E38 - Not really retro

[bstardchild]

OK I'm not putting this in readers rides because I don't view it as either retro or modified but was looking for opinions on how it looks now

(I know it needs hitting with a stick but it's one of the dailys and also my tow car so lows aren't really an option)

Anyway so what it looked like a week ago



And after the last weeks worth or work



Detail



I haz dish



So explaination

I haven't bought new wheels - I got this car in 2006 and these wheels were on it



However they were in a poor state - water under the laquer had turned the alloy black - the paint was peeling of the corroded centres and the tyres well lets just say after a few miles they were toast.....

So I experimented with other alloys



Too fussy and bloody hard to clean - should have realised after years of living with Senators that basket weaves were gonna realy iritate me so I settled for the ones in the first picture

And then decided to re-furb the originals



Became



I needed to make sure I didn't lose the bolts cos sometimes my little projects don't happen overnight.......



And the centres got blasted and coated



The alloy once the laquer was removed seemed to be black to the core and wouldn't polish so I threw it all in the garage loft and forgot about them..... Till a mate Gewy (I think he has a log on here but he's a brouser rather than a poster) wanted to try a rear one on the front of his his project car - looked good but a smidge narrow for what he needed (9 1/2 J x 18) so I had to put one together roughly (with four bolts - I hadn't lost them) the ally had gone back to grey so I thought I'd better finish them......

And finally after 7 years owning them and 6 years off the car later I have......

[markgenesis]

Cracking job , tempting to lower it but it'd be a shame to ruin the sublime ride these cars have, especially if it's a daily.

As much as i love the E38 i have the same opinion as you in that it's not Retro, superb cars though, i have M-parallels on mine, 285/40/18 tyres on the rear, 255/50/18 front, 15mm spacers on the rear really fill the arches out, rear looks low in this pic but i replaced the rear springs and shocks shortly after so it sits higher now

[bstardchild]

Oct 18, 2013 19:32:18 GMT markgenesis said:

Cracking job , tempting to lower it but it'd be a shame to ruin the sublime ride these cars have, especially if it's a daily.

I'll probably not be believed here but the ride isn't a patch on any of my previous Senators - my 7 has what I regard as the typical BMW trait of being jiggly on anything but bilboard smooth surfaces and yet the roll on corners is awfull - overdamped and undersprung

Oct 18, 2013 19:32:18 GMT markgenesis said:

As much as i love the E38 i have the same opinion as you in that it's not Retro, superb cars though, i have M-parallels on mine, 285/40/18 tyres on the rear, 255/50/18 front, 30mm spacers on the rear really fill the arches out, rear looks low in this pic but i replaced the rear springs and shocks shortly after so it sits higher now

Hell I know it'll be a long while before it's retro but If I can comment on yours - Wow those rears really fill the arches.......

[joem83]

Looks nice that, was looking at one on ebay earlier and had to laugh when I saw the tire size, 50 profile on an 18" wheel makes you realise just how big these things are!

I remember looking at one at a BMW dealership when they where new (and I was young lol) being amazed by the fully optioned one sat outside with 20's on it. Was almost unheard of back then.

[markgenesis]

Oct 18, 2013 19:37:30 GMT bstardchild said:

I'll probably not be believed here but the ride isn't a patch on any of my previous Senators - my 7 has what I regard as the typical BMW trait of being jiggly on anything but bilboard smooth surfaces and yet the roll on corners is awfull - overdamped and undersprung
Hell I know it'll be a long while before it's retro but If I can comment on yours - Wow those rears really fill the arches.......

Ah, mine felt horrible in corners until i replaced the rear top suspension arms, on fast A road bends any undulation in the road and the rear of the car felt like it was moving in a circle, rides even better now that i've replaced the rear shocks and springs (that's a hell of a job though).

Cheers for the compliment , the car looks like a beast from the rear with all that rubber , it's sadly off the road at the moment needing the rear integral links and ball joints done

[mattfletcher]

Ive got a 728i, (in my avatar) love it to be fair, I think they're square enough to be retro but not popular enough. I like the "esque" it has, shut the windows and its like you're in a different world, I think the quality is superb. Although big and heavy, I guess they're not designed to be track car, I prefer just simply cruising in mine. Mine has been dechromed with clear light pack and black staggered style 32s. I'd like to fit it with coilovers and a slight tint on the windows, but other than that I think they're perfect how they are.

[HARDCORE]

C'mon Mr. Marsh - get it on it's arss - low cars love towing

Mine: 740iL M-Sport

[markgenesis]

Oct 18, 2013 23:03:23 GMT HARDCORE said:

C'mon Mr. Marsh - get it on it's arss - low cars love towing

Mine: 740iL M-Sport

Oh, My, that's stunning , a long M-sport must be rare ?, facelift too

[notsoswift]

Strange how I always thought these were fake 2 piece wheels and the bolts were cosmetic, BIG improvement to the looks IMO
No not retro, but it is telling that I recently saw something in the US that late E38's go more than early E65's in similar condition (doesn't happen in AU, but I found it interesting)

[bstardchild]

Oct 19, 2013 5:57:29 GMT notsoswift said:

Strange how I always thought these were fake 2 piece wheels and the bolts were cosmetic, BIG improvement to the looks IMO

I've refurbed a few of these two piece split rims over the years - even did a how too thread on a polo forum for the MK5 GTi rims and they are my all time favorite wheel in terms of spoke design.

Oct 19, 2013 5:57:29 GMT notsoswift said:

not retro, but it is telling that I recently saw something in the US that late E38's go more than early E65's in similar condition (doesn't happen in AU, but I found it interesting)

Doesn't surprise me not a fan of the E65 looks - certainly on the early ones they look a bit odd in the back end area

[bstardchild]

Oct 18, 2013 23:03:23 GMT HARDCORE said:

C'mon Mr. Marsh - get it on it's arss - low cars love towing

Yeah I'm sure they do......

Oct 18, 2013 23:03:23 GMT HARDCORE said:

Mine: 740iL M-Sport

Lose the Orange on the rear lights if you've gone for clears on the front IMHO



Snap (Black Kidney Grills)



How exactly did you lower that.......

[HARDCORE]

I wholeheartedly agree about the rear lights, and will see to it asap

It's on lowing springs (no idea what brand) & the OE (onboard adjustable) shocks, with the rear auto-levelling sensors reset to suit the new height. Wheels are 19x9 front with 225-45's and 19x10 rears with 245-40's (E65/6 Style 95's iirc)

Like what you've done with yours very much - how hard was it to get a towbar? Bet it'll pull anything..

[bstardchild]

Oct 19, 2013 21:06:19 GMT HARDCORE said:

I wholeheartedly agree about the rear lights, and will see to it asap

LOL - I did mine front clears and rear lights on the the day I bought it

Oct 19, 2013 21:06:19 GMT HARDCORE said:

It's on lowing springs (no idea what brand) & the OE (onboard adjustable) shocks, with the rear auto-levelling sensors reset to suit the new height. Wheels are 19x9 front with 225-45's and 19x10 rears with 245-40's (E65/6 Style 95's iirc)

It's way lower than any lowering springs I've seen in the E38 circle

Oct 19, 2013 21:06:19 GMT HARDCORE said:

Like what you've done with yours very much - how hard was it to get a towbar? Bet it'll pull anything..

Towbar is a witter - but the electrics are BMW and after a couple of false starts (model break for BMW so choice of three) it was plug and play

Tow bar fitting - just like building stuff with lego - BMW even put dimples in the shell where the bolts need to go

Coming back from RRG2012 I had 1200 kgs of Monza on 800 kgs of trailer and to be honest apart from initial pull away you really didn't know it was there (apart from the restricted rear view)

what was a surprise was 27 mpg - seriously that's just unbelievable!!!

[HARDCORE]

Oct 19, 2013 21:33:16 GMT bstardchild said:

Oct 19, 2013 21:06:19 GMT HARDCORE said:

I wholeheartedly agree about the rear lights, and will see to it asap

LOL - I did mine front clears and rear lights on the the day I bought it

Haha! I consider myself told! It had the front clears already when I bought it, but with orange bulbs (yuck!) so I changed them & the side repeaters pretty much immediately.

Oct 19, 2013 21:33:16 GMT bstardchild said:

Oct 19, 2013 21:06:19 GMT HARDCORE said:

It's on lowing springs (no idea what brand) & the OE (onboard adjustable) shocks, with the rear auto-levelling sensors reset to suit the new height. Wheels are 19x9 front with 225-45's and 19x10 rears with 245-40's (E65/6 Style 95's iirc)

It's way lower than any lowering springs I've seen in the E38 circle

you know me dude.. (it's actually lower than those pics make it look)

Oct 19, 2013 21:33:16 GMT bstardchild said:

Oct 19, 2013 21:06:19 GMT HARDCORE said:

Like what you've done with yours very much - how hard was it to get a towbar? Bet it'll pull anything..

Towbar is a witter - but the electrics are BMW and after a couple of false starts (model break for BMW so choice of three) it was plug and play

Tow bar fitting - just like building stuff with lego - BMW even put dimples in the shell where the bolts need to go

Coming back from RRG2012 I had 1200 kgs of Monza on 800 kgs of trailer and to be honest apart from initial pull away you really didn't know it was there (apart from the restricted rear view)

what was a surprise was 27 mpg - seriously that's just unbelievable!!!

Something to think about if I ever get a grown up license.. Be nice to be able to tow the trackcar, tho we've got a recovery truck on the make anyhew.

I totally agree with you, these cars are genuinely amazing. Mine's on gas so an easy 45mpg, in a 4.4l, 280(?)bhp, 2.02ton, 5+ metre long car. Ridiculous!

[surprisingskoda]

You know I like a tasty E38. Shadowline set would mean that up a bit.

[bstardchild]

Oct 19, 2013 23:33:35 GMT surprisingskoda said:

You know I like a tasty E38. Shadowline set would mean that up a bit.

You mean de-chrome? I know who to ask if I ever want to do that

[bstardchild]

One E38 I followed for a long time was this one in the USA





So nicely done

[ThePollitt]

I think it looks lovely with the wheels re-done. Personally, that's as far as I'd go. I adore E38s and as such, I will have another one day. Preferably a facelift Sport.

The thing is (and before you all chip in to hire a hit man, this is just my opinion) I think it's a crime to lower them. Again, it's just my opinion, but I've always thought that with the correct OEM wheels, the E38 is one of the best looking 'box fresh' cars out there. I still stand by that.

But anyway, that's just me. To make up for my lack of low love (in the this unique case), have some pics of my old one...




...and the one that used to belong to the local pub landlord...




Oh, I also owned this one for about two days. Bought it for £300. It blew up within 45 mins of owning it. Sold it for scrap for £400, so all in all, a win.



Chris

[mattfletcher]

Oct 20, 2013 15:02:20 GMT ThePollitt said:

...and the one that used to belong to the local pub landlord...





Chris

I love those wheels!!!!

[mattfletcher]

I love those wheels!!