[bluecrabby]

just test drove an abandoned X1 with M Sport and 20-inch wheels . left the dealership a few minutes ago and now sitting in front of my dentists office waiting for my 10AM appt. Just killing the time by writing down my impressions while they are still fresh.

edit: "abandoned as in some customer ordered it back in September and cancelled after it arrived at the dealership... not sure why.. the salesman said it was the color(white)... the customer placed a new order in Storm Bay which wouldn't go into production until end of January.

It drove beautifully around the state park area with lots of curves and hills.

After that, we drove through the usual busy part of town with bad roads to get back to the dealership. I deliberately took detour and drove through a street with civil war era old townhouses and the street was lined from old bricks.

it was pure hell. I felt like I was riding a jackhammer. I need my chiropractor now. although the X1 still handed very well. It stayed pretty flat and composed.(in sharp contrast to the Lexus RX or Mercedes E-class wagon, which always rocked up and down rather violently like a mechanical bull machine when driven on that same street)

[Fumus]

Originally Posted by bluecrabby

just test drove an abandoned X1 with M Sport and 20-inch wheels . left the dealership a few minutes ago and now sitting in front of my dentists office waiting for my 10AM appt. Just killing the time by writing down my impressions while they are still fresh.

edit: "abandoned as in some customer ordered it back in September and cancelled after it arrived at the dealership... not sure why.. the salesman said it was the color(white)... the customer placed a new order in Storm Bay which wouldn't go into production until end of January.

It drove beautifully around the state park area with lots of curves and hills.

After that, we drove through the usual busy part of town with bad roads to get back to the dealership. I deliberately took detour and drove through a street with civil war era old townhouses and the street was lined from old bricks.

it was pure hell. I felt like I was riding a jackhammer. I need my chiropractor now. although the X1 still handed very well. It stayed pretty flat and composed.(in sharp contrast to the Lexus RX or Mercedes E-class wagon, which always rocked up and down rather violently like a mechanical bull machine when driven on that same street)

Did you try changing the suspension?

[Supa Koopa]

The roads must be really bad where you are as I've never felt that with my MSport with 20's. I've always thought our roads are rubbish, but I guess they aren't that bad.

[bluecrabby]

Originally Posted by Supa Koopa

The roads must be really bad where you are as I've never felt that with my MSport with 20's. I've always thought our roads are rubbish, but I guess they aren't that bad.

well... it's bad, but not as bad as New York City and Newark.

basically, it's like this on every other block, but with more cracks and slightly larger shallow potholes on 45mph roads

[BMWZ4]

Originally Posted by bluecrabby

well... it's bad, but not as bad as New York City and Newark.

basically, it's like this on every other block, but with more cracks and slightly larger shallow potholes on 45mph roads

You wouldn't like my x3m on 21's....but that's what m vehicles are like

[Speedbird71]

Originally Posted by bluecrabby

well... it's bad, but not as bad as New York City and Newark.

basically, it's like this on every other block, but with more cracks and slightly larger shallow potholes on 45mph roads

You may want to consider replacing your BMW with something made by John Deere

[bluecrabby]

Originally Posted by Speedbird71

You may want to consider replacing your BMW with something made by John Deere

I do have a John Deere riding lawnmower... but I'm not sure the cops will be amused if I drive it on public roads.... it's not like I'm the police chief of Tampa, right? When I said cops, I meant the HOA security force.(which consists of one guy in a HOA-purchased Toyota Venza driving around with amber flashing lights on top... and he only patrols during daylight hours )

[Supa Koopa]

That's shocking.

[04S]

Originally Posted by Supa Koopa

The roads must be really bad where you are as I've never felt that with my MSport with 20's. I've always thought our roads are rubbish, but I guess they aren't that bad.

This. My m sport with 20s is probably the best riding BMW i have ever had. Sure there are a lot of M cars in my history, but also many regular BMWs. I am really surprised that people find that this car does not ride well.

And our roads here are VERY ordinary as well.

When we get the M sport package we get the adaptive suspension as standard. Maybe in the US that does not happen ?

[FlashMonkey929]

Originally Posted by bluecrabby

well... it's bad, but not as bad as New York City and Newark.

basically, it's like this on every other block, but with more cracks and slightly larger shallow potholes on 45mph roads

That looks like many of the roads on Oahu, even on the freeway. They're bad enough that when I accidentally hit one it triggers the accident recording on my dash cam. I've pretty much got most of them memorized on my daily routes so I don't hit them, but still occasionally get my kidneys rattled when a new one pops up.

[bluecrabby]

Originally Posted by FlashMonkey929

That looks like many of the roads on Oahu, even on the freeway. They're bad enough that when I accidentally hit one it triggers the accident recording on my dash cam. I've pretty much got most of them memorized on my daily routes so I don't hit them, but still occasionally get my kidneys rattled when a new one pops up.

same here... my dashcam also gets triggered several times a day as I drive on the roads here. I try to avoid the bad parts of the roads, but lately, it's basically just trying to aim for the smaller potholes and avoid the bigger ones. (because trying to avoid them all is practically impossible on some roads)

[FlashMonkey929]

Originally Posted by bluecrabby

same here... my dashcam also gets triggered several times a day as I drive on the roads here. I try to avoid the bad parts of the roads, but lately, it's basically just trying to aim for the smaller potholes and avoid the bigger ones. (because trying to avoid them all is practically impossible on some roads)

I've hit some pretty bad ones over the years that felt really bad, but fortunately I have yet to bend/crack a wheel, even with some pretty low profile tires stretched on to the rims. I got the standard 18" wheels on my M Sport with the all season tires, but I'm looking to upgrade to some 19" BBS wheels when funds allow.

[bluecrabby]

Originally Posted by FlashMonkey929

I've hit some pretty bad ones over the years that felt really bad, but fortunately I have yet to bend/crack a wheel, even with some pretty low profile tires stretched on to the rims. I got the standard 18" wheels on my M Sport with the all season tires, but I'm looking to upgrade to some 19" BBS wheels when funds allow.

I had personal experience driving a GMC Yukon and hitting a pothole. It bent/cracked the big fat tires on the big SUV. (a suspension link or two might have been damaged as well)

as for BBS wheels... they are one of my all-time favorite wheels.... had a set of these RSII before.... which I foolishly gave to the guy who bought my car for no reason... too bad they don't make them anymore... because I think they look good on any German car/SUV.

[FlashMonkey929]

Originally Posted by bluecrabby

I had personal experience driving a GMC Yukon and hitting a pothole. It bent/cracked the big fat tires on the big SUV. (a suspension link or two might have been damaged as well)

as for BBS wheels... they are one of my all-time favorite wheels.... had a set of these RSII before.... which I foolishly gave to the guy who bought my car for no reason... too bad they don't make them anymore... because I think they look good on any German car/SUV.

I've had RGR's, RS-GT's, and LMR's, all of them were virtually bulletproof. I love those mesh style wheels, but man are they a pain to clean! If I don't go the BBS route, I may look into either some Volk TE37's or some Work VSXX's, but with the Portimao Blue I'm leaning towards a gold or bronze finish this time around.

[saws]

Not shocking to me at all.

Having owned several BMW SAVs in my life including M cars, I know the M suspension can be very harsh.
"Fun" when you are young... but you will feel the pain when you get old
I would go so far to say that M stiffness (and also AMG, which is even worse) is meant for racing only and not for daily driving, unless you want to hurt when you are 50+

I feel like Audi has a more reasonable (humane) suspension setup in their S cars compared to both M and AMG.

[bluecrabby]

Originally Posted by saws

Not shocking to me at all.

Having owned several BMW SAVs in my life including M cars, I know the M suspension can be very harsh.
"Fun" when you are young... but you will feel the pain when you get old
I would go so far to say that M stiffness (and also AMG, which is even worse) is meant for racing only and not for daily driving, unless you want to hurt when you are 50+

I feel like Audi has a more reasonable (humane) suspension setup in their S cars compared to both M and AMG.

I bought a W202 AMG C43 many years ago. Being young and stupid, I replaced the perfectly good AMG 17" wheels and AMG suspension(with less than 100 miles on them since new)... installed Lorinser super-stiff shocks and lowering springs kit that lowered the ride height by about an inch.(the C43 was already lower than regular W202) I also installed 18" 35-series tires. It was a blast to drive around my area which was hilly with lots of curves.... but when I drove into the city, I always felt like the car was about to come apart. Underground parking garages also posed big problem because the lowered car caused the bottom to scrape almost all the time.


Fast forward to now.... these days, I just want to hold a warm cup of coffee while I drive and enjoy the scenery. Don't want to feel the bumps and potholes. Too bad Lincoln stopped making the Town Car because it's the perfect vehicle for me right now. My dad had one in the 1990s and that thing was basically a boat on wheels... I could drive over speed bumps at 30mph and not feel a thing.

I sincerely hope that 100% fully autonomous cars will be ready by the time I reach 85 because I definitely don't want to be driving by then.

[Supa Koopa]

Originally Posted by saws

Not shocking to me at all.

Having owned several BMW SAVs in my life including M cars, I know the M suspension can be very harsh.
"Fun" when you are young... but you will feel the pain when you get old
I would go so far to say that M stiffness (and also AMG, which is even worse) is meant for racing only and not for daily driving, unless you want to hurt when you are 50+

I feel like Audi has a more reasonable (humane) suspension setup in their S cars compared to both M and AMG.

I'm 53 and the suspension is perfect for me. I hate them being too soft as the leaning in corners drives me. It certainly doesn't give me back pain, so I think the roads have a lot to do with it.

[bluecrabby]

Originally Posted by Supa Koopa

I'm 53 and the suspension is perfect for me. I hate them being too soft as the leaning in corners drives me. It certainly doesn't give me back pain, so I think the roads have a lot to do with it.

I only have to drive on the interstate across the bridge... the other side of the river is another state and the interstate and regular roads are about 10 times smoother. It's amazing what my state with allegedly corrupt/inept politicians can do to waste federal transportation money.

[FlashMonkey929]

All of my BMW's with the M Sport or equivalent suspension have never been too stiff for me, though I will admit that going over poorly paved roads was an annoyance. My e90 had an Ohlins setup that while it was better dampened over bumps, was actually more comfortable to drive with. I generally dislike softer rides and body roll, but now that I'm getting older I think I may have to compromise just a little bit.

[saws]

BTW, M sedans are just fine (my friend's M5 is fantastic to drive), it is the M SAVs that I seem to have an issue with. Does anyone else think M sedans vs. M SAVs makes a difference?

[FlashMonkey929]

So, I just went back to the dealer today to discuss my lease return since I'll be extending it until the car comes in, which is most likely now around the first week of January. She was with another customer at the time, so I asked for the keys to the demo and went and played around with the infotainment system while I waited. The dealer demo is an X Line with Premium Package, and while playing around with the different My Modes I noticed you could customize the drivetrain, suspension, and steering modes independently with either Comfort or Sport settings. As far as I could tell it did not have the adaptive suspension, but I'm wondering if any of you X Line owners have this function as well and if it'll soften your ride a bit?

I also got to play around with the Harmon Kardon system a bit, and connected my phone via CarPlay. I have to say, the speakers are much clearer and seem to project sound better compared to my 4 series (with the HiFi system). I'm not an audiophile, so this system is more than enough for me with the exception of wanting a bit of sub bass. I listen to a lot of hip hop and having the extra low end would help a lot.

Other than that, I learned from my CA that there is no BMW loyalty credit for the X1 at this time (or at least for the next 6 months), but I will be receiving a credit for my unused mileage on my current lease when I give BMW FS a call tomorrow (I have about 27K miles on a 36K lease).

[bluecrabby]

Originally Posted by FlashMonkey929

I'm not an audiophile, so this system is more than enough for me with the exception of wanting a bit of sub bass. I listen to a lot of hip hop and having the extra low end would help a lot.

I will be leaving the jack and spare tire in the garage as soon as I build a custom subwoofer enclosure using that space. Then it's just a matter of finding a suitable amp that can fit in the opening on the right of the trunk to power the sub.