e39 540i/6 - back to the v8

[Bolf]

Hi folks , well I got sick of constantly fixing my nissan's engine , and broke it for £££'s

I was looking on ebay for another e34 540 and came across an e39 with some decent mods , so viewed it , and eventually struck a deal.

BMW E39 540I M Sport Manual 6 Speed V8 Drift | eBay

the original ebay ad ^

Got the car and gave it the 'test' down my local lanes and immediately had a list of jobs I wanted to sort.

Make the hydro horizontal.
Change the gear knob.
some sort of temp guage.
straighten or replace the back box
engine mounts (priority)
Gearbox mounts , and guibo (prop donut)
replace drivers seat to a fat ass compatible one
Fit a bigger steering wheel as the 320mm one was horrible to drift with.

So I got to work , swapped the driftworks hydro into the horizontal position , now much better and quicker to lock the rears as its more ergonomic.

I made the gearknob from the nissan fit the bmw , (drilled , tapped and bolted on)

I made the side mount Cobra Imola GT from the nissan a new bracket to fit into the bmw.

I replaced the engine mounts , they were FUCKED.

I ordered the guibo and box mounts at the same time but ECP were slow to get them .

I changed the oil filter and oil , but at the same time I wanted to inspect the sump and engine for debris because you do hear stories of this engine breaking down the plastic timing chain guides and shitting itself , so off came the sump panel.

Thankfully was absolutely spotless , so back on it went with a little WELLSEAL and 7.5 litres of fully synth 5w30 went in the engine. New oil filter in.


At the BMW show at santa pod on the sunday I got chatting to Jason from BW Chiptune based in Hounslow and realised we had a mutual friend , I cheekily asked what he could do to the ECU in the 540 and we struck a deal.
I drove away from the show with 40nm more torque and a sharper throttle response , great service and great price.

i've also added a OBDii wifi link to my iphone so I can monitor temps and other engine data , which in turn is now wired into the speakers and a screen i've fitted , i've also fitted a second screen for the On board Veho muvi cam and the remote control for this is on the steering column , so posh! so little money. Non of this leaning out the window bullshit to press a button on the go-pro

I noticed the fans were not kicking in as they should , so set about investigating the kenlowe fan controller , it appears to have died , so I had to wire them on permanent at POD for....

1st drift day.

First few laps I took it steady , just getting used to the car , I really don't get on with the coilovers fitted to this car , they are cheap ebay specials , which struggled to cope with the bumps and elevations on pod's big track. Driftworks Monopro's newly released e39 coilovers are high on my wish list.

As I grew in confidence on the big corner I started going for third as prepared to transition by the toilet block , this may have been a little mistake as I missed third and gripped , sending me into the railings, cracked the front bumper and a dent in the wing , could have been worse! , LOL

overall , i'm pleased with the car.

thanks to DWYB resident tog , Ian Blackett.

 

[Jeek™]

is this a TU engine with vanos and electronic throttle?

message me how much the tune cost.

 

[victim]

LOVE IT! My realistic dream car

 

[Bolf]

fluffed 3rd when i crashed , oops.

 

[euro sbd]

Good stuf man car looks great

 

[jankes]

you could check oil pump bolts when you had sump off, as they suffer from getting loose.

 

[Clive]

you could check oil pump bolts when you had sump off, as they suffer from getting loose.

Mine was all loose

 

[mc_bob]

I want that wheel. Dayum.

 

[Mike@TDSW]

I like the wheel too. What is it?

 

[side_view]

nice one bolf come show me the new weapon some time..

 

[Bolf]

I like the wheel too. What is it?

Nardi deep corn 350 chrome spokes , wood (its off the charmant)

 

[Bolf]

box mounts were fubar also :|

 

[Bolf]

Now on HSD's and Skyline wheels , handles a lot better , I've also disconnected the front ARB to see how it effects things , will see!

Had a fiddle with the exhaust too , sits level now. I'm so tempted to fit a QTP 'retard' valve....!

 

[kam]

That looks wicked, send us some high res pictures!

 

[Clive]

Looks good that

 

[Dex]

retard valves FTW, do ittttttt

 

[NORFY]

Sweet man glad to see you've got a worthy new ride

 

[Paz]

Where did you get those spacers from dude? How thick are they also? Ta!!!

 

[Bolf]

Spacers/adaptors were c/o man like Kambo from Driftworks , 25 mm

Gonna take some pics tomorrow , dust off the SLR

 

[Bolf]

Went to Pod yesterday to setup the HSD's , I had run the first half of my day without front ARB , which made the car really driveable on full lock but a little vague when catching the transitions , I also ran the car a little too low for performance , even if it did look hard as nails , I was catching wheels on the front arches and rubbing inner plastic arches etc...

The removal of the ARB obviously gave me body roll , despite being low.

So on the lunch break I swapped to 225/45 all round instead of 235 , refitted the front ARB , and raised the front ride height up by approx 10mm. I left the rear as it was.

Much nicer turn in , (probably due to brand new tyres) , better balance with the steering on transition and felt almost the same on the lock stops , I was happy , I still had some body roll , probably down to the weight of the car , so turned the HSD's up 3 clicks on the hardness. (the rears were set at half way (8) and the fronts were now at (7) 1-soft 16-hard)

Success , less roll and really nice to drive , even on the bumps at POD!

My favourite shot of the day , lol Tucking tyres on 17's , no rubbing at all with a 225 , rubs a tiny bit with 235.