What motivated you to modify your beast? Just for arguments sake, I will describe below my motivations, and maybe we can go around the table and hear everyone elses:
Objectives:
1) Handling (cornering, ride quality, body roll, traction) no worse than that of a Ferrari F355 or Lotus Esprit V8.
2) High-fidelity stereo system, with all the goodies such as subwoofer, MP3 player, DVD player, great speakers, crisp sound, etc.
3) Enough HP/torque, that I don't regret not spending the same money on an '01 Esprit or a '98 F355, whenever I come up against another sports car on the road.
4) Track capabilities that are on par with a ZO6, e46 M3, S4, etc.
5) Quiet cabin across all RPMs, but a loud aggressive axhaust when I push it.
6) Unique exterior; not boy-racerish, but also not subtle/common like stock.
To get your handling/track capabilities to Z06/Ferrari levels, youll need to remove about 800lbs from the car as a first step.
youll then have to find a way to lower the center of gravity a good bit...
Quote:
Originally posted by DDM5 What motivated you to modify your beast? Just for arguments sake, I will describe below my motivations, and maybe we can go around the table and hear everyone elses:
Objectives:
1) Handling (cornering, ride quality, body roll, traction) no worse than that of a Ferrari F355 or Lotus Esprit V8.
2) High-fidelity stereo system, with all the goodies such as subwoofer, MP3 player, DVD player, great speakers, crisp sound, etc.
3) Enough HP/torque, that I don't regret not spending the same money on an '01 Esprit or a '98 F355, whenever I come up against another sports car on the road.
4) Track capabilities that are on par with a ZO6, e46 M3, S4, etc.
5) Quiet cabin across all RPMs, but a loud aggressive axhaust when I push it.
6) Unique exterior; not boy-racerish, but also not subtle/common like stock.
Would you believe me if I told you that it was folks from this very board that first got me motivated into modifying my beast months before I even picked my beast up. I had a number of parts ready to go when the beast finally arrived!
My first reason for modifying the beast was to make it uniquely mine. The next few reasons were to enhance its already impressive abilities to a level that would satisfy my driving needs. Since I don't track my car I didn't see a need for serious suspension mods such as those coilovers. One of the things that I did see a need for improvement was the braking system. The stock brakes are simply not up to the task of repeated hard braking under my usual driving conditions.
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Jason
Lighting Guru & Picture Poster Extraordinare!
'05 Range Rover w/mods
'05 K1200S w/mods
'07 997TT w/mods
'08 Audi A3 w/mods
Just as with any modifications, i wanted something that i created to my liking. Granted there is nothing wrong with a stock M5 but i wanted one that i felt was a little more sporting in nature.
Exhaust: the car needs to make some more music
Brakes: i like a nice firm, short pedal and a stock one doesnt have it and better pads for brake dust and fade resistance
Shifter: firm and short is best
K&N's: better mpg and maybe even some power
software: better mpg and better throttle response
I think each person on this board has their own opinions on parts...although i have found one other person on the board that has the 90% same set up as i do...color and all. boys will be boys and play with their toys.
Why? To take it to the Track. It's all about the track.
-Brake Ducts - don't want to run out of brakes coming into turn 2 at Laguna Seca!
-Track Tires & Wheels - sticky rubber is good. screeching street tires are bad.
-Trailer Hitch - Gotta get the track tires & my tools to the track.
-Fire Extinguisher - For use on people who throw lit cigarettes out the window.
-Harness - Keep the skinny guy planted in his seat.
-Video Mount - me: "Honey! Look what I did this weekend!" she: "yawn, whatever. Is the car still in one piece?"
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1989 750iL sadly ignored, but still runs great
2000 M5 117,000 miles
2001 Tundra Hauls Stuff
2008 Z4 M Coupe On the cover of Oct. '08 Roundel
2008 Mercedes C350 Sport wifey's car
2009 BMW R1200GS-Adv for on & off-road
Since I primarily want a car that has maximum acceleration at all speeds, especially at low end, it seems like maybe the way for me to go would be the high flow cold air intake, high flow throttle bodie, high flow velocity stacks, high flow air flow meters, free flow exhaust the header system and the light weight flywheel (Stage one or two?) plus the latest performance software. I love the way my beast rides and also don't feel reel comfortable changing the differential to 3:45. Does this make sense or am I missing something? I do not have an unlimited budget and will never track race my car, just some occaisional street drags and some visits to Indpls Raceway park for a 1/4 mile blast. Also will I be ok in staying with the standard wheels which I think look great, or will I suffer major traction problems? (even if I stay with stock ratio differential?? ) I value your input greatly.
Uh, this board in general and you (and your vehicle) in particular, DD.
If I had never found this board I woud have been more than happy with the finest production sedan in the world. But this board has shown how to make the finest even finer, particularly for the track. Then hearing the DD take on the Dinan s2 versus all those exotics was even more convincing. I'm looking for the sports car experience without actually having to drive one -- I just can't see stopping by the grocery store or going out to the municipal golf course in a Porsche or Ferrari (even if it's a **** fine Rees Jones designed municipal golf course), whereas a 4-door stealthbeast can go anywhere anytime. So my mods are going to be performance oriented, while I'll be avoiding anything attention-getting (looks, sound).
My thanks to you and the board for all the great info.
pw
DDM5,
I'm getting more and more confused here... did you acutally modify the car yourself? I thought you had bought the car from Fred Courtot? If you had bought it off Fred, what kind of mods have you done to the car since then? As all the items you listed seem to have been done prior to buying the car already....
__________________ US Spec 2001 E39 M5 - LHD AC Schnitzer
DFC suspension, anti-sway bars, pedals
front splitters, rear wing w/ carbon fiber
Hey guys, it is interesting to see the various sets of input here from various members.
To answer specific questions:
jmott, the weight loss is important and can be achieved through lighter wheels, interior modifications, lightweight hood, lighter seats, etc. Lower center of gravity requires lowering the car.
atomic80, to each his own in their choice of modifications. I agree that making your vehicle unique is an important motivation. Plus modifications are contagious, and if someone offers a group buy on something, it is easy to fall for the mod.
TriflowM5, the stock M5 is okay, the problem is that after driving several high-performance exotics as I have, I would never have purchased the M5 as a replacement for a Ferrari or Lotus. A relatively heavy, slow 4-door sedan is not much fun in my book (its a great compromise, but not a sports car IMHO). Just to clarify, when I first drove the un-modified stock M5, I was very disappointed. I have always felt that I would have to own an SUV and a sports car. The S2 M5 that I purchased 3 months ago gave me enough of a sports car to make me give up on owning a Ferrari or Lotus for now.
louv, I like the hitch idea. That actually makes a lot of sense to me for taking stuff to the track.
Dick Sickels, your list of mods sounds on the ball. I have heard that the lightweight flywheel stage 1 is recommended, not stage 2 (this is what Dinan told me directly). The stock wheels are fine, but you must get a big brake kit as the stock brakes are inadequete. Plus, if you have driven a Ferrari or Lotus before, you will see that the stock suspension is a joke, and coilovers are a must.
XrayMD, brakes should be part of the equation, as what goes up must come down.
pwilliams, thanks for the nice comments, but I am new to the board and my beast was modified by my friend Fred Courtot (I had been trying to buy the beast from him for over a year already), and finally after he got the TT, he sold the beast to me. Fred was a good influence for me and really showed me what correctly modifying a car is all about.
tfung, absolutely, Fred modified my beast to its current form, which convinced me that this is a Ferrari substitute. I plan on continuing in Fred's footsteps, by making what is already a spectacular beast even more spectacular. I have already started with a dilligent weight loss program, and will be moving to make this beast into a full-on track machine, which is also streetable and reliable. I am currently ether performing or looking into the following:
- ACS Carbon fiber interior & custom CF hood.
- Removing mats, sills, rear mat, navigation, amps, etc.
- Removing rear bench and replacing with 2 racing buckets.
- Full roll cage or roll bar.
- Rear Brembos.
- Lightweight Dinan flywheel (stage 1).
- Brake cooling ducts.
- ACS grille.
- Hamann black kidney grille.
- V1 (integrated install).
- Lidatek.
- G-Tech Competition integrated install.
- iPod integrated install.
- GSM/GPS tracking system.
- Light-weight steering wheel with built-in lap-timer.
- Remove PS2.
- Custom Carbon Fiber interior panels
- New Dinan badging/de-badging.
- Etc.
I am glad to have gotten the beast from Fred, and can start with an already wonderful vehicle and take it to where I would like it to be. My goal is to have a Ferrari-beating safe and comfortable 4-door sedan (the Mitsubishi Evo VII beat the Ferrari 360 around the Nurburgring, and I want to beat the Mitsubishi). I also plan on tracking the beast in Europe, and would love to have Sabine drive my beast around the Ring .
What Motivated you to Modify your M5?
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