BMW 540i

[pigme]

Dont see many of these on the road, just wondered what there top speed was as I had a race with one the other day and we both reached an indicated speed of 160mp.

Also, what bhp are they?

ta

[pdavison]

A friend of mine has a 540i Alpina and I have to admit it's bloody quick !

Most of the higher performance BMW's are electronically limited to 155mph, so having your speedo showing 160mph is not unrealistic.

Cheers

Paul

[getcarter]

BMW 155 limiters - they're the one thing that never works on a beemer (strangely) - 180 more likely (only in fifth though). Not on the Queens highway of course.

Just don't ever believe that 155 cr*p

By the way - 540's (fab cars though they are) are not all that quick as they only have +/- 280 bhp and are as heavy as ... a very heavy thing.

>> Edited by getcarter on Thursday 20th June 18:43

[rory d]

well i have been in two e36 evos and both there speed limiters worked ok??

[getcarter]

Well I've owned two, and neither have worked. Maybe I'm just unlucky. Clocked 176.4 mph on the E46 M3 in 5th, using Race Techology logger - ran out of runway before revs. Ah well. Maybe the next M will have a limiter that works.

>> Edited by getcarter on Tuesday 9th July 19:52

[rv02oao]

Just sold a 540 with 170,000 miles on the clock. It was a 6 speed manual and a great car. I had it for 4 years (it had 30,000miles when I bought it) 286bhp and 155 in 5 or 6 no problem. Speed limiter worked fine (trust me). Just bought an M5 to replace it and I would say the 540 was more flexable at most speeds. The M5 does really go when you wind it up, but the power is not as instant as the 540. If you can find one, a manual 540 is cheep and very good fun!

[ohidunno]

Dont see many of these on the road, just wondered what there top speed was as I had a race with one the other day and we both reached an indicated speed of 160mp.

ta

Note to self.....'do not race any Pug 205's in the Herts area'

[NDT]

OK then, to turn this thread to my own evil purposes....(mwahhhhahahahaha)

I want something fast, reliable, big and interesting to replace a 250bhp 5 door impreza...

E34 M5 or E39 540i (maybe a touring?) have both occurred to me.

Comments, thoughts, suggestions all gratefully received....
budget is up to about 15k....

TTFN
Nick

[andrewh]

When i was doing about 130+ in my 318i i felt fairly large vibrations from under the car. Would this be a speed limiter kicking in?

[argonaut]

andrewh said: When i was doing about 130+ in my 318i i felt fairly large vibrations from under the car. Would this be a speed limiter kicking in?

No...that would be the sound of the numpty pedestrian you'd just run over while being preoccupied with staring at your speedo.

[domster]

rory d said: well i have been in two e36 evos and both there speed limiters worked ok??

I have driven M3 Evos at high speed and the acceleration really tails off past 140mph. You'd be lucky to see 155mph out of one. Took an extra miles to get to 150 or so.

I dunno, maybe down a bit of an incline. Not sure they have the torque for getting above 160.

[robp]

Dont see many of these on the road, just wondered what there top speed was as I had a race with one the other day and we both reached an indicated speed of 160mp.

Also, what bhp are they?

ta

I hope this was not on the queens highway?!!!

I was always under the impression BMW limiters were quite accurate.
I thought it was Audi who were known for their "soft" limiters that always allowed certain cars to top 180 on a nice stretch of autobahn?

[domster]

andrewh said: When i was doing about 130+ in my 318i i felt fairly large vibrations from under the car. Would this be a speed limiter kicking in?

Errr no. All you'd know about the speed limiter would be the rev counter having stopped sweeping through its arc. It's all electronic. Sounds like you have a tracking/suspension/steering problem at very high speed (they tend to load up a lot at those speeds) so you'd be brave to do it again

[domster]

NDT said: OK then, to turn this thread to my own evil purposes....(mwahhhhahahahaha)

I want something fast, reliable, big and interesting to replace a 250bhp 5 door impreza...

E34 M5 or E39 540i (maybe a touring?) have both occurred to me.

Comments, thoughts, suggestions all gratefully received....
budget is up to about 15k....

TTFN
Nick

I would do the E39 540i. Meant to be a much better car than the E34 shape.

I drove an E34 3.8 M5 and wasn't that impressed. Very tail happy in the wet and not a very good chassis. V old fashioned interior and didn't feel too classy. Not that quick either. Sorry to any owners out there - I think they are very good value for money, but would personally go for the 540i.

[jamesk]

Well I have a very good E34 540i auto - not what you want I know but even the auto is surprisingly quick for its bulk. Granted its no TVR (I had a Griff 500 for 3 years so have a good comparison for speed), but 286bhp is not to be sniffed at and it handles anything i can throw at it with ease.

AFAIK most or all 540's had the M-Tech suspension fitted anyway so its only really the engine that would be different on an E34 model.

i love mine to bits

[pdavison]

If you're still looking for one, let me know as my friend is now selling his Alpina 540i. It's immaculate with low miles.

Drop me an email if you're interested.