[oldtexasdog]

[QUOTE=snowbimmer;30033121]M850

I did 45k in a pre-LCI M550. Loved it. 45k between a base F90 and and LCI F90C. Loved 'em. Approaching 25k in year 1 of a 2022 M850. Favorite car so far. More money than the M550, less than the M5, but like you said: you want what you want. And, B&W available. Plus rear wheel steering.

Did your friend's car have the 523hp motor? If not, the newer M550's are even more fun. Great cars. To me, it's the best value in the BMW line-up.

Edit: The 2020 MY has the 523 hp motor. However, it needed a software update to unlock some of the ponies, I believe. A friend of mine drove his for almost a year before he realized it.[/QUOT E]

How do you know if you need the software update to unleash your ponies?

[snowbimmer]

Originally Posted by oldtexasdog

How do you know if you need the software update to unleash your ponies?

Actually, I believe the 2020MY M550 had all of it's 523 ponies. The 2021MY was the one that needed the software update. There was a major thread here on the forum. You'll have to search it out. I drove my friend's 2021 M550 and wasn't initially impressed - it felt a lot like my 2018 M550 that only had 456hp. Then he finally got it fixed. It's partly what convinced me that I could drop down from an M5 to an M850.

Here is a link to the Car & Driver article addressing the power glitch.
https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a3...leration-test/

[adhrp]

As promised, here are my equalizer settings for the HK system. Also started a new thread about it.

[oldtexasdog]

So a notch somewhere around 1K?
Does the surround do anything? I turned mine off.

[adhrp]

Originally Posted by oldtexasdog

So a notch somewhere around 1K?
Does the surround do anything? I turned mine off.

The surround does make a difference...without it, music sounds hollow to me. Difficult to describe but definitely very perceptible.

[snowbimmer]

Originally Posted by adhrp

The surround does make a difference...without it, music sounds hollow to me. Difficult to describe but definitely very perceptible.

Yup. Fills in the whole cabin.

[ezaircon4jc]

I forgot... You coded the B&W system, yes? Is it easy in Bimmercode?

[NGT2]

Originally Posted by peteinpa

Buddy at work recently purchased a 2020 550. Took it for a little drive today. Well optioned vehicle. Contour seats (Dakota) still more comfortable then the ones in my 540. HK sound was a disappointment, sat in mine immediately after and my custom system sounded much better. He commented on it as well.
The V8 performance is incredible. Loved the feel of the heavier steering but most impressed with the acceleration. Couldn’t stop myself from getting into
It. (He was cool with me getting on it).
Honestly was not at all impressed with live cockpit. It is just way to busy for me. The larger display however was very much to my liking.
Would I buy one, really not sure. I think the biggest no go for me is lack of B&W in the newer models. And from what I understand there are no amp upgrades available. Could probably put some kind of audio upgrade but not sure I would want to do so.

Before I bought the 2020 M550 that I own now, I test drove a different one in Nashville. It had Dakota, as did my 540. I agree, the Dakota seats in the 2020 M550 felt more comfortable than my 2018 540. Doesn’t make much sense, but that was my ass’s impression. Haha.

I did manage to find a 2020 M550 with B&W.

[NGT2]

Originally Posted by silverydragon72

I ended up replacing all my speakers with the Alpha One Bimmertech set. Very good upgrade overall. Only negative is no amp upgrade but its loud enough, has excellent bass, and sounds excellent for me now. Still not as good as the full revel system in my wife's vehicle but still substantially better than the terrible HKs and im fairly picky when it comes to audio.

Our X7 has HiFi. Eventually I’d like that car to be my daily and retire the M550 to the garage. If it becomes evident that plan will work out, I’d like to upgrade to the Alpha One system.

[NGT2]

Originally Posted by Benjamin_Nicholas

Against a 540, I'll take the 550i all day long.

Especially when optioned with dynamic handling.

Coming from 2018 540 to a 2020 M550 with DHP, I couldn’t agree more. It’s awesome. Going to be hard for any future sedan to top the experience of this car. I know EVs will be fast but I don’t just mean speed. The ride, the feel of the engine, the nimbleness of the DHP, it’s just a very very well rounded car.

[NGT2]

Originally Posted by snowbimmer

M850

I did 45k in a pre-LCI M550. Loved it. 45k between a base F90 and and LCI F90C. Loved 'em. Approaching 25k in year 1 of a 2022 M850. Favorite car so far. More money than the M550, less than the M5, but like you said: you want what you want. And, B&W available. Plus rear wheel steering.

Did your friend's car have the 523hp motor? If not, the newer M550's are even more fun. Great cars. To me, it's the best value in the BMW line-up.

Edit: The 2020 MY has the 523 hp motor. However, the 2021 MY needed a software update to unlock some of the ponies, I believe. A friend of mine drove his for almost a year before he realized it.

M850 is a bad MF’er. I thought about that when I was doing some self examination before buying my 2020 M550 this year. I’ve bought way too many cars in the last several years and really wanted to pick something a stay with it for a few years. M850 was the only other car I really considered. But it is a little to rich for my blood at this point, even lightly used (M550 had 25k miles when purchased). Also, the GC is a little bigger than I wanted and also a little big to fit in my garage with the X7!

I agree, the M550 (really the 540 too) is just a great value in the lineup. I’m so glad I bought this car. I got it for $54k with 25k miles, 2 years of factory warranty left, B&W, DHP, and in individual Champagne Quartz metallic.

[Macias]

Bowers & Wilkins is a must have option in a premium car. I ordered M550i in January and this option was available in the dealer configurator. Car made in April 2023 and B&W is on board.

I had this audio system in my previous car (540i) and I think it should be standard. H&K is 5 levels down and doesn't play as it should.

[EC530i]

Originally Posted by peteinpa

Buddy at work recently purchased a 2020 550. Took it for a little drive today. Well optioned vehicle. Contour seats (Dakota) still more comfortable then the ones in my 540. HK sound was a disappointment, sat in mine immediately after and my custom system sounded much better. He commented on it as well.
The V8 performance is incredible. Loved the feel of the heavier steering but most impressed with the acceleration. Couldn’t stop myself from getting into
It. (He was cool with me getting on it).
Honestly was not at all impressed with live cockpit. It is just way to busy for me. The larger display however was very much to my liking.
Would I buy one, really not sure. I think the biggest no go for me is lack of B&W in the newer models. And from what I understand there are no amp upgrades available. Could probably put some kind of audio upgrade but not sure I would want to do so.

I've heard some of the same comments regarding the HK sound system in other vehicles such as the Dodge Challenger and Chargers. The buyers paid the extra money, but the sound wasn't all that.