Well my engine is all good, my suspension has been replaced recently, my tires are new, and my brakes are all new, so I'd have to say supercharger. Or redoing the caramel leather in my interior + buying perfect factory finish style 65's to replace my nasty chrome ones.
Can get hot blondes for free and paying them kind of takes away from the experience i think. Style 65's seem to be the best wheel for our cars I was looking for wheels and haven't found anything that looks as appropriate. Supercharger is great, id want to do my rod bearings first
If you have a hot girl in the passenger seat, trust me you're paying!
I think I'd have to go with an engine rebuild on the E39. Just more of a piece of mind thing having just gone over 105,000 miles. Though currently that $5k would probably be better spent on my E34 Touring project. That would cover a 540i/6 donor car for the swap.
Best of both worlds, a supercharged Blond. Great question, it didn't cost that much to get the M sorted so probably in a bank account for that rainy day or if you really feel the urge:
pop $650 on Bilstein's,
$700 on the timing rail kit,
$350 on rod bearings,
$50 on crank bearings
$9 on valve stem seals,
$200 on the Neway valve cutting system,
$200 on a used valve grinder,
$150 on piston rings,
$100 on vanos seals,
$1,000 on front and rear new control arms,
$250 on front brake pads and rotors,
$170 on rear brakes and rotors,
$80 on an oil change
$35 on transmission oil change
$30 on differential oil change
$100 on alignment
So for roughly $3,000 you'd have replaced most pertinent parts and would still have a little less than $2,000 left over to tip that Blonde that serves you your libation of choice while you're working on your car or buy tools you don't have so the next time rolls around you'll be set.
Preventative maintenance for sure. How many miles do you have? My 2001 has 95k and in the last 3k miles I've done MAFs, new tires, rotors and pads (recent flush already done), timing chain tensioner, spark plugs, fuel filter, BG intake and fuel system cleaning, rear window weather stripping, pre cat O2s, fuel cap, upper oil breather hoses, cleaned the two oil separators, intake plenum cleaning, BG oil flush, oil change with sample sent to Blackstone for analysis, clean and re lubricate sunroof track, probably some other things I'm forgetting.
Once I check off a few more items, like polish the headlights and fix the headlight adjusters, I'm going to order an Eibach rear swaybar and catback exhaust. I also need to install my 545i shifter and zhp knob.
Preventative maintenance, square wheel and tire setup with 275/35/18 all around, then the very best suspension you can afford, preferably MCS, Moton or Penske. If you have any money left over, get a nice shifter.
You don't really provide enough context for a good answer.
What's the condition of your car? Do you know its maintenance history? Are you in need of maintenance items? What's your objective for the car-- keep it stock, use it for the street only? Use it for autocross and/or track? How long you planning to keep the car? Is $5k just this year's budget, or will you have $5k every year to do stuff?
Pull the rear end suspension, sub-frame, Diff, and mounts, strengthen, power coat it, polish all the parts, and reinstall with all new parts.
Ready for the shows for life. After 11+ years as a garage queen it needs a butt upgrade :smile
Headers are $5k themselves? Do you guys have a line on something cheaper? If im spending thousands on headers might as well get M5Jed's but then how could you have money left over?
Rod bearings are plus or minus $800 just in parts, unless you change just the bearings themselves without bolts, gaskets, tensioners, etc.. I'm at 147k on original bearings and drive my car hard so that is definitely going to be done. But i dont have a 'cherry picker' and other knick knack stuff so the job for me will cost realistically around $1100-$1500
$3500
Looking to get coilovers now since my car is all stock, had it for about a year now and really learned to drive it better. Now im starting to reach suspension limitations so coilovers seem like the right thing to do. KW's another $2700
$800
If spending almost 3k on shocks might as well do all bushing front and rear, joints, arms... $2000
-$1200
Tires? $1000
-$2200
Really shows how 5k doesn't get you far at all, correct me if my numbers are wrong. But $350 for rod bearings is not realistic to me. Just new bolts are around $170
Rod bearings are plus or minus $800 just in parts, unless you change just the bearings themselves without bolts, gaskets, tensioners, etc.. I'm at 147k on original bearings and drive my car hard so that is definitely going to be done. But i dont have a 'cherry picker' and other knick knack stuff so the job for me will cost realistically around $1100-$1500
Really shows how 5k doesn't get you far at all, correct me if my numbers are wrong. But $350 for rod bearings is not realistic to me. Just new bolts are around $170
No, $5k doesn't really do much unfortunately, I could tell you what I've spent $5k on but I don't want to start feeling bad. (....sh!t, too late now).
Yeah, ROFL @$350 rod bearings parts
Oops, you're right, me bad, Rod bearings, 8 upper and 8 lower from FCP euro are 23.99/each so (24)(16) = 384, but I did forget the Rod Bolts, ouch, 18.99/piece, so (19)(16) = 304, OK, so I was off by $300 in that both bearings and bolts come to $688. Maybe if more then one supplier is checked everything might be less expensive, but still, you'd have around $1,700 left over to spend on that blond that brings you libations as you toil under the car,
Oops, you're right, me bad, Rod bearings, 8 upper and 8 lower from FCP euro are 23.99/each so (24)(16) = 384, but I did forget the Rod Bolts, ouch, 18.99/piece, so (19)(16) = 304, OK, so I was off by $300 in that both bearings and bolts come to $688. Maybe if more then one supplier is checked everything might be less expensive, but still, you'd have around $1,700 left over to spend on that blond that brings you libations as you toil under the car,
Wonderful shady, think I mentioned buying an engine kit too but what the heck. I put in my two cents worth on what I'd do with five grand and I'd buy parts and replace known wear items so to make the car as reliable as possible and you wish to nitpick when I make a list from off the top of my head from memory. OK, let me rephrase, with five grand I'd make the car's motor as reliable as possible, adding struts along the way. And even if that stuff costs two hundred more, so what, you're still below the five grand limit by a whole bunch and have done something to ensure longevity rather then the "cool" fix which leaves the stuff that inevitably goes wrong for a not to distant in the future repair.
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