Motortrend's Cars - Gojira

[Zyla]

I'm genuinely in love with your car. That color and those wheels are just . Awesome ride.

 

[motortrend]

I'm genuinely in love with your car. That color and those wheels are just . Awesome ride.

Thanks! I like the wheels a lot but since they are reps and have taken a beating with these roads they are not in a very good condition. I'm thinking of eventually putting on the ZCP wheels from my dad's M3 when he decides to change wheels. I reckon it would look good, something like this but silver colored.

 

[Zyla]

Very nice. Has the car had a chance to stretch its legs recently? I don't know much about Puerto Rico, so I wouldn't know if there are any good roads down there. One does not simply own a ///M BMW and not haul ass in it every once in a while.

 

[motortrend]

Very nice. Has the car had a chance to stretch its legs recently? I don't know much about Puerto Rico, so I wouldn't know if there are any good roads down there. One does not simply own a ///M BMW and not haul ass in it every once in a while.

Yeah there's a pretty large bridge that stretches across a lagoon where they shot F&F 4 I think(about two miles) EDIT: mile and a half actually

and it was empty the last time so yeah imagine how fast this can go in about a mile (up until the crest) of empty straight road and that's how fast I was going the other bit was braking down to about 40 slowly to take the exit. There aren't many long stretches of road here so I'm never in triple digit speeds nor high doubles but it's still nice to have good torque for passing and the car is good fun for such a large car in the twisties and there's a lot of that here so that's good. It also rains a lot and roads tend to get very empty so I can have some fun then as well.

 

[Zyla]

You and I are going to get along just fine, then.

 

[CAMAROBOY69]

Whoa how did I miss this M5? Looks killer especially with the new black wheels! The stance the wheels, you nailed it.

 

[motortrend]

Whoa how did I miss this M5? Looks killer especially with the new black wheels! The stance the wheels, you nailed it.

No that's not mine it's just for showing the wheels I want to put on when I change mine, they'll be silver not black. Mine is the blue one in the OP.

 

[Ibonibo]

Small twisty roads > Highways (though I love living next to Germany )

 

[Crash]

If you are willing to go non BMW wheels, I've always really liked how a few BBS wheels look on M5s. The CH-R and LM comes to mind.

 

[Clark]

 

[motortrend]

I would absolutely go for LMs but they are way too expensive for a good set. If I ever find a good one at a good price at the right time (unlikely) I'll go for it

 

[motortrend]

Did some headlight restoration over the weekend, forgot to take pics but I did it on the 'rolla and it makes a huge difference. I made sure to get a kit that had a sealant so it lasts. Here's a comparison shot:

I decided I want to go off-roading with the M5 so I removed the bumpers and installed a lift kit:

Just Kidding, though it doesn't sound like a bad idea
I did remove the bumper to check what was wrong with the fitment and polish the exhaust more comfortably as well as clean the area while I'm at it.

It SHOULD have been something simple but as with any used car (especially a bimmer) you always find surprises and setbacks. In my case it was a missing nut, a couple plastic bolts from the fender liner missing and one that looked like it was either glued or melted because it just did not want to come out. The fender liner ended up cracking in a place from pressure and because of trying to remove the bolt so that'll be replaced eventually, along with a front one since they rot and break as easily as old bread.

I also found this lodged between the plastic and metal parts of the bumper, which I think is what was making a sound when I pushed the bumper in

You can also see there is some foam missing which I half expected and added to the list of things to do. It's not urgent as it doesn't really affect the fitment but I like things to be done right. I'm also getting the plastic fasteners ordered as soon as possible.

Cleaned and polished

Put it all back in and the fitment really did improve. It's not perfect yet but it's good enough for now without having to spend any money at all. (Top is the after picture, bottom is before)

I also scheduled a detailing for thursday to get rid of the swirls/holograms and bird markings. Hopefully it comes out swirl free which would leave me with a few (quite a few) rock chips to deal with in the front (I'll probably repaint the bumper next year)
Here's the condition of the paint right now.

Next thing I'll do will probably be struts if nothing else comes up. After that a big fix might come.

 

[motortrend]

Got the car detailed today, and all I can say is "Mother of God"

It really came out amazing. The detailer first showed me how the hood looked (which was the worst part consisting of swirls and holograms, scratches (a bit of everything) and it looked and felt amazing after he was done.

I went to do some stuff and let him work for 3 hours or so and when I came back the results were great. He got rid of sratches I thought weren't possible to get rid of. I have a lot of attention to detail when it comes to my car's paint and I have to say it came out better than expected. It's not the reflection and shine, but the hue of blue just pops so much more now, it has to be seen in person to be appreciated. After that I took it out to the sun and just

Anyway, on to the pictures

I am newly in love with the car, I hope it keeps looking like this with some periodic washes and waxing/sealing, I finally feel like I can deal with the car's paint since it was too far damaged for me to work on before. Since the detailer also polished the emblems, the stickers discolored even more but I was ready for this from before as they had already discolored a little so I put in the new stickers (in the picture the edges are sticking still, it was put on right afterwards)

 

[CAMAROBOY69]

The detailer did an excellent job with getting the paint cleaned up. I also cant stand light scratches or swirl marks. Are you going to restore / buff out the headlights next like you did with the Toyota?

 

[Ibonibo]

What is that fender liner you speak of? I didn't see any cracks...
But those bimmer bumpers are one of the wierdest, always with those "handlebars" and glued. A pain to remove without ripping up something

That cracked missing foam is normally foam, styrene to protect the body of a rear ending. It can absorb enourmous amount of pressure.

Good fitment too 👍

Nice work on the exaust. Dedication and commitement 👍

M5 looks really nice. Been drolling on them for some minutes Looks impeccable

Paint chipping... yeah especially on darker colours with light primer it can look quite obvious. Larry has a great episode about them. I've been thinking about a 3M protective layer. But I don't know how they look after a few years (scratches and the likes, that "normal" people don't even see). Maintaince seems to be difficult.

Edit: Oh yeah and nice work on the Headlights. Didn't you to the bimmers a bit ago? They do look a bit faded. No seal?

 

[motortrend]

The detailer did an excellent job with getting the paint cleaned up. I also cant stand light scratches or swirl marks. Are you going to restore / buff out the headlights next like you did with the Toyota?

I did the headlights but it seems the sealant I used makes them look faded and blurry from the side, the look much better from the front. I might hit them with the polish again and use something that isn't so thick as sealant.

What is that fender liner you speak of? I didn't see any cracks...
But those bimmer bumpers are one of the wierdest, always with those "handlebars" and glued. A pain to remove without ripping up something

That cracked missing foam is normally foam, styrene to protect the body of a rear ending. It can absorb enourmous amount of pressure.

Good fitment too 👍

Nice work on the exaust. Dedication and commitement 👍

M5 looks really nice. Been drolling on them for some minutes Looks impeccable

Paint chipping... yeah especially on darker colours with light primer it can look quite obvious. Larry has a great episode about them. I've been thinking about a 3M protective layer. But I don't know how they look after a few years (scratches and the likes, that "normal" people don't even see). Maintaince seems to be difficult.

Edit: Oh yeah and nice work on the Headlights. Didn't you to the bimmers a bit ago? They do look a bit faded. No seal?

Thanks! Yeah the front bumper is pretty much shot, that needs a full repaint since it was badly repainted last time when the PO had it (There's small drips and cracks) I have some paint for the chips but it's too hard for me to get perfect so I think I'll get some more product from Dr. Colorchip which even though doesn't make the surface perfectly smooth, fills up the chip completely without blobs and makes the chips invisible from any angle at about 5 feet away and if looked dead on, from about 3. Like I told CAMAROBOY, it seems the problem is actually the sealant being too thick and making it look blurry from the side so I guess I'll try next time with just the polish and using wax as sealant.
EDIT: The fender liner is right behind the rear wheel, it's not visible in the pictures but in ont of the most recent ones you can see the (front) liner is not perfectly straight and has small missing pieces.

 

[et_]

Thats a nice looking e39 you got there mate! love the color!

 

[motortrend]

Thats a nice looking e39 you got there mate! love the color!

Thanks! Before I got it i preferred black or silver but I'm glad I got it in LMB

 

[et_]

I believe my e91 is in the same color... It says "LeMans Blau metallic"

 

[Harry6784]

I decided I want to go off-roading with the M5 so I removed the bumpers and installed a lift kit:

Just Kidding

though it doesn't sound like a bad idea

.
.
.​

 

[CAMAROBOY69]

I did the headlights but it seems the sealant I used makes them look faded and blurry from the side, the look much better from the front. I might hit them with the polish again and use something that isn't so thick as sealant..

This is the product I recommend for buffing out headlights, tail lights, and for polishing your clear coat. It can be used for ANY paint or surface. This stuff is truly incredible. If you put a few drops of this on a cloth or rag, it will only take about 5 minutes to make those headlights look brand new. I have been using this for many years. Back when I was painting cars on a regular basis, this is the product I would use for the final polish. It also works extremely fast. Very little effort to get an amazing polish. I have tried many buffing / polishing compounds and this is by far the best I have used. Incredible product.

3M Extra Cut Compound

 

[motortrend]

@CAMAROBOY69 thanks, I'll try again with what I already have and if that doesn't work I'll try that product 👍

 

[CAMAROBOY69]

@CAMAROBOY69 thanks, I'll try again with what I already have and if that doesn't work I'll try that product 👍

No problem. Any clear coat, plastic, headlights, taillights, side marker lights, internal dome lights, glass, just about anything. I have even used it on my internal gauge clusters. Just simply apply a few drops to a rag and wipe for a few minutes with your hand. Then wipe off. Also removes scratches from clear coat. Been using this product for MANY years for many applications. Love it.

 

[motortrend]

Nothing on the car really but I got this sweet print from someone over at m5board making them and thought I'd share here:

I also ordered a combo to freshen up my rear sway as it's starting to feel a little "bouncy" or soft in some types of corners. I don't think a different bar will help much but the end links are definitely tired and I believe they have never been changed so those are going. Apart from that I got some BeastPower brackets to never deal with broken brackets again and to lose that fear of breaking a bracket mid corner and having the car get loose. Figured I might as well get some PowerFlex bushings as well and change everything while I'm at it. I'll post back when they arrive and I install them.

 

[Crash]

Amazing how a good your car looks after a good detail. I absolutely love LMB and how well it shines in the sunlight. 👍

Nothing on the car really but I got this sweet print from someone over at m5board making them and thought I'd share here:

I see that you bought the artwork. Thanks for sharing what it actually looks like since none of his pictures had an actual full on front image.

This one I wasn't too particularly keen on. He was tossing ideas of doing one of the whole engine. That, I would buy.

 

[motortrend]

Amazing how a good your car looks after a good detail. I absolutely love LMB and how well it shines in the sunlight. 👍



I see that you bought the artwork. Thanks for sharing what it actually looks like since none of his pictures had an actual full on front image.

This one I wasn't too particularly keen on. He was tossing ideas of doing one of the whole engine. That, I would buy.

Thanks! Your clean looking car helped motivate me to finally get this done 👍
Yeah I thought about waiting since it's pretty much 1/4 of the engine but it was relatively inexpensive, good quality and with so few similar offerings I decided to go for it.
Also, do you still have the OEM sway bar brackets on yours? does it have plastic or metal (aftermarket) headlight adjusters? Never asked you.

 

[Crash]

Also, do you still have the OEM sway bar brackets on yours?

Yup. That's on my list of things to upgrade eventually. They aren't broken yet, so I figured I'll upgrade them if I ever start doing handling upgrades.

does it have plastic or metal (aftermarket) headlight adjusters? Never asked you.

I haven't looked, but the car is completely stock except for the Euro arm rest, so I assume that the headlight adjusters are plastic. I need to get my lights re-aimed.

Are you looking to upgrade yours to metal? I assume that makes them more durable? How much is the change?

 

[motortrend]

Yup. That's on my list of things to upgrade eventually. They aren't broken yet, so I figured I'll upgrade them if I ever start doing handling upgrades.



I haven't looked, but the car is completely stock except for the Euro arm rest, so I assume that the headlight adjusters are plastic. I need to get my lights re-aimed.

Are you looking to upgrade yours to metal? I assume that makes them more durable? How much is the change?

I've read about people that swap in E36 brackets which are more durable and fit, but lately I've decided not to skimp on things because ultimately the car will thank me and in the long run (keeping this car for at least 5 more years) it's best.

Make sure the adjusters aren't broken, they tend to break with time. You can confirm by shaking where the bulb goes in. Mine were broken and aiming down and I replaced them with new plastic ones since I didn't want to spend much. I should have gone with metal and recommend you do so since it's not a job you want to be doing again (A little tedious, takes 3-5 hours done right). New alu adjusters run about $180 for the pair which is quite pricey compared to the $10 plastic ones, but like I said if you go with metal ones you won't have to do it again in a few years when the plastic gets brittle.

 

[motortrend]

Got the parts today:

Couldn't wait so I got right to it

Some Old VS. new

Didn't get any installed pics as things got complicated (As usual) It was a 1 hour job that turned into 4. First we didn't realize that to really get the bracken on right we had to loosen the top of the link first, after that a couple of things were done out of order which mean more setbacks and finally I needed a couple of 16mm wrenches for the links which as I found out today is damn near impossible to find. Got one wrench and could finish the job with that and an adjustable one. Install took longer than expected but everything went in right and tight. The older links were pretty bad, you could easily move them around. The bushing probably could have stayed but since I was changing the bracket I might as well.

Impressions: It's obviously not a gigantic change but the car definitely feels tighter. I didn't push it much since it had rained and I would just go sideways instead of getting much roll. Anyway it not only feels a little better but now I knkow I'll never have to deal with a broken bracket or aging bushing.

 

[Zyla]

I love seeing old car parts next to brand new replacements.