1000 Miles Later - some comments and questions - The Unofficial BMW M5 Messageboard (m5board.com)

umnitza · 25th June 2007, 07:05

So I tried to search, but think it might be faster to ask here:

1. When in reverse or just pulling out in 1st gear, the car seems to tremble a little - as if I'm not giving it enough power, but enough is applied. This only happens when starting from cold. Thoughts? Opinions? Normal?

2. Second gear and generally all gears are pretty stiff to engage. Much stiffer than my M3/4 and nowhere near as easy as most M3 E46s I've driven. Clutch replaced at 45K and seems to be fine (accelerates fine in 6th from 1K).
Normal? I think it is...

3. At all speeds accept 75, the car is perfectly smooth, stiff, but smooth.
At 75, there is a shimmy. Steering stays without moving at all. Seems to be coming from the rear. Thinking it's out of balance wheels/tires or a bent rim. But could be other things? Anyone experience this?

4. Goodyear Eagle GSD3 on the car, loved them on my M3/4 - what other tires are people using? Kumho? Michelin? Bridgestone? Etc.

5. Coolant Temp Needle never really hits center unless I was in stop and go rush hour traffic in 90+ degree weather. It is always left of center. The oil temp usually sits at just left of bottom center, but will drift to center in heavy driving. Normal I presume.
Final comment:
wow. simply wow

jclyman · 25th June 2007, 08:44

1.) I solved it by turning the Sport Mode button ON upon start up (my car did it since new with Sport OFF).

2.) I know the car will pull from 1,000 RPM, but I would never do it. Keep the revs up or you will eventually have all sorts of problems, in my opinion. I drive mine like it was stolen with no problems in 62,000 miles.

5.) Coolant is fine ... should be a needle's width below center unless in traffic. When in traffic, it will climb to the center mark.

tranck · 25th June 2007, 11:58

1) Pretty normal for me - car just needs to warm up - some will say it's the MAFS but, changing them didn't help this for me - but the change DID help in overall acceleration - if current ones need replacing.

2) You might want to change the transmission fluid - BMW says lifetime or 100,000 miles - I changed mine around 90,000 miles and it came out pure black and my shifts were noticebly smoother - if you do this, I would highly recommend the OEM BMW brand - not Royal Purple etc. With our Getrag transmission, I have heard and SEEN that the OEM is thicker and best for our cars.

I'm going to change mine at least every 30,000 miles just as preventative maintenance.

3) Could be alot of things - probably a wheel

4) Michelin PS2's are THE best tires for this car - I think you will find a consensus on this - I've had others - none like these.

5) Normal on both.

emccallum · 25th June 2007, 15:19

The shimmy is most likely a wheel out of balance....that has happened to me a couple of times with the Riken tires. Find a tire shop that will take the time to balance it properly and has top notch equipment. The tire shop I deal with removed the tire rotated it on the rim and rebalanced, that did the trick one time. The other time I think it lost a wheel weight. My shimmy is usually 72mph.

SoCalJD · 25th June 2007, 16:33

Lots of tire threads. Depends on what you want from them. PS2's are good, but Toyo RA1's transform the car...of you do a lot of heavy cornering and don't care how long they last.

KevN23 · 25th June 2007, 18:58

2. Try changing the transmission and the differential fluid. Mine felt smoother after I flushed those. But it's still stiff compare with some other cars I've driven nontheless.

Roadmovie · 26th June 2007, 00:10

I also had the transmission and differential oils replaced with Castrol oils. The trans is now better but nowhere near perfect. It is not the transmission itself but rather the shifter mechanism which is stock and would probably improve a lot with a short throw shifter mechanism.

Gustav · 26th June 2007, 00:45

Umnitza, you bought an E39 M5?

Good job!

umnitza · 26th June 2007, 01:02

only because an E39 touring m5 wasn't available

alantd · 26th June 2007, 01:11

All sounds pretty normal. Vibration from cold could be in the clutch (mine has never been too smooth when cold).

Check the balance of the wheels if it resonating at one speed.

If you search, you'll find bags of stuff on coolant temp but yours sounds absolutely normal. In my old 3 series, normal operating temp was bang in the middle. It never moved (which made me suspicious). The M5 moves a bit more but generally stays left of centre.