To be fair, the cop that pulled me over this weekend wouldn't have been visible to any eye— they were behind a hill and by the time I actually saw them, it was too late. Apparently the cops around there all drive with their radars on, whereas in Phoenix they generally don't care as long as you're going with the flow of traffic.
My girlfriend was with me when I got pulled over, but it was a female cop so that didn't help, lol.
I'd still remind the guy to send you the records, just so you can be sure. I do like to believe people and hope that people tell the truth, but my experience with buying used cars has taught me to be very skeptical.
I dunno, maybe it's because you've got a pretty clean-cut appearance? My friend Graham pointed out to me that since I have long hair and facial hair I look like I'm up to no good all the time. He often gets off with warnings as well since he looks like a very normal dude. Aside from my driving record, the only thing a cop has to go by is my appearance and my car. If I had a normal guy haircut and drove a beige Camry I'd probably get away with a lot more stuff, but that's not my thing haha.
Agreed. Right now the plan is to buy a rear M-Sport bumper and then do the front bumper, hood, rear bumper, and door handles all at the same time, along with filling in the various rock chips around the body and doing a full paint correction.
I might also go and pull the gloss shadowline off the parts 540it and see if it's salvageable, that would be a nice improvement over the worn-out matte shadowline trim on the car now.
The headlights have already been polished before but the guy who did it didn't coat them so they're losing some of their clarity now. I'm still going back and forth between just polishing them, or replacing the lenses entirely with new ones that have Euro clears. What do y'all think? Keep the amber corners, or go clears? My side markers are already clear, and I might do the Euro tails with clear signals in the future too.
1995 525i 5-speed - Thread
Justin probably puts out that 'be kind to the mentally handicapped' kinda vibe I bet.
Oh yeah. Absolutely.
BTID people used to also really believe in making PBA donations to get the window sticker, or otherwise having some kind of "I support cops" indicator on the back of the car...
2003 M3CicM6 TiAg
2002 540iT Sport Vortech S/C 6MT LSD TiAg
2008 Audi A3 2.0T DSG (the daily beater)
2014 BMW X1 xDrive28i (wifemobile)
Former:
1985 MB Euro graymarket 300SL
1995.5 Audi S6 Avant (utility/winter billetturbobattlewagen)
That's what I'm leaning towards. It would be kinda unique too, as I don't see any local E39s with euro clears. Nobody cares enough to change their headlights around here.
Yeah, my uncle used to do that. Not sure how much that helped him. I briefly considered becoming a Phoenix police officer, if only for the ability to drive freely. The starting pay is better than the pay at my web dev job after like 4 years too, lol.
1995 525i 5-speed - Thread
Amber corners. All around. Be different than the rest.
1995 525i 5-speed - Thread
Ambers are ok but they don’t look right on red. Orange and red clash, just like our mothers taught us when we dressed ourselves at the age of 5.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Chris
-------------------------------------
04 Mercedes S55 AMG
97 BMW 540i6
LOW COST Parking sensor upgrade for those not equipped at the factory
Current Garage Highlights
2003 525iT TiSilver
2002 M5 TiSilver
1998 528i KASCHMIRBEIGE METALLIC (301) (Goldie)
Former Garage Highlights
2005 X5 4.8is
2004 325iTs (2x)
1973 Pantera L
1971 Dodge Dart Swinger "Lite Package"
1970 Dodge Challenger T/A 340 Six Pack Alpine White
1970 Dodge Challenger T/A 340 Six Pack GoManGo Green
1969 Road Runner 383
1968 Barracuda Formula S 340 Sea Foam Green
Hahaha that's good! I actually have PDC in the rear on the 540it so I'm all good.
1995 525i 5-speed - Thread
2001 Salvage Title 540i
My build thread: https://www.bimmerforums.com/forum/s...toive-decision
FWIW, I’ve only gotten tickets about half the times I’ve been pulled over. I do have the goody two shoes thing going for me, though.
+1000 on running Waze. It’s probably saved me a dozen times already. As long as there’s a cell connection, Waze is great. I have my phone sitting in the cup holder area, and it audibly announces any police alerts, but it doesn’t make a peep about the route or other extraneous info.
But yeah, you really need to scan ahead for cops. It’ll not only save you money, but make you a better driver.
Nate J.
(oOO\ (|||)º(|||) /OOo)
Titanium Silver/Black Nappa Full 07-18-2001 E39 M5 Heritage (BZ99672). 198,000mi+. Increasing daily. Engine rebuild thread.
(eŌō\ (||||)º(||||) / ōŌe)
Alpineweiss III/Black Merino Full 03-26-2007 E60 M5 Manual (CX08265). 157,000+. Dead starter -_-
RIP, Seabiscuit. Black Sapphire/Schwarz 03-11-2003 530iA Sport (CK39185). T-boned 03-01-2017 at 155,861mi.
Take 2 "Otto" - Toledo Blue/Sandbeige 04-25-2002 530iA Sport (CH98032). Sold 11-10-2017 at 147,743mi.
Take 3 "Manuel" - Toledo Blue/Grau 10-29-2001 530i5 Sport (CE92358). Sold 02-01-2019 at 217,600mi. I regret that. Build Log
Reliable P.O.S. - Green/gray 1995 Camry V6 LE. 270k mi. Sold for space.
1995 525i 5-speed - Thread
Nate J.
(oOO\ (|||)º(|||) /OOo)
Titanium Silver/Black Nappa Full 07-18-2001 E39 M5 Heritage (BZ99672). 198,000mi+. Increasing daily. Engine rebuild thread.
(eŌō\ (||||)º(||||) / ōŌe)
Alpineweiss III/Black Merino Full 03-26-2007 E60 M5 Manual (CX08265). 157,000+. Dead starter -_-
RIP, Seabiscuit. Black Sapphire/Schwarz 03-11-2003 530iA Sport (CK39185). T-boned 03-01-2017 at 155,861mi.
Take 2 "Otto" - Toledo Blue/Sandbeige 04-25-2002 530iA Sport (CH98032). Sold 11-10-2017 at 147,743mi.
Take 3 "Manuel" - Toledo Blue/Grau 10-29-2001 530i5 Sport (CE92358). Sold 02-01-2019 at 217,600mi. I regret that. Build Log
Reliable P.O.S. - Green/gray 1995 Camry V6 LE. 270k mi. Sold for space.
Get a Valentine 1. Been using them since the mid '90's. Never got pulled over when using one, If that's too much money, get an Escort. I had good luck with an old Escort SOLO, they still make them, the SOLO S3 goes for about $300, totally cordless.
http://radartest.com/best-radar-detector.asp
https://www.lifewire.com/best-radar-detectors-4115040
Set the controls for the heart of the sun
Radar detectors seem about useless with all the distance monitors transmitting from all the bumpers. Total false alarm fest. Out on open road, with little traffic, they are still OK. Do any of the new ones actaully filter out all the distance monitor signals?
I've been living on waze around here.
98 540i 6, 525 whp, 120 mph 1/4, V3 Si S/C'er @16 psi, W/A I/C, Water/Meth, Supersprint Headers, HJS Cats, 3" Custom Exhaust, UUC Twin Disc, Wavetrac LSD, GC Coil Overs, Monoball TA, AEM FP, Aeromotive FPR, AEM Failsafe AFR/Boost, Style 65's w/275's, M5 Steering Box, Eibach Sways, M3 Shifter, Evans Coolant, 85 Deg Stat, PWM Fan, 10" Subs, B.A. speakers, Grom Aux/BT, Still Rolling as my DD!
The newest version of the Valentine claims to be able to filter out the distance monitors and blind-spot warning systems, at least that's what their website says. I'm not super worried about the police in Phoenix as they don't care too much, it's more so the money-hungry cops in small towns I'm bothered by.
1995 525i 5-speed - Thread
Yes, the newer V1s with updated firmware are actually quite good. And if you know the bands used in your local area, you can turn a TON of them off. CA is very selective about the bands it uses (apparently, I don't have one, so I heard this from Matt Farah), and it's easy to spot them.
Nate J.
(oOO\ (|||)º(|||) /OOo)
Titanium Silver/Black Nappa Full 07-18-2001 E39 M5 Heritage (BZ99672). 198,000mi+. Increasing daily. Engine rebuild thread.
(eŌō\ (||||)º(||||) / ōŌe)
Alpineweiss III/Black Merino Full 03-26-2007 E60 M5 Manual (CX08265). 157,000+. Dead starter -_-
RIP, Seabiscuit. Black Sapphire/Schwarz 03-11-2003 530iA Sport (CK39185). T-boned 03-01-2017 at 155,861mi.
Take 2 "Otto" - Toledo Blue/Sandbeige 04-25-2002 530iA Sport (CH98032). Sold 11-10-2017 at 147,743mi.
Take 3 "Manuel" - Toledo Blue/Grau 10-29-2001 530i5 Sport (CE92358). Sold 02-01-2019 at 217,600mi. I regret that. Build Log
Reliable P.O.S. - Green/gray 1995 Camry V6 LE. 270k mi. Sold for space.
2003 M3CicM6 TiAg
2002 540iT Sport Vortech S/C 6MT LSD TiAg
2008 Audi A3 2.0T DSG (the daily beater)
2014 BMW X1 xDrive28i (wifemobile)
Former:
1985 MB Euro graymarket 300SL
1995.5 Audi S6 Avant (utility/winter billetturbobattlewagen)
Good to know. I heard they were improving the filtering, but it was still iffy at best. So, the latest firmware removes all falsies due to car bumpers? Or is it still aN issue to some extent?
98 540i 6, 525 whp, 120 mph 1/4, V3 Si S/C'er @16 psi, W/A I/C, Water/Meth, Supersprint Headers, HJS Cats, 3" Custom Exhaust, UUC Twin Disc, Wavetrac LSD, GC Coil Overs, Monoball TA, AEM FP, Aeromotive FPR, AEM Failsafe AFR/Boost, Style 65's w/275's, M5 Steering Box, Eibach Sways, M3 Shifter, Evans Coolant, 85 Deg Stat, PWM Fan, 10" Subs, B.A. speakers, Grom Aux/BT, Still Rolling as my DD!
Gotta say out in Kalifornia (Ka) band is used alot by highway patrol. I'd say anything other than Ka out here is a false positive. While Ka has always been a cruiser!
Except laser... that only goes off to tell you you're getting a ticket or about to get fined for having a jammer!
My valentine one has paid for itself a few times
Last edited by Dking078; 02-09-2018 at 02:03 PM.
2003 BMW 540i [Sterling Gray / Gray]
[Msport] [Mods from A-Z] [Two-Tone Interior]
Stuff For Sale :
All types of E39 OEM Used HVAC Buttons
Other E39 Parts, see my ebay! [Click]
Lookin good Danny. Enjoying reading your build.
I have to agree with some some of the other posters (GG) about radar detectors. I think your eyeballs will are a better detector most of the time. I haven't used a radar detector in many years know and I usually drive over the limit. Funny thing is though, just a few weeks ago while traveling I did receive a speeding ticket, but I wasn't paying attention, towing a vehicle and it was on a two lane on a La back road in which I should have been on alert. Those small towns earn there revenue on ticket fees. Even so much the officer issued me a ticket that would not go on my record as long as I paid the fine within a given time.
Ed
________________________________________________
-2002 540iT Sport-
Previous Bimmers. - 2000 540iA Sport | 2000 540i6 Sport | 2000 M5 | 2000 740i customized | 2000 323Ci | [Bikes 2012 f800GS | 2014 R1200GS]
Current Stable - 2011 VW Touareg TDi | 2016 Mazda 3 Hatch | 2019 Ram 2500 6.4L Hemi 4x4 Big Horn Off-Road
Keep on modding and fixing!..
Time for my usual catch-up post, since I can't seem to update regularly for some reason. I quit my office job about a month ago to pursue repairing BMW's full-time, and I've been on the forums a lot less. I guess things are a little different when I have to actually work for my money as opposed to sitting in an office for hours trying to kill time. I left my job with a nice smokey burnout in the office parking lot, which was deeply satisfying. Anyways, onto the car stuff...
Around 203k miles I did a bit of maintenance on the 540it, since it had been a while since it got some loving. I started by replacing the brake booster hose, which was badly cracked and causing a nasty vacuum leak. I had it temporarily fixed with a bunch of duct tape and zip ties, but since the hose isn't super expensive I decided to fix things properly.
Everything went back together nicely with the new parts, but the non-return valve decided to break apart, so I carefully epoxied it back together:
It's held up really nicely and doesn't leak, so yay, $50 saved!
Next up was the engine air filter. It had only been like a year and a half since I replaced it when I first bought the car, but it was already filthy. Arizona's got a lot of dust/dirt in the air, I guess.
Finally, I replaced the spark plugs since I had no previous record of them being done. The ones that came out put up quite a fight and were quite old, but they didn't look terrible.
I installed new NGK Iridium spark plugs after checking their gaps to make sure they were all the same (two of them required minor adjustments).
And what better way to test out all the new parts than a grueling road trip? That weekend I drove to Prescott with some friends. We went the back route through Wickenberg which took us through some sweet scenery and amazing roads. First was an abandoned old hotel on the side of the road on the 60.
That's a Camaro SS, my 540it, my friend's 2002 540it, and my other friend's Euro import 325i (not sure what year).
Better angle of the 540it's:
From Wickenberg we took the 89A to Prescott. We barely saw any cops so I got to the front of pack and let it rip through those mountain roads. What an amazing drive! I really felt like I was driving my car at close to its limits based on how much tire squeal there was, haha. It was a total blast, even with the autotragic.
After we got through the really fun tight parts, we pulled over to take some pictures in a giant empty plain, and that's when I noticed something...
Enhance!
Oh...
I wonder when that happened... the foglight was already cracked, by the way. But that huge crack in the bumper was brand new. I did do a bunch of donuts in the dirt near Wickenberg so maybe a rock hit it. Oh well, that's life. I'd rather enjoy my car than baby it.
After that, we had another fun drive up the mountain roads to Prescott. There was one highway patrol cop at the top of the mountain that was hiding out that tried to ruin our fun but we all had walkie-talkies, so I let everyone know as soon as I spotted them so nobody got any tickets. That's a win! We all stopped in Prescott to eat lunch and I snapped a quick pic of the 540it:
My favorite part of living in Phoenix is how I can go from a desert to plains to a mountainous forest in the matter of like an hour or two. So rad.
On the way back down from the mountain we took some pictures around sunset, this one was my fave:
To wrap up the day, we visited my friend's parents in Wickenberg to see her stepdad's awesome garage. The guy's got an original '93 Viper, a 60's Charger, and a bunch of other really cool oldschool American muscle that he's restored. The caveat was that we had to drive off-road for several miles to get there. Boy did my car get dusty, but it was really fun to spin the tires at every turn.
The 540it handled the trip beautifully, I'm really proud of it. No overheating and no real issues other than the bumper cracking, but that's just minor and cosmetic.
1995 525i 5-speed - Thread
Bookmarks