E61 V8 Bearding
Discussion
Spuffington said:
Miss my 550i. Bag of spanners when I had it - coolant leak and then cabin leak from somewhere (tens of manhours spent trying to track it down) but when it was on song.........wonderful.
When did you own it? I wonder if this was the car that passed my Oxford Green 330d so serenely on the M11 / A406 / A12 sometime in late 2012 which was the moment I decided to stop looking at 530ds and 535ds (which I had been for months) and look for a 550i instead. Certainly looks a lot like it anyway!Edited by Spuffington on Wednesday 29th July 14:38
jboy72 said:
When did you own it? I wonder if this was the car that passed my Oxford Green 330d so serenely on the M11 / A406 / A12 sometime in late 2012 which was the moment I decided to stop looking at 530ds and 535ds (which I had been for months) and look for a 550i instead. Certainly looks a lot like it anyway!
Mostly likely me - owned it from early October 2012 through to February 2014 and that's my usual stomping ground. Sorry, don't remember the green 330d, but it was certainly a beautifully serene place to be when trundling around. When going for it (I had the Adaptive Drive too), it was verging a weapon. Very sad to see it drive off, but it average a trip to BMW every month for the entire time I owned it. Glad it inspired another 550i owner!
hornetrider said:
When you say backbox what are you talking about? Cat back? Actually thinking about it I don't know what the exhaust does and how many boxes there are...
Mines a full cat-back with 2 or 3 silencers in it (i.e. no delete but all upgraded).It would be cheaper to just delete the centre silencer but that's what makes it drone.
Mine is still silent on a cruise but is amazing with your foot down.
I think the Profusion boys would do a change of rear silencer (i.e. backbox) for 400-450.
Full system for the win (I even wanted manifolds and sports cats but couldn't justify the cost) but a backbox would do much the same thing.
hornetrider said:
When you say backbox what are you talking about? Cat back? Actually thinking about it I don't know what the exhaust does and how many boxes there are...
If you stick your head under the back bumper you'll see the 2 silencers side by side just after the tips.. It seperates about half a foot behind there from the centre section.That's the backbox, they can be made up aftermarket as loud or quiet as you like with a choice of tips.
I'd quite like oem+ ..tips slightly bigger, and slightly louder. Something that you'd not guess wasn't factory unless had a factory car next to it.
Edited by philmots on Wednesday 29th July 16:45
jboy72 said:
When did you own it? I wonder if this was the car that passed my Oxford Green 330d so serenely on the M11 / A406 / A12 sometime in late 2012 which was the moment I decided to stop looking at 530ds and 535ds (which I had been for months) and look for a 550i instead. Certainly looks a lot like it anyway!
I'm sometimes tempted by the daft power/torque achieveable from mapping the diesels but then I remember, it's a 550i.. One passed me years ago and I was like, niiiice.. Never the reaction I had from seeing a 535d.Had a 335d before this really helps to stick with the V8. It was quick but really dull.. And it's not a V8!
Spuffington said:
Mostly likely me - owned it from early October 2012 through to February 2014 and that's my usual stomping ground. Sorry, don't remember the green 330d, but it was certainly a beautifully serene place to be when trundling around. When going for it (I had the Adaptive Drive too), it was verging a weapon. Very sad to see it drive off, but it average a trip to BMW every month for the entire time I owned it.
Glad it inspired another 550i owner!
It did - sadly I couldn't black nor could I find sport at least not when I was looking. Oh well.Glad it inspired another 550i owner!
Spuffington said:
When going for it (I had the Adaptive Drive too), it was verging a weapon.
My E61 545i has adaptive drive - I find it the only thing I really dislike about the car. Why BMW thought lighter steering at speed is desirable is beyond me. Perhaps the 550i's steering is recalibrated? Anyway, I run an Alpina B5 alignment pattern which makes a slight improvement. I'm interested in a slightly more expressive back box too. Thought about the mod where you pull some of the wadding out and reweld the back boxes but decided it was too ghetto.
Ellieb10 said:
My E61 545i has adaptive drive - I find it the only thing I really dislike about the car. Why BMW thought lighter steering at speed is desirable is beyond me. Perhaps the 550i's steering is recalibrated? Anyway, I run an Alpina B5 alignment pattern which makes a slight improvement.
I'm interested in a slightly more expressive back box too. Thought about the mod where you pull some of the wadding out and reweld the back boxes but decided it was too ghetto.
Do you perhaps have active steering rather than adaptive drive? I have never heard a bad word said about adaptive drive... plus I think it adjusts the suspension rather than the steering rack...I'm interested in a slightly more expressive back box too. Thought about the mod where you pull some of the wadding out and reweld the back boxes but decided it was too ghetto.
Edited by jboy72 on Thursday 30th July 16:48
Given how rare these cars are, how long until every V8 E60/1 is owned by someone on these boards? :-)
Seriously though, lovely cars chaps. I've always loved the E60 shape, and that engine is just magnificent. I was sorely tempted by one but as the 125i is already a bit beyond the terms of our car allowance policy at work (2 litre max, luckily the HR lady who runs it is a fan of proper engines and turns a blind eye unless you take the piss) I suspect a 550i may have been an issue. One day though....
Seriously though, lovely cars chaps. I've always loved the E60 shape, and that engine is just magnificent. I was sorely tempted by one but as the 125i is already a bit beyond the terms of our car allowance policy at work (2 litre max, luckily the HR lady who runs it is a fan of proper engines and turns a blind eye unless you take the piss) I suspect a 550i may have been an issue. One day though....
jboy72 said:
Ellieb10 said:
My E61 545i has adaptive drive - I find it the only thing I really dislike about the car. Why BMW thought lighter steering at speed is desirable is beyond me. Perhaps the 550i's steering is recalibrated? Anyway, I run an Alpina B5 alignment pattern which makes a slight improvement.
I'm interested in a slightly more expressive back box too. Thought about the mod where you pull some of the wadding out and reweld the back boxes but decided it was too ghetto.
Do you perhaps have active steering rather than adaptive drive? I have never heard a bad word said about adaptive drive... plus I think it adjusts the suspension rather than the steering rack...I'm interested in a slightly more expressive back box too. Thought about the mod where you pull some of the wadding out and reweld the back boxes but decided it was too ghetto.
Edited by jboy72 on Thursday 30th July 16:48
Ok, so not unlikely that you could have Active Steering AND Adaptive Drive but I would suggest it's the former which will make the steering light, not the latter. Never had any issue with mine and made the 550i SO much more comfortable and capable than my 535d lci.
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