m50 525i

[lordandrevv 0]

HEY,

I have been riding a motorbike for quite a while now, but I'm thinking of getting a car (to please the parents). The one car that really caught my eye is the e34 525i, with the m50 engine. I wish I could afford a VANOS, but i can't. Does anyone know any good tips or things that go wrong with them? From what I've heard so far is all good. Any feedback on this car is welcome.

Cheers

Andrei

[isis 16]

there are 2 types of M50 in the e34, one is the normal M50 and the other is the M50 TU variant which has the vanos.

post 94 models all came with vanos.

they're fanstastic engines that can pile on the miles.

the only problem with them, esp the vanos units, is the vanos itself, it can fail over time. but you can get a vanos repair kit, rather than replacing the whole engine. the car will still work, just dont have the low end torque.

how do u tell if it aint working? get a long screw driver & placed it on the vanos itself & put your year on the other end & see if you hear a grinding/slight thumping noise.

[lordandrevv 0]

I heard abt vanos failing over time...but now I know exactly wat happens, thanks for that. I would really like a vanos, but that's a bit out of my price range. I can't wait to get one :-D :mosh:

[lordandrevv 0]

can't wait 3 get a bimmer dat is. Has anyone had leather interior? What's it like? I heard some people complaining that on a hot day the hot leather is realy uncomortable, beacause of the heat. To what extent is that true? Is it worth having leather interior? cheers

[bimmer boy 21]

Having leather is worth the discomfort of it on a hot day, so much more pimp than cloth.

[bmwsparkle 3]

i'd actually rather cloth, i find it more comfortable

[lordandrevv 0]

Another thing i just realized while looking around: there is a touring and a sedan. What is the difference between a touring and a sedan? I think one of the differences is that the touring is slower? Can anyone help with this one? :confused:

Cheers

[nath 129]

a touring is like 2 to 3 times the price unfortunately

[Jazzbass 1]

I LOVE the leather seats in my car.

They're softer than the cloth ones I had in my last car. Mine are light grey, so they don't get too hot, even with the sunroof wide open. I guess black would be a different story though?

One great thing about leather is the ease of cleaning. I dropped some chocolate on my last car with cloth seats and never did get the stain right out. Leather just wipes off.

The 5 series is a great choice, although if you're a bit of a racer, I'd recommend a 3 series as your first BMW. They're a bit more sporty, where the 5 is more luxurious. However, used 3's tend to have been thrashed a bit more. IMHO, the 5 is BMW's best model - if you consider it as a sporty sedan, rather than a sports car. The 7 series are beautiful too, but are less easy to toss around, which is where the 3 series excels.

Personally, I wouldn't buy anything less than a 2.5l BMW. The 4 cyl BMWs are a little disappointing in terms of low down power although, once up to speed they become like you'd expect.

The M50 is a good engine.

NB: ALL of the above is just my personal opinion.

[*sic 1]

HEY,

I have been riding a motorbike for quite a while now, but I'm thinking of getting a car (to please the parents).

Andrei

stay away from the cages!!..

keep on the bike y0

f**k the parents.

[lordandrevv 0]

The 5 series is a great choice, although if you're a bit of a racer, I'd recommend a 3 series as your first BMW. They're a bit more sporty, where the 5 is more luxurious. However, used 3's tend to have been thrashed a bit more. IMHO, the 5 is BMW's best model - if you consider it as a sporty sedan, rather than a sports car. The 7 series are beautiful too, but are less easy to toss around, which is where the 3 series excels.

The M50 is a good engine.

I got the exact same opinion, 3 series would be more thrashed, and with the belt driven cams, things get ugly if a cheap owner can't be bothered changing it. The belt will go a bit of, so the timing will folow and with the m10 or m20 (or both? can't remember) the valves will start hitting the pistons and that is just not the car i want. (I read all of this somewhere, it sounds reasonable)

I am a bit of a racer, but even more of a luxury person, i don't want smaller or biger than a 5 series, i love them. As for leather, i'd like to have it but it's not a must.

stay away from the cages!!..

keep on the bike y0

f**k the parents.

That's what I would normaly say, but after my latest carsh on a oil patch in a 2 lane roundabout goin abt 90ks my dad (who hates bikes) got scared, so ill just please him for now, but ill get a bike again later, no doubt at all. Bikes are the real racing machines, No offence to anyone. I saw and experienced what a mere 250cc bike (I got a Kawasaki zxr250) can do. Beates a 2.5 Turb Skyline in a short drag. Skyline would win if it was long, but you can see the differnce: 2.5l turbo vs. 250cc 4 stroke. My fav/dream bike a 2005 zx636r makes almost 100kw and with abt 160kg plus passanger to pull it is stuning. It's a road legal race bike. Wana go to the track? Just hop on at home and ride straight to the grid on the circuit. ok, cars can do that to, but not at 14-15000 dollars brand new from dealer, less than $10000 from private sale.

you guys are really fun

do you ever meet outside this site/forum, like in person?

Andrei

[Guest Andrew]

do you ever meet outside this site/forum, like in person?

Andrei

yeah we've had more than 1 drunken escapade

[lordandrevv 0]

that's awsome

where abouts?

[lordandrevv 0]

i remember that one of my friends who wanted to get a bmw in christchurch was gonna get one from a guy in bimmersport, manual 525i, very rare

[Guest Andrew]

i remember that one of my friends who wanted to get a bmw in christchurch was gonna get one from a guy in bimmersport, manual 525i, very rare

probably mine - sold now.

[kiwi535 538]

I have black leather and today getting in the car after work it was #$@&^ hot,but the seats themselves werent bad...i never wear shorts in the car though

leather sports seats......cant be beat....

Edited December 5, 2005 by kiwi535

[lordandrevv 0]

that looks sooo hot, and I mean hot as in cool, not temperature :-). Where do you guyz meat, like christchurch, auckland, where are most members from..tell me more about bimmersport members. I already love this place. I soooo would have got this bimmer, but I didn't have the money yet:

http://www.trademe.co.nz/structure/auction...asp?id=41039786

for that price it was great

[cainchapman 0]

Leather is best! Easy to clean and comfortable.

I get bagged for suggesting it, but an Alfa 164QV from around 95 may be about the same price. Awesome cars much more performance than an E34 525, and they have heated front and rear seats (which I did love in Christchurch over winter). Torque steers like a bastard at low speed, but was only a few seconds slower around Ruapuna than the 540iS. About 1:55 on the full track.

[Jazzbass 1]

But, are there any Alfas left which haven't rusted away?

[318is 0]

Re: leather seats. I have black full leather, and love it. I have not noticed the 'hot seat' syndrome at all.

One thing I did found early on thou, was if you use crappy leather cleaner/conditioner, and wear say swimming shorts, you can slide around a bit. To fix this, use the good stuff, that you buff off and just leaves it looking great, not slippery and super shinny looking.

Black car on black leather is pure sex.

[bimmer boy 21]

Neither in our car with black leather doesnt get hot , but i thought that was mainly because of the tints but even when the windows are left down in sun light they still dont get like scalding hot, just warm

[lordandrevv 0]

I'll have a look into the Alfa, but my fetish is really for bmw. This is the one ay?

People say its a good car, but you have to service it well, otherwise it brakes down really bad. I'm looking for sumthing that reprezents reliabilty, well sort of lol. A 3L would be a bit big for me. Changing from a 250cc to a 2500cc engine will make my petrol bill big enough, don't need to go all the way to 3000cc :-). Looking at reviews, the 525i has the advantage. I've alwayz had a mix opinion about the Alfas, they're... different, but that can be a good thing. looking around they're alright. The ones after and including 94 have about 20hp more thand older ones, older ones having 192hp. The 525i does about the same (give or take :-)) the 164 (3L) ways 1.3 tons, 525i weighs 1.5tons. The thing is, if I want a performant, cheap car i would go for something like a 2L turbo nissan cefiro, for about $2000 or less. I love the bmw for it's style, while the Alfa is a bit more old styled in terms of looks. Thanks a lot for the suggestion, but I think ill stick with the 525i for now

Andrei

[Jazzbass 1]

Andrei, you're doing the right thing.

Bitter experience has taught me that if you have your heart set on something - get it!

All too often I've been guilty of changing my mind and NOT getting what I really wanted. Sucks!!

All the best

Rog

[lordandrevv 0]

thanks for reassuring me dud

You only get to be young and stupid once in life, so better make the most of it. I wanna get something nice, but not overpowered, or anything like that. I don't want to put myself in the position where an little extra turn of the throtle and i'm going over 100ks easy (or push of the pedal this time) AGAIN. If i was to get something like a turbo cefiro that's what would happen, and a few moments of pleasure would turn into a catastrophe easily. The 525i is the perfect ballance. good power, decently fast, but not over the top, pure luxury and pretty good on petrol if it's driven properly.

I'll be geting back into bikes again a bit late, but for now, ill lay low.

Andrei

[lordandrevv 0]

if you wanna skip the bullshit jump to SUMING UP:

can anyone tell me if the 525i has the airbag in the steering wheel? the reason for me asking is cause i'd like tio get an aftermarket one like this:

http://www.trademe.co.nz/Trade-Me-Motors/C.../p-11866372.htm

Another question is what are the sounds like? Any good? Being the electronics and car audio freak that I am I'd love to upgrade them. Being the cheap ass that i am, I'll probably do it for change from the bottom of the drawer lol. Well, the headunit and the amplifier would be not neccesarily expensive, but very good quality.

SUMING UP:

Is the driver airbag in the steering wheel? and what is the sound system like in a 525i?

Cheers guys