BMW 645Ci Manual - V8 German Muscle

[bolidemichael]

That's a fantastic thing.

[W00DY]

ATM said:

I have the B12 kit on my 550i. It's quite firm. I run tiny lightweight 17 inch OZ. I recently changed all the front arms for some called Meyle HD. It has completely transformed the car. I can't recommend this enough. I don't really know if these are stiffer than standard but oh my god the front is now so tight it feels like something is wrong.

Very useful, thanks. How does it compare to the original M Sport stuff (which I always thought was too crashy)?

I definitely want to sharpen up the front end so I will follow your recommendation.

bolidemichael said:

I imagine that it must be lovely to have a little more aural pleasure, a shame that I didn't hear it at Bicester. The red upholstery looks good.

It's definitely made me glad I have the V8, perhaps next time I'll meet you chaps at the PI and we can all roll in as a gang.

gf15 said:

Anyone put their dog in the rear of their 6 series?

I have the proper BMW dog hammock for the e63. Fits like a glove. Very similar to the below

https://flic.kr/p/p8WWdg

Like new.

Happy to send to someone who can use it. You will have to arrange postage and hopefully make a donation to a charity of your choice.
Let me know and I can box up and advise of the weight.
Cheers.

That sounds great, no dog yet, but hopefully that'll change soon.

[ATM]

W00DY said:

ATM said:

I have the B12 kit on my 550i. It's quite firm. I run tiny lightweight 17 inch OZ. I recently changed all the front arms for some called Meyle HD. It has completely transformed the car. I can't recommend this enough. I don't really know if these are stiffer than standard but oh my god the front is now so tight it feels like something is wrong.

Very useful, thanks. How does it compare to the original M Sport stuff (which I always thought was too crashy)?

I definitely want to sharpen up the front end so I will follow your recommendation.

More crashy - well maybe not. Hard to say I remember accurately. I fitted the B12 stuff around 5 years ago maybe. It is firmer and stiffer and lower slightly. Don't get me wrong you can feel the damping do it's thing but it's firmer. I don't dislike it. On bigger bumps you get a bit of a bang. So if you want comfort look elsewhere. It is a good car now to hustle. It can be fun even though its bargey. B12 kit did that and running less tyre so it moves around a bit.

But the suspension arms made a massive difference. Much more so than the suspension. They are the stand out improvement for me. My steering wheel is dancing around now compared to previously. It's almost too stiff now in terms of feedback over load. The arms did that although the suspension was already done when I did the arms. If you are ever in my parish then let me know and you can try it out for yourself.

[Court_S]

Glad to hear that you’re still enjoying it.

The Andream screens are a bloody bargain really; easy to fit, better resolution than stock and modernises the interior nicely with CarPlay etc.

My 335i visited PCW last year and is quite loud now.

[Lotusgone]

Right, no more prevaricating, I'm getting that Andream unit for my 645.

Is it best to order direct from andream-eu.com or is there a UK supplier that has them on a shelf?

[Court_S]

Lotusgone said:

Right, no more prevaricating, I'm getting that Andream unit for my 645.

Is it best to order direct from andream-eu.com or is there a UK supplier that has them on a shelf?

They arrive pretty sharpish; mine took less than 5 days to arrive.

The UK based suppliers seem to be selling the same or at least very similar for a shed load more cash.

[W00DY]

ATM said:

More crashy - well maybe not. Hard to say I remember accurately. I fitted the B12 stuff around 5 years ago maybe. It is firmer and stiffer and lower slightly. Don't get me wrong you can feel the damping do it's thing but it's firmer. I don't dislike it. On bigger bumps you get a bit of a bang. So if you want comfort look elsewhere. It is a good car now to hustle. It can be fun even though its bargey. B12 kit did that and running less tyre so it moves around a bit.

But the suspension arms made a massive difference. Much more so than the suspension. They are the stand out improvement for me. My steering wheel is dancing around now compared to previously. It's almost too stiff now in terms of feedback over load. The arms did that although the suspension was already done when I did the arms. If you are ever in my parish then let me know and you can try it out for yourself.

Thanks, Whereabouts are you? I might take you up on that if I get the chance.

Court_S said:

Glad to hear that you’re still enjoying it.

The Andream screens are a bloody bargain really; easy to fit, better resolution than stock and modernises the interior nicely with CarPlay etc.

My 335i visited PCW last year and is quite loud now.

Thanks. Fingers crossed your 335i gets sorted by the warranty. The exhaust is perhaps a touch obnoxious outside, but with the windows up it's really nicely muted.

Lotusgone said:

Right, no more prevaricating, I'm getting that Andream unit for my 645.

Is it best to order direct from andream-eu.com or is there a UK supplier that has them on a shelf?

I went direct, took a while as it was before Christmas, but the customer service was good and there was no duty to pay,

To get it working I used Bimmercode to add the AUX option to get the sound and also to tell the car it has the smaller non-pro Nav, as for some reason it scaled up the original idrive stuff so that it only displayed about 2/3 of the original BMW menus when first installed. Otherwise it's been more reliable than many OEM Android Auto set-ups I've used and is worth every penny.

i ordered a matte screen protector for it from Germany as the gloss screen is a stupid idea, but for some reason it's a touch short, (not a big deal, but a little odd) anyone found a perfect fitting option?

[ATM]

W00DY said:

Thanks, Whereabouts are you? I might take you up on that if I get the chance.

Trafford Centre

[Jhonno]

What a cracking barge! Some nice upgrades too. The wheels look so much better too! Great choice. A B12 kit would suit that nicely!

[BricktopST205]

Such a accomplished car but a face only her mother could love. Why did BMW do this!?

[bolidemichael]

Mine benefitted from a matte black grille, to show off the extended swage line. The design was more coherent, then.

[JeremyH5]

bolidemichael said:

Mine benefitted from a matte black grille, to show off the extended swage line. The design was more coherent, then.

I normally don’t like de chromed grilles but I agree that you improved the front look enormously there! Doesn’t quite turn an ugly duckling into a swan but very nearly! Mr Bangle let you down in the first place really.

[bolidemichael]

JeremyH5 said:

bolidemichael said:

Mine benefitted from a matte black grille, to show off the extended swage line. The design was more coherent, then.

I normally don’t like de chromed grilles but I agree that you improved the front look enormously there! Doesn’t quite turn an ugly duckling into a swan but very nearly! Mr Bangle let you down in the first place really.

This was the image from the 'for sale' ad, when I stumbled across it, completely unintentionally on facebook. I had actually spent many months developing an E39 M5 beard before realising that pricing seemed unrealistic for the proposition and this might offer a portion of the experience for a fraction of the cost vs mileage / age ratio.




Incidentally, the original grille with crappy black rubberised finish (that'll peel off) is available, if anyone is interested. It's an OE item.

[W00DY]

ATM said:

Trafford Centre

Thanks, will drop you a PM if I'm in the area, but nothing in the diary currently.

Jhonno said:

What a cracking barge! Some nice upgrades too. The wheels look so much better too! Great choice. A B12 kit would suit that nicely!

Cheers. I like the wheels, they aren't perfect, but they look large for 19"s which means they don't look too lost (but still surprisingly small given they looked ridiculously oversized on the E93 they came from)

BricktopST205 said:

Such a accomplished car but a face only her mother could love. Why did BMW do this!?

I like the face, mean but not aggressive. it's the rear where I think they messed up.

bolidemichael said:

Mine benefitted from a matte black grille, to show off the extended swage line. The design was more coherent, then.

That does look good on a black car. I'm tempted to try some 6 cylinder grilles on mine to keep the chrome, but with black vertical slats.

[bolidemichael]

W00DY said:

BricktopST205 said:

Such a accomplished car but a face only her mother could love. Why did BMW do this!?

I like the face, mean but not aggressive. it's the rear where I think they messed up.

Once again, I disagree... from certain angles. The V8 exhaust tips really set it off, in my view.

[Lotusgone]

Anyone else think that there's a nod towards 911 styling, that you can only see with the boot up?

[bolidemichael]

Lotusgone said:

Anyone else think that there's a nod towards 911 styling, that you can only see with the boot up?

Yes and also the rehashed Beetle

[Court_S]

JeremyH5 said:

I normally don’t like de chromed grilles but I agree that you improved the front look enormously there! Doesn’t quite turn an ugly duckling into a swan but very nearly! Mr Bangle let you down in the first place really.

I think the 6 is a pretty good looking thing. It’s definitely a grower for me, the boot is / was the most challenging part of the design. I’m generally a fan of the Bangle, the one car that I hated then and still hate today is his 7 series, but then again they haven’t made a good looking 7 since the E38.

[MikeM6]

The 6 really has aged well, but it's less noticeable pictures. In the metal they look really good, so much so I bought one after having made my mind up in the early 2000s that it was hideous.

[JeremyH5]

Court_S said:

JeremyH5 said:

I normally don’t like de chromed grilles but I agree that you improved the front look enormously there! Doesn’t quite turn an ugly duckling into a swan but very nearly! Mr Bangle let you down in the first place really.

I think the 6 is a pretty good looking thing. It’s definitely a grower for me, the boot is / was the most challenging part of the design. I’m generally a fan of the Bangle, the one car that I hated then and still hate today is his 7 series, but then again they haven’t made a good looking 7 since the E38.

It is odd, I didn’t like the 6 from launch and have surprised myself only recently by thinking more positively about it. Michael’s is the only paint and exterior trim finish combination that hides the parts of the shape I haven’t liked. I don’t think I’ll ever come to terms with the boot though!
I agree on the Bangle 7 series. Gopping inside and out and it hasn’t grown on me one iota.