Tuners...the media...a conspiracy theory - The Unofficial BMW M5 Messageboard (m5board.com)

alpywhite · 2nd March 2002, 08:27

Having read a few recent threads about what a nightmare tuners like Nowack and Hennessey can be, it just "fulfills my prophecy" that for the most part, any aftermarket modification is a compromise or headache.

I've owned almost 20 cars and have modified substantially all of them. In all but a few precious instances, the modifications made have detracted from the overall ownership experience of the car.

Snapshots of some of my experiences:

- Suspension makes the vehicle too low - or too high - to be practical at times.

- Big fancy wheels can never be perfectly balanced.

- Performance mods make the car run rough, or make it downright unreliable...I had a supercharger that went through belts like you couldn't believe.

- Stereos that have engine noise. In this instance, the blame should be put on the installer and not the product, but my point is, a headache is a headache.

My main gripe is, that you NEVER hear about it in the media (read: car magazines, etc.) because I believe the media has a vested interest (read: advertising).

All you ever read about in a tuning mag is the perfect aftermarket experience based upon the half-day impression of a test driver who has driven a tuner's demo, which I suspect has been painstakingly prepared through trial and error. I can almost picture tuners sweating, crossing their fingers, whispering "please don't **** up" as the journalist flogs the car.

Nonetheless I, the reader, lean back in my seat and daydream blissfully about that hundred extra horsepower, or that 1,000 watt stereo, all described as a breathtaking compliment to the vehicle with no apparent strings attached. You never hear about overheating; knocking/pinging; engine noise in your amps; etcetera.

I could expand, and I apologize for overgeneralization in spots, but it's been a long week.

That's pretty much my impromptu gripe for the evening.

Alps

EBMCS03 · 2nd March 2002, 09:30

Hehe alpy... You're right. Thats why I dont think I will do any MAJOR tuning to my cars. Just subtal stuff... CAI, Exhaust, Tint, not even wheels... I like stock wheels. Maybe suspension. more for the looks part hehe

James A · 2nd March 2002, 19:34

My 1988 M3 is 100% stock, a blast to drive I avhe no desire to modify it! I agree with your assesment, very few major aftermaket modes truely improve the fun of an M car!

TCM · 2nd March 2002, 19:46

I agree with you 100%. My dad has always told me that modding a car is not worth it unless you are going to race it. I am beginnining to see where he is coming from. He has installed a lot of performance stuff in his time (40+ years) and he swears nothing ever goes right. The directions say everything will fit right in but of course it never does. You end up making your own brackets and welding your metal to make it fit. And after spending extra hours getting the stuff to go in, the customer is mad because of the labor charge. "It says it only takes 45 minutes." Well, I'll take it out and you an out it in in 45 minutes,lol. Even when stuff goes smoothly, bad things happen. My dad did a competitipon valve job on a Shelby GT500 for a guy and the guy crashed it on the way home (was not ready for the extra snap). Personally, I like the idea of modding to make the car different but only to an extent. Exhaust, CAI, brakes, and SSK. That is about it. These cars today are designed wonderfully out of the box. Look at the new M3, tuners cannot get any more power out of it. Just my .02 cents.

Chris Foote · 2nd March 2002, 20:48

I love to customize cars, but these days vehicles are becoming so tightly integrated that it becomes incredibly difficult to make modifications. This is why the M5 shall remain stock -- to be honest, the stock performance is more than enough for me, and I love the car just the way it is. Plus, I think it might just become a classic with all this Bangle BS coming out the door of BMW NA....

-Chris

alpywhite · 2nd March 2002, 22:46

Case in point: the Dinan Stage III has proven to be a GREAT improvement, however:

- It turns out my rear tires do rub under extreme circumstances, will need to get the fenders rolled.

- Very, very steep driveways that don't have a smooth transition onto the street (I have 2 such situations - a friend's driveway and a certain underground parkade downtown) are now a total no-go.

Alps

VanCooper · 2nd March 2002, 23:46

In my vision, if BMW tested this car so many hours on track and in different situations and decided to produce it the way we know it, it's because it had the best combination of high performance and comfort all in one. The M5 is just great right out of the box and my father along with other members on this board never really saw any way to mod their M5 because they love it just the way they bought it

As for me, if I had an M5 to myself, the only mods that would go into it would be a different exhaust system as well as different speakers for the sound system. Else than that, I love it bone stock!

Alpy: Is the Downtown Eaton underground parkade the one total no-go you're talking about? The entrances are STEEP there

atomic80 · 3rd March 2002, 00:00

I believe that really is a fine line between the level of modifications that one can make as opposed to taking the M5 as it was intended by BMW. For instance, my philosophy when it comes to modifications is to retain the stock appearance as much as possible but yet adding a few "personal" touches that would make my M5 "uniquely" mine. I haven't bothered with installing the Dinan suspension kit yet because after having driven the M5 for a while now I find that it already has the perfect "handling" balance. I don't know what I'll do with the parts that I bought but it won't be used anytime soon.

BMW did a great job with the M5 but like every other car out there, it's still not perfect. For example, the cupholders is a joke, the sound system isn't as good as I'd like it to be among other tiny little quirks. It's the car as a whole that far exceeds all the little bad things. There are still other quirks that some would choose to replace with aftermarket parts rather than live with it.

To each his own!

tfung · 3rd March 2002, 00:34

I completely agree with you alpy.... it's more headaches than good things... but at the end, I think it's still worth all the trouble..

lear · 3rd March 2002, 00:45

I totally agree with the stock folks. For me BMW put plenty of time and effort into it if their beloved M went on the back. I too worry about the intgration integrity when replacing components that are a part of a very complex whole. For instance the brakes. Does the mod of larger brakes really help? Cosmetically, hell yes, man those Brembos look awesome. However, I wonder if the somewhat sophisticated handling system performance is degraded because now it does not know just how effective the brakes can be, is there an adjustment made to that whole process? I don't know and could be way off base here, perhaps that computer doesn't consider brake capability when individually actuating brakes.