Is ///M badge on a 540i sport rice?

[mookish]

http://www.kenrockwell.com/bmw/540options.htm

[rocketwagon]

I always tell the same story when this subject comes up, of one day a couple of years ago seeing a guy in an SN-95 Mustang with a Saleen wing and a giant Saleen windshield sticker...and a single exhaust pipe. It's just...trying too hard.

I didn't go to Harvard...why would I plaster my back window with a big "HARVARD" decal?

I could head over to the rink on Thursday night for my men's league game wearing a complete replica of Mats Sundin's road uniform, right down to the skates, and I won't play like Mats Sundin. (I won't even play like Domi, for Christ's sake.)

I could stick an ///M badge on the back of my Touring...and it's only an ///M Touring in my imagination.

So why do it?

[dinan e39]

So if the ///M badge does not come from standard or sports version models, then where does it come from? So all the cars that have ///M on the back of the cars, bought it on eBay, removed their stock badge and put it on?

the answer to your question is yes. if a bmw car has an ///m badge on the back of it and does NOT have an ///m motor under the hood then somebody placed it there after it left the factory. IT IS NOT ORIGINAL.

[LBMotoring]

I wish you guys put this much effort into actually modding e39's.... :-/

[brandon5069]

I wish you guys put this much effort into actually modding e39's.... :-/

What's that supposed to mean???

[jamesdc4]

This is a debate and I always find it odd at how many people are your typical band wagon jumpers. If one person says the badge is bad, so does the next person. The OP isnt looking to put on an M5 badge. That would be completely gay. He is talking about the M and M alone. BMW just put the "M" on the wheels and steering wheel because its an M package. Should the buyer yank off the other original M badges too? What about the door sill trim? should that be yanked off too? So pretty much everyone is saying, as long as the M emblem isnt visible to them, then its fine?

Some people need to get their head out of their ass and start talking for themselves. I bet alot of guys on this board would have loved to pop on just the M badge on their M-sport bimmers but now they are so conditioned to say an M-badge on a non M5 is a no-no.

Do what you want to do sunny, as long as you dont try to pass of your car as an M5, you will be just fine. Or if you want to go with these run of the mill haters, then go ahead and start yanking off ALL you M emblems. The car isnt an M or M package because you car doesnt have the M5 engine........so be it........rant off......over and out.


Im with Fragzem, debadge is better then any badge. Nice and clean!

I have a 540 its a sport and has the ///M on the wheels, steering wheel and shift knob. Besides the emblems there are other things that are different than a non-sport version. It was an upgrade, people payed for it. So why is it considered rice on a 540 that was not made in 2003? I understand the bumpers and headliners are different, I'm sure there are other things as well.
I'm new to BMWs so I dont know much.

I will do what I want(I have not decided yet, though I have already bought the badge). But I just want an explanation of why people call it rice.

[Ellicit]

thats rice, jus like chrome rims (OH I HATE CHROME RIMS)

[mrsharp]

Regarding the op, people think that putting an ///M badge on a non ///M car is rice because mis-badging was and still may be very common in the "ricer" scene ( I wouldn't know). I remember in the 90's when VTEC stickers could be found on cars that weren't even Honda's.
Why do you want to put an ///M badge on the 540 anyways? It doesn't make the car any faster! You should be proud to own a BMW no matter what it is. A 540 is a 540 and should be nothing else.

[thrilos5]

I wish you guys put this much effort into actually modding e39's.... :-/

yes, whats that suppose to mean??

[brandon5069]

It's your car. Do what you want to do to it



BUT!!!!
If I see you driving around with an ///M badge on your car I'm going to laugh...sorry...

Why???
Because an ///M badge on on a non ///M is like seeing a 90lb man wearing a big gold chain that reads "BEEFCAKE!!!!". It's just hilarious

[BKphoto]

Well I know for a fact that he did not do that, he drives to work in it and parks it in his driveway, that's it!

So if the ///M badge does not come from standard or sports version models, then where does it come from? So all the cars that have ///M on the back of the cars, bought it on eBay, removed their stock badge and put it on?

Usually a badge on a car signifies some itmes that relate to the badge inside or outside the car. It does. It has an M steering wheel, M wheels etc. So therefore why couldn't the ///M badge come from the factory?

I'm not disagreeing with you, just looking for the right information, I have evidence stating otherwise and I'm looking to acknowledge or discard it.

it wouldn't hurt you to do a little research...

[Holeshotz8436]

check this link out, wtf
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/2000-AC-SCHNITZER-BMW-540-M5-SPORT-6SPEED-DVD-68K-miles_W0QQitemZ150147896463QQihZ005QQcategoryZ6008 QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

I saw that the other day while poking around ebay, the owner wrecked a perfectly good 540 imo

[RyansBMW]

If I were to put the M badge on the Trunk, it would be to show that I have the Sport package or to show that it is a six speed. I dont think anyone would think that I have a m5 motor in the car, and I am not sure that many in people in Texas would associate the badge with the motor. Dont worry i'm taking everyones thoughts in to consideration ( and am gaining an understanding). I'll be sure to ask my mechanic what he thinks as well.

im sorry to tell you that if people saw the M badge on the trunk one of two things would happen:
1) if he was an enthusiast, he would just laugh at you
2) if it was someone else and he raced you and beat you, you would have a kid running around saying he beat a M5 when the power you put down doesnt even come close to what a real M5 can make

Secondly, you dont need a badge to show that you have the sport kit. a true enthusiast will notice the difference between a sport kit and non sport kit.

[elton528i]

If there is a factory M already on the door strips, steering wheel, gear knob and 4 sill plates, then putting one on the back is fine in my opinion, no one is talking about the M5 badge.
BMW saw fit to put it on the Mtec sport package 8 times already, its just a badge that looks better than 5**i in most peoples opinion.

[cliffhanger407]

When making a decision about a purchase for my car, I ask myself a few questions.
1) What does it do for the car? (Does it look nicer, does it go faster, doest it respond better)?
2) What does it do for the driver? (Can you see better at night, is the car more responsive, does it feel better, does it add privacy)
3) What does it detract from the car? (Is it a non OEM part, and therefore lower quality, does it misrepresent the car)

I require my modifications to have at least one of the two positives before I allow it to have a negative. For my non OEM taillights, they really make the car look a lot sharper. My P39's look good, and I can see a lot better than with the halogens, but again, non OEM.

What does adding an ///M badge do to your car or to its driver that's beneficial?

[Steadfast]

I saw a mazda 6 with a Type R badge on it several days ago I rolled my eyes and let out a small laugh.

I just picked up a 530i with the M package and when I showed my friends the car they thought I had a m5 because of the m on the shift nob and stearing wheel. I laughed and said heck no I wish. So it just boils down to who is looking at the car but for most people out there on the road they don't even no what a 5 series, a 3 series or a 7 series are, heck they barely even know about what kind of car they drive...LOL.

So...that being said do what you want. If you don't care that some people will laugh at you then do it. And some will say they like it...one thing I realize in the enthusiast world there will aways be people hating on your stuff...

[BKphoto]

If there is a factory M already on the door strips, steering wheel, gear knob and 4 sill plates, then putting one on the back is fine in my opinion, no one is talking about the M5 badge.
BMW saw fit to put it on the Mtec sport package 8 times already, its just a badge that looks better than 5**i in most peoples opinion.

talk about missing every point...

[Gumbi4u]

talk about missing every point...

What really is the point to this thread? When a person buys a e39 for the first time, the thought of popping on an ///M Badge does cross the mind. Now putting on a blatant M5 badge is wrong on all counts. If its an M sport, its not really a big deal to pop on a M badge. I do see ALOT of people around these parts that have the M5 badge on their non M5 car but I dont go out of my way to laugh at it "hard" like others are saying here. Its like some of these guys will speed up to the person just to roll down the windows and point at the driver and laugh hysterically. The M badge isnt the problem, its the self righteous people that think they know BMW's standards by the book.

[FP5241]

**walks into the thread***

Um... why do they sell ///M only badges?
Why not just sell ///M5 or 3 or 1 or whatever and end this debate???

***walks back out***

[Gumbi4u]

**walks into the thread***

Um... why do they sell ///M only badges?
Why not just sell ///M5 or 3 or 1 or whatever and end this debate???

***walks back out***

Good question. I believe even the original M5 badge is a two piece set. Its the M part and then a single digit 5. Im not too sure, maybe someone can chime in.

[Steadfast]

What really is the point to this thread? When a person buys a e39 for the first time, the thought of popping on an ///M Badge does cross the mind. Now putting on a blatant M5 badge is wrong on all counts. If its an M sport, its not really a big deal to pop on a M badge. I do see ALOT of people around these parts that have the M5 badge on their non M5 car but I dont go out of my way to laugh at it "hard" like others are saying here. Its like some of these guys will speed up to the person just to roll down the windows and point at the driver and laugh hysterically. The M badge isnt the problem, its the self righteous people that think they know BMW's standards by the book.

Well put...

[elton528i]

talk about missing every point...

How is that missing the point?
I didn't realise there was a certain criteria that needed to be understood to discuss this topic.

'MY' point was in reference to the fact the OP's car came with 8 ///M badges already on it, so if he then decides to put another one on the boot lid then there should be no foul at all. (he just might prefer the M instead of the plain look, and the long 540i.

I agree, putting an m badge on a comfort 540i is ridiculous, and THAT would be missing the point.

[FP5241]

Excerpt from wikipedia......

"M-Cars vs. M-badged cars

There are several BMW models to which BMW Motorsport made changes without being full M-Cars. Vehicles which have been modified by BMW Motorsport but are not full M-Cars may feature plain 'M' badges with no number, whilst full M-Cars have 'M' badges with the model number. E.g. 'M3' or 'M5'. It should be noted however that the Z3/Z4-based M Roadster and M Coupe bore numberless 'M' badges as standard fitment.
For example, the E28 M535i featured suspension, styling, and transmission improvements over the standard 535i. These changes were carried out by BMW Motorsport, thus the car carried 'M' stripe badges on the front grille and boot, but not the full 'M5' badging. The E28 M5 was sold along side the M535i. Motorsport modifications have been made to almost every BMW model, hence it is not unusual to see 'standard' BMW's with 'M' badges.
The opposite occurred with the 850CSi where it was an M car in all but its name (it had BMW M sourced engine and it's VIN indicated that it was developed by BMW Motorsport, like all other M cars), this was possibly because a true M8 was in development. This M8 however was cancelled for reasons known only to BMW."



Just puttin it out there for discussional purposes only...

[elton528i]

85.19%.

[BBdotcom]

I have one question for all in the know! the M5 badge is it all one piece or is the //M and 5 two parts? cause in my search for a 5 series I've seen a few with just an //M badge beside the 540I and some of these cars were at a BMW dealer.
I for one wouldn't put an M5 badge on a car that wasn't an m5 I think its just not right or as some have said a poser... but I have seen cars that have just an //M badge on the back with the 540I.
When I buy my 5 Series it will wear the badge that comes on it and I will be proud to drive it ... why??? Cause its a BMW!!!!
Tom