My Hardly Productive E34 M5 Build

[theredcaron]

Hey all,

I'm a long time lurker who has never really felt compelled to post up my own ride as I'm much more a fan of shooting friends cars and laying low on my end. The time has come finally that I figured I'd share a couple picture's of my old gal however. My first car was an E28 535is, and to this day I regret letting that beauty go. I grew up with old BMW's and have a true love for all of them. I made a had a brief hiatus over to Audi with my old B7 avant, but I had a need for awd.

And a mandatory shot of the old car...

New Boot Goofin' by NSCaron, on Flickr

Upon moving back to CA and no longer needing my quattro sled, the hunt was on for an old BMW again. What do you know I ran into a family friend at the historic races in Monterey and he just so happened to be selling an E34 M5. Emails were exchanged, and within a week I went up to see the car and bought it that day. So without further ado, this is how I bought her back in September of 2013.

Calypso by NSCaron, on Flickr

Stock for the most part except for an upgraded cam gear, chip, and stereo that would have been balling in the late 90's. The previous owner had bilsteins and H&R springs separate but felt they were too harsh, so within the week I installed those to help the bouncy stock suspension.

Addiction by NSCaron, on Flickr

It brought her a touch lower to the earth. I was able to throw on some 20mm spacers in the rear too courtesy of an ex-girlfriend. At least it made things a little more flush.

Morning Glory by NSCaron, on Flickr

And those pesky reflectors really bothered me, so I snagged some euro bumper trim to ditch those silly orange and red things.

BMW M Power by NSCaron, on Flickr

And celebratory shot of getting new tires. Those 12 year old all-seasons had to go!

Glory of Night by NSCaron, on Flickr

Finally...the original hydraulic SLS suspension had to go. I picked up some ground control coilovers to get the car handling better and sitting a touch closer to the earth. My intent was never to slam the car, as I truly enjoy driving this car as it was made for. Don't get me wrong I love the hell out of cars laying on the asphalt, but my driving style just doesn't jive. I know what I like and damnit I'm gonna go for it!

Lying in wait...

Home Sweet Home by NSCaron, on Flickr

Work in Progress by NSCaron, on Flickr

Camber Plates by NSCaron, on Flickr

And coils installed!!!

DSC_5915 by NSCaron, on Flickr

DSC_5897 by NSCaron, on Flickr

Sunset Run by NSCaron, on Flickr

DSC_7714 by NSCaron, on Flickr


And after waiting long enough, I was finally able to source my dream wheels for this thing. A set of refinished AC Schnitzer Type 1's from a great seller here on StanceWorks. It really set the car off and for now I'm extremely happy with where the car sits.

DSC_8730 by NSCaron, on Flickr

DSC_8693 by NSCaron, on Flickr

DSC_8681 by NSCaron, on Flickr

DSC_8691 by NSCaron, on Flickr


That's all I've got for now! Hope you've enjoyed the photo dump. Next things are some bushings, M-Tech II steering wheel, and figure out how to install the factory motorola car phone back inside. Until then, I plan to drive the hell out of it as it's my daily and love every minute of it.

Cheers

[dattugrut]

wow! I like how you are keeping the driving spirit with the car. I'm a huge fan of the e39 m5, but these have been catching my eye lately.

[jbginger]

Huge fan of how it looks as it sits. Maybe a tad lower but it looks perfect to me. Can't imagine how fun it must be to drive

[SebastienPeek]

Absolutely brilliant. Love it!

[nommunityo]

i think so, Maybe a tad lower but it looks perfect to me. Can't imagine how fun it must be to drive thanks

[theredcaron]

Thanks guys! I could go a bit lower, but with the tire setup I'm running now the front is really as low as I want. I've already had a fender mishap on the passenger side when turning through a drainage ditch. =( I was able to get it sorted and roll the lip back in but any lower and I wouldn't be able to corner the car hard.

Also I had an unfortunate turn of events about a month ago and blew a hole in my oil pan late one night. That was no fun to fix so as for now...this ride height works for me. =D When I need to buy new tires I may size down in the front but I'm a fan of some meat on there.

[Zic]

Lovely job!!
This makes me regret selling my type1's. Since i plan on owning an E34 M5 once in my life.

[Kielan]

My god it's gorgeous.

[theredcaron]

Lovely job!!
This makes me regret selling my type1's. Since i plan on owning an E34 M5 once in my life.

Thank you sir! I'm a HUGE fan of your e28 as well.


And here's a shot I snagged this week out near the bay...

DSC_9425 by NSCaron, on Flickr

[Zic]

Thanks man Our cars got almost the same motive going on, ACS, metallic red, ambers.
How do you like the GC, and what spring rates are you on?
I'm so much in doubt that i have no idea, at all. what i wanna go for. One minute i want some aggressive coil overs, then i want a "super" street setup, and then i want air for the practicality, since i plan on going a long trip with the car cross Europe.
I am afraid that the lips I've ordered for my new wheels, are a bit to large and i will run into rubbing issues with coil overs. And that is a no-go for me.

[theredcaron]

Yeahh buddy! It's a great color combination for sure! I love the deep red so much. Most other cars are either black, white, silver, etc and are nowhere near as interesting.

As far as my suspension, I love the GC coilovers. My spring rates are relatively soft compared to others because 1: the car is my daily driver and 2: roads around here are fairly bumpy and ridden with potholes. I'm running 430lbs/in front and 350lbs/in rear with the adjustable koni yellows all around. I have the compression setup somewhere in the middle as well and it's a GREAT daily ride. Firm, but not harsh at all and still handles so much better than stock. I had bilstein sports and h&r springs before but in comparison, the billies are way harsher over large bumps and damn near seemed like my dash would pop off. These konis are such a better ride.

I feel your pain with the suspension dilemma! I thought maybe I wanted to go hardcore track setup and super stiff, but realized I drive a heavy ass car that rarely sees the track so whats the point. Bags would be cool for convenience as well, but I don't care how much they try to hype it up, even a proper air setup is never as solid as good ol' fashioned coils in my opinion. Then again, I'm no air expert.

Here's another pic for the hell of it...

ACS Type 1 by NSCaron, on Flickr

[TheTynosaur]

Wow that is gorgeous

I love the acs and the practical height

[b5Avant]

sweet