[bmw] Re: BMW E34 540i upgrade options

["Bob Sutterfield" <Bob@xxxxxx>]

T S Perez wrote:
> What can or should I do to increase the performance of
> my 1994 540i with 83,000 miles?  Engine wise I can only
> think of adding a chip and perhaps a bigger air intake
> tube.  But which chip - Dinan or Jim C?
>
> What else should I consider (within some reasonable price)?

If by "performance" you mean primarily straight-line acceleration, the first
step is a Conforti chip and then a differential with a shorter (numerically
higher) ratio.  If you have a slushbox, perhaps transmission software.  But
after that, you're getting into mods where the bang-for-buck payback is
declining rapidly, particularly if you pay someone else to do the work for
you.

Ric wrote:
> Where do your live that you can drive hard enough or fast
> enough to think the 540 isn't enough?
> 
> At 83000 miles I think suspension rebuilds and mods would
> be a better investment.

If you enjoy exercising your BMW around the entire friction circle (not just
frontward acceleration), look at a basic setup like H&R springs and Bilstein
shocks, with perhaps beefier anti-roll bars.  If you want to go full-gonzo,
get a Ground Control coilover package with multi-adjustable Konis.

You can find more good info at http://bmwe34.net

Robert Chase wrote:
> By the time you do anything "spirited" in a 540 your
> already working on speeding and wreckless driving
> charges and running out of open road.  :)

The best upgrade for any BMW is to improve the nut holding the steering
wheel.  Your local chapter of the BMW CCA holds performance driving schools
where you'll learn to drive your car in ways you didn't think it could be
driven, and extract levels of performance you didn't know it had.  They're
held on racetracks where it's safe to drive that way.  If you drive in such
a "spirited" fashion on the public roads, you'll soon have helicopters
chasing you and you'll be featured on the evening news!
--
Bob Sutterfield
'87 E30 325iS http://bmwe30.net #1129 DAS KAR
'88 E28 535iS http://m535i.org   #154 IHR FUNF
'93 T4 EV MV Weekender BELUGA
BMWCCA #169277 Rocky Mountain Chapter
--
to be removed from bmw, see /bin/digest-subs.cgi
or email "unsubscribe bmw" to majordomo@domain.elided