Quote:
Originally Posted by jcal65
For 2023, the $500 shadowline pkg adds black grill, M shadowline headlights (darker chrome strip at the top), black air vent accent behind front wheels, black mirror surrounds, black tailpipes and red brake calipers.
The standard no charge M performance pkg has blue brake calipers and the headlights have more of a visible chrome eyebrow strip, plus the gray cerium finished grill, vents and mirror surrounds. I believe the M550 still gets the black tailpipes as standard, not 100% sure. I personally prefer the M shadowline headlights.
BMW made the 2023 $0 extended shadowline option selection confusing. This option is included with the $500 shadowline pkg. It appears you can just get the black grill, black side vents for no charge without the $500 pkg., I think.
I can’t comment on the 19” wheels being better on rough roads on the current 5 series, but I will say that all the BMW’s I have owned with different wheels sizes have all required replacement tires due to being destroyed by potholes. For whatever reason, none of my other make vehicles have ever needed replacement tires due to damage. On my drive home after picking up my car from delivery, I destroyed my left front tire. Just 140 miles on the odometer and I hit an unavoidable pothole at 75 mph. It was the pothole or hit the vehicle next to me. $450 to replace the tire the next day. I have not had any issues since; although, I am very careful.
I got the 20” 668M wheels with non-run flat summer tires and love them. However, if you live in an area with cold winter climates, you will need to consider having a spare set of winter tires/wheels as the summer tires start to lose their grip under 50 degrees and it is noticeable. I have no complaints about the ride quality with the 20" wheels on non-run flats, it is very good and better than I expected.
You do lose trunk space height with the spare tire; however, the tire and foam pieces can easily be taken out in just minutes. Once removed the trunk space will be exactly the same as cars without the spare tire option. It was included with my 668M wheels non-run flat tire option, however, if I was getting run flats, I am not sure I would pay $250 extra for the spare.
Some people are obsessed with their dashboard. Personally, the only time I notice mine is when I wipe the dust off it. In the driver's seat, the center display blocks most of it and you are too busy driving to notice the finish materials. If the leather dashboard was $200, I would have gotten it. It is not worth $750 in my opinion. The sensatec dashboard is fine and no one (except some members on this forum) will notice it is not leather.
I had massage seats on my last 3 cars and rarely used this feature. The experience was underwhelming. I skipped this option on my M550i and don’t miss it.
Some people love DHP, some regret it. I didn’t order it on my car. If its any consolation, the M550 is still a great car without it.
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Thanks for the post. Sounds like we think pretty similarly. Looking closer at the Shadowline I think you are correct. It looks like the $500 option vs $0 option changes the lights and caliper color. I think the red calipers are a bit flashy for my taste. The gloss black is a little too sporty for the look I am going for as well. I chose it on my Ram because everything was Chrome otherwise. I think the silver on the BMW looks pretty slick in contrast with the Gray paint. It's too bad you can't choose the lights by themselves.
I absolutely love the 668M wheels. Especially coupled with the silver accents. Just afraid of not having enough sidewall for these streets. I run 18" snows now with the M340 and dedicated non-runflat summer tires on the factory 19" rims. I would run snow tires regardless of wheel choice on the M550. I don't have a spare now. I carry a plug kit and an inflator. The summer tires I went a little wider than OEM to protect the rim from curbing as well as to get a little more sidewall. 235 width instead of 225 was pretty substantial. Plus it filled the wheel well a lot nicer. Looks like the 550 has 245s so going into 255s should have the same affect.
I think the Dash on my M340 looks fine. I paid to upgrade on my wifes Durango because it was night and day difference over the base model.
It looks like they took the kick to open trunk away. That's one of my favorite features on the M340
Looks like I am down to Wheel size and DHP to figure out.