[Chart505]

:byee55amg


Been browsing for a while, finally decided to buy an M5. Here's my short story: Have had a ton of BMWs over the years starting with a 320is way back in 1985, then various 5ers including a Dinan 535, M3 convert (well, bought it for the wife, actually), last was a 750iL. Then traded in a 540I sport
2003 which was done to get the auto trans for commuting. Did the Dinan S pkg to the 540, which really pepped it up, but left me wanting. Then I started driving my Acura NSX into work alot seeing if a manual would drive me nuts....ouich in traffic. I decided I was not going to let commuting dictate my driving enjoyment, traffic jams be damed! Started looking for an M5.

Anyways, I love to mod, been doing DIY for years, but with family and travel just dont have time right now, so just took the plunge and bought an 03 Imola Red with the full boat Dinan S2 package. I went to the BMW dealer and they gave me copies of all the records from day one, and also told me my car was actually the last E39 M5 they sold. The Dinan guy at the dealership knew all the history of the car as well, which was a nice bonus.

The thing is a total beast indeed, I see why you guys call them that . I have owned Ferrari, Porsche, tons of german rides, this car is truly unique. I drove lots of normal M5s as well, the S2 IMO adds alot more than just HP- changes the way the car revs, sounds, handles, goes, etc. Feels like a different car, very exotic. I am also amazed at, given the HP, how docile and easy the shifter is in traffic.

Anyways, a couple of questions:

1) What exactly does the sport button do to cut the power? It does not seem to have much of an effect on milage. I assume it is a software thing.

2) Oil- I am confused. Lots of folks on the board say 10-60 however the sticker under the hood says 5-30. Its under warranty for next couple of years, so dont want to screw with BMWs recommendations. WHy are so many using the 60wt?

3) With the Dinan diff, 1st gear is somewhat useless unless staring uphill; I often start in second if not at a full stop. Then 6th runs higher revs than I'd like at highway speeds. Is there any way to change out 6th to make it more of an overdrive?

Looking forward to joing the discussions!

Wayne

 

[Ashok Arora]

Congrats Wayne!

 

[ard]

Hey Wayne-

Welcome!

To address your questions:
1. Sport changes the relationship between the pedal and throttle bodies... the software map is changed to increase the tip in speed. Should have no impact on mpg with regular cruising. It also decreases the power steering boost.

2. Oil.... Oh boy... This is a perrenial favorite. I'll summarize it as follows:
BMW ALLOWS BME5-30 or BMW10-60, however they RECOMMMEND 5-30 for your model year. In the USA. Outside the usa all Ms get 10-60. Other oils may offer the same performance or protections, and many are using different specs. Evidcence supporting other specs range from website marketing data to technical literature to Used Oil Analysis (UOAs) on various oils in specific M5 applciations.

Probably 2500 or so posts here on the topic...

3. Never hear of anyone modding 6th gear. THe tranny in "non-repairable" per BMW and mfg...no replacement parts are made available, so I'd be surprised to find overdrive parts. On the topic of 2nd gear starts, you know about our weak clutches.... I'd be concerned that more slip will reduce life, but then again starting in 2 avoids a 1-2 upshift!

Enjoy

Adam

 

[baldy_bonce]

beautiful looking beast, congratulations on your purchase

 

[bmwusa]

Welocme aboard, if you wanted to get sixth back down to "normal or lower revs" than you currently have you could probably switch back to an oem diff and outright trade with someone on the board, it would not hurt perfomance that much and mat likely suit your driving habits better, just a thought, anyways enjoy, and on a side note if you dont mind, how much was the dealer asking for a o3 with full S2 package, only wondering as far as how the market is holding up for these cars, Josh

 

[Gustav]

Welcme! Here is a Dinan S2 M5 video vs standard M5:

http://www.racevideo.info/Bmw/dinans2.wmv

Driver is Steve Dinan.

 

[cableguy]

Congrats on a fine looking Beast. :cheers:


IR is both gorgeous & rare. :M5thumbs:

C.

 

[ard]

switch back to an oem diff and outright trade with someone on the board,

Yeah, shoot me a PM and I'll help you out.

hiha

!

A

 

[mottati]

Hey Adam, i'd have agreed with you on this a month or so ago. I found this thread on the UK M5 board about oil for post 2/00 S62's in europe...
http://www.bm3w.co.uk/ubbthreads/showflat.php?Cat=0&Number=343729&an=0&page=0#343729

While they do not have "bmw long life synthetic 5w30" they do have the recommended oil as being castrol slx, which is a 0w40, i believe. mobil 1 0w40 is another 'approved oil' for the s62 in europe. So there goes the 10/60 only in the rest of the world myth.
I recently (about 2k miles ago) switched to mobil 1 0w40 on a suggestion from dinan. I had called asking about the oil cooler they use for their S3, my oil ttemps get pretty high on the track, and i was curious. They asked what oil i used, my production date and said to try 5/30 bmw oil, or mobil 1 0w40. My oil temps went down by about 15 degrees F, but i did need to add about half a quart after about 1600 miles, my car used essentially no oil with 10/60 with a 5k oil change interval, unless i saw a lot of track time. So the question is higher temps, with no consumption, or slightly lower temps, with a little consumption...
Mike

2. Oil.... Oh boy... This is a perrenial favorite. I'll summarize it as follows:
BMW ALLOWS BME5-30 or BMW10-60, however they RECOMMMEND 5-30 for your model year. In the USA. Outside the usa all Ms get 10-60. Other oils may offer the same performance or protections, and many are using different specs. Evidcence supporting other specs range from website marketing data to technical literature to Used Oil Analysis (UOAs) on various oils in specific M5 applciations.
Probably 2500 or so posts here on the topic...
Adam

 

[Chart505]

Thanks for all the replies....

> might swap the diff, want t drive it for a while b4 making a decision.

> oil....knew this would be pandors box..same thing on NSX board, its like asking someone what beer they prefercherrsagai . I run a 5-30 oil made by NEO on my NSX, alhtough the manual says 10-30...but the car is out of warrant. I am really concerned about staying out of trouble with BMW on the warranty, plan on keeping this one a long time, going to call Dinan and see what is recommended. I dont track the car, just "spirited" driving mostly.

> I paid around $ 57K for the car. They gave me $ 35K for my 03 540sport with 33K. The M5 is perfect, not one ding, rock chip, etc. In addition to the S2 pkg, also had clear bra, window tint, full records, etc. Milage was a little high for an 03 (32K) but clearly the car had been properly maintined and driven with care by an enthusiast. BMW Sticker plus Dinan mods on this car was over $100K from Global Imports here in Atlant.

Given you never get mods you do paid back, I might have paid a little over market, however as Warren Buffet says: " I'd rather pay fair price for a great company (car) than great price for a fair company (car).

 

[M-Fünf]

Welcome!!!

:cheers:

 

[SCORPIO]

Congrats and welcome - you will love the S2 package and the car iteself!


Enjoy responsibly! :thumbsup:

 

[ard]

Hey Adam, i'd have agreed with you on this a month or so ago. I found this thread on the UK M5 board about oil for post 2/00 S62's in europe...
http://www.bm3w.co.uk/ubbthreads/showflat.php?Cat=0&Number=343729&an=0&page=0#343729

While they do not have "bmw long life synthetic 5w30" they do have the recommended oil as being castrol slx, which is a 0w40, i believe. mobil 1 0w40 is another 'approved oil' for the s62 in europe. So there goes the 10/60 only in the rest of the world myth.
I recently (about 2k miles ago) switched to mobil 1 0w40 on a suggestion from dinan. I had called asking about the oil cooler they use for their S3, my oil ttemps get pretty high on the track, and i was curious. They asked what oil i used, my production date and said to try 5/30 bmw oil, or mobil 1 0w40. My oil temps went down by about 15 degrees F, but i did need to add about half a quart after about 1600 miles, my car used essentially no oil with 10/60 with a 5k oil change interval, unless i saw a lot of track time. So the question is higher temps, with no consumption, or slightly lower temps, with a little consumption...
Mike

I'd love to get a scanned copy of the BMW document... Does it supercede prior S62 recommendations, or does one assume that any oil, no matter what the viscosity, is OK for the S62 as long as it has LL rating? LL rating is simply that there is a stabilizer package that prevents oil breakdown due to oxidization with long change intervals. I am very cautious over the term "BMW APPROVED"... it might just mean that it meets ONE of BMWs standards.

What we may be seeing is a 'softening' of BMWs position, as they gain more experience with other oils- indeed, if this is truly an expansion of their prior recommendations of TWS only, to now include more oils.

It seems that we have now moved from the "myth" of TWS10w60 in the OUS and 5-w30 in the US, to a myth of 10W60 or Castrol slx or Mobil 1 10-40 in OUS and 5W30 in the USA....?? Is the BMW GB TIS applicable in the USA? Or is this a BMW world wide TIS?

The take home message may be that whatever they recommend in Europe (if indeed it is truly a changed recommendation) should be applied to the US cars as they are identical- free maintenance and fuel mileage be dammed.

Dang it- this was NOT supposed to be an oil thread...

Adam