New member - 2013 BMW X5 35i Sport Activity

[DrftJnkies]

I have been browsing this forum for a little while. Always wanted a BMW but just never found the right one. My wife also has a 2013 328i xdrive. All my other cars were imports and a few american. My favorite so far has to be my 92' MR2 3rd gen swap, fun little machine. But I have moved on to bigger and better things such as this X5 I picked up roughly 2 weeks ago. I feel in love with it! There is a few I see around my neck of the woods with those wide rear tires and thought man that is a mean looking BMW - didn't know it was the sport activity model at the time until now. The only cons I see at the moment is the RFTs at least for ride quality - rides rough and a ton of road noise but I learned to tune it out. Although it seems like if I hit a small bump on the road it wants to turn one way or the other. Normal for these types of tires? So most times I drive with 2 hands on the steering wheel. Besides that the "rear seat not locked" sign is always up. I can't seem to find a remedy for it. I have messed with the second and third row seat a bit but can't figure it out. I have kept the third row seat down since I got it. Overall, love the vehicle. My wife is always trying to steal mine to take to work instead of hers. 😁

[SyL3nTFoRcE]

Originally Posted by DrftJnkies

I have been browsing this forum for a little while. Always wanted a BMW but just never found the right one. My wife also has a 2013 328i xdrive. All my other cars were imports and a few american. My favorite so far has to be my 92' MR2 3rd gen swap, fun little machine. But I have moved on to bigger and better things such as this X5 I picked up roughly 2 weeks ago. I feel in love with it! There is a few I see around my neck of the woods with those wide rear tires and thought man that is a mean looking BMW - didn't know it was the sport activity model at the time until now. The only cons I see at the moment is the RFTs at least for ride quality - rides rough and a ton of road noise but I learned to tune it out. Although it seems like if I hit a small bump on the road it wants to turn one way or the other. Normal for these types of tires? So most times I drive with 2 hands on the steering wheel. Besides that the "rear seat not locked" sign is always up. I can't seem to find a remedy for it. I have messed with the second and third row seat a bit but can't figure it out. I have kept the third row seat down since I got it. Overall, love the vehicle. My wife is always trying to steal mine to take to work instead of hers. 😁

Welcome and congrats on the purchase. RFT's can be annoying not so much that would cause steering movement issues like you explained. I always wore mine out and never bought them again. My X5 35i came with it as well before i swapped it out for goodyear non rft tires. different in noise and bounce. Not sure about the rear locked issue since i never had 3rd row seat unless something is not letting it sit correcty. Hope you enjoy it!

[bmwx5er]

Originally Posted by DrftJnkies

I have been browsing this forum for a little while. Always wanted a BMW but just never found the right one. My wife also has a 2013 328i xdrive. All my other cars were imports and a few american. My favorite so far has to be my 92' MR2 3rd gen swap, fun little machine. But I have moved on to bigger and better things such as this X5 I picked up roughly 2 weeks ago. I feel in love with it! There is a few I see around my neck of the woods with those wide rear tires and thought man that is a mean looking BMW - didn't know it was the sport activity model at the time until now. The only cons I see at the moment is the RFTs at least for ride quality - rides rough and a ton of road noise but I learned to tune it out. Although it seems like if I hit a small bump on the road it wants to turn one way or the other. Normal for these types of tires? So most times I drive with 2 hands on the steering wheel. Besides that the "rear seat not locked" sign is always up. I can't seem to find a remedy for it. I have messed with the second and third row seat a bit but can't figure it out. I have kept the third row seat down since I got it. Overall, love the vehicle. My wife is always trying to steal mine to take to work instead of hers. 😁

Welcome!
I believe it's tramlining that you're describing; I got rid of my RFTs precisely because of this.

[DrftJnkies]

Originally Posted by SyL3nTFoRcE

Welcome and congrats on the purchase. RFT's can be annoying not so much that would cause steering movement issues like you explained. I always wore mine out and never bought them again. My X5 35i came with it as well before i swapped it out for goodyear non rft tires. different in noise and bounce. Not sure about the rear locked issue since i never had 3rd row seat unless something is not letting it sit correcty. Hope you enjoy it!

Thank you! I am excited about taking this for a road trip with the next couple months and how it does in the winter. I been trying to search pros and cons about the RFT's and I see its like a mix of 50/50 - you hate it or love it. When the time comes it'll be a difficult decision to either get another set or non-RFTs. As for the third seat issue, only a few discussion pop up when I google it but still can't figure it out. Maybe a sensor. I'm going to let the dealership try to figure it out. I am definitely loving the X5 so far and hopefully for a while. I tend to get in and out of different vehicles every year which I need to stop and run one until the wheels fall off. Thanks for the welcome!

[DrftJnkies]

Originally Posted by bmwx5er

Welcome!
I believe it's tramlining that you're describing; I got rid of my RFTs precisely because of this.

I had no clue what tramlining was until I searched it up.

The term "tramlining" is being used to describe when directional control is disrupted by the vehicle's tendency to follow the longitudinal ruts and/or grooves in the road.

That is basically what it's doing. I feel like I have to drive with 2 hands on the steering wheel at all times so I don't swerve out of my lane. Since you got rid of the RFTs it doesn't do it anymore? I think I am going to deal with it until I actually need new tires, don't feel like forking over a grand plus just yet when the tires are still good at the moment.

[PB617]

I changed out the RFT's after around 3k miles. The rears were in good shape but the fronts were pretty worn on the outside, which is common with the X5 and X6. They were rough and had a lot of road noise, i hated them.

Not many non RFT options for our X's. There is the Continental DWS 06 and the Nitto Motivo's.

You can't go wrong with any of the two. I kept reading how the Continentals had a weak sidewall and had more flex going around corners. I went with the Nitto's and i'm happy with them. They ride super quiet and handle great.

Pirelli actually just recently came out with a new tire specifically for the new Panamera which runs the same size tires and specs as our X, Tirerack has them.

[Poppyboy]

I have a 2011 with the SAV package. I love it, but don't even try to use the stock tires in the winter. It just doesn't work with the stock summer tires. I have a second set of replica 214's, which are the same style wheel, but with Pirelli winters.

[bmwx5er]

Originally Posted by DrftJnkies

I had no clue what tramlining was until I searched it up.

The term "tramlining" is being used to describe when directional control is disrupted by the vehicle's tendency to follow the longitudinal ruts and/or grooves in the road.

That is basically what it's doing. I feel like I have to drive with 2 hands on the steering wheel at all times so I don't swerve out of my lane. Since you got rid of the RFTs it doesn't do it anymore? I think I am going to deal with it until I actually need new tires, don't feel like forking over a grand plus just yet when the tires are still good at the moment.

Yep, no more tramlining after I switched to continental dws06.

[PB617]

Originally Posted by DrftJnkies

I had no clue what tramlining was until I searched it up.

The term "tramlining" is being used to describe when directional control is disrupted by the vehicle's tendency to follow the longitudinal ruts and/or grooves in the road.

That is basically what it's doing. I feel like I have to drive with 2 hands on the steering wheel at all times so I don't swerve out of my lane. Since you got rid of the RFTs it doesn't do it anymore? I think I am going to deal with it until I actually need new tires, don't feel like forking over a grand plus just yet when the tires are still good at the moment.

Yup, same with mine and the RFT's. Not anymore with the Nitto's

[DrftJnkies]

Originally Posted by PB617

I changed out the RFT's after around 3k miles. The rears were in good shape but the fronts were pretty worn on the outside, which is common with the X5 and X6. They were rough and had a lot of road noise, i hated them.

Not many non RFT options for our X's. There is the Continental DWS 06 and the Nitto Motivo's.

You can't go wrong with any of the two. I kept reading how the Continentals had a weak sidewall and had more flex going around corners. I went with the Nitto's and i'm happy with them. They ride super quiet and handle great.

Pirelli actually just recently came out with a new tire specifically for the new Panamera which runs the same size tires and specs as our X, Tirerack has them.

The road takes getting used too. I don't mind it as of now, I am sure it'll annoy me as I drive it more often. I was looking at the Nitto Motivos for my next set. From personal experience, I had a set of Nitto Neogen on my previous car and I was impressed by it so I figure can't go wrong with that brand. Have you driven the motivos in the snow? If so, how does it handle?

Originally Posted by Poppyboy

I have a 2011 with the SAV package. I love it, but don't even try to use the stock tires in the winter. It just doesn't work with the stock summer tires. I have a second set of replica 214's, which are the same style wheel, but with Pirelli winters.

Hmmmm. I may need to get a winter set maybe. Winter in Kansas is a hit or miss. Some years it's bad and some not at all.

[DrftJnkies]

Originally Posted by PB617

Yup, same with mine and the RFT's. Not anymore with the Nitto's

Are you running the same size on the Nitto's as the stock RFTs? 275/40 & 315/35?

[PB617]

Originally Posted by DrftJnkies

Are you running the same size on the Nitto's as the stock RFTs? 275/40 & 315/35?

Yes, same size as stock. I haven't had a chance to try them in the snow yet. I got them in april, right at the end of winter. I read they're decent in the snow and im sure they're better than the stock RFT's.

[GWOCwinston]

Im running the motivos on my 13x5 35i sav. Love them so far. Huge upgrade over RFT.

[DrftJnkies]

Originally Posted by PB617

Yes, same size as stock. I haven't had a chance to try them in the snow yet. I got them in april, right at the end of winter. I read they're decent in the snow and im sure they're better than the stock RFT's.

Originally Posted by GWOCwinston

Im running the motivos on my 13x5 35i sav. Love them so far. Huge upgrade over RFT.

Looks like the motivos are the go too for non RFT's. That will be my next tire purchase. Thanks!

[E70'11]

Welcome to the forum, as many of us already said get rid of those RFTs immediately lol I think you'll really enjoy the SAV more so with non-RFTs. What's your plans for this beauty? Cosmetics or performance, maybe both?

[BrunoT]

Originally Posted by DrftJnkies

I have been browsing this forum for a little while. Always wanted a BMW but just never found the right one. My wife also has a 2013 328i xdrive. All my other cars were imports and a few american. My favorite so far has to be my 92' MR2 3rd gen swap, fun little machine. But I have moved on to bigger and better things such as this X5 I picked up roughly 2 weeks ago. I feel in love with it! There is a few I see around my neck of the woods with those wide rear tires and thought man that is a mean looking BMW - didn't know it was the sport activity model at the time until now. The only cons I see at the moment is the RFTs at least for ride quality - rides rough and a ton of road noise but I learned to tune it out. Although it seems like if I hit a small bump on the road it wants to turn one way or the other. Normal for these types of tires? So most times I drive with 2 hands on the steering wheel. Besides that the "rear seat not locked" sign is always up. I can't seem to find a remedy for it. I have messed with the second and third row seat a bit but can't figure it out. I have kept the third row seat down since I got it. Overall, love the vehicle. My wife is always trying to steal mine to take to work instead of hers. 😁

We also got one last year, CPO, no 3rd row, but also attracted by the riduculously wide tires. I'm pretty happy so far even with the RFT's. When it comes time to replace them (ouch $$$$ ) I will look at regular tires, but we do make long trips away from home so the RFT would be handy out in the sticks. On an E90 going to non-runflats transformed the car, but with more rubber on the road and sidewall I'm not sure what the difference would be in terms of ride/handling/noise.

We have good roads here so road noise isn't a big deal. I'm always willing to trade a little ride and noise comfort for confident handling. On long trips the white knuckle factor at high speed in crazy traffic gets tiring. This helps.

[DrftJnkies]

Originally Posted by E70'11

Welcome to the forum, as many of us already said get rid of those RFTs immediately lol I think you'll really enjoy the SAV more so with non-RFTs. What's your plans for this beauty? Cosmetics or performance, maybe both?

Thanks! Going with non-RFTs after they wear out is the plan, I'm sure its going to be a big difference! So far just doing the small cosmetics - paint some of the silver parts on the front bumper black and window tint. I don't think i'll be doing any performance modification but you never know - may get the bug.

Originally Posted by BrunoT

We also got one last year, CPO, no 3rd row, but also attracted by the riduculously wide tires. I'm pretty happy so far even with the RFT's. When it comes time to replace them (ouch $$$$ ) I will look at regular tires, but we do make long trips away from home so the RFT would be handy out in the sticks. On an E90 going to non-runflats transformed the car, but with more rubber on the road and sidewall I'm not sure what the difference would be in terms of ride/handling/noise.

We have good roads here so road noise isn't a big deal. I'm always willing to trade a little ride and noise comfort for confident handling. On long trips the white knuckle factor at high speed in crazy traffic gets tiring. This helps.

Yeah the tire prices was one of the first thing I looked at when I was looking how much non-RFTs were and they are almost the same. I have took it on a road trip yet but plan too for labor day, not too far though about a 3 1/2 hr trip.