20060131 GOAL:
turn my 540it into an m5 touring.
SHORT STORY:
thinking seriously of the vf engineering stage 1 s/c for my e39.
thoughts, comments, pics, feedback & opinions wanted! I understand that I can get answers from the vendors, but I would like to hear responses from actual people who’ve done it and enthusiasts.
Emotionally, pretty hard to resist, as cheap as I am (talking to jeff at vf yesterday, along with simon at evosport already gave me a nice sense of confidence and reliability between the 2 of them). Financially, it’s not an issue, though I like getting my money’s worth. Intellectually, $6k + labor for even the stage 1 (going from 290 hp to 415 hp!!!) is a good return on my (discretionary, after tax and non-deductible) money. Practically – that’s the rub – I don’t want to turn a reliable and decently-powered wagon into a time-consuming project that spends more time on the rack, or have to think that I cannot jump into it and haul my wife & 3 girls for a 2-3 hr drive anywhere, bec my fancy toy might be too fragile. My main issue then becomes: with the s/c, does it significantly affect the day to day reliability of the car?
CONCERNS: I’m very good with numbers (private practice financial advisor) but an absolute newbie,
clumsy with anything mechanical. I’ve never modified any of my cars beyond the upgraded rims & tires.
CAR INFO:
2003 540it (yes, touring), auto, 27k miles, m-sport package. 4y/50k original warranty up 10/06. while I do NOT plan to buy the ext warr, I will buy the service maint extension to 6y/100k miles
Current mod: 19” acs type 2 (8.5 f, 9.5 r)
HOW I INTEND TO USE THIS 415HP
SLEEPER: pretty much like my e46 m3. I won’t be at the track (imho, best $ is to pay bmw $1000 when they come to socal and thrash THEIR m5 for 1 whole day with an instructor beside me!); I won’t be racing from stoplight to stoplight. I generally drive no faster than 80 – 85 mph on the freeways, but it is so much fun to go from 20 to 80 really fast, or to just drive at 75 mph in 3rd gear at the higher revs, listening to the exhaust and engine and nailing the throttle to give myself a little back slamming massage. And it is kinda nice to know that it can dust almost everything on the road.
REALITY CHECK, AFTER A WEEK OF OWNING IT:
coming from an m3 with 333 hp, 262 tq and about 3500 lbs, to this 540 with 290 hp, 324 tq and about 4100 lbs, I probably miss the raw and more savage feel of the m, not to say the 540 has no power, bec it does – it’s just delivered a lot smoothly. I also miss the exhaust note of the m3, the either loved or dreaded rasp. The v8 note, although subdued, actually sounds good. I can only imagine it sounding even better. What would be a good exhaust, that can be relatively quiet when left to shift at normal driving, around 3500 rpms, and yet sound mean and deep redlining it with the steptronic to 6k rpm? (simon at evosport suggested the eisenmann sport, although he mentioned most pple go for the louder race. Supersprint was what eric at spp suggested, but evosport mentioned having quality issues with them recently.) chime in!
(side note: while searching online, I found out that on the average yr from 97 to 03, about 14k 525i sedans were sold, 1100 525it sold, 16k 530i sedan sold, 5k 540i sedan, and 300 or so 540it. In 2003, only 221 540it sold. Had some “educated” guesses – maybe at most 1 out of 5 were the sport. So that puts the m-sport 540it at about 40-50 ever sold! So depending on who I talk to, my car is either something most people don’t even want, or highly desirable and rare.)
I’ve accepted the auto tranny limitation on the 540it – all came with it. I would favor the least obtrusive mods. If I were a diver, I’d prefer the “bolt on” scuba tank and head gear, versus cutting me up to rip my lungs out and transplant some gills into me. it’d be nice if the mods voided the least amount of factory warranties/services.
Spoke with the fleet mgr from whom I’ve purchased my 02 m3 and 03 x5 4.4, and he really does NOT think the e61 m5 touring will make it to the us. (Case in point – he believes bmw has learned their expensive lesson of selling wagons in the us. E60 525i are sold out in socal, they’re getting 1k off msrp, and the 530it are going for 1k over invoice,and this is in price-gouge orange county!)
WHAT ARE THE NECESSARY MODS THAT MUST GO WITH THIS KIND OF UPGRADE?
BOTTOMLINE: I ask myself if I’m happy with the way it is. YES. If I can spend $10k-15k to turn this into a beast, would I do it? YES. If it goes from low maint to high strung and temperamental would I do it? NO.
Thanks for reading. Love to hear from you all. Any of you with the vf in socal (I’m in chino hills) who wouldn’t mind giving me a ride
would be greatly appreciated. I’ll buy a cup of coffee.
jack
Linear Mode
