last night raced an e46 M3 convertible, SMG..... with my bone stock 02' 540 sport,.... a couple of times and we were dead even upto 70-80.... then an empty stretch came and took it up to 145mph,... it was 3 in the morning, 3 land highway,... no one in sight,.... I was dead even maybe slightly pulling on him,.... I had no idea these cars were soo fast!!!...
my car is bone stock.... just excited this is the first car i've ran,... and the situation was right.

you have an m5, what did you expect? It's no scion :)

edit: just saw you said you have a 540, which is it? :shifty

nice... and I was thinking of gettin an M3... but...

Just traded the M5 for the 540 2 weeks ago.....
I just did not expect this kind of acceleration handling from the 540.... very impressed,.... the guys in the M3 surprised too.......
I cant wait to mod it,,.. iam thinking powerchip/custom exhaust/custom 4" CAI...... 18X9.5" m-paralles knock offs all around 255's front - 285's rears.... strut braces..
This is a great car!!,......Iam extermely happy with it,... would take it over a M3...... def.
I thought the guy i was racing didnt know how to shift,... but it was a SMG......

why did u trade the M5 for the 540?

You traded the m5 for 540 and now you're going to midify the 540. I'm missing something here. what is wrong with you?

I cant wait to mod it,,.. iam thinking powerchip/custom exhaust/custom 4" CAI...... 18X9.5" m-paralles knock offs all around 255's front - 285's rears.... strut braces..
......

Why knock-offs? I understand you save money, but that is b/c they are inferior, weigh a ton which impacts your unsprung weight. If its all show and no go, then who cares. Sounds like you care, so why not buy quality which will improve the go and the show. :alright

yeah soo whats up with the slight down grade?

SMG's don't get launch control right?

did u fix your seat racerx?

Well, the car drove great and everything,...until 3 weeks ago and SES light came on,... the code was AA which is carbon buildup,.. the car has 39k on it,.. might need a clutch soon,.. and brakes/tires in like 5k miles,... started to hear more and more people going through a vanos unit specially in the 00's and no one does just one, they do both ($5K),.......so I traded it in instead of selling it personally to the same dealer I bought it from.
Well, Iam very happy with the car I dont consider it a downgrade.....
maybe i'll just go up a size in tires and keep the stock wheels, I like em.

if you ging to mod, then mod right. I don't get why some people (not knocking them however) go to home depot and slap on a tube and a filter. BMW/dinan/aFe, etc., do a little more research and development then "Big Tube = More Air"


but to each his own i suppose.

Well, the car drove great and everything,...until 3 weeks ago and SES light came on,... the code was AA which is carbon buildup,.. the car has 39k on it,.. might need a clutch soon,.. and brakes/tires in like 5k miles,... started to hear more and more people going through a vanos unit specially in the 00's and no one does just one, they do both ($5K),.......so I traded it in instead of selling it personally to the same dealer I bought it from.
Well, Iam very happy with the car I dont consider it a downgrade.....
maybe i'll just go up a size in tires and keep the stock wheels, I like em.

What wheels do you have on the 540i?
Pictures?
Thanks!
Jason

haha I have done the same thing and smoked it (actually because I have more Torque so I managed to get to V-max before him :P )

Well, the car drove great and everything,...until 3 weeks ago and SES light came on,... the code was AA which is carbon buildup,.. the car has 39k on it,.. might need a clutch soon,.. and brakes/tires in like 5k miles,... started to hear more and more people going through a vanos unit specially in the 00's and no one does just one, they do both ($5K),.......so I traded it in instead of selling it personally to the same dealer I bought it from.
Well, Iam very happy with the car I dont consider it a downgrade.....
maybe i'll just go up a size in tires and keep the stock wheels, I like em.


holy crap are you serious.....no offense to the 540 owners but honestly a stock 540 should feel extremely slow to the M5. how'd you do it?????

Well, the car drove great and everything,...until 3 weeks ago and SES light came on,... the code was AA which is carbon buildup,.. the car has 39k on it,.. might need a clutch soon,.. and brakes/tires in like 5k miles,... started to hear more and more people going through a vanos unit specially in the 00's and no one does just one, they do both ($5K),.......so I traded it in instead of selling it personally to the same dealer I bought it from.
Well, Iam very happy with the car I dont consider it a downgrade.....
maybe i'll just go up a size in tires and keep the stock wheels, I like em.

you do realize that the carbon buildup problem does not affect performance at all right? it's just a cold emissions thing, and there is a software fix for the SES

If you study airflow and look at CAIs that work... it isnt hard at all to get about as much power as a "name brand" CAI with a lot less outflow of cash.
If a person doesnt always drive hard the performance differance between an extreme performance car and its high performance sibling isnt that great... with the lower performance one getting the nod for daily use.
I have built a few dyno proven home made CAIs over the years.


Jim

holy crap are you serious.....no offense to the 540 owners but honestly a stock 540 should feel extremely slow to the M5. how'd you do it?????

That's whats surprising,.. its not extremely slow the 540 is as fast as e46 M3,.. and a M3 is not extremely slower than the M5......

you do realize that the carbon buildup problem does not affect performance at all right? it's just a cold emissions thing, and there is a software fix for the SES

Yea,.. the one by powerchip,.. yes my car was running perfect!!... but just didnt feel like being bothered with it,... and M5 is the kind of car that should be owned w/warranty - I had it for a year, drove it as my DD,.... Iam over it.

if you ging to mod, then mod right. I don't get why some people (not knocking them however) go to home depot and slap on a tube and a filter. BMW/dinan/aFe, etc., do a little more research and development then "Big Tube = More Air"


but to each his own i suppose.


I like the AFE out of all.

That's whats surprising,.. its not extremely slow the 540 is as fast as e46 M3,.. and a M3 is not extremely slower than the M5......
Do not even try to compare 540 to the M5. 286HP and 396HP. It's like comparing 528 to the 540. Have you driven your M5 with the "Sport" button ON?

Yes,... I put 13,000 miles on the f%^& thing,......
You dont have to put a M5 in Sport mode to know its faster than the 540.... it handles, stops better as well. M5 is a diffferent car - everything is better.
My M5 had the 2 tone sport interior,.. aluminum trim..... Avus blue,... just perfect took me 6 months to find that car....
Anyway this thread was about how extremely happy Iam with my 540sport,...its a great car....
I like all cars.... my next car will probably be an EVO with a SSL pkg,... I keep my cars for a year or so.....

Wow, most people go the other way. Don't you miss all that power of the beast and all? With that low of a milage E39 M5 I would've kept it and buy an extended warranty if you need a peace of mind.

If you study airflow and look at CAIs that work... it isnt hard at all to get about as much power as a "name brand" CAI with a lot less outflow of cash.
If a person doesnt always drive hard the performance differance between an extreme performance car and its high performance sibling isnt that great... with the lower performance one getting the nod for daily use.
I have built a few dyno proven home made CAIs over the years.


Jim

+1 The Dinan, cosmo, etc systems can be replicated very easily, as my upcoming DIY will show.

umm from my understanding 540s run 14s while e46 m3 high 12s low 13s.. dont see how you could be remotely close to that m3

umm from my understanding 540s run 14s while e46 m3 high 12s low 13s.. dont see how you could be remotely close to that m3

and M5 - 4.8 sec

Wow, most people go the other way. Don't you miss all that power of the beast and all? With that low of a milage E39 M5 I would've kept it and buy an extended warranty if you need a peace of mind.

I checked for aftermarket warranty - most wont cover it......... the one that did wanted crazy money almost $4800.... I bought the car with 27K miles,.. so I knew most likely nothing was going break anytime soon........

umm from my understanding 540s run 14s while e46 m3 high 12s low 13s.. dont see how you could be remotely close to that m3

Iam sure the reg. hardtops which i think are much lighter,... and a manual are faster than a convertible/SMG I ran into. I'd love to run into a reg/manual one day....

my next car will probably be an EVO with a SSL pkg,... I keep my cars for a year or so.....

Haha sweet! I did the same many times.....good fun. :buttrock

did u fix your seat racerx?
no definatly not...and i butchered the crap out of that bolt...its gonna need to be drilled out now so i think i might just leave it alone...

and M5 - 4.8 sec

hes talking about stock 02 540

Do not even try to compare 540 to the M5. 286HP and 396HP. It's like comparing 528 to the 540. Have you driven your M5 with the "Sport" button ON?


playfirst...not to sound like a prick or anything but you're freaking crazy if you think the 540 could hang with an M5...you must be a very new driver or just suck at driving stick.

I currently own an E46 M3 coupe and just spent the entire weekend driving an 03 540i sport that I'm considering buying from a friend. The 540i has so much more low end torque and probably gets to 30 or 40mph faster than the M3, but once the M gets into it's power band (above 4K RPMs) it will flat out walk the 540i. Now mine is a coupe which is lighter and quicker than the vert that you ran with, but no way does a 540i stick with my car.

Now the 335i is a different story... those things are damn fast.

The verts weigh as much as an early 540 and make roughly the same power but much, much less torque. They trap maybe 102 on a great day, so this isn't surprising. They're much slower than the coupes.

playfirst...not to sound like a prick or anything but you're freaking crazy if you think the 540 could hang with an M5...you must be a very new driver or just suck at driving stick.

What are you talking about,... I never said a 540 could hang with a M5..... but its not a slow car either,..... I dont care about this tread anymore.......
can a mod lock this tread?,.... I just wanna say the 540 rocks...:buttrock great car for what it is and can hang with a lot out there......
yea, the M5 is the ultimate E39....... that's why I had bought one.....

That's whats surprising,.. its not extremely slow the 540 is as fast as e46 M3,.. and a M3 is not extremely slower than the M5......

you said "540 is as fast as e46 M3" and "M3 is not extremely slower than the M5" implies 540 is not slower than the M5

you said "540 is as fast as e46 M3" and "M3 is not extremely slower than the M5" implies 540 is not slower than the M5

yea,.. I should have said a convertible/SMG.....
I also said that the manual/reg. top is faster.....

Guys chill, I am sure the OP made nothing up and is giving props to the 540. Also, this isn't the first thread of a 540 walking an M3 top end. Down low could have been launch issues withe M3.

Personally, I can't imagine a 540 beating an M3 down low. As for top end, I won't "really" believe it until I do it myself.
Good run nonetheless.
AND REMEMBER, IT WAS A CONVERTABLE SMG!!!!

The M3 hooked amazing....
I had spun taking off because I had the DSC off....
I didnt make up anything.....

E46 M3 do not run 12s! They only trap about 106 mph, not a 12 second car, maybe low 13s with a good driver. Unless a modified one with DR.

E46 M3 do not run 12s! They only trap about 106 mph, not a 12 second car, maybe low 13s with a good driver. Unless a modified one with DR.

I read few people hitting high 12s completely stock

Well congrats on the purchase and I'm glad you like the 540. Even though in some peoples eyes its a downgrade, its your money and if your happy with it then all is good.

Props on the new ride....i an 08' evo was in the running for the new car until i made a phone call to my insurance company....not so good...plus i was already leaning more toward the 5er.