RE: BMW M5/M6 (E60/E63): PH Buying Guide

[ZX10R NIN]

I had a 2008 one but as much as it was an epic car the potential problems & the fact that it was drinking more fuel than my 700 horse SL meant that it was doomed but it did make me smile when on it & I found it frustrating when not.

[Schermerhorn]

200mph is entirely believeable.

I saw 156mph in 5th gear and it was still pulling. I bottled it because the road got very bumpy though.

Over 3500rpm the pull is amazing and the sound is epic. Below that, the torque flat spot means that it can feel quite slow. I thought my old B5 Passat 1.9 TDi felt quicker and more maneovarable at those low speeds.

[Bodie390]

I've had 150mph out of mine on the Autobahn and it felt balanced and could be pushed more I thought.

Had it 18 months and it's done 3 European trips and the only thing I've had done is a thermostat which flagged up when it was in BMW for an oil service, under warranty though and I'll be taking it out in the new year as it's only done 53,000 miles.



It's a late 2008 model and number 216/222.

[matty13]

These will go around 190-195 on a long stretch . I think an evolve tuned m5 hit 203 at Vmax a couple of years ago . I'm sure there's a YouTube vid out there somewhere .
I've not mapped mine but would be interested to hear if anyone has .
I had the pcw exhaust mod done , it is an improvement over stock but not quite sure it's loud enough .

[Mikeeb]

matty13 said:

These will go around 190-195 on a long stretch . I think an evolve tuned m5 hit 203 at Vmax a couple of years ago . I'm sure there's a YouTube vid out there somewhere .
I've not mapped mine but would be interested to hear if anyone has .
I had the pcw exhaust mod done , it is an improvement over stock but not quite sure it's loud enough .

Matty

I've been thinking about having my exhaust modded but nervous without hearing one. Where abouts are you, I'm in Surrey.

Ta

Mike

[matty13]

I'm in Kent . I had the 3/4 wrap done on my exhaust . Tbh it's not much louder than stock . If you just want a little bit more noise it's perfect . the vids on YouTube paul post up make the cars sound louder than they do in real life .
Pm if you need to know any more

[Shaoxter]

matty13 said:

I'm in Kent . I had the 3/4 wrap done on my exhaust . Tbh it's not much louder than stock . If you just want a little bit more noise it's perfect . the vids on YouTube paul post up make the cars sound louder than they do in real life .
Pm if you need to know any more

3/4 isn't loud enough?? You probably need to stand outside the car and hear someone else drive it!

I had 2 of the 4 pipes wrapped by PCW and it's not neighbour friendly at cold start Sounds great when you're on it, same sort of sound as stock but louder. However... it's a bit flatter at 1-3krpm (where a lot of your driving might be) and loses a bit of rumble so you really need to hear one before you do it Mikeeb.

Here's a Terminal Velocity event I went to, runway wasn't that long and reached the speed trap at the end of 6th gear, given that there's another whole gear to go, I think 190mph is easily achieveable and possibly 200mph! Note that 185mph on the speedo = 178mph real speed.
https://youtu.be/hmDKYrMpLRg

[culpz]

Bodie390 said:

I've had 150mph out of mine on the Autobahn and it felt balanced and could be pushed more I thought.

Had it 18 months and it's done 3 European trips and the only thing I've had done is a thermostat which flagged up when it was in BMW for an oil service, under warranty though and I'll be taking it out in the new year as it's only done 53,000 miles.



It's a late 2008 model and number 216/222.

Stunning motor that. Love an M5 Touring.

[Joscal]

Shaoxter said:

3/4 isn't loud enough?? You probably need to stand outside the car and hear someone else drive it!

I had 2 of the 4 pipes wrapped by PCW and it's not neighbour friendly at cold start Sounds great when you're on it, same sort of sound as stock but louder. However... it's a bit flatter at 1-3krpm (where a lot of your driving might be) and loses a bit of rumble so you really need to hear one before you do it Mikeeb.

Here's a Terminal Velocity event I went to, runway wasn't that long and reached the speed trap at the end of 6th gear, given that there's another whole gear to go, I think 190mph is easily achieveable and possibly 200mph! Note that 185mph on the speedo = 178mph real speed.
https://youtu.be/hmDKYrMpLRg

Nice video that interior is identical to my old one is your car black per chance??

[kambites]

Schermerhorn said:

200mph is entirely believeable.

It's marginal but probably just about. The M5 saloon has a drag coefficient of 0.31 and a frontal area of 2.26 square meters so an CDa of 0.70. Running that through simple the Newtonian drag equations, it should need about 412bhp to overcome aerodynamic drag at 200mph. Most sites put the E60 M5's power at about 430bhp at the wheels at sea level.

Unless it was designed with top-speed runs in mind, it's unlikely to have a gear ratio which puts peak power at exactly the right point so it'll be marginal.

Edited by kambites on Tuesday 6th June 10:48

[BlackPorker]

Anyone know where this one is?



I can see it's changed owners a few time since I had it:
https://cazana.com/uk/car/M500JJC

I had all the usual problems but, fortunately, all covered by warranty.

I do miss it occasionally. It was a real bruiser and quite stealth in that metallic brown.

Edited by BlackPorker on Tuesday 6th June 10:56

[J4CKO]

I was looking at these but think an E55/CLS55 would be a potentially less ruinous option, and they tend to be faster, if not quite as sporting.

The engines seem to be a lot tougher in the 55 engined Mercs, dont seem to suffer many issues, supercharger coolant pumps being one, other issue being the daft SBC brakes and various suspension issues but none compare to the majesty of a bill that can be raised by the mighty V10 or its wacky gearbox.

Plus you can throw a few quid at them and have nigh on 600 bhp.

[DanBMW]

elms said:

My old car

https://www.gilescooperautomotive.co.uk/bmw-m6-5.0...

I loved it but hated the fuel economy. How a slippery shaped car with an engine that's big but not 7.0 Dodge Viper size big can be so bad. But the engine is a gem, the gearbox is great when you learn how to get the best out of it.

I missed it the second I sold it.

I was looking at this on PH after this article. Also trying to work out if it was my Dads old one as it says it was in Wokingham in 2010 and would have been on a private plate.

EDIT - Just checked on this website someone else on here provided. It is, it was M6KWU when he had it.
https://cazana.com/uk/car/MF06TGJ

Edited by DanBMW on Tuesday 6th June 11:22

[Shaoxter]

kambites said:

Unless it was designed with top-speed runs in mind, it's unlikely to have a gear ratio which puts peak power at exactly the right point so it'll be marginal.

The gear ratios are set up that way though... there's a table somewhere showing the speeds at various rpms in each gear and in 7th gear at 7750rpm (peak power) it's doing 205mph (theoretically)

[Mikeeb]

J4CKO said:

I was looking at these but think an E55/CLS55 would be a potentially less ruinous option, and they tend to be faster, if not quite as sporting.

The engines seem to be a lot tougher in the 55 engined Mercs, dont seem to suffer many issues, supercharger coolant pumps being one, other issue being the daft SBC brakes and various suspension issues but none compare to the majesty of a bill that can be raised by the mighty V10 or its wacky gearbox.

Plus you can throw a few quid at them and have nigh on 600 bhp.

I had a CL55 Kompressor before my M6. I sold because it was boring, heavy and not inspiring to drive. Yes it has huge torque, and can make more power, but it weighed 300Kgs or so more. Oh and no LSD means getting away quickly meant a lot of traction control intervention that you can't completely turn off.

It was a fantastic cruiser, but that was about it. The slow reacting, 5 speed slush box suited it well, it wasn't a drivers car.

[matty13]

Shaoxter said:

matty13 said:

I'm in Kent . I had the 3/4 wrap done on my exhaust . Tbh it's not much louder than stock . If you just want a little bit more noise it's perfect . the vids on YouTube paul post up make the cars sound louder than they do in real life .
Pm if you need to know any more

3/4 isn't loud enough?? You probably need to stand outside the car and hear someone else drive it!

I had 2 of the 4 pipes wrapped by PCW and it's not neighbour friendly at cold start Sounds great when you're on it, same sort of sound as stock but louder. However... it's a bit flatter at 1-3krpm (where a lot of your driving might be) and loses a bit of rumble so you really need to hear one before you do it Mikeeb.

Here's a Terminal Velocity event I went to, runway wasn't that long and reached the speed trap at the end of 6th gear, given that there's another whole gear to go, I think 190mph is easily achieveable and possibly 200mph! Note that 185mph on the speedo = 178mph real speed.
https://youtu.be/hmDKYrMpLRg

I don't know he 3/4 wrapped all 4 pipes in my with a allyminuim sheet tack down with welds and then refilled the back boxes with the fibre glass hair .
Is this what you had done ?
Maybe I need to stand out side of the car but to me it does not sound that loud on start up or under load . It's defo an improvement over stock tho

[helix402]

You can programme the car to display the correct speed in either the bottom of the cluster or on the actual speedo.

[Mikeeb]

I think the difference is how the M5/6 back boxes are made. I believe the M6 is naturally louder and the mod on the M6 gives straight through pipes, which is why I've held off doing it.

[PHMatt]

A mate bought an E60 after I'd bought an E46 330CI
He paid almost £500 for a pair of front pads, not discs, just pads.
The immortal line was "you don't realise how expensive they are to run until you buy one"

My response?
"I did, that's why I didn't" (I was going to buy an E46 M3 but opted for the safe option)

[Mikeeb]

PHMatt said:

A mate bought an E60 after I'd bought an E46 330CI
He paid almost £500 for a pair of front pads, not discs, just pads.
The immortal line was "you don't realise how expensive they are to run until you buy one"

My response?
"I did, that's why I didn't" (I was going to buy an E46 M3 but opted for the safe option)

Depends where you shop.....

Euro Car Parts - Front Pads
Pagid - £83.99
Brembo - 98.99
Textar - £132.99


EBC RedStuff, which is what I run on mine, £138.34 direct from EBC