# 540i Drive



## Guest84 (Dec 21, 2001)

Met up with an old friend on Sat. evening. He'd purchased a 2000 540i 6-speed, loaded,last year with 5000 miles on it. Apparently, the car kept slipping out of gear in 3rd, so the dealer replaced the tranny for him.

We met at his house along with two other friends a gawked over each others cars. After swapping keys, we were on the road.In-d-haus knows the road we chose, Dash point road, which is quite windy and twisty, good for a spirited drive but nothing too crazy due two-lanes and blind corners.

My first impressions is that the transmission didn't seem as "tight" as my 330ci,(we both have 8,000 miles on our cars) and ironically, the minute I hit 3rd gear and released the clutch, the car popped out of gear! :eeps: Ignoring that anomoly, I began to 'chase' Denise who was driving my 330ci. 

The steering was much lighter, the suspension and weight of the car gave it that "cruiser" feeling. With the loaded package, it really felt like luxery. 283 hp under the hood gave it a nice 'oomph' when accelerating, but if you already have a 330, you won't notice a significant difference, probably the weight of the 540i anulling any real noticibly difference in 0-60, though the stats show this car is 5/10 of a second faster in 0-60.

Things I like about the 540i:
Full sized sedan makes it feel like you could easier go across country comfortably with 3 passengers.
Weight of the car takes away all the little bumps of the road that you'd feel with the sporty suspension of my 330ci.
Beautiful engine!

Things I disliked:
The tranny shift sort of sloppy, he'd had this replaced, so I'm not sure of the history of this tranny. 
The cornering felt much better in the 3-series, but this car wasn't built to handle agressive cornering as much as it was to handle a nice long road cruise.
I missed my bolstered sports seats!
I disliked the dark wood trim.

After 30 min. we arrived at the restaurant, Denise talked very highly of the 3-series, and I think I detected just a hint of "I wish I'd bought one of these" with his exuhuberance when speaking of highlites he liked in my 330 such as the corning, the tighter steering, and he particularly like the response of the 3.0L engine.."I could tell the engine was ready to play when I hit the accelerator" He particularly liked the boltered sport seats, his 540i did not have them.

Now, the wife has shown an interest in the past for the 530/540, and I think this would be a good car for her or someone who doesn't take a turn off the beaten path to get some agressive driving in..although its no slouch, this 540i seemed like it was built for high end speed, and highway cruising. My 330Ci IMO is more of a "Let's go the long way and have some fun" type car.

Whelp, thats my 2 cents. If your a current 3-series owner looking to go to a 5-series, they really are for two different purposes in MY opinion.

Still have 3 1/2 years before I can begin looking for an M3 !


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## Dr. Phil (Dec 19, 2001)

Nice review Rip. My buddy has a 99 540i 6sp which I haven't driven yet but his feed back supports your thoughts that the car is made for high speed cruising.


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## Mike 325xi (Dec 19, 2001)

Nice write up Rip...I've been wanting to drive a 540i 6-sp for a while just to see if it could be a car for me...your write up answered some of those questions...

Maybe when I get to be as old as you I'll appreciate the cruiser aspect a little more


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## hts (Dec 19, 2001)

"Denise" is a guy?! WTF? Where's he from, anyways?

 

(hee hee. Nice review Rip--thanks).


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## Guest84 (Dec 21, 2001)

Whooops! Thats Dennis, not Denise...I always do that!


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## PropellerHead (Jan 3, 2002)

*Just get both*

In our six month search for what would become a 2002 330ia, we drove our 2000 540i6 to the dealer each time after we would drive a competitor's car. The Type S Acura, the MDX, an Expedition, Explorer, hell, even an F-250 diesel- just to demonstrate that she had no damn idea what she wanted to drive.

Each time she would get excited about another car, we'd haul over to the Bimmer Dealer and drive a 330ia with sport and premium. Each time, we'd feel right back at home in the 330. She would drive and I would drive and I would get all excited and think about trading my 540 for a 5 speed 330 or better, an M3. "Damn, I like these little things!" I always said either aloud or under my breath. Each time as we accellerated out of the dealer parking lot in my 540 as we left, she would say, "Ok, your car is pretty cool, too." I would listen to the aftermarket exhaust letting the V8 sing and ya know, we were both right.

My 540 has the sport seats which are, having driven both and IMO, more supportive than the comfort seats option. While no 540 will ever be able to slice as well as a 330 (depending on the driver, of course) my aftermarket suspension mods of adjustable Konis and Bav Auto Springs help me feel more sure-footed than stock.

As far as the car slipping out of gear, I have had that problem before, but always attributed it to my own error. It's happened maybe three times in one year and 14,000 miles of ownership. It seemed to happen when I was day dreaming about something instead of driving. If the car you drove does not have a shortshifter, it could be that you were not used to the long ass 2-3 throw. It's like rowing a boat on a stock shifter. Then again, the fact that it has happened before to different drivers defies that logic.

All in all, I agree. Both great cars for their drivers. I can't wait till we pick up the 330 in Spartanburg, March 15th.


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## Mike 325xi (Dec 19, 2001)

Ripsnort said:


> *Whooops! Thats Dennis, not Denise...I always do that! *


He was probably "Denise" for you on Saturday :yikes:


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## Guest84 (Dec 21, 2001)

Alright "Frank"


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## Dr. Phil (Dec 19, 2001)

Ripsnort said:


> *Alright "Frank"  *


Play nice fellas:lmao:


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## Emission (Dec 19, 2001)

I've been driving a 540i-6 for about four weeks now, and I just got my 330i-5 back...

The 540i-6 SPORT seats are much better, and much MORE bolstered. You must have had the LUXURY seat option on the 540i you drove. 

The 540i-6 is much more powerful, and faster, than the 330i.

With a G-TECH/Pro on board, I did the following test:

I wanted to see which car pulled harder on the freeway, so I took each car up to 60 mph, then waited for the G-TECH to read "0 G's" (or neutral acceleration). Then, one gear at a time, I floored it in each car. The 540i-6 was significantly faster in every aspect except in 6th gear (less than 2000 rpm), where it tied the 330i. Oh yeah, I threw the wife's Volvo in to see what it would do too. Take a look:

"G's" measured accelerating from 60 mph in each gear:

540i 330i Volvo V70

6th gear .12 na na
5th gear .17 .12 .11
4th gear .22 .16 .12
3rd gear .29 .23 .17

The difference is significant.

In fact, under hard acceleration in first, the 540i pulls .59 G's. The 330i can do no better than .53 G's.

It's all in the torque, the weight difference of the 540-6 (3748) is less than 350 more than the 330i.


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## missing23 (Feb 1, 2002)

I went from 323 to M5 and the E46 was definitely more cockpit like......but I needed more room for clients in the back seat and the E39 provides that........sport seats are wider too.

As for handling my M feels much smoother during hard corners than the 3 did.......it is a more refined ride but still sport tight and definitely not Cadillac or Lexus like (which I hate....luxo boats)

So I guess I agree with Rip for the most part.....I personally wanted more room and more ponies......which I definitely got.

I would have bought an E46 M3 sedan if they would make the dang things!


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## Guest84 (Dec 21, 2001)

Well Emissions, you may be able to detect 5/10 of a second in 0-60(you've been around high performance cars longer than I) or notice it in a gadget that measures g-force, but I could not tell any difference in the acceleration department. Place it up against something like our Explorer, well then I could tell the difference! 

Incidently, here are the specs for each car:

*2000 540i*


> Acceleration (0-60 mph): 5.5 sec.
> Braking Distance (60-0 mph): 126 ft.
> Roadholding Index: 0.83
> Base Number of Cylinders: 8
> ...


*2001 330ci*


> Acceleration (0-60 mph): 5.9 sec.
> Braking Distance (60-0 mph): 120 ft.
> Roadholding Index: NA
> Base Number of Cylinders: 6
> ...


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## Emission (Dec 19, 2001)

One thing both us walked away with....

We like our 3-series better.

The 330i is much more tossable, and the steering (even with my retro) has much better feel on the 3-series. The 540i is made for high speed cruising... while the 3-series is made for the twisties.

Two years ago, on the track in my "old" E36 328i, I was able to keep up with (and pass) a 540i 6-speed. It was much faster on the straights, but it just couldn't keep up with me on the corners. Too much mass there to outrun a little 3-series.

By the way, 5-series interior dimensions are all within one inch of the 3-series! It is much bigger on the outside, but not on the inside.


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## JPinTO (Dec 20, 2001)

Emission said:


> *By the way, 5-series interior dimensions are all within one inch of the 3-series! It is much bigger on the outside, but not on the inside. *


That's what I felt when I sat in a 540 interior... this thing isn't much bigger inside than an E46. Outside it's bigger but it doesn't translate to more inside room. It must be a reflection of the 5-series getting old in the design department. With the new designs they seem to maximize interior room while minimizing exterior size... neat trick.


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## AK (Jan 19, 2002)

*Ooh, can I play too? *










I own a '99 540i-6 and I've driven a 330i (unfortunately an automatic)..

My thoughts on the differences are that the 330i has a far more "nimble" feel to it than the 540, most likely due to less weight and the rack and pinion steering box (540i uses recirculating ball steering). As far as power went, the straight 6 has plenty of oomph but not quite that of the V8, despite the weight difference. Interior room was smaller but not by much.

As far as the seats not having enough side bolstering, as was stated above, that car might have had the Luxury seat option as opposed to the Sport seats (all 540i-6's have the Sport option as standard). I love the sport seats in mine; there is tons of side bolstering support.

TTFN!
AK


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