My 2001 E39 540i

[dacosmo 0]

Hey There,

Here is my E39 540i, bought it a few weeks back. But firstly I will tell you about my first E39. About a year ago I sold my 1997 E39 528i which I loved. It was a stunning grey that seemed to shine in the light. It also had a great colour interior and was immaculate through out. I upgraded the lights to angel eyes as you do and also the side markers and rear lights to LED type. I lowered it with progessive rate springs and fitted 18" M5 replica wheels. Here a some pics of it. (without the new lights fitted)

The only thing I wished about this car was that it was a 540i. After owning it for a couple of years I regrettably had to sell it.

Well a few weeks back, I was driving past a dealership and thought I saw my old car in the lot so I stopped to have a look but it was a 2001 540i in the same colour as my old car. nice...! It had low k's and the same interior. Being the face lift model it had the angel eyes, rear LED tail lights and updated wide screen etc. I just had to have it.

Even before buying it, I knew what I had to do to it. The wheels had to go in favour of 19's, lowered, but not too low. Upgraded rear LED tail lights to clear type and clear side markers (on their way).

Lowering the car was a right pain, the whole rear interior had to come out which is a hassle with the rear blind, and that was the easy part. Pulling the rear shocks out was very difficult, but worth the effort.

I have also just removed my crank fan (belt driven) and replaced with a 16" thermatic fan. This is much better than that power sucking and noisey clutch fan.

Next on the list of mods are:

- Bluetooth ULF integration (going thru this now and having difficulties installing)

- DICE Ipod integration (anyone else done this? work OK?)

- Aux Video input (add DVD player, anyone else done this? work ok?)

- Convert radio to NZ radio (world type) - in hand

- Convert NAV to NZ (in hand)

- Enable TV while moving (in hand)

- Garage door opener integration (factory or aftermarket not sure yet)

- M5 Instrument cluster measured km/h showing to 300kph (ordered)

And last not but no least, a ESS supercharger kit. (has anyone else done this? any issues)

oh and a DINAN ECU upgrade for the TRANS computer.

Here are some pics so far.

Cheers

Lance

PS, The paint on this car doesn't seem to gleam in the sun like my old car, its still a nice colour but doesn't seem to have the same metalic or something, anyone know of any differences to the colours from a 1997 to a 2001 in this grey colour??

Oh and just if you are interested, the wheels are 19x9 rear and 19x8 front with 275-30ZR19 and 245-35ZR19 Falken F452's.

Wheels are from the states and are called MRR GT1.

Edited January 3, 2008 by dacosmo

[antony 0]

Those wheels look really mint a, lovin' the dish on the rears.

Also liking your way of thinking with the supercharger, but unfortunately I haven't heard of it being done in NZ, but google is your friend.

[dacosmo 0]

Those wheels look really mint a, lovin' the dish on the rears.

Also liking your way of thinking with the supercharger, but unfortunately I haven't heard of it being done in NZ, but google is your friend.

Cheers mate, me and google go way back. he has saved me many a time.

[international 0]

It is so touching to hear that you saw the car on a car yard and just had to buy it because it bought back old memories of your old car...

[camera doctor 25]

Nice Car!

How do you keep those light carpets clean!!

As for the AV input, I have the leads from Jochen, but have not tried it yet. I need to spend a day on mine, as I have the bits all ready to do Reverse Camera, AV input and Angel Eyes.

Would be interested to see how you get on with the Ipod adaptor and AV inputs, as you are likely to get these done before I get a chance!

Welcome to the world of 540i

[Nobimmer 694]

HOT

[cainchapman 0]

Great looking car. Those new wheels look superb.

Welcome. Glad to see you saw the light and got the 540.

[greenday-rulz21 6]

Welcome, Nice 540 you have there.

BTW, Love the wheels!

[PBOY23 0]

nice man!

[isis 16]

one hot looking 540i

tastefully lowered.

good job!!

wheels are wicked!!

you can try bmw workshop in botany/east tamaki - Ross is the guy to speak to. one of his mates has a 540i with a SC.

[joel 0]

nice

[allan 295]

dacosmo welcome,

Nice start on the 540, are you going to change the front ambers also?. Try these guys [email protected]. As I was after xenon headlights with clears.

Allan

[dacosmo 0]

Hey Guys, thanks for the good comments. I will definately look up the guys in East Tamaki about the SC.

Have any of you guys installed the Bluetooth retrofit kit or the Ipod integration kit??

Cheers

[diablo23 1]

mean car, lovin the gps and the leather you got

[Yuen 16]

Welcome Lance, love the dish. About the colour of the car, do you know the name of the last car's colour? You should be able to find the sticker with the colour code inside the engine bay (on the underside of the bonnet for E39 I think) of your 540. It'll say if it's a metallic.