Driving My BMW E39 M5 - Swapping V8's in Torrential Rain (POV Binaural Audio)

[@danielwatkins5970]

Tedward having a mild meltdown because of the rain on his spotless car is exactly how I feel every single time I detail one of my cars/bikes in Chicago. Oh 0% chance of rain? Nope one tiny downpour directly over where I'm at as soon as I start driving/riding.

[@TedwardDrives]

I just freak out because I’ve had my wipers fail before in this car and it’s really scary 😨

[@danielwatkins5970]

@@TedwardDrives oh I completely get it! Once i got caught on my Aprilia in a downpour on the highway and I was on racing tires. Never been so convinced I was going down before. Couldn't even see my buddies yellow SRT4 in front of me it was raining so hard.

[@teabagtowers3823]

​@@danielwatkins5970 I remember as a kid my dad used to have Aprillia RSV Mille superbike and I was mad enough to ride on it as passenger as a 12 year old. My mum hated the fact my dad used to take me out on that beast of a superbike but it was so much fun. We went on a camping trip with it to Wales in the UK and rode back home in the rain. Still love that memory and that's probably why I'm a massive petrol head in general now as an adult.

[@danielwatkins5970]

@@teabagtowers3823 they absolutely are amazing bikes for sure. My Dad when I was a kid took me to the Chicago auto show growing up and that's what did it for me. Can't get enough of cars and bikes still to this day. It's a great connection to have with your parents.

[@gunterlauch2264]

@@TedwardDrivesI hae that too in my 1997 528i. You never think about sonething like that until your wipers just stop💀

[@RyanRoadReaper]

Man, I'm so happy to see this car back in the channel. Definitely my favorite car out of your fleet.

[@faheemabbas3965]

It’s a shame that not only will cars never get better than ones like this, but I’ll never be able to afford them… You’re a lucky man Tedward.

[@Stue-e]

Born to late to romp on cheap V8's, and get away with shenanigans Born too early to zip around in flying cars like the Jetsons born just in time to drive a crappy Chinese electric car, and make your own damn vroom vroom noises :)

[@sirmounted8499]

@@Stue-e You can still buy older BMW's for relative cheap money with a straight six. Good cars and good engines, but it wont be an M, sadly.

[@zheson5-speed953]

@@sirmounted8499 Depends on where you live.

[@andipajeroking]

​@@sirmounted8499Still better than any modern car.

[@annemllerpetersen1929]

Absolutely nailed it with the red/orange interior light- Nothing worse than being blinded during nightdriving from white/blue lights and screens!

[@les31212]

Oh yes E39 M5 - Check ✅ Now it’s 911 time. C’mon, Tom, we miss the good old pandemic therapy drives in the Porsche!

[@brutalschel]

This car is peak BMW. ❤

[@PasiemuKasMano]

As much as i love E39, but i have to disagree, peak BMW is E60 with it’s mighty V10

[@FenderUsa]

​@@PasiemuKasMano to be peak of anything it has to be well made. E60 M5s break more than chicken eggs

[@WTFisToast]

@@PasiemuKasMano It's peak BMW until you have to maintain it

[@PasiemuKasMano]

@@WTFisToast right, that’s why i have good ol reliable 530d E61 model hehe

[@FenderUsa]

@@PasiemuKasMano those variable vein turbos are tricky though!

[@Chillguy2820]

This car’s interior just keeps melting my heart whenever i see it for how you’ve had it for a long time and still in such good shape and clean and i love you for that

[@mikealicious3848]

I don’t think I’ve would've found out about how amazing the E39 M5 is if it weren’t for Alex Roy’s 2006 Cannon Ball run. Thanks for still giving us E39 content. I hope we get to see you give a modern take on a E30 M3 at some point if you haven’t done one already.

[@Chepotachkam]

Bratan zdarov prodaesh?

[@BomberFletch31]

I love driving in the rain. There's something strangely therapeutic about driving in the rain.

[@RichardinNC1]

I recall my 2002 M5, new, was ~ $76K. I had the full leather and most options. I still say the S62 was one of the best motors ever. Incredibly wide flat torque curve for naturally aspirated. You want to spin the tires hard, just drop the clutch at 2k. 1600 would give a squalk! Man I miss that car.

[@pascutia]

So glad to see the M5 back in action. I love these drives where we hear you talk and give updates. The size comparison between the E39 and the Type R is wild. I have a similar situation with an E90 parked next to a previous generation Mazda 3. The Mazda looks larger. Keep the M5 updates coming, really no car seems to be able to do everything altogether as well as the E39 M5.

[@andreasgoehler6592]

Einer der schönsten BMW's

[@PROTO_JK]

I drove my e39 m5 to a friends house to show the new exhaust. As I left it started to sprinkle into the 20 mile drive , 2 mins down the road it turned to a full blown micro burst thunderstorm entire ride home. I was so carefully driving when I arrived home I opened the engine to check the detailed engine bay. To my surprise still mint almost completely dry Those underbody panels are amazing.

[@tomstain8222]

Love this car so much. Your videos have inspired me to pull the trigger and finally go out and get one. Picking it up tomorrow and I couldn’t be more excited. Cheers mate!

[@TedwardDrives]

Congratulations!

[@stuntvist]

Pro tip for anyone watching 2 months late like I am: the straight 6 variants are still relatively cheap, bulletproof reliable, and came with rack and pinion steering. They don't feel "fast" compared to modern average 4 doors, but they handle better than almost all of them given how well balanced the E39's are. The non-sport suspension is pretty high and soft, but has stiff rollbars. It doesn't hammer your back, but it doesn't roll like hell in corners either. Almost the exact opposite of 2000-2010 Ford's which had stiff suspension with soft rollbars, if you've had experience with them you know what I mean. If you retrofit some of the optional features (automatic sunshades, PDC, euro spec lights and mirrors for better visibility, euro spec interior plastics for more legroom up front etc) it's better equipped than most modern 4 doors at 60k and infinitely more fun than the modern stuff with 0 clutch feel, 0 steering feel, and brakes and steering that are super overboosted and overly light. Definitely worth checking out if you want something dependable and comfortable, yet practical and fun. US models didn't get the aluminium block M52's sadly (or the iron block M57's which last forever), but the iron blocks are still great and still easy to get decent power out of without a reliability hit. Also you can consistently get 35MPG US out of them if you drive smooth, best I've done was 41 over a 30 minute trip.

[@Harvest1212]

I owned an E46 and since it had the same steering wheel, I can't begin to tell you how much confidence I had in those buttons on the wheel. They felt solid!

[@marial8235]

Your M5 is looking fantastic. I love the BMWs of that era-I have a Z3 2.8 & an earlier e30-the e39 5 series is so classy.

[@VisionCityMayor]

13:43 he was so real for this 😭😭 hell, throwing ANYTHING out a car especially like drinks or liquids cos that has almost made me crash out once or twice before💀

[@johnpearson492]

Reminds me of the 02 e39 M5 I drive for 3 years, an absolutely amazing car. Now a days I drive a 99 e36 M3, a fabulous car in its own right but the e39 was the highway king.

[@pixelatedfacealex]

I have a 2003 530i M-Sport from OG owner in 2013, titan silver, style 42s, and this video is just so relatable. I need new wiper blades, it still leaks, the a/c is so much better than an E70 or my W212, and the driving experience, handling smashes any G30 or G60 530i even through its the 5 speed auto

[@tally5k339]

I love red interior backlighting. My first car was a mk6 Golf GTI, and one of the things I miss about it was the red button backlighting at night. Easy on the eyes, and imo it just creates a nice ambience. Ended up putting red footwell LEDs in my current mk7 to bring some of that back

[@MishtahPoog]

I have a Mk. 6 currently and am hesitating on installing interior LED lighting for similar reasons. All the LEDs I find are white, but I drive at night a lot and really value good night visibility; the stock incandescent lights and their amber color work better. I also used to drive an E46 3-Series with the red instrument lighting. I've been spoiled on these good night-driving experiences, so now when I get into other cars, the lighting and screens are especially distracting.

[@celoceanicon]

E39 M5 is one of my dream cars. Absolutely peak sports sedan.

[@cristov9000]

S62 is quietly one of BMW's best engines with one of the best racing records. We need to do some e46/e39 shoots soon!

[@slocarfr]

ah yes, unexpected torrential rain. seems a lot like Texas rn lol. but good morning tedward!

[@nicktune1219]

I wish we were getting any amount of rain here in NC. Its oppressively hot and humid and it hasnt rained almost 2 weeks, and none in the forecast for the next week when its gonna reach 100 degrees.

[@jasonv8142]

E39 is an amazing chassis. My dad had a 2000 528i and it felt SO good to drive, so balanced, as if the engineers weighed every single bolt down to the microgram and placed them exactly where they needed to be. The suspension was utterly unflappable, you could hit a huge pothole while taking a curved highway entrance ramp at high speed, and the car wouldn't be disturbed in the least... no path correction needed whatsoever. The steering was surgically precise and you could place the car EXACTLY where you wanted it, down to the millimeter. As for the battery, I dunno if this is the case for all E39s, but my dad's car still had the original battery when he traded in the car 13 years later. Perhaps the battery's huge size and the placement (in the trunk, away from the engine heat) helps the longevity? All my Hondas and Acuras have always had dead batteries after about 4-5 years, like clockwork. The CPO 4-year-old 2020 Civic Si I recently bought for my kid to learn to drive on, and also learn stick on, has a brand new Honda battery in it, lol. So far, my BMW F10 still has its original battery, going on 8-9 years. Oh and thanks for your reviews on the Civic Si, helped me make my decision to buy that. What fun cars to drive, these 6-speed Civics!

[@WondorBooks]

Ahh, I miss seeing cars like this out in the world. This was peak BMW design, such a beauty!!

[@RaizuJi]

till this day still my dream car. how ever good upcoming cars would be, I will still purchase this beast.

[@Nazy101]

I’m sooo happy to see this car again

[@jarekstorm6331]

Never sell this beast! 🤘🏻

[@igeekone]

Yes, it's truly wild that a Honda Civic is bigger than a few generations old 5 Series. The 3 Series is basically a 5 Series now in size.

[@ChoPi-Eww]

It was actually pretty cool that you drove it in the downpour anyway

[@lptomtom]

2000 miles a year on such an iconic car? Man I'd be driving it every day everywhere (except in the winter of course), it's just so cool...

[@vvarioPL]

E39 is such a nice car to look at! To actually drive I prefer younger cars and don’t really miss the one I had couple of years ago, but still stylingwise E39 LCI is the best looking BMW ever IMO.

[@carrier7676]

I was just at Garage 42 yesterday! Amazing place, amazing people, and amazing cars in there!

[@SR-lx5if]

Been waiting for some e39 content. Please give us some more before she goes back to storage!

[@Nazy101]

Watching this vide the second time in 24hours because I can’t get enough of this car.. urghh Godddd

[@The888Redlich]

Always go for the adjustable Bilsteins, you can then set it up just as you want it

[@MrUglyDinosaur]

911!!!! I NEED THE TEDWARD 911 THERAPY DRIVE

[@haramaschabrasir8662]

I love the black leather and the burl wood, I have a Mercedes W211 E500 from that era and basically the same color interior - The pendant to your car.

[@TheZenThug]

Yes! The E39 M5 is back!

[@sammilburn445]

i love the lci e39, especially with the steering wheel the same as the e46, what a stunning car it is

[@Vikturus22]

still the best BMW ever made imo. I always wanted a E46 M3 ( I still do. I mainly wanted the M3 because of NSFMW 2005 ) but now im wanting the M5 more

[@armaan8480]

Pickle rick keychain ornament needs to be at the top of this cars CarFax if you ever sell it; literally unsellable now

[@sp4604]

gotta be the top 3 best drivers sedan ever

[@tyrice312]

Yes brother! The M5 looks great!! The rain ride was great!!

[@Lutzsolar]

MY FAVORITE CAR EVERRRR SO HAPPY TO SEE IT!!

[@ryanrobinson2401]

You need griots garage glass sealant. I can’t remember the last time I used my wipers. The best thing is the harder it rains and the faster you go the more visibility you have. Are you going to the Pittsburgh vintage Grand Prix this year? You can drive my e39 M5 I put new B8 dampeners on a few years ago and I am vey happy with the results. You can also hear what a muffler delete sounds like it’s a must for these cars.

[@rvlunarshift6076]

I’m not sure if you know about antigravity batteries but I love them especially with the built in jump start feature

[@343_GuiltySpark]

I really need to get with it and actually finally buy one of these. This is definitely my attainable dream car.

[@bdtome4370]

Might be one of the best M5 imo

[@joespittle1]

Shout out to the massive rearview mirror. I was driving a Panamera yesterday and the mirror was the size of a snickers bar

[@johnpearson492]

Honestly, having owned one, the oval mirror isn't that great, it cuts off the corners of what you want to look at. Still nice that it's auto dimming.

[@bluthebluewolf9886]

I know exactly what you mean on the dash lights. My 2011 Corolla has the orange dash lights and its way easier on my eyes than in for example a Nissan with all the bright white lights.

[@glorentzen]

Just happened to refresh

[@vngelo21]

same!

[@Slipkknot]

Same here

[@MrManwen]

This car is the reason I subscribed to your channel 👌🏽 Really great to see you're still driving it ! Unfortunately, as time passes, the prospect of ownership is becoming more and more difficult... Hope to see some more of your E39 in the near future!

[@ShaiyanHossain]

bring back red/orange and green gauges!

[@IKhanNot]

Yeah it rained probably the hardest I've seen it rain yesterday. Great for the grass but not for driving lol.

[@1855Media]

I keep an e46 330Ci as a 4th car for the same reason. It's the least expensive car I've ever bought and I drive it only about 2k miles per year, and yet it is such a reset to proper handling, ride comfort and steering feel.

[@JayMiV]

Nice, I have a 2000 Z3, it's cool seeing how wildly different the interior is for about the same year of Bmw. Some buttons and switches, and the door handles are the same but I thought there'd be more shared design between the two. Of course, the Z3 is a E36/7 though.

[@angry_german_kid]

a legendary early 2000s bmw!

[@myflourishingfam]

Good call on the M5

[@jeremy888ish]

what a palate cleanser ! more of that please

[@Rogue0770]

That wrangler driver has 100% commitment to the jeep lifestyle.

[@bimmerco]

Love to see this car out of storage. Word of advice on the choice of shocks/struts on the e39. The Bilstein B8 shocks are made to be used with lowering springs, as the shocks themselves are shorter to accomadate the smaller size of lowering springs. If you want to go the B8 route, you'd need an accompanying set of H&R springs (or Dinan) - but to be frank I'm not sure you'd like it (considering what you said about ride comfort). I have B8 + H&R springs on my '02 530i for 2 years now and overall the handling is out of this world, but it's VERY stiff. I do lots of inner city driving where I live and even small bumps in the road feel like crashing on the bump stops. If you want that extra handling capability but want to keep the stock height and comfort, I'd go with the B6 instead, paired with stock springs. B8s have the exact same internal workings as a B6, it's just that B8s are shorter. Turned out to be a longer comment than I'd expected, but hope that helps your decision.

[@TedwardDrives]

Thank you! I’ll probably go softer

[@olivierb9091]

Love that car, perfect spec perfect year. My parents bought a later Volvo S80 as a fourth car, as a under the radar highway cruiser. Man I wished that would be an e39. I could buy a 530i now but not the smartest choice as a student if you want to keep it perfect. One day this will sit on my driveway, next to a range rover L322 with the 4.4 V8 from my birthyear

[@jjrosaria]

M539 Restoration should have an answer for you what suspension you should use! If I recall, B7 was his choice.

[@orthopaedicsurgeongr]

You reminded my childhood. Thanks mate

[@Chillguy2820]

Is it crazy to see someone who has owned my dream car for 10 years? (Sorry for bad English)

[@Sonic_1000]

I love my 2000 528i M Sport. The M5 is the beautiful, bro!

[@Daviation757]

This probably too late but I’d go with the Bilstine B6 struts and if that’s too soft then swap them out for the B8s. Personally I feel that the B6s are a nice balance of daily driving and backroad confidence

[@chargedbystars]

Im so envious of you owning this. :)

[@mynt253]

I forgot how much I lusted after one of these.

[@PasiemuKasMano]

At last some proper car (BMW) content!

[@katzicael]

I miss my E39 so much :\ - was only a 530i MSport but it was so good.

[@R0man1anRebel]

Tedward: Unhinged

[@dino_will_win]

All of you car reviewers are big fans of these BMWs, really need to give them a try. There's no aftermarket solution to the solder problem?

[@GXKid06]

You should get some ceramic window tint to prevent the interior from getting sun damage. My brother has probably the only 2005 Acura rl in mint condition because the original owner had the windows tinted and headlights ppfed. The glove boxed are known to bubble and peal and his is fine.

[@TedwardDrives]

Not a fan of tint. Ruins the look of most cars.

[@GXKid06]

@@TedwardDrives i use to not like tint either, when i got my GX470 it had the dash replaced so no cracks, to protect it i got super clear 90% tint on the front. You could not tell it was there it was super clear. Even the guy at the tint shop was like “are you sure you want to pay for clear tint?”

[@moogle8691]

14:30 A couple of years from now, since cars just get bigger, a full sized sedan today will be considered a compact car

[@garrettscott4748]

Like a Tucson monsoon.

[@IAmStillNotMatthew]

3:10 My 07' Polo 4 has blue instrument lights. It doesn't really blind me when it's dark.. it's also not really good at being visible in the dark thanks to that.

[@UltimateMTB]

It just rained yesterday... Did you drive, edit, and upload this video all in one day?!

[@ObsidianB8]

Love the m5, really makes me miss my Audi b5

[@Paco_Gaepedores]

Good to see your cute BMW again :3 woohoo ❤

[@R19Robbin]

Such a beautiful saloon 🔥🔥

[@tigerhawk84]

The front end has a 5LV8 under it as well vs the 2.0T of the CTR and they are about the same size....

[@Slowcarfastbeans]

I wasn’t actively watching the start of rain segment (because also driving) and thought it was odd that you’d be frying food on your channel.

[@TedwardDrives]

😆

[@jasonv8142]

Oh and YES my dad's E39 had a wiper relay which died while I was driving the car in the rain --> no wipers!! You should keep a spare in the glove box, not hard at all to swap out.

[@JRB41]

Best M5 ever

[@AndrewSVO]

Appreciate the nod to the GTI lol

[@amadousy7543]

e39 m5 actually started around 70k in 01 so you could've had 2 for the price of a v12 db7

[@justinkrizenesky]

Man, I LIVE for a nice relaxed Tedward drive on a Friday, thank you for all you do! Side note: have you ever driven a 6th gen ZL1 for the channel? My absolute dream car, and I'd love to hear your thoughts on it!

[@TedwardDrives]

My buddy Eddie has one! Maybe we can do a little drive together. His has about 650-700hp

[@justinkrizenesky]

@@TedwardDrives PLEASE DO!

[@klaspeppar5619]

Parked my P24 (first generation) S60 next to a “P3” (second generation) S60, man it kind of looked small and “flat”. The strange thing is when I park next to the current (third) generation S60, the current one doesn’t look that much bigger, it is obvious bigger, but the overall “proportions” seems to me more similar, which kind of makes sense as the current S60/V60 has a lower roof than its predecessor.

[@Adison0529]

Back to the 991 GT3... do NOT sell the E39. Even though it's not in a perfect shape, it's a really good unit and the interior looks flawless on camera. There are no cars like this one no more. After watching another video with your E39 I don't think there's a better daily if you can afford maintaining one while putting miles on it. Time for a GT3 will come soon regardless. 😉 Got me all excited to browse local E39 M5s offers, this is not good.

[@i0x37]

a BMW with no check engine light? holy shit! jokes aside, sick car man, I've got an E92 M3!

[@buddy6827]

I'm a huge BMW fan and the E39 M5 is my favourite M5. Sadly the prices here in Germany increased like crazy. For the price of a well maintained E39 with low mileage you just could buy something like a Dodge Challenger Scatpack or Ford Mustang 5.0 aswell. Is the M539 still worth it?

[@FranciscoDiaz-vf7mc]

How do you decide what cars to keep at the garage and which ones to keep at home at a given time? Do you delegate specific cars to specific duties / use cases, or do you just go with whatever vehicle you happening to be feeling that day / week? Great video as always :)

[@TedwardDrives]

It’s almost completely random and based on weather (I screwed up this time!) or where I’m planning to drive over the weekend

[@philiplee7604]

Recommend you replace the struts with the original brand factory specification. It is SACHS!

[@TedwardDrives]

I may just do that!

[@OuterspaceRo]

When I found it it was going to rain I hopped in my car drove …until the down pour and turned around

[@scottfindley1345]

Youre a lucky dude Tedweard - BMW should have just ran with pretty much every modr in their lineup during this era, indefintely. halted alll devepment - you want a 5 series, you get a e39! and we'd be able to havbe peak fr th erest time. Im Jealyy. Haha. But, i salute you, bud, enjoy it!

[@mattwhite532]

Wait, new cars don't come w/ dip sticks anymore?!? So, the only way to tell your engine's dying is when it's blowing blue smoke and pistons out the back? I remember a time when I could change the oil and oil filter myself. You could actually save money and have fun. But beautiful car!