The BMW E39 is the fourth generation of the BMW 5 Series range of executive cars, which was manufactured from 1995 to 2004. It was launched in the saloon body style, with the station wagon body style (marketed as "Touring") introduced in 1996. The E39 was replaced by the E60 5 Series in 2003, however E39 models remained in production until May 2004.
The proportion of chassis components using aluminium significantly increased for the E39, and it was the first 5 Series to use aluminium for all major components in the front suspension or any in the rear. It was also the first 5 Series where a four-cylinder diesel engine was available. Rack and pinion steering was used for four- and six-cylinder models, the first time that a 5 Series has used this steering system in significant volumes. Unlike its E34 predecessor and E60 successor, the E39 was not available with all-wheel drive.
The high performance E39 M5 saloon was introduced in 1998; it was the first M5 model to be powered by a V8 engine.
Development and launch
Development for the E34's successor began in 1993, and ended in 1995. The final design by Joji Nagashima was selected in June 1992 and later frozen for production under new design chief Chris Bangle. With design selection in 1992, the series development phase began and took 39 months until start of production. The domestic German design patent was filed on 20 April 1994, with an E39 prototype.
Pre-production cars rolled off the pilot line from February 1995 starting with 523i and 528i models. This was followed by the 520i in March 1995, 525td/tds and 540i in April 1995 and 535i in October 1995. In May 1995 BMW published the first official photos of the E39. The E39 premiered in September 1995 at the Frankfurt Motor Show. Dealer demonstrator cars became available from September 1995 in continental Europe, commencing full scale production. In December 1995 sales of saloon models began on the European mainland. Production of wagon/estate models began in November 1996.
Body styles
Equipment
The E39 was one of the first vehicles (alongside the E38 7 Series) to have curtain airbags, which protect the occupants' heads in a side impact. Standard equipment on the launch models included dual front and side airbags, pretensioners and load limiters for the front seatbelts, anti-lock brakes, traction control, power steering, and air conditioning. Satellite navigation was also available, initially using maps on CD-ROMs, then moving to DVD maps in 2002. Some of the optional equipment included heated front seats and steering wheel, a voice entry system, a cordless car phone, and double glazed door side windows. Several models were available in Sports or Executive trim levels.
Special options available options on wagon models were either a roller blind or extending boot cover with patrician net for the rear boot area, roller sun visors for rear and side windows.
A "latent heat accumulator" was available as an option up until September 1999. The accumulator stores engine heat by converting a salt from solid to liquid form (phase transition). The insulated tank can store heat for several days. The next time the vehicle is started, this heat is automatically used to reduce exhaust emissions (by heating the engine up to operating temperature quicker), for cabin heating and window defrosting.
Separate to the latent heat accumulator is the Residual Heat function (activated by a button labelled "REST"), which allows the demister and cabin heater to use the heat of an engine that has recently been turned off (using an electric pump to push hot coolant through the heater core).
Engines Petrol engines
At launch, the petrol engines consisted of the BMW M52 straight-6 engines and the BMW M62 V8 engines. In late 1998, the "technical update" (TÜ) versions of these engines were introduced, introducing double VANOS to the M52 and single VANOS to the M62, primarily to increase torque at low rpm.
For the facelift of the model range in the year 2000, the M52 was replaced by the BMW M54 straight-6 engine and the version used in the 530i model topped the Ward's 10 Best Engines list in 2002 and 2003. The post-facelift V8 models (535i and 540i) continued to use the M62TÜ engine.
Specifications for European models are shown below.,,
Model Years Engine Power Torque 520i 1995–1998 1991 cc M52B20 straight-6 at 5,900 rpm at 4,200 rpm 1998–2000 1991 cc M52TÜB20 straight-6 at 5,900 rpm at 3,500 rpm 2000–2003 2171 cc M54B22 straight-6 at 6,100 rpm at 3,500 rpm 523i 1995–1998 2494 cc M52B25 straight-6 at 5,500 rpm at 3,950 rpm 1998–2000 2494 cc M52TÜB25 straight-6 at 5,500 rpm at 3,500 rpm 525i 2000–2003 2494 cc M54B25 straight-6 at 6,000 rpm 528i 1995–1998 2793 cc M52B28 straight-6 at 5,300 rpm at 3,950 rpm 1998–2001 2793 cc M52TÜB28 straight-6 at 5,500 rpm at 3,500 rpm 530i 2000–2003 2979 cc M54B30 straight-6 at 5,900 rpm at 3,500 rpm 535i 1996–1998 3498 cc M62B35 V8 at 5,700 rpm at 3,300 rpm 1998–2003 3498 cc M62TÜB35 V8 at 5,800 rpm at 3,800 rpm 540i 1995–1998 4398 cc M62B44 V8 at 5,700 rpm at 3,900 rpm 1998–2003 4398 cc M62TÜB44 V8 at 5,400 rpm at 3,600 rpm M5 1998–2003 4941 cc S62B50 V8 at 6,600 rpm at 3,800 rpm
Diesel engines
The initial diesel models used the BMW M51, turbocharged straight-six engine carried over from its predecessor. In 1998, its successor the BMW M57 was introduced in the 530d model; however, the BMW M51 engine continued to be used for two more years in the 525td and 525tds models. In 1999, the M47 four-cylinder turbo-diesel was introduced in the 520d model; this is the only E39 model to use a four-cylinder engine.
Specifications for European models are shown below.,,
Model Years Engine- turbo Power Torque 520d 2000–2003 1951 cc M47D20 straight-4 at 4,000 rpm at 1,750 rpm 525d 2000–2003 2497 cc M57D25 straight-6 at 4,000 rpm at 2,000 rpm 525td 1996–2000 2497 cc M51D25TÜ UL straight-6 at 4,800 rpm at 1,900 rpm 525tds 1996–2000 2497 cc M51D25TÜ OL straight-6 at 4,600 rpm at 2,200 rpm 530d 1998–2000 2926 cc M57D30 straight-6 at 4,000 rpm at 1,750 rpm 2000–2003 at 4,000 rpm at 1,750 rpm
Drivetrain Manual transmissions Six-cylinder petrol models and 535i were fitted with either the 5-speed Getrag 250G or ZF 320Z (S5-32) transmission, depending on the year and model. Diesel models with the M51 engine were fitted with the 5-speed ZF 260Z transmission, while the M57 diesel models were fitted with the 5-speed ZF 390 (S5-39DZ) transmission. 540i and M5 were fitted with the 6-speed Getrag 420G transmission.
Automatic transmissions
Some pre-facelift six-cylinder petrol models were fitted with the 4-speed GM 4L30-E (A4S270R) transmission. Six-cylinder pre-facelift cars built for the Japanese market were fitted with the Jatco 5R01 5 speed automatic transmission. All other six-cylinder models were fitted with 5-speed transmissions, either the GM 5L40-E (A5S360R), GM 5L40-E (A5S390R), or ZF 5HP19 (A5S325Z) transmission, depending on the year and model. V8 petrol models were fitted with either the 5-speed ZF 5HP24 (A5S440Z) or the 5-speed ZF 5HP30 (A5S560Z).
Differential ratios The following differential ratios were used by the E39: 2.35: 530d, 525d manual 2.56: 520d 2.64: 525td/tds manual 2.81: 540i manual, 530d automatic 2.93: 528i/530i manual, 535i 3.07: 528iT/530iT manual, 525d automatic 3.15: 525i/525tds automatic, 523i automatic, 540i automatic 3.15 (LSD): M5 3.23: 525iT manual, 523iT 3.38/3.46: 525i Auto 3.46: 528i/530i (5-speed) automatic 4.10: 528i (4-speed) automatic
Steering Unusually, two different steering systems were used for the E39, depending on the engine. Models with four-cylinder and six-cylinder models use rack and pinion steering, the first time this system has been used in a 5 Series (except for the E34 525iX model). This system steers from the front of the axle. Models with V8 engines use recirculating ball steering, as per the previous generations of 5 Series.
Chassis and body Compared with its E34 predecessor, the E39's wheelbase grew by and overall length by . Torsional rigidity was increased over the E34 by 40 percent, which reduces body flex and allows the suspension to operate more accurately, also improving ride quality. Structural dynamics were also an objective of the body design, so the body's frequencies for torsional twisting and bending are in separate ranges and above the natural frequency of the body. These frequencies are out of the range of engine and driveline vibrations, to avoid vibrations being amplified.
Due to a stiffer body shell, the weight of the chassis increased by , which is offset by the reduced weight of some aluminium suspension components. The wagon version was longer than the previous generation (E34) and weighed approximately more.
Suspension The E39 was the first 5 Series to use aluminium for most components in the front suspension. The proportion of chassis components using aluminium significantly increased for the E39.
The front suspension consists of a double-jointed version of the MacPherson strut, with six-cylinder cars using an aluminium front subframe. Aluminium is used for the steering knuckles, outer strut tube and the spring pads, resulting in a weight saving of . V8 models also use aluminium in the steering box and several suspension links, to compensate for the heavier steel subframe.
The rear suspension consists of a four link design (called "Z-link"), which is similar to the system used by the E38 7 Series. The design minimises unintentional toe angle changes, which increases the stability of the handling.
Wagon self-levelling suspension The Touring model was the first BMW model to use air suspension (self-levelling suspension was first used by BMW for the E23 7 Series with a closed-loop nitrogen system that operated in parallel with the steel springs). This "self leveling" system controls the ride height of the rear of the vehicle and is designed to keep the centre of the wheel a specified distance from the lip of the fender as the weight of the load in the boot area varies.
Instead of using a traditional coil springs, the system uses pneumatic springs paired with air reservoirs that are pressurised by an air compressor. The system is controlled by two Hall-effect sensors at the rear of the vehicle. These sensors tell the EHC (electric height control) if the rear ride height needs to be adjusted and adjust headlight height for vehicles equipped with xenon headlights. When a door or the rear hatch is opened and then closed, the control module will constantly monitor the input signals from the Hall sensors and will activate a correction if the ride height has change greater than 10 mm. During normal operation the system stays online but does not adjust to conditions such as potholes.
M5 model
The M5 model of the E39 was introduced in 1998 at the Geneva Motor Show and was produced from 1998 to 2003. It was powered by the S62 V8 engine producing 394 horsepower. All E39 M5 cars that were made were sold in the saloon body style with a 6-speed manual transmission. A single M5 Touring model was made, but was never sold or put into production.
Alpina E39 models
The Alpina B10 3.2, 3.3, V8 and V8S petrol-engined models were built in saloons and wagon body styles based on the E39 from January 1997 to May 2004.
The Alpina B10 3.2 was based on an E39 528i saloon produced by Alpina from August 1997 to December 1998. It was first shown to the public at the IAA Motor show in 1997. The engine is a 6 cylinder petrol producing 260 bhp and 330 nm of torque to the rear driving wheels. 0–60 miles per hour in 6.7 seconds and a top speed of 160 miles per hour. The B10 3.2 was only available to buy in a 5 speed manual ZF gearbox and only 260 were ever made.