M3 or M5 which one?
12-01-2009, 06:44 PM
#41
12-01-2009, 07:04 PM
#44
PassionFord Post Troll
The most complete car I've ever owned.
Refinement = 9/10
Build Quality = 10/10
Reliability = 10/10
Handling = 9/10
Performance 9/10
Can't really think of anything to compare it too.........value for money.
And after enjoying it for 18months........... I didn't loose one single penny when I sold it, I got exactly what I paid for it 18months perviously. So you can't beat that.
Looking forward to purchasing another one in the very near future, but I'll still keep the TVR for it's pure extreme performance and looks. And the TVR keeps me busy in the garage. I've already spent three months re-building it after the guys at TVR threw it together. Two totally different cars, but if I had to choose which car to take on a European Tour, it would be the M5.......Every Time.
The only reason I sold it was I wanted something more extreme........
Mods so far to make it reliable and to put it together as it should have been in the first place : Removed all all of the shonky fuel lines (Originally fitted with really cheap rubber hoses and clips, and many of them fitted where they chaffed against bodywork and mechanical components........ Really Shocked at how they were originally fitted, no wonder so many went up in flames). All replaced with Goodrich Braided Hoses, and some decent aeroquip connections, made up properly and shielded in the areas where there's likely to be heat build up. Replaced brake pads.........AP Brakes were originally fitted with waaaaaaaaaaaaay to hard pads, and totally hopeless at anytime other than if you were on a track, much more user friendly pads now fitted that actually work during everyday driving. All of interior trim removed and re-fitted using Dynamat Sound Deadening underneath the carpets. Now I can hear the radio.
Most of the wiring loom connections replaced, or refitted properly and shielded from water ingress. Taken three months so far, but now I feel alot more confident when I go on a long drive or it rains.........LOL Were Getting There............The Chassis is a work of art though, very impressed, and Speed Six Engine alot better than most of the bad PR suggests.
Refinement = 9/10
Build Quality = 10/10
Reliability = 10/10
Handling = 9/10
Performance 9/10
Can't really think of anything to compare it too.........value for money.
And after enjoying it for 18months........... I didn't loose one single penny when I sold it, I got exactly what I paid for it 18months perviously. So you can't beat that.
Looking forward to purchasing another one in the very near future, but I'll still keep the TVR for it's pure extreme performance and looks. And the TVR keeps me busy in the garage. I've already spent three months re-building it after the guys at TVR threw it together. Two totally different cars, but if I had to choose which car to take on a European Tour, it would be the M5.......Every Time.
The only reason I sold it was I wanted something more extreme........
Mods so far to make it reliable and to put it together as it should have been in the first place : Removed all all of the shonky fuel lines (Originally fitted with really cheap rubber hoses and clips, and many of them fitted where they chaffed against bodywork and mechanical components........ Really Shocked at how they were originally fitted, no wonder so many went up in flames). All replaced with Goodrich Braided Hoses, and some decent aeroquip connections, made up properly and shielded in the areas where there's likely to be heat build up. Replaced brake pads.........AP Brakes were originally fitted with waaaaaaaaaaaaay to hard pads, and totally hopeless at anytime other than if you were on a track, much more user friendly pads now fitted that actually work during everyday driving. All of interior trim removed and re-fitted using Dynamat Sound Deadening underneath the carpets. Now I can hear the radio.
Most of the wiring loom connections replaced, or refitted properly and shielded from water ingress. Taken three months so far, but now I feel alot more confident when I go on a long drive or it rains.........LOL Were Getting There............The Chassis is a work of art though, very impressed, and Speed Six Engine alot better than most of the bad PR suggests.
Last edited by Jim Green; 12-01-2009 at 07:31 PM.
12-01-2009, 07:39 PM
#50
PassionFord Post Troll
Certainly not as quick as the 430bhp Cosworth, but alot more refined.......... to the point where it's decieving. In the Cossie I knew when I was doing 100mph, in the M5 100mph felt like you were doing 50mph.
M5's (E39) regulary put in late 12 second 1/4 mile runs, so they're not at all slow.
The key is that it's all done with total reliablity.
I'd say (with experience) that an E39 M5 is faster than most 330bhp Cosworths (Stage 3). But the main difference you'll notice is that the power is instant, boot it and it just takes off in a roar of V8 power.
Not sure of the quoted torque
M5's (E39) regulary put in late 12 second 1/4 mile runs, so they're not at all slow.
The key is that it's all done with total reliablity.
I'd say (with experience) that an E39 M5 is faster than most 330bhp Cosworths (Stage 3). But the main difference you'll notice is that the power is instant, boot it and it just takes off in a roar of V8 power.
Not sure of the quoted torque
12-01-2009, 11:30 PM
#55
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I cannot see anything else that comes close TBH, only thing I am worried about is missing that T4 hit 
..Need to bribe someone to take me out in one
13-01-2009, 09:12 AM
#57
I'm deadly tempted to get rid of the saph and get one for a daily driver, as I only really do a 80+ mile commute each way once a week, the rest of the time I am only a few hundred yards from work.... I cannot see anything else that comes close TBH, only thing I am worried about is missing that T4 hit ..
Need to bribe someone to take me out in one
I cannot see anything else that comes close TBH, only thing I am worried about is missing that T4 hit ..Need to bribe someone to take me out in one
13-01-2009, 11:34 AM
#60
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rs6 and e55 amg are the rivals to the e39 m5! but both the audi and merc are still in the Ł20k region!
Think the rs6 and 55 are faster in stright lines but thats it! amg is auto
and if the rs6 was similar price to the m5's i'd consider getting one!e60 m5's can be got for 25k
14-01-2009, 07:30 AM
#61
PassionFord Post Troll
Here's all your answers from a head to head road test agains all three cars.
Fastest to 100mph - E55, M5, RS6.
Editors Final Comment :
"Yet the M5 has only that to fear. In this class it remains on top because it is the complete package, blending excellent performance with peerless control and precision of chassis, throttle and steering. It would probably struggle to deploy the E55's massive torque and, frankly, it doesn't need it. Sometimes you can have too much of a good thing."
Mercedes outright straight line speed is faster to 100mph, but not by alot. RS6 four wheel drive gives it a few advantages, which the transmission looses in the final outcome. BMW M5 is (Was at that time) still the best complete package overall. And with all three of them you have good build quality, and reliability. All three are fantastic cars, capable of showing a clean pair of heels to alot of so called supercars.
But given the prices you could pick up an E60 M5 (Saw a good clean one with 42,000 go at auction for Ł21,000 just a few weeks ago)..........then you know where my money would go. A petrol heads dream car if you love four door cars extreme performance cars.
Fastest to 100mph - E55, M5, RS6.
Editors Final Comment :
"Yet the M5 has only that to fear. In this class it remains on top because it is the complete package, blending excellent performance with peerless control and precision of chassis, throttle and steering. It would probably struggle to deploy the E55's massive torque and, frankly, it doesn't need it. Sometimes you can have too much of a good thing."
Mercedes outright straight line speed is faster to 100mph, but not by alot. RS6 four wheel drive gives it a few advantages, which the transmission looses in the final outcome. BMW M5 is (Was at that time) still the best complete package overall. And with all three of them you have good build quality, and reliability. All three are fantastic cars, capable of showing a clean pair of heels to alot of so called supercars.
But given the prices you could pick up an E60 M5 (Saw a good clean one with 42,000 go at auction for Ł21,000 just a few weeks ago)..........then you know where my money would go. A petrol heads dream car if you love four door cars extreme performance cars.
Last edited by Jim Green; 14-01-2009 at 07:37 AM.
14-01-2009, 08:28 AM
#63
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14-01-2009, 03:37 PM
#65
Some great writing there. Love these quotes too... so true:
The sensation of a big, heavy car beneath you is ever present but the difference is that after a few miles your tentative extending of the throttle and pushing against the grip in corners is building rather than eroding your confidence.
For the keen driver there are two advantages that the M5 has over the E55 that can't be underestimated - the first is that it's normally aspirated, the second that it's manual. Together, they allow so much more control and precision when you're feeling your way but trying to go quickly. If you're up for it and you disengage DSC (Dynamic Stability Control), when the M5's tail slips mid-bend you can hold a steady throttle and ride it out, or even add a bit more throttle at the exit for a flourish of opposite lock. Its steering is light enough for easy handling around town yet weighted just-so for confident A- and B-road work, and there's decent feel through its fat rim, too.
For the keen driver there are two advantages that the M5 has over the E55 that can't be underestimated - the first is that it's normally aspirated, the second that it's manual. Together, they allow so much more control and precision when you're feeling your way but trying to go quickly. If you're up for it and you disengage DSC (Dynamic Stability Control), when the M5's tail slips mid-bend you can hold a steady throttle and ride it out, or even add a bit more throttle at the exit for a flourish of opposite lock. Its steering is light enough for easy handling around town yet weighted just-so for confident A- and B-road work, and there's decent feel through its fat rim, too.
No question, you have to be confident to play an M5 beyond its grip because it's a hefty car but, compared with the E55, whenever you push harder, the picture coming through the wheel and seat sharpens rather than softens. Simply put, at the end of a rapid drive in the Merc, you feel you've survived. In the BMW, you want to go for a few more miles.
