E34 scoop from any E39 owner of both?

[jicaino]

Hey! considering an E34 touring. No nonsense unit, manual, no airbag, no ASC (25% diff lock) A/C and business radio with no CD in trunk. Basically a base model with railing delete and panoramic roof (jammed, I know, a pain in the butt) No rust, very solid body, one owner car.

I want to know what comments/insight a fellow E39'er that also has an E34 can offer to a mainly E39'er guy like me.

[BimmrMeUpSnotty]

Funny you bring this up..... My brother called me up about an E34 touring that’s had an N62 twin turbo swap, claims it’s up and running, was supposed to be a drift project.... A drift project???? Dumbasses.... so they gutted the interior trying to lighten the car up, again, dumbasses..... then they realize that no matter what, it’s still gonna be a pig for what they wanted to do with it, so now it’s up for sale, 5 grand, car is straight, paint is supposedly good, no clue about the interior bits yet.

[jicaino]

Funny you bring this up..... My brother called me up about an E34 touring that’s had an N62 twin turbo swap, claims it’s up and running, was supposed to be a drift project.... A drift project???? Dumbasses.... so they gutted the interior trying to lighten the car up, again, dumbasses..... then they realize that no matter what, it’s still gonna be a pig for what they wanted to do with it, so now it’s up for sale, 5 grand, car is straight, paint is supposedly good, no clue about the interior bits yet.

Bimmer Us Up, Snotty

[dannyzabolotny]

I have an E34 525it, it drives like a less refined E39 if you can imagine it. Similar steering, similar front suspension setup, but the rear suspension is a more oldschool trailing arm setup. They're slow as hell with the M50, but with a 5-speed manual it's manageable. Very easy to work on overall, and mechanical parts seem to be cheaper on average than E39 parts, whereas a lot of cosmetic/interior parts are hardcore NLA.

[jicaino]

I have an E34 525it, it drives like a less refined E39 if you can imagine it. Similar steering, similar front suspension setup, but the rear suspension is a more oldschool trailing arm setup. They're slow as hell with the M50, but with a 5-speed manual it's manageable. Very easy to work on overall, and mechanical parts seem to be cheaper on average than E39 parts, whereas a lot of cosmetic/interior parts are hardcore NLA.

So it's realiable. I already drove it and liked the "less refined" feel you mention. Like old school car unrefined, which is what I dig most of my 523i which is sort of an E30 325i into the E39 chassis, in terms of simplicity and how it feels on the road. The only sagging interior stuff this unit has is crumbling edges on door sills covers. Already found those (or, let me rephrase, found those to be impossible to find). Headliner is on the fringe of failing, just like in my E39s. Other than that is't in very decent shape.

[ross1]

I've had many examples of both, here are a few of my likes and dislikes.
E34: vastly superior seating position and visibility, you'll be able to see a left apex from the driver's seat of an E34
slower than E39 with comparable power trains
absolute love the old dinosaur M30 engines
interior is more Spartan but with better materials
timeless styling
less maintenance intensive than E39

E39: more civilized ride
R&P steering
lousy visibility
better fuel economy compared to E34
more powerful engines
troublesome electronics (by reputation, I've been mercifully spared most of these horrors in my own cars, knock wood)
GD seat belt retractors! (show me an E39 without the trailing edge of the door card not mangled by this)
styling is beginning to look old to my (also old) eyes

For road tripping with Mrs. Ross and the dogs the E39 always gets the nod for it's comfort and fuel economy as evidenced by the quarter mil miles piled on it.
For a joy ride give me a manual trans E34, preferably with an M30.
Nearly all my BMWS have been 6 cyl variants, one E34 540/6 which I found underwhelming and a 530/5 E34 that would have been better off with a six. Can't comment on E39 with V-8 power, just know I don't like doing timing chains long enough to jump rope with.

[jicaino]

I've had many examples of both, here are a few of my likes and dislikes.
E34: vastly superior seating position and visibility, you'll be able to see a left apex from the driver's seat of an E34
slower than E39 with comparable power trains
absolute love the old dinosaur M30 engines
interior is more Spartan but with better materials
timeless styling
less maintenance intensive than E39

E39: more civilized ride
R&P steering
lousy visibility
better fuel economy compared to E34
more powerful engines
troublesome electronics (by reputation, I've been mercifully spared most of these horrors in my own cars, knock wood)
GD seat belt retractors! (show me an E39 without the trailing edge of the door card not mangled by this)
styling is beginning to look old to my (also old) eyes

For road tripping with Mrs. Ross and the dogs the E39 always gets the nod for it's comfort and fuel economy as evidenced by the quarter mil miles piled on it.
For a joy ride give me a manual trans E34, preferably with an M30.
Nearly all my BMWS have been 6 cyl variants, one E34 540/6 which I found underwhelming and a 530/5 E34 that would have been better off with a six. Can't comment on E39 with V-8 power, just know I don't like doing timing chains long enough to jump rope with.

Thanks! must be me being 6'4" and on the cunky side, I sit in the middle of the car (my head below the B pillar) and I found the E34 feels "smaller" than the E39. Not used to the wider greenline, but noticed that. Maybe I need a smaller steering wheel and move the seat forward. On the E39 I have still a good 3" or so before reaching the end of the seat guides, on the E34 it's all the way into the rear seats and still don't feel "home". Maybe smaller wheel will get me there.

[jicaino]

Well, I kind of deposited a reserve

01.jpg 02.jpg 04.jpg 05.jpg 06.jpg

530i M60 MT touring Dunkelblau over Ultramarine Bison
built late '93
No airbags, no ASC, LSD, ZF 5 speed tranny, M60B30 Nikasil engine, panoramic (aka "the jam-boree") sunroof, rust free, clean car with VGC all original glazing and seals and absolutely no nonsense except for power seats and power steering column, Oh! and auto dimming mirrors.
Now I need to find a donor vehicle for wheels and a narrow front grille/hood.

[dannyzabolotny]

Oooh nice! I love that spec, it has exactly what you need and nothing more. Plus since it's an M60B30, it's trivial to swap in an M60B40 (or build an M60B44 hybrid) for more power.

[jicaino]

Oooh nice! I love that spec, it has exactly what you need and nothing more. Plus since it's an M60B30, it's trivial to swap in an M60B40 (or build an M60B44 hybrid) for more power.

Also there's a lot more room for other ways of increasing power eg FI and variants. one would expect the E39 chassis being roomier to have better space, but the E34 being less reinforced actually makes things better. One thing that would take me FOREVER to learn is to open the hood the wrong way.

I've grown fond of supersquare engines with LWFW after the 523i with the raceheads aussie HD LWFW. Man that little M52B25 just LOVES to take a good pounding.

[dannyzabolotny]

Also there's a lot more room for other ways of increasing power eg FI and variants. one would expect the E39 chassis being roomier to have better space, but the E34 being less reinforced actually makes things better. One thing that would take me FOREVER to learn is to open the hood the wrong way.

I've grown fond of supersquare engines with LWFW after the 523i with the raceheads aussie HD LWFW. Man that little M52B25 just LOVES to take a good pounding.

Yeah, the E34 has a lot more room under the hood due to less safety stuff, whereas the E39 is more reinforced all around the chassis.

However, I think the biggest reason for the big FI scene with the E34 is less about the room (because E90's are even more crowded and people put big turbos on em all day) and more so about the ease of tuning. The E39 DME's are much more complex so it's hard/expensive to get a good tune even if you manage to build all the turbo bits yourself. E34 DME's on the other hand, seem to have lots of aftermarket support for tuning.

[Trasportador]

I have an e39 540it auto and an e34 540i6. Best of both worlds

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[jicaino]

I have an e39 540it auto and an e34 540i6. Best of both worlds

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I never thought I'd say this to any other man, but here I go. Ahem.... That's a lovely pair

I'd prefer the car auto and the touring manual myself, but different folks, different strokes.

Also never realized what was that appealed me about the e34, it looks like the corresponding 5'er to the e38

[Trasportador]

I never thought I'd say this to any other man, but here I go. Ahem.... That's a lovely pair

I'd prefer the car auto and the touring manual myself, but different folks, different strokes.

Also never realized what was that appealed me about the e34, it looks like the corresponding 5'er to the e38

I've been saying the same thing for years! Lol. The e38 and e34 are excellent cousins,l. That being said.... 2001 740i msport, alpine on black..



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[cpf9]

A few years ago I had an E34 525i/5 sedan. I now daily an E39 530i/5.

In some respects they are similar cars: restrained good looks, great ergonomics and driving position, wonderful poise and handling dynamics. I really miss the vintage looks of the E34 (mine was in great shape and in a nice color combination; I sold it to a local enthusiast who I believe still has it). I also feel as though the E34 was a little lighter on its feet. But there's no denying that the E39 is more solid, more powerful and safer. Ideally I would have kept both!

Bear in mind that if you are looking at an E34 that is both a wagon and auto, it is going to feel slow (unless you're talking about a 540!). The 5-speed on my sedan made it feel spritely but it was never all that fast.

[dannyzabolotny]

You're not imagining it, on average the E34's weigh less than an equivalent E39 (525i vs 530i, 540i vs 540i). The extra weight is why the E39 chassis is so much stiffer, along with having much less road noise at high speeds (due to all the extra insulation and seals everywhere).

[jicaino]

I know you guys didn't get any like the 523i we got or the diesels. The 523i feels lighter than an E36. At 1380kg with the iron block (the M50/2 "sondermotor" assembly) with all drivetrain components lightened up, it's an amazing "little" car. It actually feels smaller than the 540i. Crisp, edgy, ready to take it hard up to the redline, being extremelly rpm happy and even in its base suspension configuration, feeling sportier than a regular V8 car.

Getting back to the E34, it looks like a scaled down 7'er with better greenline than the E39, about as much as the same sheer enjoyability of drive, dare I say it, the little V8 is underwhelimg, I rather had a M30 big six, but all in all, a great contrast between them. The touring body, I dig the E34 better, since it looks like a miniature 7 touring. Its lower waist and larger glazing area (comparatively) "embetters" the proportion and the rear hatch has very teutonic lines, while the E39 touring rear body line isn't so crispily defined.

And oh, the glory of not having the dated and stupid small screen or big screen "nav" TV and phone makes me think I'm in a classic car, not the "electronics has been" smithsonian floor. It's only missing a betamax VCR in the glovebox (the E39 BM-TV cars) Another point in favor of the no-nonsense 523i

[amancuso]

FYI the e34 uses a steering box with recirculating ball, just like the V8 e39s that you hate.

[Santaclaus4]

I never thought I'd say this to any other man, but here I go. Ahem.... That's a lovely pair

Nicely groomed as well...

[jicaino]

FYI the e34 uses a steering box with recirculating ball, just like the V8 e39s that you hate.

Yes, I know. And it has a lot more imprecision to it than the E39 steering box. But you can't choose on the E34, can you?

[amancuso]

Yes, I know. And it has a lot more imprecision to it than the E39 steering box. But you can't choose on the E34, can you?

Not that I'm aware of. Enjoy!

[jicaino]

Not that I'm aware of. Enjoy!

For the record, I don't "hate" recirculating ball. It feels a lot less precise and has a "floaty" feel to it, which I don't necessarily hate. I do enjoy the crispy contrast, like salted roasted almods coated in honey, comparing the 540i and the 523i. And let the record show that I appreciate better the E39 chassis. It's just a rare car that I most likely will acquire as a family, long-road-trip-at-grandpa-worthy-paces kind of car, rustic and reliable enough to tour thru country or less populated areas where I don't need refinements but less "incomprehensible-to-the-locales" things that could break. That, or hauing chopped E39s, since I don't like trucks.