Sluggish: Need Advise - The Unofficial BMW M5 Messageboard (m5board.com)

rcalvin · 15th August 2003, 04:38

Hey guys,

I've been driving around for a while and the car seems to be a little
sluggish. As you guys know from a previous post that I had water in
the #1 plughole that was causing a misfire, but since we cleaned it
out and checked all the plugs (very rich) there has not been any
misfire.

I had a compression check (225) and leak down (less than 10%)
performed 1 mos. ago along with a new water pump, fan clutch and O2
sensor, and the clutch will be replaced next week, which is just
about dead. Do you think a bad clutch could lead to sluggish
performance?

What all should I check? Would a bad cat cause this? What else? MAF,
coils? What should be my first move?

Thanks,
Rick 93 M5 Touring

vadas1 · 15th August 2003, 15:50

I'm sure you would recognize a slipping clutch so there is nothing else there to worry about.

You mention the plugs looking like the mixture is rich. That could be your next clue. If you are running rich then you would lose the edge on your performance.

I've got a Euro spec 94 ( in Europe, makes sense ) and have thought mine was a bit sluggish ( particularly at the top of the rev range ) but I'm putting that down to the heat ( fuel-air mixture again ) as I've just had an Inspection II a few weeks ago.

I'd look at the plugs again and if it looks that you are running rich go in that direction for a while.

I see you are from Tennessee. I lived in Memphis a long long time ago.

ralph (vadas1)

rcalvin · 15th August 2003, 16:10

Ralph,

I'm in the Nasville area but I sometimes take my car to Memphis Motorwerks (the only certified Independent BMW mechanic in TN)in Cordova when the work is more technical. Unfortunately, it is about a 3 hour drive to Memphis so I will try to help the shop here in Nashville troubleshoot it. What should I check first if it is running rich?

Thanks,
Rick Calvin 93 M5 Touring

vadas1 · 15th August 2003, 19:00

I'd check that the air filter element is clean. After that it gets a bit more complicated (O2 sensors ect).

ralph (vadas1)