X5M tune review and first month of ownership

[X5Mjet]

Hi guys i recently brought a 2010 X5M with 82000km on the clock this car was owned by a 70yr old doctor who had never even used the M mode button never mind put the foot to the floor. I would first like to review my ownership experience with this amazing but at the same time pathetic piece of engineering. My drive home was a 800km/500mile drive full of open road returning 9ltrs per 100km or 26.1mpg. About half way along my drive i decided its time to flat foot this beast on the open road in a place with no one around and all i can say was wow. With a big black cloud out the back (never been opened up to clean the cats out) it coughed then went like a rocket. I then slowed down and flat footed it again to confirm the cloud was a once off cough. This beast is not like other cars that you get that little wobble from around the 200kmph or 120mph mark its perfectly smooth the whole way to its 250kmph speed limiter.
Now around town this returns roughly 17lphk or 14mpg with casual mixed driving (using the power every now and again) this is before tune.
The trans is slow in normal mode even with the M button (perfect for around town but terrible for spirited driving) but in sports mode and manual shiting its a complete different beast. One thing i will note is it seems the paddles occasionally dont work another thing ive noticed is it occasionally upshifts 2 times via the paddles. But using the shifter ive found 0 faults.

Reliability. This is where the pathetic piece of engineering comes to play.
First of all BMW decided it will be smart to plumb there vacuum system/ccv using hard plastic flex pipe. These pipes run directly over a very hot turbo that will melt skin. And despite mine being new failed 1 week into ownership, i removed this hose and was able to snap it into 5 pieces with ease. The signs this part has failed is a hissing noise coming from the engine along with rough idle. This will cause a cylinder miss fire and a vacuum correlation fault in the computer.

The fix i did was change it to silicon hose which you can plub the whole system for the same price it cost to change one line. Also adding catch cans along the way.
The next fault i found is those stupid flower shape lock nuts, they get put on to tight and you destroy the key trying to get them removed. These cost me $400 from bmw to remove the lock nuts.

My last thing about this car is BMW in particular will not issue world wide recalls for the same part number. While in NA they will replace your injectors, in Australia or some other countries they will refuse to and make every stupid mistake under the sun why they shouldnt have to.

[X5Mjet]

Now lets move on to the rest of the car. Its amazing, its comfortable, has a ton of grip even with the terrible run flats. And in Australia at least will shock alot of people with its power. The brakes are decent for a big car but will need upgrading if you plan on tracking alot or increasing the power a ton.


Now mods.
I have cat delete pipes coming (on order)
Forged wheels (light weight) and run flat tyre removal coming next weeks
Intakes here but not fitted yet
Tune done which i will review shortly
And a muffler delete planed.

I will review each part as i do them.

Now for the tune.
After alot of research and communication i found a list of tunes which i researched and considered for 2 weeks.
In the end i came to the conclusions that all tunes are very similar, i was also informed there is an online database with a ton of different tunes on them which people buy and modified to suit their sales and call their own.
First velos tune. I would first like to say Omar is a great sales man, he took the time to respond to all my emails he was very helpful and flexible with hes pricing.
Active autoworkes even though recommended im quite disappointed in them, despite contacting 2 different sales members, i never received a reply.
VF hex, there price is on par with the rest, though they performed better in the customer service department then AA they wernt anywhere as helpful as Omar and after a few questions VF stopped replying.
ESS was similar to AA and never replied.

In the end i didnt go with any of the above, it actually worked out cheaper for me to get my car dyno tuned. And in the end power increased to 660hp and 860nm with a 25% correction factor on a 4 wheel dyno. (Front rollers were not engaged)

Now i must say this beast is has mad a massive improvement. The mid range is amazing and makes this beast feel like a completely different car and despite not feeling much difference uptop i am impressed.

[9vapors]

Awesome man, thanks for taking the time to write all of this! Sounds like you're met all the typical BMW bs that comes with the x5M. Can you post some pics of your engine bay and how you replaced the lines with silicone for the ccv? Did you install catch cans? What intakes do you have coming?

[protecon]

Beware of muffler delete - it sounds like ass.

I straight-piped for a while (catless) before adding some mini hotdogs to reduce the ass, but eventually swapped to flowmasters.

Probably the only benefit from a delete is massive turbine spool noise.

[Sophisticated Redneck]

Ya you have to really wonder about BMW....I mean obviously they have some amazing engineers there but damn if some of them must take the short-bus to work....that or they are actually Mercedes moles!!!! Sent to destroy BMW from within....that would explain the new X5's GRILL....WHAT THE FUCK....looks like a damn Lincoln...

[askjeeves]

26mpg? Really?

[Dave00]

Originally Posted by askjeeves

26mpg? Really?

Yes, I'd like to know if this was pre-tune? I'm not believing the 26mpg mark. OP - the best I've seen is 17-18 with just highway use and babying the hell out of the throttle. Now, I haven't taken her on an extended highway only run and I'll be doing that later this summer on a long trip to Kansas, but dang 26mpg???

[Colodano]

Yeah that is some interesting mileage, I have done a few long road trips in mine, and the best I have managed is a pretty consistent 17.7 MPG. This is more than one tank at basically the exact same result, in the course of ~1500 miles in 4 days, Velos tuned, and average speed of about 80 MPH.

[chris604]

Originally Posted by protecon

Beware of muffler delete - it sounds like ass.

I straight-piped for a while (catless) before adding some mini hotdogs to reduce the ass, but eventually swapped to flowmasters.

Probably the only benefit from a delete is massive turbine spool noise.

hehe. I tried the stock exhaust mode. Was only $300, and I could tell the difference between the completely stock x5m and mine. I'll take your advice and go with flowmasters, as I don't want to sound like ass as well. lol!

[9vapors]

Originally Posted by chris604

hehe. I tried the stock exhaust mode. Was only $300, and I could tell the difference between the completely stock x5m and mine. I'll take your advice and go with flowmasters, as I don't want to sound like ass as well. lol!

In my journal thread, I have some sound clips on page 4 of mine with straight pipes and with a crosspipe added...
9's X5M https://www.xbimmers.com/forums/show....php?t=1548291

[X5 MAN]

Originally Posted by Sophisticated Redneck

Ya you have to really wonder about BMW....I mean obviously they have some amazing engineers there but damn if some of them must take the short-bus to work....that or they are actually Mercedes moles!!!! Sent to destroy BMW from within....that would explain the new X5's GRILL....WHAT THE FUCK....looks like a damn Lincoln...

Maybe they have to increase the size because it is a louvered grill which closes itself when not driving