Details, details, details
So far, I have shown the exterior of the car more than anything else. This time, I thought I share with you the insides of the car. But before I do that, just a short take on the Wilwood big brake kit. As you can see, those are huge things. The rotors are 2-piece 352mm ( I think that is almost 14") and coupled to a 4-pot caliper. Frankly, I was disappointed with the Wilwood brakes. Firstly, I had to wait for almost 3 months before it was shipped over from USA. Apparently, the company had never done it before. So, some time had to be spent on R&D. When I finally had it installed, it was quite worth the wait because it looked really nice. But, brakes are not for looks alone, they must perform their basic function: stopping the car safely and effectively. Well, braking power was good (considering the size of those rotors) but there was vibration when braking at high speed. After 3 months of use, I had them removed because I decided original M5 brakes are best. They may look normal but they work; effectively, safely without any drama. When I decided to sell off the Wilwood brakes, I discovered that there were cracks on all the holes connecting the hat to the rotor. The US company has been informed of the defect and I am waiting to get replacement rotors from them. Or else, I am going to take them to task. This is definitely not acceptable.
You can see that the T-bar is blackened completely but not removed. The reason is because the M-tech bumper has air ducts to cool the brakes. As always, I like things to be cool and the brakes are no exceptions.
Back to the inside job. As you can see, the original seats have been removed and replaced with Recaro Style Topline. These seats are fantastic! They match the E39 nicely since it is a 2-piece seat ie. separate head-rest. It has electric incline and height adjustment and comes with heater and fan! Not that I need the heater in sunny Singapore but sometimes on a cool night, turning on the heater and fan gives the butt a nice feel. More importantly, these seats grip like hell. With adjustable side bolsters and thigh support, you can adjust the seat to fit you like a glove. Taking corners are high-speed is so much more fun when you are not sliding around the seat as in the original ones.
The trims are original M5 titanium trims. They cost a bomb but it was worth it. Those trims gives the inside of the car a bit more class and distinct it from the rest of the 5 series using the matt silver or wood trims. I kept the rest of the inside simple by sticking to black-only parts eg. gear shifter, hand-brake lever. The M3 steering wheel is another highly recommended upgrade. It is thicker compared to the original M5 steering wheel and looks much better with the 3 spokes. It also gives better visibility to the instrument cluster. I have since swopped the steering wheel with another M3 steering wheel with paddle-shifters. I cannot imagine life without paddle-shifters! If you are an enthuiastic driver, you need this mod badly.
The instrument cluster is finished with matt silver rings. The foot rest pedal is an original AC Schnitzer while the gas and brake pedals are some aluminium stuff I bought in Bangkok. No need to be extravagant in spending money on something you are going to step on everyday. You can also see a part of the M3 Oval mirror. Of all the parts inside the car, the M3 oval mirror must be my favourite. It gives instant gratification to anyone who knows the value of a M3 mirror inside the cabin. Overall, you will notice that the cockpit area is neat and without any clutter hanging or lying around. More than anything else, it is a safety feature. You don't want things flying around when you hit the corners or during hard braking. It distracts you and becomes a potential missile if it decides to take off.
I have gotten myself an M5 instrument cluster which will replace the original one. It is a bit tricky to install considering that the E39 M5 is manual. The gear indicators needs to be modified and a wire needs to be run to make sure the oil temp gauge is working. Whether the warm-up lights works or not is not too much of a concern for me but the oil temp gauge MUST be working. The next upgrade to the cabin is the removal of the grey felt and switching over to black felt. But, I will do it when the grey felt starts to fall apart. Judging by its present condition, it is going to take a while.
posted by gabey @ Sunday, July 09, 2006
