Some E34 M5 inspiration
Congratulations to reader Colin on his recent acquistion— a Brilliantrot (er, that’s “red” to any non-Bimmerphiles and/or non-German speakers) E34 M5! We are envious, to say the least.
Colin’s acquisition.
Colin had requested some modding inspiration, and naturally, we are happy to oblige. We happen to think these cars don’t need all that much in terms of achieving the right look— you can pretty much call it a day after OEM wheels and the right stance. (Of course, performance mods are a different ball of wax altogether, and for that we defer to folks who are more familiar with these cars— like E34 M5 owners.)
On that note, here are some E34s we like. Not all Brilliantrot, not all sedans, and not all M5s, but I think we can all use our imagination to some degree:
What a surprise! With the exception of ride height (of which none of the examples shown is particularly crazy), most of these cars look stock. Disappointed? Don’t be. We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again: OEM wheels make the most sense on a lot of cars, and we think the E34 M5 (and probably a lot of BMWs in general) fall firmly into that category. And as we already told Colin, we think the factory M-System wheels (with either the Throwing Star wheel covers (represented here in abundance) or the M-System I Turbines (not shown here)) look the best, followed by the M-Parallels (the 5-split spoke wheels). These are some handsome, handsome factory wheels.
If you know of any good E34 M5 examples, please link ’em up for us, as well as for Colin.
And just as a reminder of how good the E34 M5 was (is):
Did we mention we’re envious?
Motoring Con Brio 
Sorry but I happened to really dislike seeing E36 M3 rims on an E34.
Please don’t do that, Colin!
Automobiliac said this on January 26, 2011 at 10:31 am
are you thinking about the e36 m3 m-contour ii’s?
the m-system ii throwing stars shown here are oem for the e34 m5 (as per https://motoringconbrio.com/2009/12/08/function-over-form-bmw-m-system-turbine-wheels)
motoringconbrio said this on January 26, 2011 at 10:37 am
Excellent acquisition Colin!! The E34 is the greatest BMW ever produced IMO. Although mine isn’t an M5, It’s the only car I have ever owned for more than 1 year (going on 6 years now). I have poured lots of time and money into mine with no regrets. I am getting ready to double the power with FI.
The S38 sounds terrific with those ITB’s. Hop onto bimmerforums and check into the E34 section. Some great guys and outsanding cars. Lot’s of m5’s. If you get on there, look me up. five&dime
Brandon
Brandon: Richmond, VA said this on January 26, 2011 at 10:33 am
I don’t see any M3 rims. Those actually look like HRE’s to me 🙂
Brandon: Richmond, VA said this on January 26, 2011 at 10:35 am
the wheels that came on the car are HREs. i think bradley was referring to the throwing stars.
motoringconbrio said this on January 26, 2011 at 10:38 am
We posted at the same time lol
Brandon: Richmond, VA said this on January 26, 2011 at 10:40 am
If you are talking about the follow up pix, those are throwing stars. Stock on the M5 along with the ugly to me but beautiful to many turbines….
Brandon: Richmond, VA said this on January 26, 2011 at 10:40 am
Always liked the E34s, regardless of model. Don’t forget this
And even meerkats like E34s!
tailhappy said this on January 27, 2011 at 3:56 am
Tried to comment a couple of times, but somehow my stuff never made it up… Thanks for all of the kind comments and suggestions! The car is currently up on blocks; I’m doing a complete suspension refresh. I’m going to put up a build thread soon on bimmerforums, my screen name is intense1. Any suggestions for a more sporty steering wheel?
Colin said this on January 31, 2011 at 1:33 am
good question. i really dislike the plain black four-spoke airbag wheel (assuming this is the one you have) on this generation of BMWs— not just the e34. it was bmw’s first time using airbags, and it shows. if you can live with not having one, i like the m-tech ii.
motoringconbrio said this on January 31, 2011 at 7:55 am
Ditto^
Colin, I am also doing a full refresh. About to do the rear subframe mod to allow more adjustments. This weekend I added new sway bar end links and powerflex upper control arms (awesome). New lower arms,bushings, tie rods and ceneter link are on order 🙂
Brandon: Richmond, VA said this on January 31, 2011 at 10:03 am
I’m just going to stock for now, the dogbones were gone, and I’m doing spring pads and a CV boot. I just need to get it driving, shifting and stopping properly before I get into modding.
Colin said this on January 31, 2011 at 2:42 pm