E61 V8 Bearding

E61 V8 Bearding

Author
Discussion

Spuffington

1,203 posts

167 months

Wednesday 29th July 2015
quotequote all
Miss my 550i. frown 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.




Edited by Spuffington on Wednesday 29th July 14:38

philmots

4,630 posts

259 months

Wednesday 29th July 2015
quotequote all
A place local to me will do a custom backbox for £200 (10 years) or £270 in stainless..

I'm more tempted to go down that route but i do fancy one of the brands.

ATM

Original Poster:

18,081 posts

218 months

Wednesday 29th July 2015
quotequote all
philmots said:
A place local to me will do a custom backbox for £200 (10 years) or £270 in stainless..

I'm more tempted to go down that route but i do fancy one of the brands.
Cheap and cheerful wins for me.

hornetrider

63,161 posts

204 months

Wednesday 29th July 2015
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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...

ATM

Original Poster:

18,081 posts

218 months

Wednesday 29th July 2015
quotequote all
hornetrider said:
I don't know what the exhaust does ...
It expels the exhaust gasses out the back of the car and muffles some of the noise.

hornetrider

63,161 posts

204 months

Wednesday 29th July 2015
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wobble

jboy72

375 posts

180 months

Wednesday 29th July 2015
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Spuffington said:
Miss my 550i. frown 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.




Edited by Spuffington on Wednesday 29th July 14:38
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!

Spuffington

1,203 posts

167 months

Wednesday 29th July 2015
quotequote all
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. frown

Glad it inspired another 550i owner! smile

dom9

8,040 posts

208 months

Wednesday 29th July 2015
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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.

philmots

4,630 posts

259 months

Wednesday 29th July 2015
quotequote all
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

philmots

4,630 posts

259 months

Wednesday 29th July 2015
quotequote all
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!

jboy72

375 posts

180 months

Wednesday 29th July 2015
quotequote all
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. frown

Glad it inspired another 550i owner! smile
It did - sadly I couldn't black nor could I find sport at least not when I was looking. Oh well.

ATM

Original Poster:

18,081 posts

218 months

Thursday 30th July 2015
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Found a Tracker in my glovebox. Just behind the clip off Panel. That is coming straight out.

Ellieb10

63 posts

152 months

Thursday 30th July 2015
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Spuffington said:
When going for it (I had the Adaptive Drive too), it was verging a weapon. smile
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.

jboy72

375 posts

180 months

Thursday 30th July 2015
quotequote all
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...

Edited by jboy72 on Thursday 30th July 16:48

ATM

Original Poster:

18,081 posts

218 months

Thursday 30th July 2015
quotequote all
ATM said:
Found a Tracker in my glovebox. Just behind the clip off Panel. That is coming straight out.
Smart Nav UK paperweight now on my desk.

texasjohn

3,687 posts

230 months

Thursday 30th July 2015
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Does anyone here have a black 07 plate touring? Brown interior?

bodhi

10,331 posts

228 months

Friday 31st July 2015
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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....

ATM

Original Poster:

18,081 posts

218 months

Friday 31st July 2015
quotequote all
I practiced some traffic light launches last night. If the road is dry it just takes off with zero fuss. Even at 60 if you need to overtake a queue of say 3 cars and a lorry it just does it - easily. Sure it is a bit lardy in the curvy bits but it does hang on in there.

Spuffington

1,203 posts

167 months

Friday 31st July 2015
quotequote all
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...

Edited by jboy72 on Thursday 30th July 16:48
I'm with you on this. Adaptive Drive is constantly in play but messing with the "stiffness" of the anti-roll bars, does nothing to the steering. The way to tell if you have it is not only how flat you corner, how supple the suspension is when not cornering but also the presence of a reasonably large hydraulic box in the centre rear of the car. It sits between the two anti-roll bars and modulates their tension based on the cornering forces.

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.