So I Have A Feeling That I Will Be Going To The Dark Side =/

[hatched91]

Ya there nice looking, watch out for the clutch. BMW used the same clutch for the 540i as they did on the 525i and the 530i. Small clutch + big engine = o no!
another thing is, have you driven one?
They have those stupid lock valves that "smooth out" your clutch engagement.... aka makes your shifts slower.
Plus this is the time when BMW started making cars different for the us! A US e39 has about 2 1/2 in of more insulation in the dash to compensate for people not wearing seat belts (look at where the passanger side dash meets the door). I would look into a euro dash unless you want you passengers making out with your dash board.
MOREOVER, the e39 is much more isolated in terms of chassis response to the driver. My dad always complains about this all the time when going from his car to mine.
Another downside (one that is REALLY dumb) is the DSC. This is great when it is wet, not great 90% of the time. When pulling out into traffic, lets say the situation calls for hard acceleration. What does dsc do? hits the rear breaks to stop wheel spin and slows engine revs! leaving you stuck there with you foot to the floor and nothing happening! (true story, has happened more then once)
Those can be easily fixed,
but You do not have rack and pinion steering in the 540i.
The thing will not rev like an inline 6.
BUT! it is a BMW... meaning...YOU CANNOT GO WRONG!

i had a e34 535i with eibachs, kyb's, computer software, and triflow exhaust. it was a pretty sweet ride. it handled awesome, was SUPER solid, and was also smooth as well.

really, the e39's the only thing that's better is you have a newer car, more room, more options, and more power. i don't think they were as well engineered as the e34's or as reliable. also, they are way more expensive to fix!

o, and i have a stage 1 upgraded clutch in my 540 so

[BMW4LIFE]

i had a e34 535i with eibachs, kyb's, computer software, and triflow exhaust. it was a pretty sweet ride. it handled awesome, was SUPER solid, and was also smooth as well.

really, the e39's the only thing that's better is you have a newer car, more room, more options, and more power. i don't think they were as well engineered as the e34's or as reliable. also, they are way more expensive to fix!

o, and i have a stage 1 upgraded clutch in my 540 so

yea its seems that the more electronics they put on these bad boys the more problems occur....i really like the e34 body style...its mean...but i wish i would have got the 95 540i 6 speed instead =(

but i am happy that i am going to keep my car and fix it...but im gonna hate wasting my spring break doing it... =(

[chris_e34]

as far as the m5 goes...thats a dream car....the 528 and all that stuff i would otally be happy with but the fact of the matter is that i will run into the same problems and would have to work on the car cause im not gonna pay a higschool drop out 120 buck/hr to fix it

How do you come to the conclusion that everyone in the automotive field is a high school dropout? Even so 120$ an hour is not bad for not even completing high school, if all of the 120 got to the tech... The high school dropout probably knows a lot more about your car than you do. After all he works on them all day everyday. no hard feelings

325 for the quoted work is not bad at all. I would be sceptical about their knowledge of BMW's, charging such a good price. Then again they might just be desperate for work like a lot of shops are nowadays.

If you want the best possible feel in your brakes for a daily driver, stick with the BMW pad's or equivalent oem. I have heard many stories about people using racing pads on the street. Then switching back to BMW pads because they were rough, or didn't seem to work quite as well on the street. Especially in wet conditions.

[repenttokyo]

i disagree re: brake pads, my Hawk pads are much better than the stock pads, especially from a fade perspective.