My first BMW 540i- Mustang convert

[Sideshow591]

After years and years of owning Mustangs I have decided to make the switch. I picked up a black 540i with 150,000 miles. Its in good shape. First I am going to get a new coat of black paint and install some rims.

My questions to the board members:

1. Rims can really change the look of this vehicle. I am partial to these rims that are called M5 Style 66 rims(see this link http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum/showthread.php?t=957107), But I am confused as to what size rims I can put on the vehicle as it seems everyone is installing different sizes. I do not want to go larger than a 17 inch rim as it will keep the price of the tires and new rims to a minimum.

Where is the best place to buy these rims or rims that look like them? And what size tires should I buy? I would like a tire with an agressive look but not something that has too small of a sidewall.

2. Where is the best place to buy interior parts? In particular I need to have the seats reupholstered (especially the armrest).

3. Off the bat the car needs a drivers side fog lamp and an evaporator. Best place to purchase these parts is?

4. I would like to take the car to a BMW dealer and have it inspected. Is this a good idea or am I simply going to get ripped off? Any dealership recommendations in the Baltimore area?


With Mustangs you can get under the hood and start tinkering. But from what I have read you cannot do that with BMW's as they demand special procedures to work on everything. I even heard it needs special antifreeze. Any tips regarding maintenance anyone can give would be appreciated.

I look forward to being an active member of the board.

[Gravik]

1. Those are 18" M Parallel wheels in the link you listed. They make reps or you can get the official ones that came on the E38 7 series. Best place to look would be these forums or somewhere like eBay. 17" and 18" wheels look the best on these cars.

2. Again, these forums are a great place to find interior stuff. Or you can check a website like Car-part.com, which basically searches a bunch of salvage yards across the country.

3. You can check the forums here. Or check Autohausaz.com, pelicanparts.com, bavauto.com

4. Dealership could be spendy. Find a BMW shop. A quick search on bimmershops.com shows there are a bunch of Euro repair shops in that area.

-> http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum/showthread.php?t=938227

Very useful thread to read over.

[mpaganr34]

Everything Gravik said, but working on these isn't really that big of a deal either. They're more or less just like any other car.

[me78569]

Nothig special about working on the car, it is mostly hype people build for one reason or another.

As stated there are always people on here parting out cars so that wouldst be my first choice for parts.

[janders211]

I was thinking this was a thread for a 5.0 swapped e34.

Welcome to the boards Sideshow! Post pics of your car!


M5 Style 66 rims(see this link http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum/showthread.php?t=957107
These are style 66's on a e34..not sure if these are the wheels you are referencing based on your link showing Mpars
http://desmond.imageshack.us/Himg718/scaled.php?server=718&filename=1000704f.jpg&res=landing



With Mustangs you can get under the hood and start tinkering. But from what I have read you cannot do that with BMW's as they demand special procedures to work on everything. I even heard it needs special antifreeze. Any tips regarding maintenance anyone can give would be appreciated.
Nothing special about BMW's...just follow the Bentley manual and you shouldn't have any issues...same as working on a honda or a chevy. Some of the fluids may be different - but nothing more than a few bucks unless you are changing the trans fluid in an auto 540i.

[Bloodhound50]

The most desired set of M-pars for an E34 come off an E38, it shared the same hub bore so you don't need hub centric rings. Also Staggered rears come in et25 9.5" and et13 8" fronts.

What color is your interior?

[Sideshow591]

Thanks for your responses.

My interior is a tan leather.

1. What is a Bentley manual?

2.The M Parallel wheels I am looking for-they will fit without any modifications
correct? I also want to use the same tire size all the way around. I read one response about staggered rears. I dont even know what that is LOL.

[Baupfhor]

Here's my 540 with staggered mpars but running 245/40 all around. Staggered means the wheels in the back are wider than the wheels up front. In my case 9.5" rear 8" front.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v283/baupfhor/c0dc0daa.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v283/baupfhor/3b8128b0.jpg

[Bloodhound50]

If you are to use the same tire size all the way around (size in inches from tread to rim) on a staggered setup the tires will be different sizes. Like 245/40/18 in the front and 275/35/18 in the rear, they are the same. It is because when the tires widens the sidewall height becomes smaller, at least in the way they are numbered.

[Baupfhor]

Not to mention it looks funny as well. I'm running 265/35 and 235/40 now.

[Gravik]

OP, curious, what Mustangs did you own? I'm hopefully going to pick up an '01 Cobra next summer, or before if I have the $$$.

[Sideshow591]

I had 2 351W powered Mach 1, 1986 Mustang GT t top and a 2009 4.6L convertible.

[K Fox]

Not to mention it looks funny as well. I'm running 265/35 and 235/40 now.

Here's the best pic of my setup - 245/40/18 front and 265/35/18 rear:

http://img192.imageshack.us/img192/2792/new04a.jpg (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/192/new04a.jpg/)

Of course staggered wheels, though they're not M-pars. 8.5" front width and 9.5" rear. Tires look perfect to me, but I don't like stretch at all, so YMMV. I do agree that if you're going to run staggered wheels then you should go with staggered tires also. That said, it's also well known that the E34's like having all 4 tires the same size for handling balance. Going staggered means looks before performance usually. Oh well - when I want to go to a track I'll get track wheels and tires. :stickoutt

Fox (welcome to the board OP, and welcome to the madness as well!!)