new member

[timeout]

I'm new to this forum and I would like to say hello to everyone here. Ever since a good friend let me drive his E34 535 accross the Blue Mountains, I wanted another BMW (had a 525 and 323 back in Austria where I'm from originally), and when I saw this 540 for sale about a year ago, I just knew this was the one.
This forum is a great place for enthusiasts to share information, and maybe over time I can also contribute a little, with my ongoing experiences and limited knowledge.
Happy motoring!

[uscharalph]

I'm new to this forum and I would like to say hello to everyone here. Ever since a good friend let me drive his E34 535 accross the Blue Mountains, I wanted another BMW (had a 525 and 323 back in Austria where I'm from originally), and when I saw this 540 for sale about a year ago, I just knew this was the one.
This forum is a great place for enthusiasts to share information, and maybe over time I can also contribute a little, with my ongoing experiences and limited knowledge.
Happy motoring!

Welcome! MORE PICTURES!

[Jay 535i]

Your car looks terrific. I'm jealous already, and you just got here!

Welcome aboard.

[SharkmanBMW]

really nice colour,
and the wheels look great!
oem or replicas?

[timeout]

thanks guys, the color is fjord grey metallic (increasing the saturation by a few clicks brought out some of the blue in the pic). The wheels are replicas. Actually I'm not too happy with those, 2 needed to be replaced due to a manufacturing fault. Spinning the wheels on a balancer, I could see that while the lip was running true, the spokes were misaligned where they met the rim. Thats unacceptable, even for replicas.



before the Eibach kit:

[liquidtiger720]

awsome car. I love it.

Welcome.

[Gayle]

Great color.

[joreb0]

thanks guys, the color is fjord grey metallic (increasing the saturation by a few clicks brought out some of the blue in the pic). The wheels are replicas. Actually I'm not too happy with those, 2 needed to be replaced due to a manufacturing fault. Spinning the wheels on a balancer, I could see that while the lip was running true, the spokes were misaligned where they met the rim. Thats unacceptable, even for replicas.



before the Eibach kit:

Welcome to the board!
Are you sure that your wheels are defective? Is it causing any shimmy or vibration? The reason I'm asking is I used to have a set of those wheels and the spokes do not look aligned when you spin them. That is how they are made. The 10 pair of spokes meet the rim inward and outward alternatingly.
Anyway, very nice looking car.

[timeout]

I dont like to bring up an old thread, but I missed that last post, sorry about the delayed reply:

Originally Posted by joreb0
Welcome to the board!
Are you sure that your wheels are defective? Is it causing any shimmy or vibration? The reason I'm asking is I used to have a set of those wheels and the spokes do not look aligned when you spin them. That is how they are made. The 10 pair of spokes meet the rim inward and outward alternatingly.
Anyway, very nice looking car.

I didn't actually mean the alternating spokes, but the wheels themselves seemed to be out of alignment. I measured the distance from where the inner spokes met the rim, to the outside edge, and recorded a difference of up to 4mm (at the arrows in the pic). That just cant be right.



2 out of the 4 wheels had this problem, both were fitted on the rear, where the problem was not evident while driving. This was clearly a manufacturing fault, I could clearly see a slight wobble when the wheels were on a balancer, but only affecting the side of the rim where the inner spokes met, the outside was ok. Most confusing. But there was obviously nothing that could be done, and I ended up buying 2 new replicas for the time being.
Btw the wheels were on the car when I bought it.

[granit_silber]

welcome!
-ashley