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Solid car ...

Of the Japanese transportation appliances, Honda manages to put a little handling into the package. (Too bad I'd rather walk across burning coals than darken the door of the local dealer.)

Thanks - glad I was able to help others :-)

To me that is what makes this (and other) car boards great: The willingness of members to share and take the time to help others. I got so much out of this board, so much money saved, so many problems prevented, etc. -> I felt I had to try and help others as much as possible, so making my guides/DIY was my way to say thanks to the collective (man, that sounds very Borg-like!).

I can only hope that there is a Honda board at least half as nice as the Roadfly E39 board :-)



William
Richardson, Texas
2011 Honda Civic Si, 4-door (my car)
2010 Honda Accord EX, 4-cyl, auto-tranny (her car)

Retired/sold:
2000 BMW 540i Auto, TiSilver, Sport/Prem Package (my car)
2006 Dodge Charger Daytona - Top Banana
2005 BMW 330i Auto, Premium Package
2002 M3 Coupe with SMG
1995 525i auto
1991 535i 5-speed manual

Only a mater of time, in fact my wife

(who drives the 2010 4-cyl Accord EX) "still" misses the I6 from 2005 330i, so when that lease is over in 2 more years, I suspect she might want to get back to the BMW brand!
William
Richardson, Texas
2011 Honda Civic Si, 4-door (my car)
2010 Honda Accord EX, 4-cyl, auto-tranny (her car)

Retired/sold:
2000 BMW 540i Auto, TiSilver, Sport/Prem Package (my car)
2006 Dodge Charger Daytona - Top Banana
2005 BMW 330i Auto, Premium Package
2002 M3 Coupe with SMG
1995 525i auto
1991 535i 5-speed manual

Definitely not in the same leage as a BMW (m)

Not even close. Although I bought the 540 used, if I recall the sticker was about $56K. The Civic Si sticker was $25 (I got it for $22K) so clearly there is a lot the Civic just does not have, in many areas.

The Civic will be good for city driving, but the few times I got in the Hwy I can tell already that is definitely noisier and not as smooth - clearly a compromise :-)William
Richardson, Texas
2011 Honda Civic Si, 4-door (my car)
2010 Honda Accord EX, 4-cyl, auto-tranny (her car)

Retired/sold:
2000 BMW 540i Auto, TiSilver, Sport/Prem Package (my car)
2006 Dodge Charger Daytona - Top Banana
2005 BMW 330i Auto, Premium Package
2002 M3 Coupe with SMG
1995 525i auto
1991 535i 5-speed manual

After a couple of years the fan mod was still

working great, and keeping the temps from rising too much when the engine was shut down. Definitely a highly recommended mod.

As to mods for the Si, yes, I am sure I will get the "itch" to modify/improve something in time - that is inevitable!

William
Richardson, Texas
2011 Honda Civic Si, 4-door (my car)
2010 Honda Accord EX, 4-cyl, auto-tranny (her car)

Retired/sold:
2000 BMW 540i Auto, TiSilver, Sport/Prem Package (my car)
2006 Dodge Charger Daytona - Top Banana
2005 BMW 330i Auto, Premium Package
2002 M3 Coupe with SMG
1995 525i auto
1991 535i 5-speed manual

Thank you for your kind words ...

Yes, my car was babied a lot. I even make sure the engine was warm before any serious RPM's - I did care about keeping it running. In fact maintaining the 540 was a labor of love while I had the time to do it. I am an Electrical Engineer, so I just could not bring myself to do things half-way, which is also why I never liked taking the car to a mechanic in the first place - they can't possibly care as much about "my" car as I do.

Now that I am traveling about 75% of the time with my new job, I simply can't keep up with it, and I can see signs of some repairs needed this year, but not "when" I will need the repairs, which was the more troublesome part. This is why I went all of the way to the other side of the maintenance spectrum with the Honda Civic. I am paying more longer term, but the payments are spread out, and I know what the payments are going to be every month instead of not knowing if I am looking at $1000 or $2500 worth of repairs - no surprises. Basically I got some good piece of mind for the short/mid term, at least the next 3-5 years :-)William
Richardson, Texas
2011 Honda Civic Si, 4-door (my car)
2010 Honda Accord EX, 4-cyl, auto-tranny (her car)

Retired/sold:
2000 BMW 540i Auto, TiSilver, Sport/Prem Package (my car)
2006 Dodge Charger Daytona - Top Banana
2005 BMW 330i Auto, Premium Package
2002 M3 Coupe with SMG
1995 525i auto
1991 535i 5-speed manual

I hope you know that if I was.....

near you, your car would have went home with me and not to the dealer ;-)

There's a select group of e39 540i owners on Roadfly here (JimLev, Hitdog540, Kbud, ExAlfa, Blue4u, BMW540san, Edjack, 540sport, Deputer, Whorse and a hfew others I am forgetting right now) that I'd have no problems buying the car over the phone and flying once to come out and get it. Yours was definitely one of them......and i knew you babied the car as much as many of us all do, as evidenced by your great writeups.

Eurodavid

in the very first post, after the pictures ...

=> wquiles (at) gmail (dot) com
William
Richardson, Texas
2011 Honda Civic Si, 4-door (my car)
2010 Honda Accord EX, 4-cyl, auto-tranny (her car)

Retired/sold:
2000 BMW 540i Auto, TiSilver, Sport/Prem Package (my car)
2006 Dodge Charger Daytona - Top Banana
2005 BMW 330i Auto, Premium Package
2002 M3 Coupe with SMG
1995 525i auto
1991 535i 5-speed manual

You contributed greatly to the board

Hi William,

I have directed many people with V8 to your DIY on cooling system.
Simply beautiful DIY by yourself.

I don't blame you, the V8 is tough to maintain.

If you come back, get a 6-cylinder E39.

Anyway enjoy your Honda!

Appreciate it but i don't see your email addy

thx



K-Bud (kbud@roadfly.org)
Baltimore, MD
Join the BMW E39 / 5 Series Group here: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=347966936053

99' BMW E39 540iA Sp. (Prod. 11/98)
Titanium Silver/Black
06' Range Rover HSE (Prod. 6/22/05)
Giverny Green/Aspen-Aspen-Ivory
04' Lexus GX470 (Prod. 10/03)
Ash Blue Mica/Dark Gray

Roadfly Member #71563 est. 06/03
BMWCCA Member #312125 est. 04/03

****Disclaimer: Down the page alot farther after all the absurd amount of pictures & vids I've posted of my current rides you'll find the "mods" for my BMW****




Da Boy's Ride




Mods to Date:
DINAN Stage II, DINAN Tranny SW, DINAN Fr. Strut Bar, RevHigh CAI w/ PC'd Gunmetal Metallic Pipe, Breyton Fr. Lip Spoiler, Fr. Lip RaceMesh Grill 5/8" PC'd Black, Hella Celis Clear Rears, Clear Fronts, Clear Sides, 19" RDSport S4's w/ Gunmetal Metallic PC'd Centers 19x9 et18 Fr. & 19x10 et20 Rr., Toyo T1R's 245/35 Fr. & 275/30 Rr., Eisenmann Sport Quad Exhaust w/Resonator Removed, McGard Wheel Locks, Rolled Rr. Fenders, ///M5 Rr. Wheel Liners, H&R Sp. Springs, Koni Adj. Sp. Struts, Energy Suspension Polyurethane Bushings, ///M5 Fr. Brakes w/ SS Lines, Brembo Rr. Brakes w/SS Lines, Axxis Deluxe Brake Pads, ///M5 Fr. & Rr. Swaybars, ///M5 Kidney Grills, ///M5 Brushed Gauge Rings, 2.25" Magnaflow High Flow Cats, ///M-Tech Rr. Bumper, ///M5 Trunk Lip Spoiler, ///M5 Style Side Mirrors ,DDE Xenon Match Angel Eyes, Xenon Match H7 Fog Bulbs, AC Schnitzer Alum. Pedals, Denso Iridium Plugs, In-Dash Business CD Player, Blk. Metallic Int. Trim, Brushed Alum. & Blk. Lthr. Shift Selector Knob, 35% Window Tint, Homelink UGDO, Trunk Storage Bin, Carbon Fiber Roundels, Black ///M Logo Oil Cap, Fr. Plate Delete, Black BMW Rr. Tag Holder, & Debadged

Best of luck. Your contributions to the E39 board

will be sorely missed.

Looking at your 'retired/sold' list, my bet is that you can't be without a Bimmer for too long. Let us know which RF board you join next!

Funny, I went from a Civic to my 530i

I bought an 06 Civic, same body style as yours, within the first few days they were available for sale in the US. Loved the car and put about 55K miles on it within a year and a half. Drove the piss out of it, averaging 90 mph daily with my commute at the time, and still always averaged 33 mpg. Considering my driving habits, that was impressive.

My reason for jumping from my Civic to BMW was the BMW is MUCH quieter at highway speeds. While the Civic is VERY comfortable and laid out well ergonomically, the only advantage the Civic has on interior functionality is cupholders that actually work, and the Civics are about the best you can get. I was disappointed with the quality of the seats, as the side of the seat facing the door was already starting to sag from getting in and out, and I guess overall sitting in. I was also not happy having to put new tires on a brand new car after 17K miles, as the OEM tires were VERY soft, to aid in handling and quieter ride.

In any case, best of luck. They are fun to drive, and handle well, but despite the maintenance issues on our cars, it's still no BMW.

Re: Good bye for now - thanks much for all of the help

A HONDA!?
Have many miles of trouble free driving:)

William, thanks for YOUR help when I needed it!!!

2002 540 6 speed, Steel Blue/Black interior, totally loaded with every option including BMW Bluetooth and voice recognition, and now with built in Stealth One/Valentine 1. 18" Staggered Miro BBS LM rep wheels. I am loving the power again!

2003 525iT, Silver/Black, non-sport, 18" Staggered BBS RC wheels. T boned and traded away.

2000 540 6 speed, Biarritz Blue/Sand, M5 shifter, XM Radio Valentine One/Stealth One hardwired in, 17" style 5 wheels
Sold but never forgotten.

2001 525i, stock, great car that got me hooked, sold

[IMG]][IMG]

Hate to see you leave, good luck with the VTEC (m)

It's a sharp looking car. I still haven't got around to adding your fan delay circuit to my radiator fan, hope to get to it before this summer.
A friend has a Civic that I've been in, nice ride. Good to see you got a stick. You can always mod it for 1/4 the cost of what you have been use to.

I used your headlight notes, too!

Yes, I also used your notes to fix one of my headlights. Thanks for all the photographs and text.

If you contact me by email (m)

I can give to you (just pay shipping) the two ultimate cup holders that I took off from the car.

I might also have a new oil filter around if you are interested - also free of course.

Will
William
Richardson, Texas
2011 Honda Civic Si, 4-door (my car)
2010 Honda Accord EX, 4-cyl, auto-tranny (her car)

Retired/sold:
2000 BMW 540i Auto, TiSilver, Sport/Prem Package (my car)
2006 Dodge Charger Daytona - Top Banana
2005 BMW 330i Auto, Premium Package
2002 M3 Coupe with SMG
1995 525i auto
1991 535i 5-speed manual

You are welcome. Thanks much :-)

William
Richardson, Texas
2011 Honda Civic Si, 4-door (my car)
2010 Honda Accord EX, 4-cyl, auto-tranny (her car)

Retired/sold:
2000 BMW 540i Auto, TiSilver, Sport/Prem Package (my car)
2006 Dodge Charger Daytona - Top Banana
2005 BMW 330i Auto, Premium Package
2002 M3 Coupe with SMG
1995 525i auto
1991 535i 5-speed manual

It drives pretty much how it looks (m)

Light, nimble, peppy engine, fantastic shifter, but of course it is front wheel drive which sucks. If this car were rear-wheel drive, it would be nearly perfect :-)

William
Richardson, Texas
2011 Honda Civic Si, 4-door (my car)
2010 Honda Accord EX, 4-cyl, auto-tranny (her car)

Retired/sold:
2000 BMW 540i Auto, TiSilver, Sport/Prem Package (my car)
2006 Dodge Charger Daytona - Top Banana
2005 BMW 330i Auto, Premium Package
2002 M3 Coupe with SMG
1995 525i auto
1991 535i 5-speed manual

You know, it is not a BMW, but it drives (m)

"really" well for something around $20K. The upgraded suspension and low profile tires give the Civic Si a very good feel of the road, without being too punishing. Of course, it lacks the road isolation/dampening from the BMW's, the rear well drive (isolating steering and power delivery), and when you close the doors in the Civic they feel kind of light/hollow, unlike the solid clunk I used to get with the 540.

The Civic is clearly a compromise at this point in my life, but rowing my own gears on this great tranny is fun every time I drive it. This will have to do until the next time I can get back to a BMW :-)

Will
William
Richardson, Texas
2011 Honda Civic Si, 4-door (my car)
2010 Honda Accord EX, 4-cyl, auto-tranny (her car)

Retired/sold:
2000 BMW 540i Auto, TiSilver, Sport/Prem Package (my car)
2006 Dodge Charger Daytona - Top Banana
2005 BMW 330i Auto, Premium Package
2002 M3 Coupe with SMG
1995 525i auto
1991 535i 5-speed manual