[Josh2011535ixdrive]

I am a first time BMW owner. I just bought a 2011 535i xDrive. I have a company car with full personal use, and will likely only drive this car a couple thousand miles a year. After a search for one a 535 that had been well cared for, seems like a lot of these were trashed, I opted for one that does not have the sport mode.

It is in very good condition, and has very good maintenance records, as well as nearly $2K in just completed maint. I plan on going to stage 2 with the car with the possibility of running straight ethanol or an ethanol mix. I typically drive pretty conservatively, but want to be able to have some fun when the mood hits.

My question is, did I make a mistake by not getting a car with sport mode? Will a trans tune, manual shift option and firmer suspension be able to compensate?

I love the car the way it is right now. The looks, comfort and feel have me just short of obsessing. My plan is a mild build on this car to drive for the next few years until the kids get older then I would like to move to an M4/M5.

[Unspec]

Are you talking about sport mode as in the drive experience controller, or are you talking about M Sport/M sport suspension/etc

[Josh2011535ixdrive]

As said I'm new to BMW. it has "sport" mode if I flip the shifter over to the left, but does not have the "sport/comfort" switch, so I believe that is the M Sport option, correct?

I've been reading on this forum with what little free time I have, but there is a lot of information.

I guess we kind of got the BMW bug. Like I said, a spare car for me is a luxury because I have a free one from work (plus I have 3 motorcycles and a second gen Cummings), but my wife liked the 535xi so much she went out and bought an '18 530e with the M Sport/M Sport 2 package. lol

[Hoa]

I believe you are talking about the drive mode switch. It can be retrofitted if you need it. As for the gear selector, if you push it to the left, it enable manual gear upshift and downshift. You can code the car for 2TB (sport transmission) and it will shift faster if that is what you are after.

[cdmulders]

I'm going to take the risk of over-generalizing and state that F10s came with one of three mutually exclusive suspension setups:
1. Basic suspension, available on all models
2. M-sport suspension (coded 704, I think) available only on non-xDrive models as an option
3. Adaptive suspension, including electronically controlled dampers (shocks) and sway bars. Also available as an option on at least 535s and up (both xDrive and non xDrive).

Given your lack of a mode switch, I'm going to go on a limb and state that you don't have setup #3, and likely not setup #2. The sure way to know is to use a VIN decoder to see exactly what your car has.

To make the suspension, particularly Setup #1, more sporty, many have gone with coil-over springs/shocks. I have setup #3, and I changed my stock springs to aftermarket ones from AC Schnitzer that lower the car 1" at the rear, and 1.25" at the front. This does also improve handling a little bit even though I already like the adaptive suspension on my car.

Hope this helps. Everyone else, jump in if I've over-generalized or got it wrong.

[Josh2011535ixdrive]

This is very helpful. Thank you all.

[SWFLf10]

Originally Posted by Josh2011535ixdrive

.

My question is, did I make a mistake by not getting a car with sport mode? Will a trans tune, manual shift option and firmer suspension be able to compensate?

Regrading power, I know by going with the BM3 flash tune and xHP trans tune on my 535 it made a world of difference. If you still want more power you can upgrade the downpipe and intercooler and go with a more aggressive stage 2 tune or even a custom tune.

As for handling, upgrading the front and rear sway bars made a huge difference, but did make it a bit rougher over uneven surfaces such as entering driveways. I also swapped the front thrust arms to the Turner Motorsport monoball ones and that made a small but noticeable difference as well. I was going to go with KW coil overs, but feel it's now unnecessary. Some people prefer to start there, but I started with the other suspension mods and am happy with my choice.

Before you put money into mods though, make sure you are happy with the rest of the car as a whole. And I say invest in any maintenance first. It's no fun dumping tons on money into a car and still not being happy with the car itself.

[StradaRedlands]

As an aside, the M Sport suspension is pretty nice. Moving between normal and sport makes a huge difference in suspension and shift points.