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2010 2011 BMW 5 Series Forum F10 BMW 5-Series (F10) Forums General 5-Series Sedan and Wagon (F10 / F11) Forum 550i or 550xi
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      07-28-2013, 08:13 PM   #1
valsorim
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550i or 550xi

I live in NYC area and there are no rear-wheel drive 550i that I am able to test-drive, only xdrive. I used to drive a 2006 330i e90 with manual transmission and loved that car. Winter was not a problem because I used winter tires. That said, I did quite a bit of research on this forum on different 5 series setups and it seems that a 550i msport with passive suspension seems like like the setup I would like. My primary concerns are the steering and the handling. I lease my cars and will not do any modifications, suspension etc. I had a 550xi test drive and was not completely impressed with the steering and handling. Is the 550i msport better from the handling, steering and fun to drive standpoint than the 550xi? In addition, I drove the previous generation, e60, 535i with sport package and loved the way that car was driving.

Any feedback is deeply appreciated!
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      07-28-2013, 09:20 PM   #2
twelve535i
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I think an e60 535i weights about 3800lbs, which makes the 550i much heavier. Although RWD cars handle better, I would hate to be caught in the middle of a snow storm without AWD. Two years ago, it was coming down hard, and I was driving down the Belt Parkway at 11PM in my Infiniti G35x. The salt trucks must of only made one pass before the snow came down because the snow had already hardened, All the cars had to slow down to a 20 mph crawl. My AWD kept the car going strong as I saw the other cars wheels spins, and swerve.
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      07-29-2013, 06:31 AM   #3
The X Men
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The handling should be better with the MSport suspension but I am not sure about the steering. The X-drive still have the old hydraulic I believe and the RWD have the new electric steering. Fun factor wise, it will never be as fun to drive as your E90 manual no matter what F10 setup you get.
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      07-29-2013, 11:22 AM   #4
JNoSol
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Did you drive the mSport version? If you didn't have trouble with a light 330 RWD on the snow, the heavier 550i shouldn't be an issue with winter tires either. But I think you want xDrive in NYC for resale value. Otherwise, you can't go wrong with the RWD. All my BMW cars have been RWD, including the 330i which was my first BMW. They have seen a lot of snow in Kansas City.

The newer factory suspension are set for comfort and sits too tall (unlike the 330i). Get KW V2, it will fix everything. Not sure if KW makes a kit for the 550 xDrive yet, but they do have them for the RWD.
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      07-29-2013, 12:10 PM   #5
Surly73
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Quote:
Originally Posted by JNoSol View Post
Not sure if KW makes a kit for the 550 xDrive yet, but they do have them for the RWD.
IMO this is the kind of thing the OP really wants to know. He isn't asking whether he needs AWD or not - he already knows that (no, he does not, and I agree since he uses winter tires).

I believe he wants to know about less tangible things that I've read on the Internet such as:
  • X-Drive has hydraulic steering but RWD has electric. In theory people say the electric is way "worse" (and hydraulic is already bad) however the 2013 MSport models are highly praised compared to older cars. I still haven't unraveled this contradiction in my limited research.
  • No one makes any third party suspension options for the X-Drive models, RWD only
  • AWD models always have higher ride height, and no lowering even when selecting the M-Sport package
  • The AWD front suspension geometry and construction may further deaden steering because it is beefed up to handle driveline torque like a FWD car
  • potential additional complication for upgraded sway bars when dealing with AWD front ends.
  • Any number of other things that are RWD-only or AWD-only
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      07-30-2013, 03:40 PM   #6
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While it is true that the factory M-Sport package on the xDrive does not lower the ride height, it is not true that there are no 3rd party suspension options. My 2013 550i xDrive has the ACS springs and sits at the same height a 550i RWD + ACS springs would sit at. The ACS springs lower around 1", the Dinan springs around .5", and H&K around 1.5". The M-Sport RWD is about .5" lower than the M-Sport xDrive (about the same drop as Dinan).

One reason I chose xDrive over RWD is if you plan to go with a tune such as Dinan Stage 2+, you pretty much need their limited slip differential to control all the torque. With xDrive, the wheels rarely break free and you realize the full power range of the engine.
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      07-31-2013, 07:15 AM   #7
Surly73
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Quote:
Originally Posted by shoek View Post
While it is true that the factory M-Sport package on the xDrive does not lower the ride height, it is not true that there are no 3rd party suspension options. My 2013 550i xDrive has the ACS springs and sits at the same height a 550i RWD + ACS springs would sit at. The ACS springs lower around 1", the Dinan springs around .5", and H&K around 1.5". The M-Sport RWD is about .5" lower than the M-Sport xDrive (about the same drop as Dinan).

One reason I chose xDrive over RWD is if you plan to go with a tune such as Dinan Stage 2+, you pretty much need their limited slip differential to control all the torque. With xDrive, the wheels rarely break free and you realize the full power range of the engine.
Well, I'd say that it's fair to say that 3rd party options are very limited on X-Drive models. For example I've been looking into some things and the Dinan page is nearly blank for a 535iX (a car I may be acquiring). If I had a 335i w/N55 there would be tons of tuning options, but not an N55 535i - apparently "everyone" who has an F10 has a 550. KW also says they'll never release coilovers for X-Drive. Wander by pages for Koni, Bilstein, etc... and there are usually lots of 535i options, but not so for iX.

I would like to get to true factory sport package ride height and handling (OE look, not slammed) on this 535iX and ACS might be the only option spring-wise, but I'd still have to find some stiffer dampers to match. It looks like for sways M5 front and F07 GT rear will work on an X-drive, though they aren't a matched set and may induce more understeer bias than if they were matched.
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      08-10-2013, 10:32 PM   #8
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Tons of options for x drive guys.

I have hartage springs, I also have the m5 front sway bar and shock ware car is like driving on rails

Xdrive in New England is great plus launch on the xdrive can't be beat see the guy putting up low 12 second quarter mile times
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