1989 BMW 535i Sport - Opinions.

[Beastly_Bavarian_Beauty]

Hi all. I have been an E34 owner for quite some time now. Now am the owner of two. A 1993 BMW E34 525i Sport (M50 2500cc 24V VANOS engine - manual)... and now a 1989 BMW E34 535i Sport (M30 3500cc 12V engine - manual).

I recently bought the 535i and am quite impressed with it. Already on a staggered 18-inch Rondell #58 setup on Continental rubber, lowered 40mm on the M-TECH shocks, K&N induction kit (came on the car - not sure if I should do away with this and return to the OE airbox with a K&N panel filter in)... and just had a manifold-back custom exhaust fabricated and fitted, including de-cat. The system, rather than being a twin system all the way down to the backbox is now twin downpipe, straight into a bigger bore single system all the way back, de-cat, fairly large resonator (to tone the growl down) and custom backbox. Not sure what this design would do to the power or torque levels, opinions are welcomed here! lol.

The sound is truely unbelievable. What a straight six should sound like. Pure TVR sound in Bavarian class. lol. ;) She howls.

Now... the car is definitely an original Sport, but the history behind the vehicle is a bit shady. Just bought it two weeks ago or so. From things such as clashing mileage on MOT certificates, to the same in the service book. The car has 122k on the odometer, but it had 121k last year on it's old MOT certificate. And have now seen from 1998... 131k marked in the service book!!! So... looks like she has been clocked. Unsure as to what mileage she may have done. I mean how easy are the digi-dashes to clock? Any give away marks or signs that may be present to prove she has been clocked? I mean maybe she had a new engine replacement at BMW, and they reset or changed the clocks at the same time. Not sure on proceedure here. Or maybe dash may have gone funny and they had to change the clocks for new... is this an issue at all on these cars?

What's puzzling though is just how great she is mechanically. From chassis to suspension, to brakes (which I just replaced all round with EBC performance discs and pads all round). Even the engine and gearbox seems OK to a point. A fraction of clunky over-run when engine is shut down - and ever so slightly eratic idling being the only real problems I can notice. Gearbox seems fine, maybe a slight linkage knock noise, but this seems universal on all E34's.

I had a compression test carried out upon her six cylinders. I know that the compression ratio of these engines are fairly low - at 9:1 - turbo ready. lol. But not sure what to think of the compression test results really. I'm used to pretty high compression engines, so maybe the following results are normal. Anyway, opinions on this

The readings of the compression were: -

Cylinder 1 - 125
Cylinder 2 - 130
Cylinder 3 - 135
Cylinder 4 - 130
Cylinder 5 - 130
Cylinder 6 - 135

How do these results look to you all?


Bodywork on her is fine. Usual M-TECH bodykit, M5 clear lights, shadowline, black kidney grills, M-TECH suspension, M-TECH black leather Recaro interior. And in lazurblau metallic. My favourite colour - both my E34's are in this. In really great condition really. Just the mileage issue getting to me, cost of new brakes (as the others were warped), replacing the usual corroded, dripping fuel tank fuel balance lines and the air-con needed re-gassing.

Also... just out of interest... what is a good condition E34 '89 535i Sport manual worth in your eyes? Came with original 18inch Alpina staggered wheel setup on new budget tyres. Prefer the Rondell's though. Picked her up really cheap I THINK... just wondering what you guys think these are worth.

Many Thanks.
Kyle :D

[DaveVoorhis]

Also... just out of interest... what is a good condition E34 '89 535i Sport manual worth in your eyes?
Around £1500.

[Robin-535im]

Sounds like quite a ride. Post some pics!

Re: K&N induction - I've had a similar setup with a resonator tube, and while it sounded really cool, it had noticeably less power than the stock setup. Enough difference that you could feel it in your pants... seat of your pants I mean...

[Flamin'Cow]

I have basically the same set-up on mine, I say keep the induction kit - the extra 3-5 BHP you would gain from having a 'standard' filter box are well worth the cool induction noise you get at around 4000rpm with the cone.

[stu1]

As I understand it the mileage is stored both in the instrument cluster and in one of the body control boxes (not sure which), so to clock it both chips need changing else the little orange dot will light next to the odometer.

[Robin-535im]

I have basically the same set-up on mine, I say keep the induction kit - the extra 3-5 BHP you would gain from having a 'standard' filter box are well worth the cool induction noise you get at around 4000rpm with the cone.
Perhaps your setup is better than mine was then... 3-5 HP is the difference between morning and noon driving, this was quite a bit more loss than that.

Did sound mean though. Rev up to pass someone and get this bad ass howl... BWAAAAAAAAA

[Beastly_Bavarian_Beauty]

As I understand it the mileage is stored both in the instrument cluster and in one of the body control boxes (not sure which), so to clock it both chips need changing else the little orange dot will light next to the odometer.


So... if the mileage had been clocked... then there would be an orange light displayed upon the dashboard near the odometer? Can anyone else confirm this?

What other reasons would there be what looks like two changes of mileage done in the past?

In 1998 it was written in the service book that it had covered 131k miles.

Last years old MOT showed 123k miles.

And the clock today shows 122k miles.

Very odd. What explanations can people possibly think these could be down to???

Also... what do you guys think to the results of the compression test of the six cylinders? Is it low? Seems to me, although i've always dealt with engines with a CR of around 10-11:1 - not 9:1 like this one. Expertise, knowledge or experience needed here please.

I will try to get some pics up of her. She does look great. Proper Bavarian Motorway Monster. :D

And yeah... sounds amazing. I've just sourced a second hand airbox, will get a K&N panel filter... so that I can see / hear the difference between the two. Will let you know my findings.

[DaveVoorhis]

Also... what do you guys think to the results of the compression test of the six cylinders? Is it low? Seems to me, although i've always dealt with engines with a CR of around 10-11:1 - not 9:1 like this one. Expertise, knowledge or experience needed here please.
The readings are mostly consistent, which is fine. However, absolute compression readings are of less value than a leakdown test, which measures the rate of escaping compression. Absolute compression tests are fine for diagnosing which can contains a broken ring, holed piston, or burned-out valve. Leakdown tests are better for measuring the subtler aspects of valve leakage and ring wear.

[Flamin'Cow]

Yeah I do have the added luxury of an M5 3.91 diff too - which certainly helps on the accelaration front......

Also, my air con system is no-longer attached (a few extra BHP there).

....oh and I only run on 98 RON Super Unleaded........