Jb325is

Wanted to start a thread on this car, mostly for record keeping purposes and just to share experience along the way.

My background is all BMW's and Land Rovers. I've had multiple BMW e28's, e30's, e34's and a few e39 and e60 m5's. I ended up with this car because I could not justify spending ~$25k for 120k mile e39 m5 when you can buy an E63 for less. I'm about a year into ownership now, and not quite in love with this car yet but it's growing on me as I slowly improve on it.

Basic details and how I purchased it:

• -90k miles
• Magno Alanite grey (wrapped Avery Dennison Matte metallic grey @ time of purchase)
• Non P30 car- No LSD but does have alacantara wheel and carbon interior trim
• Muffler AND resonator delete (LOUD)
• AMG C63 507 wheels
• Some sort of carbon lip
• Needs:
  • Brakes (rotors and pads)
  • LF headlight- haze on inside of lens
  • Tires

Jb325is

As I mentioned, the car needed brakes when I got it- rotors were completely worn out and had been ignored for quite a while... The slots were worn almost all the way through! I ended up finding a good deal on some factory replacement Brembo 2pc rotors on Rock Auto (<$290/ea) and went with Ferodo Eco Friction Fronts and Pagid Semi-metallic rears with new wear sensors I was under $800 for brakes, which was a pleasant surprise!


Once I got the brakes sorted- I decided it was time to remove the wrap. I'm definitely not a fan of wraps, and I had never seen the paint at this point in my ownership so it had to go. Luckily the vinyl used was high quality and there were ZERO issues with the paint underneath, although removal was a bit of a pain... It was still pretty cool outside while I was doing this and that was definitely a factor, I used a heat gun to keep the material pliable but I think if it had been summer time it would have been a piece of cake. Once it was finally revealed, I was super happy with the magno alanite paint- way more dramatic in person... Pictures just don't do it justice!

Bahnstormer

Looks great Jb, have you considered installing aftermarket face-lift taillights. The LED light bars would match nicely with your magno paint and freshen up the rear.

PeterUbers

Very nice

time for tcu and ecu tune and black boost

mountainrescuer

Lovely looking E63!

cotmfk

Nice pick up - enjoy it!

Jb325is

Forgot that I hadn't updated it with the car in it's most recent state. I've now been driving it daily for about 8 months and it's been somewhat enjoyable, but also starting to exhibit some quirks and issues that are a bit concerning and definitely keeping me from loving my ownership experience thus far. I keep having to remind myself that this is car I wanted to buy for quite some time, and "on paper" it is everything I want... Just need to get it sorted and give it a fair shot to win me over

Current Issues:

• Auxillary Battery Malfunction- This is not a big deal, about to order one today, message has been popping up sporadically but now is consistent with every start
• Front end clunk- Seems to be in the RF, only obvious at low speeds over rough pavement. Sounds like sway bar end links maybe, but haven't been able to duplicate with the car up in the air. Otherwise suspension feels tight, no vibrations or anything (which is a welcome change coming from a history of BMW 5's)
• Start-up rattle- This just started when it got hot this summer, loud rattle @ start up for about 1-3 seconds. Definitely sounds like cam follower(s), but it seems to have started when I changed over to Liqui-Moly (5w-40) for the last two oil changes. Oil level is good, no noise after the initial 1-3 seconds, and doesn't do it EVERY time... Mostly when its very hot (~100*F around here) or it's been sitting for 8+ hours
• Intake manifold cracks- Just saw these the other day. Has the common cracks along the aluminum bosses that mount the fuel rail/harness or whatever that is. Haven't sprayed them with intake cleaner or similar to see if they're leaking but would expect there to be more damage elsewhere once I start taking stuff apart. Kind of a weird issue though, never seen a failure like that on another brand
• MCT problems- worsening over time
  • Rough 2-1 shift- done it since I bought it. NBD
  • Low load, comfort mode shuddering/slipping- Sounds like a common issue. You can kind of drive around it by committing to a steady throttle angle from a stop, but it still does do some hunting/shuddering when shifting up through the gears slowly. Seems to be less apparent in sport mode, but MORE apparent as ambient temps creep up
  • High load, manual mode slipping- Sporadically slips the clutches when pushing the car hard in manual mode. Short duration clutch slips, after gear changes but not super consistent
  • Cruising on hwy clutch slipping- When driving on the hwy, in any mode, with cruise control ON or OFF, the car will do a "slip" every 10-30 seconds... Only detectable by noise and a visible rise in RPM by 2-300 rpms. This is pretty subtle (girlfriend doesn't notice) but a bit alarming. I was timing this with a stopwatch on our last road trip and it happens continuously, but timing isn't consistent... It can be a 10 sec dwell or a 30 sec dwell, but never more or less
  • Plan of action- Trans fluid/filter change and assess. If no improvement, do some research on shift solenoids or clutch replacement (see below)
    • Anyone using these - https://transmissioncenter.net/shop/...e-g3-material/. Probably overkill for a stock car, but I do plan to track the car at some point and the extra grab can't hurt. I would expect aftermarket clutches to NOT help the comfort mode drivability, and potentially cause some shuddering themselves

Wants:

• Scan tool- I want some proprietary diag software. Always had INPA or similar for BMW's, GAP tool on Land Rovers, and would like something similar for this car that could help me diagnose the transmission issues and other things in the future. Are my only options (above the chinese iCarsoft tools) laptops loaded with Xentry/Star software? Any reputable source for this under $1000
• Square setup- On my e34 and e39 M5's, I always ran square setups with stock rear wheels (or wider) all around. I'd like to run 18 or 19x9.5+ all around, with 285's. I understand this will require front camber adjustment and maybe some spacers/perfect offsets. I want a setup that can be run on track with no rubbing, and allow me to rotate tires front to rear as needed. Not many people running this, I'll share my progress

Pics:

BenzNinja

iTrader: (4)

https://mbworld.org/forums/w212-amg/...e-codings.html


Working on P30 for these cars
will be ready next weeks