View Single Post
      09-14-2013, 11:10 PM   #1
Alan l.
Major General
Alan l.'s Avatar
5341
Rep
8,773
Posts

Drives: 2020 F95 X5M Competition
Join Date: Jun 2009
Location: United States

iTrader: (9)

||| Alan's F10 2.0 - LCI 550 Content ||| Update - New Pics on Page 8!

First off let me make this clear. This thread is about MY car and MY review of it. Nobody has to agree with my review which is perfectly fine. I am basing my review against my 2013 535xi with Dynamic Damper Control and ACS springs/M5 FSB.

Ok now that I got that out of the way here's my review of my 2014 550i Msport without the 704 suspension It has been a long day of modding since I took delivery this morning and I put about 100 miles on the car so far. Exhaust, front lip, trunk spoiler, rear diffuser, black grills, painted reflectors all done already... ACS springs going in tomorrow...

Here are the major differences between the two cars

535xi vs 550i
300hp vs 445hp
AWD vs RWD
Hydraulic Steering vs Electric Steering
GY All Season Tire RFTs vs Dunlop Summer Tire RFTs


First up....

Handling

So how does the LCI Msport handle without the Msport suspension? Way better than my DDC 535xi stock vs stock. The instant I swapped cars I noticed how the LCI has more road feel than my old car pulling out from the dealership. It feels sportier than my 535xi even in Sport mode but some how it soaks up the bumps better! I don't know how they did it but all i know is that the ride feels sportier but at the same time more comfortable when going over bumps. My 535xi would exhibit much more understeer at the limit while the LCI 550 feels very neutral to me. It has more oversteering tendency than my old car for sure which I like. For those of you who live in NY should be familiar with the Southern State Parkway where the road has lots of long winding curves and it is the perfect road to test out the suspension. I was able to maneuver the 550 into and out of those curves without any issues. Not once did i felt like the car was bouncing around being too soft etc... No question that the new car out handles the old one stock for stock. Much more enjoyable to drive imo.

What I don't like? Wheel gap. In person the gap doesn't look any larger than other Msports i've seen around and on par with my stock 535xi ddc suspension. During high speed bumps I did feel like the suspension could have been a little more firm because I felt it float just a bit when going over consecutive dips/bumps going at a high rate of speed. I am hoping that after I get the ACS springs installed it will improve the handling even further as well as eliminating that horrible wheel gap.

After taking delivery of my car it really makes me wonder if all this fuss about the 704 suspension is even worth all the headache. While it might not be as firm as it could have been but at the same time this car handles quite well and takes bumps like nothing. Like KA's review.....the leader in raving about the 704 suspension even said in his LCI test drive that the difference isn't all that noticeable. Not like some guys here make it sound like the LCI with the base suspension feels like a 1988 caddy riding on air and how it is the worst handling BMW ever created.

Power

One word - Amazing. Even with the JB tune on my 535xi it doesn't even come close to the power the new N63TU motor is putting down. Tons of power anywhere. 7th and 8th gear is actually useful for me now since the car has enough power to accelerate even in those high gears. 445hp is plenty for this car!

Interior

Not a fan of the new steering wheel compared to the old Msport one. Yes it does look sportier but doesn't flow as well as the old wheel design wise. Buttons are harder to reach as well as the horn due to the smaller contact area. Build quality seems about the same as the old one so no complaints there. I'm sure I will get use to the new wheel but initial response was why did they have to mess with an already great steering wheel?

Ivory white interior. My old car had black nappa and now the new car has Ivory white nappa. Huge difference for sure and it took me awhile to get use to it. Its growing on me the more I drive the car. I'm thinking I should have went with Mocha instead but we'll see. Ivory combo gives the interior a different upscale look. Its not as white as i thought it would be. In reality it looks more like Lemon / cream color. The lighter interior color def. makes the cabin feel more open and airy. Wife seems to love it and I'm sure my baby girl would prefer it over the cave like look of the old car.

iDrive knob. That thing is a big boy compared to the old one. Takes some getting use to rotating such a big knob. I tested out the hand writing thing and it seems pretty quick and accurate. Will need to mess around with it more to really judge how the new system is.

Exterior

The biggest change here were my LED headlights. This is a must have IMO. The car looks so much more aggressive with the squared halos and blacked out headlights. The rear lights looks so similar you don't even notice that its different unless you had the two next to each other.

Thats about it for now. I will update this thread once I have a chance to take a few pictures of the car and get the ACS springs installed as well as tint. I am pretty exhausted right now driving around all day plus installing all of my mods in this nasty hot and humid weather.

Alan

Update- ACS Springs installed and Calipers painted



Update - Wincos 30% tint done and the car is complete

Mods on so far...

3D Design Front Lip
Painted Front Reflector
BMW Performance Rear Diffuser in Gloss Black
BMW Performance Trunk lip
BMW Performance Black Grills
Gloss Black Badge
Gloss Black Side Marker
Gloss Black Calipers
AC Schnitzer Springs
20" Morr VS8.2 with Michelin PSS Tires
Supersprint Quad Exhaust
Wincos 30% Tint
M550d/650 16mm Rear Sway Bar retrofit (Next week)
New Wheels (ETA Nov)


Name:  alan1.jpg
Views: 22385
Size:  694.4 KB

Name:  alan2.jpg
Views: 17858
Size:  801.0 KB

Name:  alan3.jpg
Views: 21448
Size:  874.7 KB

Name:  alan4.jpg
Views: 17869
Size:  800.6 KB

Name:  alan5.jpg
Views: 17798
Size:  581.8 KB

Name:  alan6.jpg
Views: 21482
Size:  810.1 KB
__________________

Last edited by Alan l.; 07-14-2014 at 09:18 AM.. Reason: Updated pics posted....
Appreciate 1