BMW Drivers, X-Drive Question

[rockwolf2001]

This question is directed for anyone who drives a BMW.

I'm looking to trade my car in and upgrade to a BMW, but i want one that i can drive in the winter. probably looking at a 3-series

do you drive your BMW in winter?
how is the AWD system in the car? are you using All-seasons or winters?
recommendations? tips?

i tried doing some research and i'm pretty lost... for all i know, BMWs might not be winter viable at all...
:dunno:

[93VR6]

Dad has a 06 330xi (e90) the awd drive system is quite good in my opinion, last winter he was rolling on the stock all season continental tires. This winter he got real winter tires and claims the car has enough grip to go up any hill and stops very quickly on snow. I have yet to drive it with the winter tires but I imagine it being very good.

There's not really any research to do, as far as I can tell you drive and rsx right now, a bmw is going to be pretty similar to that, except you'll have better acceleration with the awd and the bmw has a much smarter traction/stability control program.

[colinxx235]

X drive works well in the winter, not the best system in the world but gets it done.

Most of them come with summer performance tires so yes you will probably run winters (usually on a different set like we do).


If you are by chance getting a 335ix with winters, it will definitely smash your rsx all year round. :)

[EK 2.0]

I will comment here based on my time with my sisters 2007 328xi...

She still has the car and is in her 3rd year of ownership with it...her "summer" tires are the OEM runflats that came with the car and they are decent, I am not a fan of the runflat tire but that is neither here nor there.

As for her winter setup...yes she runs winters (her at the time salesperson Redlyne_mr2 and myself made sure that she got some for her car) She is running the wanli's I believe but for her normal wintertime driving which is usually no more than a 20 minute radius of her house Tirebob and I didn't warrant the need to go out and spend crazy cake on a winter tire.

That all being said...and with my winter driving experience...I think it is a great car for winter. I am not sure if the X-Drive systems have been updated or changed since the E90 but it is a very capable car on winter roads. The handling on winters is very predictable and even when trying to play the traction control systems keep you in check haha...with everything "turned off" it is still hard to really get into trouble unless you are being stupid...

I cannot say how it would drive with all seasons in the snow as it was never driven with them...

[rockwolf2001]

i guess the next path to go down is to weigh the maintenance costs...

how does german engineering of AWD compare to the AWD systems of other countries?

i know upkeep costs of German vehicles is higher than japanese... but i've also heard that German AWD systems is the best out there, so i almost think that it is worth it for that reason

thoughts?

[vtec4life]

Are you going brand new or pre-owned?

In my opinion BMW makes the most technologically advanced, intuitive, and safest AWD system in the world. X-drive owns Quattro and dont even put 4matic in the same league.

The nice thing is you have what is called dynamic traction control and it is tuned perfectly for the right amount of slip in less than perfect conditions. Also, traction control can be completely turned off when need be

One Sample video... but there are plenty

www.youtube.com/watch?v=EbMWqLc3rS0

[EK 2.0]

Originally posted by rockwolf2001

i guess the next path to go down is to weigh the maintenance costs...


When my sister's car was purchased it still was under the BMW extended warranty....she has had a few things replaced under that warranty (headlamp washer nozzles, interior passenger rear door handle, and something else that I can't remember...) but outside of those things it has all been regular maintenance for the car and while to her the pricing might seem "high" (it is the first car she has ever owned and maintained) to me it didn't seem bad at all. I feel that the car has been really reliable and rock solid.

[npham]

Originally posted by vtec4life
Are you going brand new or pre-owned?

In my opinion BMW makes the most technologically advanced, intuitive, and safest AWD system in the world. X-drive owns Quattro and dont even put 4matic in the same league.

The nice thing is you have what is called dynamic traction control and it is tuned perfectly for the right amount of slip in less than perfect conditions. Also, traction control can be completely turned off when need be

One Sample video... but there are plenty

www.youtube.com/watch?v=EbMWqLc3rS0

Pretty sure neither BMW or Audi makes the best AWD system, that would probably go to Subaru, Mitsubishi or maybe Nissan(GTR is a beast).

You can show me 1 video that the BMW does well, and I'll post one that Audi does well in. It's moot. Any AWD system will be good enough for Calgary driving.

IMfUrS98Kbk

[colinxx235]

In the past I've preferred quattro > x-drive. I'll find out what a stage 1 S4 does in the snow tho.... But always had a blast driving B6 A4's around.

TBH the best winter vehicle I've had to date was a 06 GC hemi surprisingly.


Mitsu best awd...? that seems a bit of a stretch?
Porsche ftw :poosie:

[Aleks]

I've had 3 rwd BMWs so far. I've also tried the xdrive in the winter. When it snows out I wish I had xdrive on steep hills but with a decent set of winter tires I find BMW has good stability and traction control where I can get around just fine. Like today I had 0 issues.

The reason I keep going with rwd is that xdrive steering feel is somewhat degraded compared to rwd feel in the 3 series. So I keep making that compromise. Also fuel econ is lower in the rwd and maintenance will be less in long run.

It basically comes down to how good your winter tires are. I would put winters on both rwd and xdrive no matter what though.

[vtec4life]

Touche good sir. Mitsu and Nissan do make excellent awd systems... forgot about them completely as we were talking about German cars!

[EK 2.0]

Originally posted by Aleks

It basically comes down to how good your winter tires are. I would put winters on both rwd and xdrive no matter what though.


I'm only quoting this because I REALLY wanna use the new smilie....

:winter:

[max_boost]

I can't comment on the stability control systems of the other makes but the Dynamic Stability Control in the BMW's, when combined with a good set of winter tires is virtually dummy proof. Good luck trying to kick that rear end out.

This was my experience in a 2000 323 and 2004 330. I can only imagine the improvements since then.

[artieg30]

i just picked up a new 2013 335xi, to be honest you'll have to go and test drive the other cars such as the audi and merc and see for yourself.

On mine, i notice that the AWD doesn't kick in until a split second later, no biggie, but on the audi quattro i test drove it seems like the AWD was instantaneous.

That said, the AWD got me through some sketchy conditions today even though i'm running performance summer tires. If you buy the sport package w/ the staggered wheels then I would highly recommend that you spring for a set of winter tires.

[Twin_Cam_Turbo]

Been hooning around in my 135i today with 205 wide winters that aren't the greatest, no problems, traction control partially off.

[gpomp]

Originally posted by artieg30
On mine, i notice that the AWD doesn't kick in until a split second later, no biggie, but on the audi quattro i test drove it seems like the AWD was instantaneous. on the audi the power is being fed from front to rear, the bmw is the other way around.

[colinxx235]

Originally posted by gpomp
on the audi the power is being fed from front to rear, the bmw is the other way around.


gpomg is just an is-f driver who likes it in the rear anyways :rofl: :rofl:

[sillysod]

X-Drive on BMW cars makes me sad :(

Good winters and you're set.

AWD BMW sedan is as wrong as a FWD Audi IMO.

[A2VR6]

I havent any issues with my RWD BMW over 2 winters even on 255 winters :facepalm: I find stability control to be pretty decent on the cars although I can kick out the rear end a bit with it on.

[rage2]

While I drove RWD for over 10 years in winter, I'm now officially spoiled by AWD. Off the line it's ridiculous how fast you get up to speed haha. Feels like drag racing a Lambo vs Smart car off the line.

AWD is kinda boring in the summer tho.

[VWEvo]

I have a BMW with X drive and as of this morning I am running all seasons. The x-drive is an incredible system that is worth having. I cant comment if its better than Audi or Mercedes, but no question it is incredible. I am having winter's put on tonight, but I would highly recommend the X Drive system

[Traffic_Cop]

I have an E60 545i, its NOT an Xdrive. I have a 2yr old set of the all season run flats. I drive it all year round. Even in this mornings snow storm i had no issues getting around. The cars DTS system (trac control) is absoloutley excellent. People whine about it on hills. What these people are doing is pinning it and expecting it to go quicker, as opposed to go light ease off and away you go. A trick i discovered (mines a 6spd manual), is to actually take off in 2nd gear. It reduces the torque, and the wheel slip.

I have friends with the x drive who swear by it. One buddy has a 09 328xi. His gas mileage is horrendous compared to mine. Something to keep in mind is that you obviously cant disconnect the x drive, your gas mileage is increased, and bear in mind they only run on supreme. Can cost you a few $$.

Maintenance?. Heres my two cents. Take it to BMW!!. Dont use back yard mechanics, or even "BMW tech garages". Lets say for instance you have an engine light on, sure these guys can diagnose it, however, in my experience, they go ahead start replacing parts etc. When i took mine to bmw they just said " oh hey, i think we have a software upgrade your car needs". And its done for FREE!!!. As opposed to having parts replaced that dont need to be replaced, causing more issues.

Hope that helps. Sorry about spelling. Banging this out on my cell phone. (No im not driving)

[austic]

my 335xi is great in the winter, my 135i RWD was terrible in winter so I would say X drive makes a huge difference.

[Xtrema]

Originally posted by Aleks
The reason I keep going with rwd is that xdrive steering feel is somewhat degraded compared to rwd feel in the 3 series. So I keep making that compromise. Also fuel econ is lower in the rwd and maintenance will be less in long run.

Agree. But I think you meant fuel econ is lower "than" the rwd.


Originally posted by artieg30
On mine, i notice that the AWD doesn't kick in until a split second later, no biggie, but on the audi quattro i test drove it seems like the AWD was instantaneous.

That's how I feel about S4 vs 335xi, even both claim to be 40/60 split at all times, X-drive has a slip first grip later feel. Plus with sport diff on S4, you get torque vectoring (both Mitsu and Acura has this already) which isn't in most X-Drive yet. Only X6 has torque vector X-Drive last I heard.

Have no experience with 4-Matic but I heard good things about it too.


Before you get too carry away on AWD vs RWD, make sure get a good set of winters regardless. No drive system can save you if you have no traction. I spun out a A4 loaner before on snow day because that damn thing has summers.

[realazy]

I have a 335i xdrive with winter tires and it definitely lets you slip a little first before it corrects you. I find it more fun. I can still do power slides in the snow easily and not worry about spinning out. Never had any issues getting moving by just being easy on the gas.

It does drink a lot of gas though. I average 13.5 L/100km if I have a little bit of fun with mixed city/highway driving.

If I baby it more I can get down to slightly under 12L/100km, but that's no fun.

Pure highway I can do 9.8L/100km.

[zipdoa]

Keep in mind that Audi's with engines mounted longitudinally are usually running a torsen center differential. This presents a benefit in that it doesn't rely on sensors to judge and react to wheel slip. The mechanical nature of the diff has a torque bias towards the axles that present more resistance (more grip).

That's why some of you are commenting that the Audi's feel like they engage immediately whereas other brands slip first and then react.

[Aleks]

Originally posted by realazy
I have a 335i xdrive with winter tires and it definitely lets you slip a little first before it corrects you. I find it more fun. I can still do power slides in the snow easily and not worry about spinning out. Never had any issues getting moving by just being easy on the gas.

It does drink a lot of gas though. I average 13.5 L/100km if I have a little bit of fun with mixed city/highway driving.

If I baby it more I can get down to slightly under 12L/100km, but that's no fun.

Pure highway I can do 9.8L/100km.

RWD I get 11.3L/100kms average so far, last fillup 10.7L/100kms all city driving. That's not really babying it and with a Dinan flash :bigpimp:

[Xtrema]

Originally posted by realazy
It does drink a lot of gas though. I average 13.5 L/100km if I have a little bit of fun with mixed city/highway driving.

13.2 as listed below is my average.

Summer less, winter more due to idling in traffic.

[colinxx235]

Originally posted by Xtrema


13.2 as listed below is my average.

Summer less, winter more due to idling in traffic.


Is yours stock Xtrema?

I haven't done an official tracking but my last few tanks were ~12.2 with some more fun driving + stasis stage 1