Good Stuff Part 1
Here is the set-up of my oil cooler. It is made up of a few components sourced from the BMW catalogue. Firstly, the enclosure is from the M5. It is actually the air filter box but I modified it to fit the Earl's oil cooler. The piping from the front of the car are all original M5 stuff. I attached an additional length of flexible piping to direct the incoming air towards the oil cooler. The oil cooler cap is from Victory Product Design. It is specifically made for the car so as not to lose oil pressure. There is a problem though. The fittings sits too high and during hard driving, they do pop up and dent the hood. However, I understand the VPD has re-designed the oil cap and the fittings are also lower. That should solve the problem. Does it help? Well, the oil cooler may not be as big as I want it to be but it definitely helps to a certain extent. In any case, you would not want to have too much cooling. Engine oil is meant to run a bit hot in order to be efficient. Cool it too much and it becomes sludgy and loses its heat absorbing property. Now, why would I need an oil cooler? Think.
A picture speaks a 1000 words
This picture says it all. It is a prelude to the transformation from the old 5 to the new 5. If you know, you know. If you don't know, well, you can find out by doing a search. If you can hold your curiosity, you will be in for a nice surprise.
The New Old 5
As I've mentioned previously, I have been attempting to bring the car back to stock. Okay, so I did not really explain what 'stock' means to me. Let's start with the exhaust. Looking at it, you would think that I've actually put back the stock muffler with the single tail pipe. Turth is, the inside of the stock muffler have been completely ripped out. What's inside now is a perforated pipe straight from the inlet to the outlet. Nothing else. No baffles. Packed tightly with exhaust wool, the exhaust is probably quieter than stock. But, in the performance department, things are a little different. The exhaust gas now flows right through, which is exactly what I wanted. The kidney-shaped silencer has also been removd and replaced by a single in/out silencer. The logic is simple. Hot air wants to get out quickly and the straighter the route, the faster and more efficient. I have achieved this without splurging a bomb on some expensive exhaust system which serves nothing more than to give you a distinct sound. Don't believe me? Do a search and you will hear many experts tell you that a muffler is nothing more than a sound box. Still don't believe me? Ask youself why F1 cars do not have a muffler system. Enough said.
Looks-wise, it is definitely not as flashy as a quad-pipe set-up. But, hey, you know how much weight I might be saving since I am using less metal? Also, it's so stock looking, no one bothers to give you a second look including the traffic police. It emits little noise but compared to stock, you can bet that the air flow is definitely much better.
The Old New 5
Here we are. After a few months of messing around, here is the final result. Opinions are definitely mixed about the 'new' look. Some of the fellas thinks the car is sliding backwards. Others adore the 'stock' look. As for me, it depends on the situation. With the car standing still, it certainly does not draw any oohs and aahs. She kinda look like any ordinary E39 5 series. But, to a keen observer, he would know that this is no ordinary 5. A few checks here and there would give it away. In this aspect, there are certainly 2 groups of people that I classify as 'looks only people' and 'performance oriented people. Actually, there is a 3rd group called the 'looks and performance oriented' people. I would classify myself as a 3rd groupie but at this point in time, I am leaning towards Groupie 2.
Anyway, without much adieu, here are some updates. Starting with the wheels, the ROH 18" have been replaced by 19" Tecnomagnesio Magnesium rims shod with Dunlop Sportmaxx 245/35 all round. The weight per rim is about 10 kg. After putting them on, I must say the steering has improved. It's definitely much lighter to manage and considering the high speed B roads drive that we do on weekends, my arm muscles certainly appreciates it. The only gripe I have is that they are really horrible to clean. Since I am using stock brake pads, the brake dust simply covers the whole rim and turns it into a brake dust reservoir. In a couple of weeks, my Axxis Deluxe pads will be arriving. That should cure the brake dust problem and cut down cleaning time. Anyway, it's still a bitch to clean. By the way, yours truly is probably the only guy in the whole town to have this rim. They actually sat in a showroom for 6 years before they were finally bought over by me. And the guy who imported it is actually an old friend whom I used to visit. He brings in stuff for Ferrari, so you know this is good stuff.
Check out the steering. Can you see the paddle shifters? Life has never been the same since I had them installed. I cannot possibly think about driving another car without paddles shifters of some sort except those button types which they put on the Alfas. Paddle shifters are pure necessity for me. The SMG shift system may not be the most updated compared to others but when you get the hang of it, you won't feel the difference. Best time to use these paddles are of course on the B roads, when charging into a corner and charging out. Coupled with sensible driving, the feeling is heavenly.
I will leave you to enjoy the old new 5 for now.
