Jump to content

Dan's 645Ci thread


Ekona

Recommended Posts

Having spent the week in the outlaw's 645Ci (cabrio) cruising around the leafier parts of the Vendeé, I can safely say that it'll need more than a V10 to wake it up. Almost as disappointing as my former boss' V10 Audi S6. Take some awesome ingredients and turn them into a very boring dish indeed, thanks BMW.

 

Don't faff around and get the M6 instead!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I just replaced the rear boxes on mine, made a massive difference. I still might lose another one of the two remaining silencers for more growl.

 

Did it have the Dynamic Drive option? That was great on the manual cab I've tried, but like you say you can definitely feel the extra weight.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I just replaced the rear boxes on mine, made a massive difference. I still might lose another one of the two remaining silencers for more growl.

 

Did it have the Dynamic Drive option? That was great on the manual cab I've tried, but like you say you can definitely feel the extra weight.

 

No idea re dynamic drive, will have to ask tmrw although I doubt the old boy will know either way.

 

The silencers probably weight 40kg each, get rid!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Is that still a chrome window surround? Or is it black?

 

What colour have you got on the M6?

 

That ones black, just happened to be taken during our only 5 minutes of summer this year :dry:

 

The M6 has piano black. Ones a bit loose so I might have to see about buying a new one, or just glueing it in.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

Shall I expand a bit more on my plans for this then, now I've actually paid for stuff? Sure, why not!

 

 

So, big plans. Or big plans for me, anyway. First of all, the fun stuff.

 

It's a big car, but it's a great chassis, and it deserves better than it's got right now in terms of the bits wot move. Having done 100k now there's no chance the suspension is anywhere near as good as it was when it came out of the factory, so to that end I've ordered a set of BC Racing BR suspension for the car. I'll actually be the only person in the world running these, as they were developed by BC but no-one has actually ordered a set until now! :D They're 3 way adjustable for combined bump and rebound, exactly like the ones I run on the MR2 and have tried on the 350Z. This should enable to me to run comfort spec when on a run, but pump it up significantly for the track. Yeah, I said track.

 

I've also ordered some H&R anti roll bars for the car. These were ordered a while back but I'm still waiting for delivery, which should be this week. I hope these will allow me to fine tune the handling, as they're adjustable both front and rear, and should let me run slightly run slightly less aggressive camber and toe up front but let me keep the acute turn in I love so much.

 

That's the performance side of things done, now onto the styling. The OEM wheels I have on the car I absolutely hate, but then I've never been a massive wheel fan. All the OEM options are gash, and whilst I do like the M6 ones they're also 19" and expensive, so I started looking around. After many hours pondering, I've gone with a set of Rota MXR in matt black with a gloss black rim/lip, in 18x8.5. I actually prefer these to the BBS ones which were my first choice, and the fact they're cheaper helps me too. They're also over a kilo per corner lighter than the OEM wheels, so there's significant performance benefits here too, although some of that will be tempered by the 25mm spacers I'll have to run. Of course, that then leaves a spare set of wheels to run R888s on...!

 

The stock seats aren't exactly supportive, so I'm going to swap them out as well. I've confirmed this week that the E46 and E63 have the exact same seat subframe, so that means that any E46 seat conversion kit will fit my car, which opens up a whole world of possibilities. I've yet to decide on the seats as it needs to be a joint decision between me and Jo as they have to be snug enough for me, but have enough room for her hips, so this will mean a trip to Demon Tweeks to try loads out. The Sparco R100 seats look very promising, however.

 

Also coming with this will be a gloss black roof wrap. The M6 came with a carbon roof that I was tempted to mimic, but was talked out of that in preference to a gloss black instead. Should go nicely with the wheels.

 

 

And then comes the pain.

 

 

The N62 engine does have one flaw, and that's that the valve stem seals can fail over time leading to increased oil usage and eventual destruction of the cats. My car showed a hint of this when I bought it, but it's now got significantly worse to the point where I need to sort this before it destroys the cats as well. There is also another known issue that involves the internal coolant pipe running between the V failing, and whilst my car has shown no problems so far I'm going to get that sorted as well.

 

Now, as you can imagine the cost for 32 seals + gaskets + water pipe isn't cheap, never mind the labour cost. Luckily there's a kit you can buy which locks the cams in place, which I picked up 2nd hand for cheaps which saves hours on the labour side. As much as I'd love to do this myself, I don't want the car off the road for that long so I'm going to get a garage to do all the work for me, at a cost which far exceeds the total cost of all the bits I've bought above. This wasn't an easy decision, but ultimately I do love the car and it ticks every single box that needs ticking (great engine, enough power, comfortable, spacious, manual gearbox) so this is now going to be a keeper. I've already done the brakes, clutch and flywheel don't forget, so when this is done it'll be pretty much a new car.

 

 

So there you go. Many thanks to Tarmac for his assistance in purchasing the suspension and wheels, and also to Dedman, Grundy and the sadly departed StevoD* for their guidance into what is 'hip' and 'trendy'. Pics and write ups to come, of course! :D

 

 

 

 

 

 

*He's not dead, just for clarity.

  • Like 5
Link to comment
Share on other sites

im struggling to think what you could do to a 645ci to be honest... wheels and tyres aren't really 'big plans', neither would be an exhaust... and surely no one would put forced induction on a 6 series (hilarious though that would be)

 

im thinking its going to be handling related... ARBs, coilovers and geometry check, to make it feel more like an M car.

 

ooh ive got it... since the MR2 is going, are you gonna bucket seat and cage the 645? and rob a bank to pay for slick tyres and decent brakes?

 

have to say, think I was closest with handling related and bucket seats... but engine mods sound major!

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Tbh I'm not keen on the spacers either, but as I'll still be dropping weight I think it's a trade off worth making. At least, I do on paper, and with the extra suspension bits going on as well I think I can work round it.

 

Feel free to ask me for advice on tyre sizes. :p

:p

 

It's partly why I'm sticking with just 8.5 width wheels, so I can keep my current 245/45 MPSS tyres. I could go wider on the rear, and indeed the extra grip might be nice, but it would also mean I'd lose the adjustability of a mobile rear which I enjoy very much. Fnar.

 

 

I haven't really modded a car since the 350Z, kinda excited about this now!

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

Sorry I'll rephrase ......the much maligned 6 series is my only acceptable BMW. I just can't get excited by any of the others. It's not about driving them, how they look, how reliable they are, what they do......it's just something genetic that makes me go 'meh'

 

Same here. But for me it's the looks. They all look the same. It's like BMW and Audi found a formula that sheep like and they stick with it.

The Old 6 Series, the new 6 Series and the E89 are the only ones I like. Not sure I'd own one though. E89 maybe.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Custom bodykits reminds me of the Max Power days when Saxos would have 300kg of custom kit filled with fiberglass and filler.

 

There was a company called Car-isma that did a TVR Cerbera.

 

Sorry for the vague and kind of unrelated post.

Edited by TT350
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...