New X5 Owner - 2011 X5 50i - First Post

[dpie]

Hey Guys-
Purchased my X5 50i last December and have been searching around on here for about a year now. Great community of people sharing info & their knowledge on these trucks - thanks everyone! Have been thrilled with the car so far. Figured I would post up on here and show you all what it looked like when I purchased it, what it looks like now, and what I plan to do to it.

2011 X5 50i
Alpine White w/ Cinnamon Brown interior on Style 210 18" Rims
CPO until 2017 with maintenance until 2017
Convenience Package - Technology Package - Cold Weather - Premium Package - Lighting Package

Background-
I had been driving a Silver 2003 ML500 AMG Sport Package before this. That truck was a great daily driver, got up to 23mpg highway and was excellent in the snow/off road. My dad had a 1999 ML320 which is why I fell in love with the model. I had it for almost 4 years and started running into some mechanical issues so i started looking for a new SUV. I originally had my mind set on a 2014 Jeep GC Overland fully loaded with the 5.7 HEMI. I had it all picked out and was getting ready to make the deal, but felt like I could do better. The Jeep did not have the kind of power I was expecting from a 5.7 liter engine and many of the interior buttons felt cheap. Overall loved the look the the GC's but between my quality concerns and a pushy sales person, I walked away and across the street to the BMW dealership. Never intended to buy an X5 that day, but it worked out that way!

First Impressions-
Coming from the 5 spd 288hp ML500 to the X5 50i's 8spd 400hp 450ft-lb was a huge increase in power. I was quite surprised during the test drive. Interior appointments were also a huge plus as the ML did not have PDC, rear view camera, (working) NAV, etc. Ride quality was a little rougher coming from 17's to the BMW's run flat tires, but cornering was considerably better. Felt like i was driving a sports car. Didn't have as much tech as the Jeep GC, but I felt like everything was of very good quality, solid build and the iDrive system was very easy to understand.

Mods to Date - in Order of Installation:
Black Performance Grills
Alpine HID Angel Eyes 8000K
20% Tint All Around
Plasti-Dip Rear BMW Roundel Surround & X5 Badge Matte Black
De-Badged xDrive 50i badge on Front Doors
Painted Front Reflectors
Smoked Rear Taillights/Reflectors
Style 214 20" Rims Painted Matte Black with Continental DWS Tires
BMW SAV Sport Fender Flares
Meisterschaft GTC Exhaust (electronically valved)
BMWhat OBD2 coding with iPhone App (various items coded)

Current Status-
I love driving the truck every day. The Meisterschaft exhaust sounds amazing and turns heads everywhere I go. Get on it a little bit and it growls - very loudly! Especially when switching gears in Sport Mode. Get a lot of compliments on the way the car looks and sounds. The Alpine HID's are very, very, bright. They look great as DRL's and are highly visible, but when it's past dusk the inner corona ring becomes bright and not very defined. Might switch to LUX H8's at some point. The Continental DWS Tires are great.

Thanks for looking guys. Let me know what you think! Look forward to chatting with you all soon.

[goodmaj]

Mods look pretty sharp. Might I suggest a Sport Activity, M Sport, or M steering wheel? I would think you'd really like the meatier feel of the thicker wheel particularly with that much HP now and maybe more in the future.

[yoandry]

Good looking truck. As goodmaj said, steering wheel will give you a better sport look inside. Also before putting any tune make sure you have the customer care package done and the front drive shaft replaced for the new part number one. Everything cover by BMW and you have CPO. So you are ready to go.

[dpie]

Originally Posted by goodmaj

Mods look pretty sharp. Might I suggest a Sport Activity, M Sport, or M steering wheel? I would think you'd really like the meatier feel of the thicker wheel particularly with that much HP now and maybe more in the future.

Thanks man! I would love to get an M Sport or M steering wheel with Paddle Shifters but since my truck didn't come with the SPORT Package/M Sport Package, I don't think the connector pins in my steering column are set up to accept a wheel with paddles. I might be wrong, but I read that the 2011 Sport package/ M Sports had the connector pins pre-wired since it became standard equipment on the 2012 Sport Package/M Sport vehicles, whereas the Base model did not.

[dpie]

Originally Posted by yoandry

Good looking truck. As goodmaj said, steering wheel will give you a better sport look inside. Also before putting any tune make sure you have the customer care package done and the front drive shaft replaced for the new part number one. Everything cover by BMW and you have CPO. So you are ready to go.

Thanks brother. I wish I had gotten the M Sport like yours. Love the look. Like I said - didn't know I would be buying an X5 that day. I already had the N63 CCP done about 4 months ago. Went in for a drive shaft issue about a month ago and they replaced something but I have to check the service receipt to see exactly what they did.

[P1]

Big difference from where you started and where you are now.

[dpie]

Originally Posted by P1et

Big difference from where you started and where you are now.

Should I take that as a good thing ? lol

[CrashRat]

Great looking ride! Getting me all excited for my 35d to get here. Supposed to be arriving via enclosed transport on Sunday.

[PAX5]

Congrats, but ... better get the N63 CCP campaign done (if it hasn't been done already) before you start playing with the engine and consider different tunes. The MY 2011 are particularly affected by this campaign because many of the early LCI's had index 07 injectors ... And make sure they change your battery too!

[dpie]

Originally Posted by PAX5

Congrats, but ... better get the N63 CCP campaign done (if it hasn't been done already) before you start playing with the engine and consider different tunes. The MY 2011 are particularly affected by this campaign because many of the early LCI's had index 07 injectors ... And make sure they change your battery too!

Battery was changed the first week I owned the car. Kept getting an "Increased Battery Discharge" warning until one day the battery died. Dealer said it was most likely due to the vehicle sitting in the lot for about a month. Replaced for free.

CCP was performed about 4 months ago & the injectors were replaced. All is good

[goodmaj]

Originally Posted by dpie89

Thanks man! I would love to get an M Sport or M steering wheel with Paddle Shifters but since my truck didn't come with the SPORT Package/M Sport Package, I don't think the connector pins in my steering column are set up to accept a wheel with paddles. I might be wrong, but I read that the 2011 Sport package/ M Sports had the connector pins pre-wired since it became standard equipment on the 2012 Sport Package/M Sport vehicles, whereas the Base model did not.

Paddle shifters were not standard on SAP/M Sport models for 2012, at least for the 35s. I know this because I have a 2012 35 M Sport w/o shifters.

Personal preference, I wouldn't bother with the paddles. Just get the bigger wheel if you can. I should think the trickier part would be to find a heated wheel for a reasonable price since you have the CWP.

[dpie]

Originally Posted by goodmaj

Paddle shifters were not standard on SAP/M Sport models for 2012, at least for the 35s. I know this because I have a 2012 35 M Sport w/o shifters.

Personal preference, I wouldn't bother with the paddles. Just get the bigger wheel if you can. I should think the trickier part would be to find a heated wheel for a reasonable price since you have the CWP.

Good idea.. from what I have read - they were standard on the 50i's only (forgot to include that) that did not have Lane Depart Assist - for some reason these two options could not be combined.

[jiggz]

Originally Posted by dpie89

Thanks man! I would love to get an M Sport or M steering wheel with Paddle Shifters but since my truck didn't come with the SPORT Package/M Sport Package, I don't think the connector pins in my steering column are set up to accept a wheel with paddles. I might be wrong, but I read that the 2011 Sport package/ M Sports had the connector pins pre-wired since it became standard equipment on the 2012 Sport Package/M Sport vehicles, whereas the Base model did not.

Pretty much correct. The holdup here is that your X5 is not a Sport or M Sport and therefore the paddles won't work. Any 2011 thru 2013 35i/50i with Sport or M Sport can support the paddle shift function if they didn't come with them. The paddles became standard on Sport and M Sport models with late 2012 model production (11/11 or so and later builds) and all 2013's.

Mine is a June '11 build so no paddles - I swapped in an X5M wheel (slightly different than the M Sport wheel) and the paddles work as expected.

With all that said, I don't use them hardly at all like I thought I would. 8 speeds, gears so close together at lower speeds, it's just too much shifting IMO. More annoying than fun, but that's just me. Still glad I have them I guess, and I do like the tri-stitching and silver colored paddles of the X5M wheel though.

[jiggz]

Originally Posted by dpie89

Good idea.. from what I have read - they were standard on the 50i's only (forgot to include that) that did not have Lane Depart Assist - for some reason these two options could not be combined.

As noted above, standard on both the 35i and 50i (not available on the 35d) with Sport or M Sport starting with late 2012 models, and of course all 2013's.

Correct on lane departure…can't have that and paddles for some reason…

[dpie]

Originally Posted by jiggz

Pretty much correct. The holdup here is that your X5 is not a Sport or M Sport and therefore the paddles won't work. Any 2011 thru 2013 35i/50i with Sport or M Sport can support the paddle shift function if they didn't come with them. The paddles became standard on Sport and M Sport models with late 2012 model production (11/11 or so and later builds) and all 2013's.

Mine is a June '11 build so no paddles - I swapped in an X5M wheel (slightly different than the M Sport wheel) and the paddles work as expected.

With all that said, I don't use them hardly at all like I thought I would. 8 speeds, gears so close together at lower speeds, it's just too much shifting IMO. More annoying than fun, but that's just me. Still glad I have them I guess, and I do like the tri-stitching and silver colored paddles of the X5M wheel though.

I would honestly love to have the paddle shifters. I find them very useful when making a quick stop and being able use the engine to slow down from a finger's tip away...

Wish there was a way to get it to work in my vehicle

[jiggz]

Originally Posted by dpie89

I would honestly love to have the paddle shifters. I find them very useful when making a quick stop and being able use the engine to slow down from a finger's tip away...

Wish there was a way to get it to work in my vehicle

Right…that's a popular use for the paddles (or even a true manual gearbox) and they'd definitely work for that. I'd just make the comment that replacing brakes is much less expensive than a transmission. Not that the trans can't handle the constant downshifting, but you never know with these vehicles.

I will say the V8 growl is enhanced with the paddles and shifting higher in the RPM's!

It might not be important to you, but with Sport/M Sport you get the shadowline window trim (vs. the chrome that you have)…have you looked into swapping that window trim out? Definitely looks more sporty that the chrome IMO.

[Cattivo]

Truck looks good...as far as paddle shifters, I think I've used them once...I'm old school, I drive with 1 hand on the wheel and the other on the shifter paddles are pretty much useless for me

[dpie]

Originally Posted by jiggz

Right…that's a popular use for the paddles (or even a true manual gearbox) and they'd definitely work for that. I'd just make the comment that replacing brakes is much less expensive than a transmission. Not that the trans can't handle the constant downshifting, but you never know with these vehicles.

I will say the V8 growl is enhanced with the paddles and shifting higher in the RPM's!

It might not be important to you, but with Sport/M Sport you get the shadowline window trim (vs. the chrome that you have)…have you looked into swapping that window trim out? Definitely looks more sporty that the chrome IMO.

I wouldn't use it for every stopping scenario - just those OH SH*T moments. lol

The shadowline trim itself is pretty expensive IMO and not work it. I might plasti-dip it or add some vinyl wrap to it, but as of right now it doesn't bother me. If i decide to do the roof in gloss black I will do the trim at the same time.

As far as the V8's growl - I would say that at higher RPM's the sound is the same regardless of using the paddles or the shifter - they both do the same exact thing! Now the Meisterschaft exhaust is a different story....
I'll get some sound clips up of that for you guys soon.

[yoandry]

Originally Posted by Cattivo

Truck looks good...as far as paddle shifters, I think I've used them once...I'm old school, I drive with 1 hand on the wheel and the other on the shifter paddles are pretty much useless for me

This ^^^

I don't have it, I don't need it. I always drive with the right hand on the knob shifter.
My 3 series had it and I didn't it use it as much as the knob shifter. It is nice to have it but not preferred to use it. IMO

I normally don't use the shifter but yesterday I did give it a try with a mustang 5.0 in the red light. Just from 2nd to 4th, mustang was visible on my mirrors.

[Doc GTO]

Welcome to the board and to bmw. For a little boost in performance the Burger stage 1 is a simple 5 min install and gives you a nice boost in performance. From there you can do a stage 2 Which will allow for meth tune as well if you like. Mine is still under factory warranty so the stage 1 is the way I went as it does not flash the ecu and can be removed in 5 min as well. Enjoy!