Turbo BMW E34 535i - One Take

[@benmyrick]

RED FIVE! When I bought my first E34 about 15 years ago, Justin was a regular contributor on the E34 forum. I was impressed by his car then, but it's pretty remarkable that he's continued improving it ever since. He's been investing blood, sweat, tears, and money into the thing for almost two decades, so I completely understand his nervousness with letting someone who knows very little about the car drive it.

[@redfivemotorsport]

+bennyboyhead Thanks

[@irongutsspeedshop3334]

Ahhh I thought this was RedFive I loved the forum posts too

[@The_Unkn0wn_5.0]

Real car guy right here. He is so in love with his car especially since he has sticked with it for so long and put a lot of money into it. Vehicle devotion right there lol!

[@daison96]

"I've done everything I can to keep this thing going.... Sometimes it can really piss me off." The words of nearly all bmw owners.

[@Shift4g]

+daison96 Or owners of anything British or Italian...

[@quattro4468]

Shift4g no. German cars are not reliable.

[@dosko9980]

Quattro 4 they pretty much are. Bmw and Audi are in the top 5

[@lochnessmonstere3042]

Thats interesting, I had an automatic 1989 325i that would stall randomly. Spent many hours being diagnosed and could never figure out the problem. Ended up putting an M30 turbo setup in it similar to the one in this video. The shell is too nice to scrap.

[@kroisi4616]

@@quattro4468 Are you stupid. German and japan are the best, Not this USA Shit.

[@Jayztwocents]

I think this might be the most uncomfortable Ive ever seen an owner in a ride along.

[@wrenchist]

+JayzTwoCents shouldn't you be making watercooling videos?

[@fifthgear93]

+Keith Towne Or shitting on Titans.

[@KingStivan]

+JayzTwoCents you should give him ur Z for a run or two ^^ lets see ur look when u sit next to him ^^ maybe bring a titan x or two to make you feel better ^^

[@migueltejada619]

+JayzTwoCents That awkward moment he asked for the keys..

[@namsaying]

+JayzTwoCents I think this may be the least amount of likes I've seen on one of your comments.

[@XFolf]

That's a sweeeeeet E34. I remember as a kid, going to the LA Autoshow, going to the BMW section... these cars looked amazing then and still do now.

[@patcrowe7629]

Guy can't find keys then pulls out a janitors size set of keys.WTF?

[@redfivemotorsport]

+Pat Crowe It was only 2 keys on a lanyard.

[@bneyens]

+Redfive Racing huh?

[@redfivemotorsport]

That's me in the video. You said I pulled out a monster set of keys and I just said it was only 2 keys on a lanyard.

[@Exekutioncro]

Damn 4am, lying in bed and broke out laughing lmaaaoo

[@brandonrobishaw7606]

That was Justin subconsciously thinking NO! no one else drives my car Oh wait yeah we talked about this... I get it

[@FuhgizzleShow]

I felt like you two were fighting over the chance to talk the entire time lol.. that said, the owner seemed really nice.

[@doctorferdinand1003]

+Jeremiah Kirk Matt kept asking him questions and while the guy was giving the answer Matt would interrupt him to say "WOAH ITS FAST"

[@TheSmokingTire]

+Jeremiah Kirk I know exactly how long the drive route is, and how many things we want to cover during the drive. The owner does not. It seems like I'm interrupting, but it's literally my job to guide that conversation. If this video were edited, you wouldn't see any of that. Because we don't edit for content in these videos, you see the whole thing.

[@acid3129]

+TheSmokingTire yes but can you prove it

[@dylanf133]

+acid3129 ??? whaaa

[@michaelcianci7944]

+TheSmokingTire so how many times DO you have to say "woah its fast" per video? hahaha

[@caseylockwood5512]

A lot of those old BMWs have progressive racks, in that they are "slower racks" when centered, but get progressively quicker as you approach full lock. Its like the guy said, they did this to make highway driving easier.

[@Mameitor88]

Weld the flywheel

[@spenceronni7]

E34s have a steering box

[@Miggys.Garage]

this owner was really cool. I would be so proud, I always look up to people who go thru many set ups on there cars and come off as a strong enthusiast.

[@mylifeisJDM]

Props to this man. Not many people stick with one car. There's something to be said about that.

[@henrypittar3620]

Can see the burnout lines from the minivan at 6:51 Haha.

[@gigidy5]

+Henry Pittar Holy shit it's got a locker...

[@henrypittar3620]

+Charles T Must be a weapon at the drags, lol

[@doctorferdinand1003]

The owner became very nervous when you approached that dirt road

[@Nate_H.]

+Doctor Ferdinand He seems very nervous just having someone else drive his car… I don't blame him haha

[@redfivemotorsport]

+Doctor Ferdinand I've actually driven it down a 2 mile long muddy road once. But with 750# race springs the ride is far from comfortable. I was wondering more of how he was going to turn around.

[@redfivemotorsport]

+NWH83 Plus you only get one shot at the interview and there's no prep.

[@Nate_H.]

+Redfive Racing Just to clarify, I wasn't talking shit on you haha. I totally understand why anyone would be nervous having someone else drive their car, especially one that you have built and made your own.

[@redfivemotorsport]

+NWH83 No problem. I was just trying to answer all the questions and give some background. I watched a lot of these One Take videos before the filming and still had no idea what to expect. Thought he would cover the basics, but no. It's definitely an interesting experience. Plus I really had no idea where we were going, where we were, but that we were doing it all quite quickly. I've only been more nervous riding in the passenger seat while my friend lapped Daytona in the car. The last HPDE I did the instructor told me to get another car that I didn't care about so I could drive fast again. After blowing up the engine so many times on the track, I was holding back alot.

[@tylerdowd]

One of the best all around builds i've seen on this channel

[@ifrit35]

Unfortunately this car doesn't have a toilet in the back.

[@youtubasoarus]

+Mojo So it literally doesn't reach the shit box designation. Shameful.

[@FroztiProductions]

just came from that video. I think a toilet would be a rational addition.

[@mortadachevy6031]

+youtubasoarus he meant he'd live in it cause of it being so damn hot but it doesnt have a toilet

[@ajwhite765]

+youtubasoarus of course, because a turbo e34 is a terrible car obviously...

[@mowcee1]

its a clean car... with every high maintenance cars, the ones that stick it out till the end are always respected for the work put in. Nice one take

[@stevend3753]

Watching from South Florida, I'm at least as wowed by the beautiful road as I am by the car itself.

[@audiwankenobi361]

FLORIIIIDDDDAAA!...yeah man we don't have many roads like this in Florida.

[@momentum.zach.]

+Audiwan Kenobi Yeah we got nothinnnnnn :(

[@clarenceodom6703]

+Steven D Reason why I'm leaving. lol but we do have decent weather. been rainy as of late.

[@stevend3753]

Nice. Wish I could go north.

[@letsrandom7785]

+Steven D Where is this place? like north America?

[@str1ka1]

I love classic bimmers, more please :)

[@ntricarico87]

I love these type of videos! where owners keep there old platforms constantly trying to improve on them and make the cool.

[@MasterDayTrader]

This is the prettiest older BMW I ever seen. I also had one like this in high school but I wrecked it. Mines was a two door, I miss it. I might buy one in the future just to hook it up project car, and for old memories.

[@gfimpen]

[phone] Bmw e34 was never made in 2 door version....

[@AKhellbindeR]

[phone] You're probably thinking of the E30, which came 2 door. The E34 is 4 door only. They look a bit similar from the front.

[@MasterDayTrader]

+gfimpen Yea my bad, it wasn't a e34.

[@STICKSHFT]

gotta love a guy that sticks to his first car. my first car was a "hand me down" from my parents. it was a Mazda 323 and I remember lusting for the turbo awd gtx.

[@azbavenger24]

I liked this guy

[@redfivemotorsport]

+azbavenger24 Thanks

[@chriserz94]

+Redfive Racing Hey could you send me a message , I have a m30b35 that I want to rebuild , and have a near complete dinan 535i e34 turbo kit , i'd like to hear some advice/reccomendations that I want to take into account during the build.

[@redfivemotorsport]

Like my facebook page and we can chat through that. facebook.com/redfive.racing

[@billsilcott9692]

OH SNAP! I know those roads. I spent most of my youth barreling down the back roads between Mt. Kisco, Bedford Village,Bedford Hills, and Katonah. I love those roads, and am proud to say we never wrecked.

[@kzoomin]

the look on the owners faces are always super nervous in these videos lol

[@THEMilkSHAIKH]

How would you feel handing the keys to your pride and joy to a stranger.

[@Bmckimm]

That boost giggle

[@aidanred6270]

This is one of my favorite one takes for some reason. Super interesting

[@PantalonesFrescos]

Same here. I didnt want it to end and it seemed too short!

[@hunterryan5627]

Holy, I want his E34

[@Long-nd8bq]

I'm a simple man, I see an E34 turbo, I click the thumbs up.

[@bootlegMIR]

Awesome car and neat story behind it. Thanks for another great video Matt 👍🏻

[@TheTechnoPilot]

The owner's sentiments on his beautiful car so remind me of my own journey with my Mecedes-Benz 190E. Even with the best of care, sometimes major issues crop up over the 400,000km I have on the car that can pose a challenge to diagnosis or discourage even the most knowledgeable and skilled mechanic, but when you get it out on the road and working perfect again, there is really nothing else quite like those 1980's era European Autobahn monsters.

[@AKhellbindeR]

Best BMW platform ever build, the E34. Nothing comes close.

[@AKhellbindeR]

***** Subjective. I quite like the E34 with the M5 body panels. Without them it does indeed look kind of boring.

[@mattpappa4668]

+Anders Kristensen i'm surprised this comment didn't start world war 3.

[@redfivemotorsport]

+Anders Kristensen The only difference in the body of the M5 and the regular E34s is the bumpers and badges. And in Europe those M bumpers were part of the sport package. All the rest of the body panels are the same.

[@AKhellbindeR]

Redfive Racing Thought that would be quite obvious when I said body panels. I thought the fenders were wider as well, but that's probably just rolled fenders then, which looks much better. I don't see real E34 M5's very often and sadly havent owned one myself but I will one day once i'm done playing with my current Audi.

[@AKhellbindeR]

Matt Pappa Most people that have owned several of the BMW platforms, E30's, E34's. E36's, E39,s etc agree that when it comes to handling and overall build quality, the E34 is superior to the E39, E39 is more comfortable tho.

[@mrdeath212]

I like this guy. Justin's pretty cool. And i love the way his car looks

[@drgonzo767]

Nice car. Nice guy, respect his passion to keep his car and keep building and rebuilding.

[@buckaroobonsi555]

I love that he modified a BMW I6 instead of just dropping a General Motors LS engine in it! That is fantastic!!!

[@JhurtadoOo]

1:28 "its always in the last pocket you look." so true

[@Fuzion180]

I think it looks sweet, sitting very nicely!

[@nswgb69]

Well done red. Been following your build thread from the UK for well over 10 years. I'm also a member of your facebook crew.

[@apizzaparty]

man that is one good looking car

[@raqeeblewis5216]

I lost it when he called it an M5 and then corrected him by saying 535i

[@andujo211]

E34. Favorite BMW body style. 1995 with the big grill in front. All Sick.

[@schuyler777]

For someone who drives through this route everyday, it is extremely cool to know Matt Farah layed down some mean minivan peel close to home! xD

[@audiwankenobi361]

I coulda listened to this car all night long.

[@xavierjones4574]

+Audiwan Kenobi it literally sounds like shit

[@audiwankenobi361]

Ha!..I almost plus 1'd!...it sounded good to me...turbo cars are the best.

[@audiwankenobi361]

The vodka made me alittle slow.

[@crzzymnn911]

Perfect car, minus the hood vents.

[@leloodallasmultipass]

+crzzymnn911 come on. if it also had front fender, roof and trunk vents, then it would be awesome. you know it.

[@leloodallasmultipass]

Tim Kidane FUNCTION. agreed.

[@feint007]

I dig the hood

[@MrEdsfedup]

interesting car and great conversation

[@WithTheBears]

I think they may be the best looking BMW ive ever seen

[@Jonspencerwalker5160]

I saw this BMW in Old Saybrook once about a year ago, I usually don't love cars like this but this one is nice

[@redfivemotorsport]

+Jonathan S. Walker Nice. That was one of the few times I took it out last year. And it probably still had some of the One Lap decals on it too. We filmed in Greenwich on the NY border with Amarok, NY.

[@aquateen77723]

Great car and cool owner. Thanks Matt and Justin. 👍

[@MrAntimationStudios]

Looks amazing.

[@Raf_man]

Been through 4 engines. Is it worth it? fuck yea

[@redfivemotorsport]

+Rafi M Yeah and the current one has been rebuilt several times since it was first installed. Right before the 2011 One Lap we discovered a crack in the head and swapped in a replacement head and retuned the car in 48 hours. That included sourcing the head and still working a normal 10 hour day. Most of the time it's worth it.

[@ghostedtamil1343]

I didn't even have to watch this to thumbsup. E34's were cool cars.

[@fikes73]

Gotta love old BMWs

[@JDsHouseofHobbies]

A lot of my friends that drive BMWs try to convince me to buy a 5 Series. This may have done it.

[@mikey_fixed]

Wow that road looks amazing

[@arkk1]

my favorite body style

[@drew.851]

I like that the guy drives it a lot and has owned it so long. Always cool to see that.

[@BITTYBOY121]

I used to have a Dimond black 1988 BMW E34 535i SE auto with the M30 B35 3430cc engine back in 2003 and I always toyed with the idea of bolting on a Toyota CT26 turbocharger from an old Supra that I had lying around which I had bought from a breakers yard, but just as I was welding up the custom manifolds for the turbo, I saw a Cosmos black 1999 E39 540i auto/steptronic for sale in my local Auto Trader and I then part exchanged my old E34 535i for the 540i .....After seeing this video, I honestly wish that I had kept the E34 !! as the E39's M62 B44 TU V8 engine was no fun at all ! and its very hard to supercharge or turbo this engine without it needing complicated ECU remapping etc. During early 2018 the gear box failed in my E39 540i, and the car stood idle in my back yard for 2 years until September 2020 when I finally bought a 1997 non vanos E39 535i with the M62 B35 V8 engine, This car is awesome ! and I am happy driving it as my daily driver even though its 50 hp less then the 540i I had - I think that the drive by wire electric throttle in the TU engine 540i killed the performance of that engine as the older smaller 3.5 V8 feels much more responsive with the non electric cable operated throttle ....

[@zpeed7]

Really nice build.

[@Maxpound]

So "one lap" is the road coarse equivelent of drag week?

[@LinhTran-gf5yv]

the passenger guy look so tense ... ;-)

[@lukesmith666]

justin, you're a legend!

[@ken-camo]

i drove an e34 530i and i drove it 145 mph and it was so smooth and handled so nice on the highway going incredible high speeds. it was stock v8 3.0l it just has so much power. im sure this car has more power than they think. this car is super heavy its a tank. and its hard to tell based on acceleration how much power it has because of the weight. once u take it over 100 mph the needle really takes off.

[@ZipTiePros]

Guy is beyond nervous. Checks every pocket to find his keys lol. Nice car either way

[@Miggys.Garage]

Still in love with BMWs.....

[@brandond707]

ive been watching for a while now, and come to realize, i wold never let you drive any of my cars

[@QiZzio]

love the video's matt :) Thumbs up!.

[@Hardtailcartel]

Great looking car! Wish the one I had was that nice.

[@fettifredy]

BMW E34 forever

[@mvMindFr3aK]

still taking care of it untill now, my kinda guy!

[@TheS50b30]

The steering part hit a nerve!!!...had his deadzone problem for months on my e36 till i changed steering rack and its pretty accurate now

[@dmclaren]

Love this car. I have a TCD S-2 setup on my E30 running megasquirt. It's no track car though, just a cabrio cruiser.

[@meepingdrew]

I'd love to have the oppurtunity to buy an e34 535i like this one. Such an awesome body in my opinion.

[@carbf1942]

Yes Justin !! Congrats +RedfiveRacing

[@eurostyler]

You can firm up the steering, simply by turning a screw on top of the steering gearbox a little bit deeper in the gearbox. Be carefull, if go to far the steering will not selfcenter, as the friction the steering would be to high. But it is not to difficult to find a good compromise between friction and precision. Best Regards

[@redfivemotorsport]

+eurostyler The setting the Matt tried was the compromise. I'm intimately familiar with the steering setup (I do all the work on the car) and this is the 4th steering box in the car and they all have that small degree of play dead center. If you only drive old BMWs you'd never notice. It's just readily apparent when you go from a new car into an old one.

[@DNALI]

Sounds bad ass

[@krallopian]

Wow I was just looking at this a few days ago to get a closer look at those hood louvers! I love how you said, 'Must have been weird being a passenger' or whatever, that's all I kept thinking the whole time! Hahah nice guy

[@Cortheawwtist]

The backseats are dope

[@Vladitorius]

Love the video great guy and what a car... thanks matt

[@stevepastaboy1010]

E34 and E46 were just amazing cars, I don't like what BMW are doing these days but it's everyone taste to their own. Electronic assistance is nice but real fun happens in old manual cars. 😃

[@craigmazza5700]

I spy a perfect blue Chevy SS in the background at the end. I hope that was on the list of cars to drive Matt

[@nickhelfrich675]

I was just gifted a 1990 bmw 535i from a friend completely stock with 274000 miles on it, any thoughts of what I should do with it? (automatic car)

[@aivarask5073]

you are so lucky....

[@DomV123]

a classicworld sell it

[@martynhatton1510]

scrap it

[@mrcobra7878]

Fuck bitches in it

[@themisvespucci9894]

a mix of both of was said above. Fuck bitches get money

[@livalittle100]

I wish Matt would ask people what they daily drive if the one take car is not the daily driver. It sort of just gives us a feel for what the person likes to do with a car and where they stand within the car culture.

[@redfivemotorsport]

+livalittle100 If you visit my wheelwheel page I added some of my old DD's to my garage. I've had a number of rare or unique cars as daily drivers, Volvo 245 (manual), mk2 GLi, Corrado, manual A6, big turbo B5 A4, YJ, another 535i, a manual X3 and I now rock the last manual wagon that BMW built, a 328 M sport wagon. Oh and we also have an Odyssey.

[@SubaruWRXspdManual]

before they even went for the drive.... damn that paint!

[@squattrovt]

Hi Justin, I randomly stumbled across this video. I bought your 2000 a4 wagon a while back. Cool to see your car get some well deserved attention! Cheers, -Dana

[@redfivemotorsport]

+vtdpc Dana, good to hear from you. Glad you were actually able to see the car in action. Do you still have the Avant?

[@squattrovt]

+Redfive Racing I do not, but one of my friends still owns it, and its still going strong.

[@jamesparson3526]

Hah! Saw this thing today in CT...thought I recognized it. Looks nice on the road!

[@voodoochild5150]

Love the hood.

[@daison96]

That Chevy SS in the back at the end of the video tho!

[@BrendanMacWade]

Maybe Byrum Lake Road? What a pretty route, whatever that is. Just a few miles north of my house in northern Manhattan. Time to take my wagon back out before it snows.

[@DmitryKOmusic]

Nice work. I've got a '90 535i Dinan Turbo 400 HP, 72,000 original miles, with wide bodykit. will try to make a vid soon!!

[@redfivemotorsport]

+Dmitry KO Which widebody setup?

[@waelcartech]

nice 10 min , very nice green road

[@DonatasPetrus]

Awesome one take!

[@kgalvin28]

The paved roads by Byram lake are great

[@michaelalexander129]

good to see you here in ct matt

[@Ry666]

beautiful car!

[@chriserz94]

Holy shit , i've been waiting for a turbo m30 review for the longest time , I actually have a near complete dinan turbo kit for the e34 535i , that I plan to put in my E24 633CSi along with the m30b35 and getrag 260/6!

[@001bigtuna]

good looking car

[@Xsoul1000]

This guy seemed kind of nervous about having someone else driving it. It was generous from his part. Matt drived it nice and not too strong and you can clearly see he was careful. Also, it's funny how German engines back in the days did not have a nice steady idle. That being said, that shape is a classic.

[@redfivemotorsport]

+Xsoul1000 It's running a DTAfast stand-alone ECU and the ECU doesn't seem to want to work with any of the idle valves I've put in there. Hours have been spent on the tuning and that's the smoothest idle we could get without an idle valve.

[@Xsoul1000]

+Redfive Racing Thanks for the reply man. :-)

[@ThePete2432]

The first complete build on this channel... Even had brakes!

[@redfivemotorsport]

+sean peterson Long before this car had any sort of power, it had these brakes. Pretty much one of the first 10 mods. Years ago, I was doing a HPDE at New Hampshire Speedway and there was a 3.9L Dinan M5 like Matt reviewed this summer. Between the 400lbs and the better brakes it only took me a lap to pass him. The power difference was like 100+. Not sure it made that original owner M5 that happy to get passed by a 535 after spending $30k on upgrades.

[@bneyens]

+Redfive Racing you jabber as much online as in person. It's kind of an annoying issue you have. You talk way too much

[@michaelalexander129]

good to see you here in ct

[@CrossWindsPat]

Dooope. People hating on the hood scoop don't realise how much heat that lets out and with a highly modified turbo engine you kinda need the extra ventilation.

[@yournate]

@ 5:55 Matt Farah: "You think this is creepy? how do you think I'll feel coming out alone?"

[@rocketsalad]

Coolest E34 in Armonk, certainly way cooler than mine! Jumped out of my seat when I saw you guys go down Byram Lake Road - excellent choice - but why didn't you go up Baldwin and loop back on 22? Oh, wait, was it you didn't want to go through the school zone? If so I feel ya, North Castle cops aren't too understanding of zestful driving unless you have an Amore Pizza sign on your roof... Sorry, I've been a fan of your work for years and somehow your Bestchester backroad knowledge just sealed Fan For Life status over here.