[bennyg]

Hey guys. Recently purchased a '15 550i and I must say it's great to be back in the BMW family.

Had a '15 M4 delivered when they first came out (took 10 weeks for delivery) and sold it after 6 months. Hated the manual trans on it.

This 550 has all options including M And Executive packages and man do I love it. Coming from the GM world, it's quite different.

I will be modifying it with the following and I am open to any suggestions regarding brands of particular parts;

Tune
Exhaust (loud but not obnoxious)
Intake
Front lip (cf)
Diffuser (cf)
Lip spoiler (cf)
Rims (gloss black)
Painted calipers
Blacking out chrome

I'm open to any and all parts being purchased as used as long as in good condition in case anyone has anything they are trying to get rid of.

I'm late to post this and already began with the simple stuff:

[lsturbointeg]

seriously after 6 months you got rid of the M4? i'm planning on getting an M3 next year after this car is paid off

[The TRG]

Get a sprint booster... you won't regret it, and it's easily the most immediate impact item I put in my DINAN stage 1 535xi.

[bennyg]

Originally Posted by lsturbointeg

seriously after 6 months you got rid of the M4? i'm planning on getting an M3 next year after this car is paid off

Yeah it just didn't have that M excitement I was hoping for. But more importantly I really did not like the manual transmission.

[bennyg]

Originally Posted by The TRG

Get a sprint booster... you won't regret it, and it's easily the most immediate impact item I put in my DINAN stage 1 535xi.

Ok thanks. I'll look into it.

[Ickdeep]

Welcome!!

[Kyngofpop]

Originally Posted by bennyg

Yeah it just didn't have that M excitement I was hoping for. But more importantly I really did not like the manual transmission.

What in particular didn't you like about the manual? Just out of curiosity...

[bennyg]

Originally Posted by Kyngofpop

What in particular didn't you like about the manual? Just out of curiosity...

First off the throws were way too long for a car like that. I would have expected it to come stock with a shorter, more crisp, throw. Yes of course you can change that quite easily after market, but when you spend that kind of money on a pure bred sports car, some things should just come standard. But more importantly, and not as easily changed, the transmission itself did not feel solid. I took it through the snake (road through the mountains in CA near Malibu) a couple times and as I would go through the gears I was never super confident in the transmission. Basically the transmission did not feel like it matched the rest of the car.

I may be critiquing it a bit much but just my opinion.

FYI: I've had and driven quite an extensive list of cars so this is coming from a bit of experience.

[.BMW.]

Looks great!

Congrats.

[bennyg]

Originally Posted by Kyngofpop

Not doubting ya by any means, was just curious because I was looking in the M4 direction once I dump my 550.

I can surely tell ya that the 550 is gna feel ponderous and bulky compared to the M4. Did you get the Adaptive drive suspension or the static setup?

If you're going M4, just make sure not to manual and you'll need to get a tune to really get the "aggressive" feel that is to be expected from the factory.

Yes of course the 5 is going to be much more cumbersome than the M4 but put both on the interstate and I would prefer my daily to be comfortable when desired but powerful when necessary (i.e.: running along next to another powerhouse saloon). Albeit the two are in different worlds and can't "really" be compared to one another, I much prefer the 550 over the M4 for daily driving to and from office.

If I were going to reconsider an M4 or something in the same class (two door sports car) I likely would not go M4 again. Other cars that have more performance for same or even less cost. Not saying it isn't a great car just that it didn't "wow" like I had hoped.

Re; the suspension question, if you mean do I notice a big difference between the cloud ride and race track feel when switching between comfort and sport+, then yes it's quite a big difference and seemingly worth the investment. Although, I have to admit, it's not quite as good as the magnetic ride suspension on my CTS-V. But it's still pretty amazing.

[mike@x-ph.com]

Welcome back