A bit late to the angel eye party: 2001 M5

[CaptainHenreh]

So glad I don't live in that awful police state anymore. We also don't have to run ugly city and county stickers in our windows here. County property taxes are tied to your yearly inspection and renewal through an online system. So you get a tax bill every year but you can't pay it until you get your inspection. Once you are inspected and taxes are paid, you get a small (1"x1") sticker in the mail that goes in the right corner of your license plate and indicates the updated year.

There's no reason for all of that bureaucracy in VA other than to fleece its citizens of more money and help meet ticket quotas.

To be fair, we don't have city and county stickers anymore either, and nothing extra that goes on the plate.

There have been a ton of bills regarding the front plate, but none ever get any traction because the VSP trots out "officer safety" and no one actually REALLY cares enough to show up to their Rep's office and say "I'm going to make this an issue for you."

Instead, they just bitch online about it.

[WRXtranceformed]

So glad I don't live in that awful police state anymore. We also don't have to run ugly city and county stickers in our windows here. County property taxes are tied to your yearly inspection and renewal through an online system. So you get a tax bill every year but you can't pay it until you get your inspection. Once you are inspected and taxes are paid, you get a small (1"x1") sticker in the mail that goes in the right corner of your license plate and indicates the updated year.

There's no reason for all of that bureaucracy in VA other than to fleece its citizens of more money and help meet ticket quotas.

To be fair, we don't have city and county stickers anymore either, and nothing extra that goes on the plate.

There have been a ton of bills regarding the front plate, but none ever get any traction because the VSP trots out "officer safety" and no one actually REALLY cares enough to show up to their Rep's office and say "I'm going to make this an issue for you."

Instead, they just bitch online about it.

Is that all counties or just yours? Because the RDX we just bought in woodbridge had a fresh sticker on the windshield like the ones we used to have to run for Loudoun County I believe.

[CaptainHenreh]

R'ham and Augusta at least. I don't know what the stasi in NoVA does, could be an emissions thing for all I know.

[JustinG]

Its County by County. Henrico is rolled into the property tax or whatever, and we have no sticker. Same with Cumberland (where Casey grew up). But in Buckingham (where I grew up) they still rock a county sticker, and is like $35 or something a year.

[Senor_Taylor]

I think most counties have done away with it, at least around central VA.

[rherold9]

One reason why I love Florida. They don't care. The only thing is valid registration/insurance and you can drive. No nonsense stickers except valid registration date on license. The derail is real.

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk

[Beej]

awful police state...stickers

Oh noes, stickers and front plates! I'm being oppressed! What you describe (mail check, get sticker, keep car inspected) sounds exactly the same as NoVA, less maybe emissions.

Finally had time to inspect/title/register it (painless, btw ;-)) and I'm looking forward to getting some time behind the wheel!

[WRXtranceformed]

awful police state...stickers

Oh noes, stickers and front plates! I'm being oppressed! What you describe (mail check, get sticker, keep car inspected) sounds exactly the same as NoVA, less maybe emissions.

Finally had time to inspect/title/register it (painless, btw ;-)) and I'm looking forward to getting some time behind the wheel!

Except we don't have front plates...or stickers on our windshields

Nice! Curious to hear your long term impressions on it

[*insertusernamehere*]

Maybe this will be the M5 I buy in the coming years... *hopeful tear falls from my eyes*

[Beej]

So my first 1500 miles were on the highway with nothing but stops for gas, coffee, breaks from southern talk radio, and roadside BBQ. The car just gobbles up the highway. Now it's been a couple weeks and another 1000 miles of normal use and I wanted to document my thoughts on it. It's in the unfortunate position of being compared to an e46 M3 with a 5-600(?)lb weight advantage and a much more aggressive suspension, which is kind of a tough baseline.

Motor: what a peach. Overall, it's in the same ballpark as the M3 speed-wise, but the way the s62 delivers the power is much different. The s54, though not completely torqueless, goes to 8k for a reason - that’s where the power is, and it really feels like it wants to go up there. I'm not even sure I've hit fuel cut in the s62 yet, as it just feels totally happy in the 2500-6000 range. And the s54 really doesn't like being below 2k...kinda lugs and feels unhealthy and so I never do it. Without realizing it in the M5 yesterday, I slowed down for a red light on a 55mph road in 4th or 5th down to like 1500rpms, and then just pulled away when it turned green before I stopped...right back up to 60. No noises or vibrations that triggered “time to downshift.” Both cars have the same ratios in the trans, but the 3.15 diff in the M5 compared to the 3.46 in the M3, along with the torque, makes for less shifting and a more relaxed daily driver type experience.

Gas needle drops quickly around town though.

Exhaust note (Dinan on M5, Scorza on M3): weird to give this its own bullet, but it's kind of a big part of the experience. At part throttle, the V8 is more refined, while the I6 is raspy...give it the beans, the V8 sounds pretty pissed and the I6 just kinda yells at ya. Each is cool in its own right…but the V8 burbles.

Handling: at first, at low speeds and when not asking much of the car, the M5 felt kinda lazy - it is a lot of weight to move around, and the suspension isn't super aggressive. We’re not talking like it feels like a boring family sedan, but in contrast, the M3 feels like it's on its toes and ready to go at all times, and nimbler in general. After taking some backroads to my folks house the other day, the M5 really came into its own. At speed, it's just about (not quite ;-)) as fun as the M3. Maybe the M3 was the same when it was on stock suspension - I don't remember - but the M5 really has a sense of duality to it.

“Technology”: the M5 has the MK3 nav (CD-based, I have like 8 “region” discs), where as the M3 has MK4 (DVD, just one disc). Major highways seem to be on all CD’s for the M5, as it got me to VA from TX - but I had to switch the Mid-Atlantic one to get street level detail once I got home. I also miss the iPod connectivity and bluetooth that the M3 has, but apparently those (and the MK4 nav, which is plug and play) are easy to retrofit. I might look into this Intravee thing that a lot of folks rave about. It's also really nice that the controls/etc are basically the same in the M5 as the M3, as when I switch back and forth from the Jeep, I always end up reaching for the wrong button or control stalk. The M5 has a nice feature called “auxiliary ventilation” which will turn the cabin fans on either at a given time you program or when you push a button (like running into a store but leaving someone in the car). Fancy for 2001, I’d think. Park Distance Control, front and rear, beeps loudly and a lot...thankfully there's a button to turn it off.

Everyday stuff: with less shifting, being quieter, and the softer suspension, the M5 is a markedly more comfortable daily driver (though 5-10 years ago, I probably would've preferred the M3 in all circumstances). I still think it's weird to say a car as quick as the M3 has "no torque", but there is a significant difference between the two in that department, and it matters. My better half prefers the M5 by quite a bit.

Another weird bit is the sport button. In the M3, it just remaps the throttle so that at like 50% of the pedal you get 90% of the throttle. I hate that and never use it. In the M5, it does something similar with the throttle but also makes the steering heavier (with apparently no change in "feel"). I don't prefer either change...but you really have to mash the throttle in the M5 to rev-match in "non-sport" mode...where as in sport, it takes about the same blip as the M3. I'll probably use sport just so it's one less thing to mentally recalibrate when swapping cars.

Maybe this will be the M5 I buy in the coming years... *hopeful tear falls from my eyes*

I intend to take damn good care of the thing, but I'm also gonna drive it, so...might have a few more miles by then!

[SlimKlim]

I still think it's weird to say a car as quick as the M3 has "no torque"

C'mon up to NOVA and drive mine, that'll re-calibrate what you consider "no torque". I seriously can't decide if it's just my butt-dyno being out of whack because I've gotten used to the GTI that gives you all of it's power at 2500rpms, or if I managed to really dick up the VANOS reinstall when I did the headgasket job, but my god it feels like such a sled below 4500rpms. I really should crack it open and retorque all the VANOS stuff but I haven't really had the time or desire to retrace my steps.

I was amazed at how the sport button changed DavidL's car, he had me maintain like 10% throttle while he switched it on and the whole car jumps forward like a Labrador that just saw a stick, pretty entertaining little gizmo. The GTI is supposed to have a "sport" and "normal" throttle mode but if they actually did change the mapping or throttle response its too subtle for any of us to tell...

The steering was my least favorite thing about our 540i, at highway speeds it was fine, parking it in a NOVA-sized parking lots was not, it felt like driving a city bus, you had to turn the wheel like 4 complete times to get it into a spot. The E36 has the typical 90s steering thats extremely slow off center but it's not nearly as bad as the E39 was.

[Beej]

The steering was my least favorite thing about our 540i, at highway speeds it was fine, parking it in a NOVA-sized parking lots was not, it felt like driving a city bus, you had to turn the wheel like 4 complete times to get it into a spot. The E36 has the typical 90s steering thats extremely slow off center but it's not nearly as bad as the E39 was.

Good point on the steering, and probably worth mentioning. It is a little "loose" on center, but nowhere near as bad as I thought it'd be based on the zomg-recirculating-ball internet drama. Apparently M5's are 14.7:1 ratio where your 540 was 17.9:1, so that might explain the city bus thing on the 540. I don't have any such complaints on the M5, but it has a slightly smaller steering wheel I think, too. Turning radius is worse than the M3 (and even the Jeep, I think), which is sorta annoying.

It feels like (I haven't looked into it) it's speed dependent in the power steering department, too. Faster feels like there's less assist, which so far I don't really care for.

[SlimKlim]

I wondered if the ratios were different on them, our car did seem a lot worse than the M5s I've had the pleasure of driving.

Do you mean that the steering wheel feels heavier at speed? I believe it is speed-sensitive, I bet if you do some digging you could figure out how to override it, or perhaps de-couple it from sport mode/throttle response (to get the sharper throttle but lighter wheel) if you really wanted to. I like a heavier wheel on the highway though, keeps you from changing lanes if you sneeze too hard. The M3 accomplishes this by having a "progressive" rack that's slower off center but more responsive once you've already got some steering angle in there.

I've just gotten so used to the new car which is 2.5 turns lock to lock, so from center to lock is only 1.25 turns, its crazy tight. I have to turn the M3 wheel 90*+ in a low speed parking-lot situation where the GTI would need like 10*. I think if I drove a 540i again I'd have to be very careful not to just sideswipe a row of cars. :lol:

[*insertusernamehere*]

ANY UPDATES?! HOW IS IT!? TELL US...er me....MOAR!

[Beej]

It's great!

Hmm let’s see. I've taken it up to DC a few times…twice in 100+ degree traffic with A/C on, the coolant temp needle started to creep a little, and a third time it went just a pinch above the 2nd dot. I cut the A/C off and it dropped almost immediately. The aux fan seems fine (sucker spins like a jet engine, and it’s loud and probably overworked), so the obvious next culprit is the fan clutch. I’ve always thought the “newspaper test" was too subjective, ever since my e30 days. I compared the M5 to the M3 side by side, both hot and cold…and there was a difference, but it was slight. The one it has isn't that old at 4 years/30k miles, but a new one is on the way.

Other than that, I’ve just been chasing rattles/creaks.

Took awhile to figure out that it was the brake pads that were chirping embarrassingly loudly on sharp bumps. Some goop stuff on the back of the pads fixed that, though I’m not sure how long that’ll last.

The leather on the fold down rear seats creaks a lot. I tried cleaning it but if anything it just got louder. Apparently there are products out there that help with this, which I guess I’ll look into.

Random window/door seals seem to creak. I’ll try replacing pieces one by one.

Oh yeah, and I replaced all of the rubberized plastic stuff in the center console and gauge cluster surround. Looks much better. The big piece in the middle (which is NLA for wood trim cars, conveniently) has 6 mounting tabs that were all broken - somebody went to town on that bad boy (maybe when running the wiring for the V1?). Got a used one locally that doesn’t look quite as good as the new bits and required a lot of dremelling and cussing to get to fit, but at least it had all 6 mounts intact.



Gotta figure something out for wheels, though it’s not urgent. I’ve spun two of the LM replicas on a hub, and one is bent. I wanted to use those while I get the OEM reps refinished in shadow chrome (apparently not many places can do that?), but I guess I’ll have to get the LM replicas fixed first. One of the OEM reps might have a little bend too, which may be causing the really slight vibration that I might be imagining.

The car is a little raked towards the front, so I may try to lower the rear a little if the rear Konis have one more spring mount I can shift down to. But it doesn't look like there'd be a ton of shock travel if it were much lower and you have to remove rear parcel shelf to get them out, so...maybe later.

Found a few surprises when going through paperwork and the car - looks like it has BSW speakers (sound is good I guess, I wouldn't say it's amazing), solid brake caliper guides (which I don't think were ever factory on any BMW?), and a TEC cupholder that is a million times better than the OEM ones and neatly folds out of sight.

[SlimKlim]

Yeah that "soft-touch" coating on the interior buttons really just seems like a thin coat of plasti-dip before that became a thing. My E46 had it on the center console and it was starting to flake a little bit when I got the car. I knocked over my cup of coffee and the acid peeled the shit right off, it was unbelievable. My dad and took it apart, stripped it down and he made some matte black paint for it that was infinitely more durable. We had to do the climate control buttons and stuff in our E39 too. Generally speaking that generation of BMWs has incredibly good interior quality but whoever chose that coating probably ended up getting fired. Or possibly executed, Germany doesn't fuck around.

[D_Eclipse9916]

solid brake caliper guides (which I don't think were ever factory on any BMW?),

You need to check if those are in there. If not, take them out immediately and put OEM ones in.

Without lots of lubing constantly, that's your squeak.

-Don

[Beej]

Yeah that "soft-touch" coating on the interior buttons really just seems like a thin coat of plasti-dip before that became a thing....Or possibly executed, Germany doesn't fuck around.

:lol:
Yeah man, I replaced the stuff in the e46 when I got it, and I may do it again. At least it's not expensive. But if that's what Plastidip is like...I don't see how that stuff stands a chance on the exterior of a car. You look at it hard and it scratches.

You need to check if those are in there. If not, take them out immediately and put OEM ones in.

Without lots of lubing constantly, that's your squeak.

Yeah they're in there. I thought it was kinda interesting that there's about 1mm of play along the length of the cylinder, which means they're not 100% tight in there either. Track only thing, I guess? I did lube the hell out of them (inside only) at the same time, so maybe that's what made the chirp go away. I'll toss the OE rubber ones in the box next time I place an order, thanks!

[Beej]

So far so good with the fan clutch. The weather hasn't been nearly as hot, but the aux fan is doing less work and I can hear/feel the mechanical fan move more air than the old one ever did.

I also tidied up the engine bay a bit.

[SlimKlim]

Looks good!

By the way if your ABS controller hasn't melted yet it probably will at some point, I contemplated wrapping ours in some spare exhaust wrap or heat reflective tape but never got around to it. I still can't figure out why they stuck that directly over the freaking headers.