Why no E61 540i?
Discussion
The E39 was offered as a v8 535i but when they moved from the 528i to 530i in, about, 2000, the 535i was left pretty redundant as it was no more powerful than the 530i, but was significantly heavier and more thirsty. It was, I think, killed off at the same time.
Fast forward a few years and I now have a F11 535i - what a car it is! It’s rare as hens teeth, silky smooth when cruising and properly fast by any measure when prodded.
Fast forward a few years and I now have a F11 535i - what a car it is! It’s rare as hens teeth, silky smooth when cruising and properly fast by any measure when prodded.
AppleJuice said:
Wondering why BMW only offered their larger V8 in the E61 (45i / 50i) and no 40i? Or 35i in the E39? Especially as they offered both 30i and 40i in the E34?
The E61 is the Touring. BMW offered the 540i in the E60 saloon (as per the above) but not the E61. The petrol engines in the LCI Touring were 523i, 525i, 530i and 550i. schmalex said:
The E39 was offered as a v8 535i but when they moved from the 528i to 530i in, about, 2000, the 535i was left pretty redundant as it was no more powerful than the 530i, but was significantly heavier and more thirsty. It was, I think, killed off at the same time.
Fast forward a few years and I now have a F11 535i - what a car it is! It’s rare as hens teeth, silky smooth when cruising and properly fast by any measure when prodded.
530i was brought in with the facelift and had 231bhp. 535i pre facelift had 235bhp. Post facelift 535i remained, but had 245bhp. Didn’t sell well post facelift, most probably due to 530i.Fast forward a few years and I now have a F11 535i - what a car it is! It’s rare as hens teeth, silky smooth when cruising and properly fast by any measure when prodded.
ETA above refers to E39. F10/11 535i is a turbo 6 with more than 300bhp.
Krikkit said:
Thank you everyone for answering the question that I didn't ask - I know the E60 was sold as a 540i (N62B40) (and the E39 as a 535i (M62B35 / M62TUB35)) but I was asking why the E61 wasn't sold as a 540i variant - the engine is more than capable of lugging it around... Same goes for the M62 in the E39T.As I said in my original post, the E34 was sold as a 530i/8 and a 540i with both small and large capacities of the M60 engine (M60B30 / M60B40) - which apparently had no, if any interchangeable components between the two engines - so why did BMW stop selling both small and large capacities of V8 engine in the Touring versons of the 5 Series?
ETA: no E61 535i either (N62B36)
PS: do I win the prize for "I appear to know every bloody engine code since the dawn of time" award?
JakeT said:
As for the E39T 535i much the same. I'd say the 530i was better with rack and pinion steering over the recirc ball of the V8 models.
I have two e39s ... one is r&p, the other is rb.
The difference in steering feel is extremely marginal/barely perceptible.
Both with nothing excessively worn, I should add.
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