BMW 5 Series (E34)

thumb|Interior

The BMW E34 is the third generation of the BMW 5 Series, which was produced from 2 November 1987, until 1996. Initially launched as a saloon in January 1988, the E34 also saw a "Touring" station wagon (estate) body style added in September 1992, a first for the 5 Series. BMW replaced the E34 with the E39 5 Series in December 1995, although E34 Touring models remained in production until June 1996.

The E34 generation marked the first time all-wheel drive was incorporated into the 5 Series with the 525iX, and the first V8 engine to be used in a 5 Series. The E34 also saw the introduction of stability control (ASC), traction control (ASC+T), a 6-speed manual transmission and adjustable damping (EDC) to the 5 Series range.

There was an unusually large range of engines fitted over its lifetime as nine different engine families were used. These consisted of straight-four, straight-six and V8 engines.

The E34 M5 is powered by the S38 straight-six engine and was produced in saloon and wagon body styles.

Development and launch

Development ran from July 1981 to early 1987, with the initial design proposal penned by Ercole Spada in 1982. Under the guidance of chief designer Claus Luthe, BMW based much of the design on the E32 7 Series. Following Spada's departure from BMW and styling approval in 1983, J Mays finalized the design for production in mid-1985. Special attention was paid to aerodynamics, with the E34 basic saloon having a drag coefficient of 0.30.

Series production began in November 1987. In December 1987, the E34 saloon was unveiled to global press.

Body styles

Saloon models have a length of , a width of and a height of . Wagon models have a length of and a height of . All models have a wheelbase of .

File:1996 BMW 518i SE, UK (21850687504).jpg| E34 saloon

File: 1995 BMW 525i (E34) Touring station wagon (2015-07-24).jpg| E34 Touring

File:1993 E-34 BMW 525i.jpg|1993 E-34 M50 TU engine

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Engines

Official output figures are as follows:

Petrol

{|class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align: center;"

|- style="vertical-align:middle;"

!Model !! Years !! Engine !! Power!!Torque

| rowspan=2|518i || 1989–1994 || M40B18 inline-4 || at 5,500 rpm || at 4,250 rpm

| 1994–1996 || M43B18 inline-4 || at 5,500 rpm || at 3,900 rpm

| rowspan=3|520i / 520iS || 1988–1990 || M20B20 inline-6 || at 6,000 rpm || at 4,300 rpm

| 1989–1992 || M50B20 inline-6 || at 6,000 rpm || at 4,700 rpm

| 1992–1996 || M50B20TÜ inline-6 || at 5,900 rpm || at 4,200 rpm

| rowspan=3|525i || 1988–1991 || M20B25 inline-6 || at 5,800 rpm || at 4,300 rpm

| 1991–1992 || M50B25 inline-6 || at 6,000 rpm || at 4,700 rpm

| 1992–1996 || M50B25TÜ inline-6 || at 5,900 rpm || at 4,200 rpm

| rowspan=2|530i || 1988–1991 || M30B30 inline-6 || at 5,500 rpm || at 4,300 rpm

| 1992–1996 || M60B30 V8 || at 5,800 rpm || at 4,500 rpm

| 535i / 535iS || 1987–1992 || M30B35 inline-6 || at 5,700 rpm || at 4,000 rpm

| 540i || 1992–1996 || M60B40 V8 || at 5,800 rpm || at 4,500 rpm

| rowspan=2|M5 || 1988–1992 || S38B36 inline-6 || at 6,900 rpm || at 4,750 rpm

| 1992–1996 || S38B38 inline-6 || at 6,900 rpm || at 4,750 rpm

Diesel

right|thumb|upright=0.9 |[[BMW M51 engine used in 525tds models (note the intake air hose coming from the intercooler which is located below the radiator)]]

{|class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align: center;"

|- style="vertical-align:middle;"

!Model !! Years !! Engine !! Power !! Torque

| 524td || 1988–1991 || M21D24 inline-6 || at 4,800 rpm || at 2,400 rpm

| 525td || 1993–1996 || M51D25 inline-6 || at 4,800 rpm || at 1,900 rpm

| 525tds || 1991–1996 || M51D25 inline-6 || at 4,800 rpm || at 2,200 rpm

Performance

{| class="wikitable"

!1994 Saloon Models

!518i

!520i

!525i

!525ix

!530i

!540i

!525td

!525tds

|Top Speed (mph)

|<nowiki>**</nowiki>

|0-

|4.0 seconds

|3.4 seconds

|2.6 seconds

|3.0 seconds

|2.7 seconds

|2.3 seconds

|4.2 seconds

|3.6 seconds

|0-

|8.4 seconds

|6.7 seconds

|5.8 seconds

|6.4 seconds

|5.6 seconds

|4.7 seconds

|8.8 seconds

|7.5 seconds

|0-

|12.3/ *13.7 seconds

|10.6/ *11.7 seconds

|8.6/ *9.5 seconds

|9.5/ *10.3 seconds

|7.7/ *8.8 seconds

|6.4/ *6.8 seconds

|12.9/ *13.9 seconds

|11.0/ *11.6 seconds

|0-

|17.2 seconds

|14.2 seconds

|11.8 seconds

|13.0 seconds

|11.0 seconds

|9.0 seconds

|18.2 seconds

|15.0 seconds

|Standing Kilometer

|33.5/ *34.9 seconds

|31.5/ *32.9 seconds

|29.2/ *30.3 seconds

|30.3/ *31.4 seconds

|28.4/ *29.3 seconds

|26.3/ *26.8 seconds

|34.2/ *35.2 seconds

|32.1/ *33.0 seconds

<nowiki>*</nowiki> Automatic Transmission

<nowiki>**</nowiki> Governed (Auto/Manual)

Drivetrain

Manual transmissions

5-speed Getrag 260
5-speed Getrag 280 — 3.6 L M5 model only
5-speed ZF S5D 310 — 91-92 US, and European M50 engines
5-speed Getrag 250G - 93-95 US M50 engines.
6-speed Getrag 420G — 540i and 1994-1996 M5 only

Automatic transmissions

4-speed ZF 4HP22 - M20 and M30 engines
4-speed GM 4L30-E (A4S 310R) - M50 engines (US only)
5-speed ZF 5HP18 - M50 and M51 (except US) and 1992-1995 530i (M60B30).
5-speed ZF 5HP30 - 540i

Suspension

Front suspension consists of double pivot MacPherson struts, with a replaceable shock absorber cartridge inside a steel strut housing. Control arms and thrust arms control front-to-back and side-to-side movement. Steering on most models is a recirculating ball design, however the all-wheel drive 525iX uses a rack and pinion steering system along with front suspension similar to the E30 3 Series 325iX model. All front suspension components are steel, except that the lower control arms on some models are aluminum.

Rear suspension consists of semi-trailing arms with coil springs integrated in a strut assembly.

Models

Petrol-engined

The base model, available only in Europe,

The next petrol model up was the six-cylinder 520i, which began production in January 1988. It was initially powered by the BMW M20 single overhead camshaft engine, which was replaced by the BMW M50 double overhead camshaft engine in 1990. The 520i was the second most popular E34 model globally, with 426,971 units produced. The 525i was the most popular E34 model globally with 434,549 units produced.

A rare E34 model is the petrol-powered six-cylinder 525iX, of which only 9,366 cars were produced. Over the course of the E34 generation, the 525i Touring, 530i, 530i Touring, 540i and M5 models were sold in the United States. The version of the M5 remained in production until 1993, by which time the version was being produced for other countries.

M5 model

right|thumb|M5 model

Introduced in September 1988 and produced until August 1995, the E34 M5 was produced in both saloon and station wagon ('Touring') body styles, the latter being the first M5 to be available as a wagon.

The E34 M5 is powered by the BMW S38 inline-six engine, originally with a displacement of and an output of , later upgraded to a engine rated at . This 3.8 litre version of the M5 was first seen by the public at the 1991 Frankfurt Motor Show, where the E34 M5 Touring also saw its debut. The engine, also used by the 1995–2000 3 Series Compact 316g model, was a re-tuned version of the BMW M43 four-cylinder engine. When running on natural gas, the engine produced , compared with when running on petrol. It was only produced in 1995 and just 298 units were built. The batteries were a lead-acid type and the electric motors used a rotating-field AC electric drive. To assist the electric drivetrain, the 518iev also had a four-cylinder petrol engine and a continuously variable transmission, a configuration similar to the first production hybrid cars produced by other manufacturers several years later. BMW built at least one fully functional E34 prototype, which was tested in the late 1990s by Deutsche Post and others.

540i M-sport / M540i / 540i LE

thumb|540i model with "throwing star" wheels

Because the M5 was discontinued for non-European markets in 1993, the 540i M-Sport model was built in 1995 for the North American market. On top of the regular 540i features, additional features included sports suspension equipped with EDC, bolstered sport seats, servotronic steering, and US-spec M5 brakes. 205 "M-Sport" models were built, 139 of them with the 6-speed manual transmission. Only 32 of these cars were built, all with a manual transmission. The 540i LE included the interior from the M5, "throwing star" M-System II wheels, EDC suspension with self leveling rear, Servotronic power steering, and front air dam. 70 of these 540i LE saloons were produced, all with a manual transmission, each individually numbered using an engraved metal plaque stuck onto the centre console beneath the handbrake lever. the first model to use the new twin-cam straight-six engine

1990

525i engine updated to the BMW M50 in some markets, 1991 in others.
525iX all-wheel drive model introduced
525tds diesel model introduced

1991

525i engine updated to the BMW M50 in the US market.
Touring (station wagon/estate models) introduced: 520iT and 525iT.
Leather seat stitching pattern changed from double to single.
Steering columns and wheels changed from E30-compatible (22mm nut) to E36-compatible (16mm bolt).
New interior (wooden decor)

1992

520i and 525i engines updated to the BMW M50TU, which added variable valve timing (VANOS)
V8 engines introduced in the 530i and 540i models. The V8 models adopted a wider grille than other models.
M5 engine enlarged from 3.6 litres to 3.8 litres
Revised exterior mirrors and hubcaps
Revised interior electrics, primarily with central locking. General Modules were black on early cars, green on later, and not interchangeable.
525i manual transmission changed from ZF 310Z to Getrag 250G, US market only.

1993

525td diesel model introduced
Last year for 535i six-cylinder model, marking the end of the 24-year production run of the M30 engine
6-speed manual transmission available for 540i model (the first 6-speed manual available in a 5 Series), non-US markets.
ASC became available
New side mirror design

1994

518i engine upgraded from BMW M40 to BMW M43
M5 transmission upgraded from 5-speed manual to 6-speed manual
Wider grille (previously used for V8 models only) became available for other models, non-US markets.
US-market Touring models no longer equipped with self-leveling suspension as standard.
EWS 1 drive-away protection used in some models.

1995

All models equipped with wider grille and body-colour lower body trim (US market).
Interior materials revised: steering wheel slightly different design with colour emblem, door cards ruched/gathered leather and with different glue (more durable between panel and its vinyl/leather covering, less durable between panel and mounting clips).
EWS drive-away protection updated to EWS 2.
540i available with 6-speed manual transmission for the US market, all with Sport seats and suspension.
540i automatic and manual models equipped with 2.93 final drive, previously 2.81 (US market, at least).

Production

Production of the E34 commenced on November 2, 1987, for the 535i, with 535i market launch being in January 1988 and other variants following a staggered launch. 520i and 530i production began in January 1988, for March 1988 market launch. Production of the 525i began in February 1988, being launched to market in April 1988, with the 524td entering production in March 1988 for May 1988 introduction. Touring production began in November 1990. Production ended for the saloon in December 1995 and Touring in June 1996.

The production plants for the E34 were the Dingolfing plant in Germany and Rosslyn in South Africa. Total production was 1,333,412 units.