Attempt at e39 m5 touring project? (Buildstory of DINAN supercharged 540i Touring) - Page 36

aw/ir02smg · 24th April 2006, 07:46

i'm emailing dave z on the style 66 and see what he says. at this point, i'm thinking of the 14/13.6 combo.

the potholes we ran into wouldnt have spared 35 or 40 series. yikes. socal is great, but the main reason for the 17s is we're planning on spending a few months in sf, kind of working off site/long term vacation, perhaps next yr. they have some ugly roads. after seeing some nice cars with 18s and 19s up close parked by the curbs, looking at all the curb rash and bent rims, i wouldnt dare drive on 19s up there.

aw/ir02smg · 25th April 2006, 07:48

19 days to go, and a ton of stuff, so much that i'm afraid to take it on for once

on a lighter note, i was told today that following my thread is almost like ff a soap opera.

in fact, the following update will be called..
"as the rotors turn," per the cheesy suggestion of another.

summary: the issue: was going to go with stoptech 14s all around. from previous post, i NEED to be able to use the style 66- 17" stockers...this head-banging session started last night, and dragged on thru intermittently through out the day...

3 possibilities: key: fronts do the work, rears, well, they're there.

a: stick with 14s all around (and buy ANOTHER set of 18s just for that)-

THAT would earn me the "stupid" award. as it stands, i have a spare 18" m3 wheel and tire, an extra 245/35/19 so3 tire, 2 acs 19 fronts, and the 4 style 66 wheels and tires crammed into my office.

b: go 14 front, and 13.6 rear. thanks a million

to dave z. after 3 lengthy e-mail responses, this is his pick out of the choices.

c: go 14 front, and leave the rear stock. thanks to redshift (brian)-this is the best bang for the buck, being practical and sensible. here's his thread setting me straight on this...http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=143613

dave z's discourse is worthy of taking some space, bec i'm sure i'm not the only one dealing with this.

mode

so here's my ?s: i didnt see any info about the differences between the specs of the front only to go with rear stock, vs the front that goes with the
rear.

1. are they BOTH 14" rotors?

Quote:

Originally Posted by dave z

Yes. I cleaned up the presentation on the web page to make it less confusing (I hope).

2. is the only difference that the pistons are smaller on the front only kit?

Quote:

Originally Posted by dave z

Yes. Here's how that all came about. When StopTech designed a rear 4-piston kit for the E39, the brake torque was greater than stock, even with the smallest possible pistons (28mm x4). So they had to enlarge the piston size of the front kit to keep the balance right.

3. how much real perf do i lose with the front only kit vs the front for the all-around?

Quote:

Originally Posted by dave z

None, really. You lose a bit of pedal stiffness and you increase the amount of time it takes to swap pads. And your rear wheels look wimpy. ;-) It's hard to justify the rear upgrade based only on performance.

4. how much real perf diff is there between the
> a: 14" all around
> b: 14/13.6 combo
> c: 14 front/ stock rear ?

Quote:

Originally Posted by dave z

The pedal feel of option b) is the best of all.

Option a) is next best. Even though the front caliper pistons are
larger than option c), the increased pedal travel is more than offset by the
stiffness of the rear calipers. So the overall result is a firmer pedal
with less travel than stock.

Option c) yields slightly better pedal feel than stock. If you're
taking the car to the track, this gets you most of the performance gains you
need in terms of fade resistance and ability to brake hard and deep
into corners. This is the biggest bang for the buck, followed a distant
second by option b) and then option a).

Price being no object, I would go for b). Budget constraint, I would go for c). Best aesthetics, I would go for a) since the 4-piston calipers are more impressive looking in the rear.

If you go for c), make sure you pick black or silver calipers. Red will drive you crazy because it will be obvious, from across the parking lot, that you upgraded the front and not the rear. That's how it affects me, anyway. Been there - done that.

in conclusion: had to call mike at bms and share my misery with him. it has come down to what brian posted: for function, front 14 with stock is fine. for bling, 14/13.6, since i have voluntarily restricted myself with the 17s.

markseven (b'fest) and tyrone, of all pple, offered some sage advice that i really didnt want to hear. their vote? go for the 14/13.6, because:

1. i'd regret it at some point;
2. i might as well wear a sign explaining why i didnt do the rears;
3. (the killer) while i have spared no expense on everything so far, i fold at this one lil item. i have gone all the way, and drop the ball on this final bit.

my decision??? for once,

bling has won. at this moment i feel that every last vestige of intelligence i have has graduated from me.

oh well, that's one less problem to deal with.

signing off. saving some of today's other updates/complications for tom. too tired. good night.

jack

best quote of the day, thanks to brian (redshift)

Quote:

Originally Posted by brian

Jack, life is sure rough for you! I feel so badly for you having to make all these important decisions about what to do with your $120K wagon (lol, just kidding)

sure took a lot of stress off from my weary shoulders.

aw/ir02smg · 25th April 2006, 22:45

18 days to go???

Hmmm, couple of things.

1. regarding brian’s comment about the $120k wagon, it made me think of why I’m doing it – another reason that was always in the back of my head, but I’ve never articulated. Logically, I’ve spent enuf money to buy another 540, or even a nice used e39 m5. catch is, I only have garage space for 2. I’m fairly sure my wife aint giving up the x5 – the meek driver that she is, there is some pleasure to be derived from stomping on a 4.4 and pretty much leaving most everything on the freeway tailgating her.

I have 1 spot – for 2 cars I want – an m5 and a touring. So might as well cram them into one. Sure costs like it.

2. dr tyrone dropped off the car late Sunday night. It was really good to see her again. Mod updates:
a. presented with MORE receipts. crevier internet parts dept is NOT a good place to know.

b. he chose to take away my “toy” (smg paddleshifters) because he wanted to re-wire everything perfectly, and THAT no one will ever even see!!!

c. The birch anthracite piece is now in.
artsy shot...

regular shot...

THIS is what it took to do it. Not for the faint of heart. Reminds me of the frog I dissected in high school.

d. The tire pressure monitor is in, except for 1 little piece he’s waiting for.

e. Dsp harness fully retrofitted.

UNFORTUNATELY, this requires it to be coded by the dealer. Call has been made, hopefully in on the 27th. So right now, it is VERY quiet in the car. this required running the harness from the rear to the front, doors, etc. scary.

f. I can NOT believe after working on the rear, the dr even wiped down the seats, as in with lexol cleaner!!!
g. Bsw speakers (fronts) mounted into the assembly, but not door mounted yet.

h. Rear bsw already up in the ceiling. See the logo thru the mesh???

3. in a fit of desperation, I even contacted g-power directly regarding the quad exhaust. Gave up on that one. However, I did call jose pulido, just for the heck of it. It’ll probably be custom, so never mind again. HOWEVER, the guy (didn’t get his name) did mention that joe is in the process of getting his e36 headers carb-cert. When asked about the 540, he sd that’s also a future project – not just fabricxating one, but ALSO getting it carb cert. Now THAT’s exciting. I WILL BE in trouble when that happens. The consolation is it’s going to be a future event.

4. I also opened the “parts bazaar,” all the things that have (and will continue to) come off my car.
http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=143817

5. little change to my flat silver painted kidney grills - repainted them in gloss.

finally, a shot of my office. EVERYTHING (but 1) that lis a brown box is a consequence of this little undertaking.

That’s a wrap for today.

palantirion · 26th April 2006, 00:06

You might want to call Chris about recoding the DSP. There are a lot of dealer code changes he can do, like key settings, daytime lights, alarm settings, etc. This may be one of them.

brad @ evosport · 26th April 2006, 00:31

Yep, I bet Chris can do it.

Jack, we can do it here also if you need assistance. I know it is a trek for you, but we do have the computer.

Thanks
Brad

aw/ir02smg · 26th April 2006, 00:59

earl,

i called chris already - unfortunately, he sd this coding needs the 40k bmw computer that only the dealer has. his computer doesnt do it.

brad,

if my dealer wimps out on me, i'll be happy to swing by your place. i'll know in a few days

Richard in NC · 26th April 2006, 01:15

AW, I have been following the Wagon soaps since day 1. The other current soap is the KBK exhaust! Both replace the SC soaps that lasted so long

I wish I had the time and money to play with my M5 like that. I agonized for months over a shock and brake pad upgrade. I had a shop do the install. Tearing it apart daily would scare me

PS: I would do option B in brakes. It allows your 17 inch wheel decision, gives you the performance you want, and completes the look.

I'm also glad to hear you came to a decision on a good stereo upgrade. I enjoyed an upgrade I did to a 3000GT and wish I would have put the money in an M5 stereo upgrade.

PPS: What happens in 18 days? Does the wife cut off the funds or is it simply a goal to be complete by then? Yeah, right!!!!

brad @ evosport · 26th April 2006, 01:15

Sounds good! Let us know.

Thanks
Brad

aw/ir02smg · 26th April 2006, 07:52

Quote:

Originally Posted by Richard in NC

PPS: What happens in 18 days? Does the wife cut off the funds or is it simply a goal to be complete by then? Yeah, right!!!!

richard,

thanks for the kind words, and glad you're enjoying the demise of my own financial IQ.

in 18 days, ALL my dinan stuff is supposed to have been shipped and received at bms, may 12. and within a week or so, dr jekyll

(my erstwhile benign wagon) turns into, well, dr hyde.

, a worthy iron fist in a velvet glove.

thankfully, wife doesnt cut off any funds. i provide all the funds.

i've been very blessed to spoil my wife

and 3 girls

, esp the last 10 yrs. - and this is the first, and probably last time i'll do anything insane like this.

yep, going for the 14/13.6 combo.

as far as completion, yes. i'm treating it like i'm waiting for my car being built at regensberg, pretty much all mods in one shot, and when it's done, it's done. then i'll be posting less and less because i'll be putting on miles and smiles. like my wife says about her rather expensive handbag - "if i use it everyday, it drastically reduces the cost per use, to the point where it's rather reasonable."

jack

1046pm- MORE paperwork

aw/ir02smg · 27th April 2006, 05:47

17 days to go...

today was an exciting day. ended up having a mini-meet - 3 e39 540 tourings (markseven in sienna red, thaichi808 in black, yours truly in silver), and 1 e39 540 sedan (dasmizdub, in electric red!

). it was supposed to be just 3 of us gathering as brothers in the Lord, and when we left the restaurant there were 4 bros!!!

it wasnt planned, but God is good!!!

btw, the california fish grill, with fish & rice plates from $8 to $10, was actually VERY good!!!

here are the cars...

we all took a few turns looking at everybody's rides...
1. markseven added the factory oem front lip spoiler - very nice alternative to the oft-copied m5 look (look who's talking

);
2. dasmi had a nice dvd setup, and is contemplating a back-up camera install, and soon m-tech front bumper;
3. thaichi just put on the 19" radenergies with gigantic lips

; and a very sleek 2 woofer setup in his trunk that did NOT take up any stock space! and he has the quad eisie race. at least - i got a sound clip!! sounds mean.
http://www.fileh.com/jacknhedy/0426jamesexh.AVI

was too busy socializing and peeking into cars that i forgot to snap more pics...until i was ready to go

NEXT STOP - a quick visit to the dr again. the main goal was to remove EVERYTHING from the 'failed' aft mkt audio install so i can return them.

here's what was accomplished in 1.5 hrs...

1. unfortunately, found out holes were drilled into the door - while not visible, i dont like that...and bolts are missing.

2. bsw front speakers mounted (my prev post showed oem spkrs...)

3. the control unit for the m5 sideview mirrors was also mounted (right door).

4. the switches for the sideview mirrors also in place now. (left door)

5. as a bonus, not once, but twice, i was pooped on by some little bird or bug

6. believe it or not, the dr broke one of the tabs for the little light under the door.

i thought he WAS perfect.

TOMORROW 10a, i go to the dealer to get the dsp coded. my service director called me at 745p last night. i'm hoping

the stage 3 susp is in, along with needing to meet with the bmw regional rep to look into a little problem with the grommet in the rear hatch.

since i had NO sounds in the car, i thought it'd be a good time to make a sound clip of the stock exhaust from inside the car. this is from a stop, and shifting in manual mode at 6k or so rpm. it actually sounds nice. there was an officer, so only went up to 3rd gear

http://www.fileh.com/jacknhedy/0426incarexhmaxrpm.AVI

finally, remember the bbk discussion yesterday? i decided to take some pics - and doing so reinforced my decision for the 14/13.6. here are my oem "sbk" (small brake kit

) the pics dont lie - they do look small, no thanks to my open 5-spoke 19s.

front "sbk"

rear "sbk"

go ahead. laugh. make my day.

we'll revisit this in a few weeks.

signing off. got to go to bed early. 9p would be great. thanks as always.