

Comments about the 540i's steering are massively over-hyped. It's not quite as good as the 6-pot's rack, but it's nowhere near as bad as is made out... You never know with a used car whether there are a bunch of worn components in the system, which obviously won't help.

I hear what you're saying.

The day I drove the 100k 540i I hopped out of my similar vintage 100k 530i to drive it. I then drove about half an hour and test drove my 60k E61. Driving them back to back, the difference in feel of all the cars was stark, but given none of them were out of the box fresh I think you can say there is a real noticeable difference in the feedback each car offers on a like for like basis.

[ATM]

I like this one but my baby would destroy those back seats in 15 seconds.

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2015...

[hornetrider]

Noice.

I'm still(!) pontificating over a 19" upgrade and the 167s are my favourite choice. They certainly look easier to keep clean than 172s!

[Wills2]

ATM said:

I like this one but my baby would destroy those back seats in 15 seconds.

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2015...

Pop a cover on them, must be a cover available that would do the job, I wouldn't let that stop you.

[anonymous-user]

ATM said:

I like this one but my baby would destroy those back seats in 15 seconds.

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2015...

Lovely but the £12k above a 550i is too much for me to consider. I do love the idea of a 500bhp estate (was looking at RS6's for a while). Decided the 550iT is the 'sensible' choice

[dom9]

wsurfa said:

Lovely but the £12k above a 550i is too much for me to consider. I do love the idea of a 500bhp estate (was looking at RS6's for a while). Decided the 550iT is the 'sensible' choice

My thoughts exactly at 4x the cost of my car (ok, 3x now I've done some bits), just too rich for me when you consider bork and servicing.

Plus, Bella the black Lab would have devalued it within minutes...

If they ever drop towards 10k, things may change!

[ATM]

dom9 said:

wsurfa said:

Lovely but the £12k above a 550i is too much for me to consider. I do love the idea of a 500bhp estate (was looking at RS6's for a while). Decided the 550iT is the 'sensible' choice

My thoughts exactly at 4x the cost of my car (ok, 3x now I've done some bits), just too rich for me when you consider bork and servicing.

Plus, Bella the black Lab would have devalued it within minutes...

If they ever drop towards 10k, things may change!

I think the sub 50000 miles cars will always stay up there price wise because the mandatory warranty is cheaper for these.

[dom9]

I honestly think an e61 550i M-Sport is the sweet spot for me, with a full exhaust upgrade...

However, I am not currently seeing a reason to swap out my 545i... It's early days though!

Lot's of other, non-dog friendly, toys to go through at the moment.

[ATM]

Next on my to do list is go flat tyres for the E61. When are we going to hear some sound bites of this new exhaust?

[philmots]

Be good to get a group buy of a decent branded backbox.

I like the idea of Eisenmann and I know their distributed will do a deal but even then they're big money.

Supersprint are around half the price.

Either should free up a bit of sound.

[scz4]

I had an Eisenmann on my E61 550i 4 years ago, sounded fantastic, perfect noise levels for a daily. Cold starts were really nice and deep, exactly how it should have come from the factory.

Speak to CA Automotive, the do 25% off now and again with group buy on M3Cutters.

[philmots]

I did speak with them already, they offered 15% which worked out at £1045 inc vat and delivery.

Even with 25% it's going to be around £960 for just the backbox. That's probably more than 10% of the cars value!

Supersprint looked to be available for around £650 including the connecting pipe, but that's before any potential deal.

[dom9]

The guys who built my cat-back for 1k would do a back box for less than 500 and I can highly recommend them!

http://www.profusioncustoms.com/

I will try and get a video or sound clip up but we're still in Crete - Sorry

I can honestly tell you that unleashing that sound is WELL worth it though

My car stands me at almost 8,000 on the button with exhaust, transmission fluid change and new plastic sump and 2015 Business maps. I still think that's great value!

Unsung heroes these cars!

[anonymous-user]

dom9 said:

The guys who built my cat-back for 1k would do a back box for less than 500 and I can highly recommend them!

http://www.profusioncustoms.com/

I will try and get a video or sound clip up but we're still in Crete - Sorry

I can honestly tell you that unleashing that sound is WELL worth it though

My car stands me at almost 8,000 on the button with exhaust, transmission fluid change and new plastic sump and 2015 Business maps. I still think that's great value!

Unsung heroes these cars!

Shssh - don't tell everyone. I need to be able to buy the next decent one that turns up ...;)