[PaLaKaT]

Hello Everyone,

I have sold my 2019 Challenger Scat Pack widebody and finally received my new 2021 M550i in white, pretty good specced but missing the DHP (I ordered the car before looking into this, I wish i had researched that package before ordering but now its too late.)


So far i love everything about the car, its got lots of features and feels and drives great, i have already put 600 miles on it. When receiving the car, the sales person told me to go easy on it until the break in of 1200 miles. So the owners manual says the same that launch control should be avoided until 1200 miles.

Even though they say don't push it before 1200 miles, i decided to give it a little try to see how it would be once it hits 500 miles, so i did. As of right now i am not impressed... My challenger did 4.2sec 0 to 60 with warm tires all day long. And with the M550 i cant get it lower than 4.1secs. BMW advertises it as 3.6 0 to 60 but jeez i am half a sec away from that.. i tried to Launch it 5 times (2 times with LC and 3 times just hit the pedal) and the best it did is 4.1 secs. I feel like previous generation would perform better. Anyone else experience the same numbers? Or did i get bad batch or something. I am in New Jersey and its pretty cold out, i assume car should perform better in the cold no? Or may be the car will perform better after 1200 miles? I am so puzzled and a little disappointed. Any ideas or suggestions are appreciated.


Edit 06/02/2021

BMW Acknowledged the issue, and software will be released soon to fix this!

[crypto]

I can't give you any real world experience because my car is under 300 miles right now but I have been reading the forums for a while. I didn't think you could actually activate proper launch control until 1200 miles+. Did you actually get a checkered flag to show up? It's definitely recommended to take it a bit easier until then in general.

With that said — was the car warmed up? What kind of tires do you have on? What's the weather like? Was DSC off and what mode were you in.

Here's a post about setting up the car for LC for reference:

https://g30.bimmerpost.com/forums/sh....php?t=1457736

[LogicalApex]

Yikes. Launching the car before the break in is done. Must be a lease...

[BEH]

Originally Posted by LogicalApex

Yikes. Launching the car before the break in is done. Must be a lease...

Would there be a record of that in the onboard computer?
Wouldn’t want to buy that car used!

[PaLaKaT]

Originally Posted by crypto

I can't give you any real world experience because my car is under 300 miles right now but I have been reading the forums for a while. I didn't think you could actually activate proper launch control until 1200 miles+. Did you actually get a checkered flag to show up? It's definitely recommended to take it a bit easier until then in general.

With that said — was the car warmed up? What kind of tires do you have on? What's the weather like? Was DSC off and what mode were you in.

Here's a post about setting up the car for LC for reference:

https://g30.bimmerpost.com/forums/sh....php?t=1457736

I have been reading the forums for a while as well i just rarely post. As for the Actual Launch Control, it does engage with the Flag showing up. I had tried the Flagged Launch Control (DSC OFF) about 2 times now and Launched it from the red light about 3 times (DSC ON) with just gas pedal to the floor. The car was warmed in all instances and for the tires they are stock, believe or not i did not bother to check the brand, i just know they are 245s sitting on 19s. I put gas on the vehicle twice (MUCH MUCH BETTER FUEL ECONAMY COMPARED TO MY CHALLY) ever since i got it and i only use 93. I have not put too much pressure on the car, or so I believe. but so far i think those times that i launched with have been pretty weak.

Edit: When you do get ready to try the Launch Control, could you please post your numbers or PM me? Thanks

Originally Posted by BEH

Would there be a record of that in the onboard computer?
Wouldn’t want to buy that car used!

No body is selling a car here

[WarReady]

From past experience if it's going to break it's going to break weather 200 miles or 1200 miles enjoy your car don't get hung up in miles..

[WarReady]

Originally Posted by WarReady

From past experience if it's going to break it's going to break weather 200 miles or 1200 miles enjoy your car don't get hung up in miles..

And my last f10 550i I launched out of the dealer parking lot at 3 miles lmaoo

[igelkotten82]

I have noticed on several youtube videos(carwow, AutotopNL) with the M550i that the accelerationtime from 0 to 62mph (100km/h) seems hard to get down to the official time of 3.8 seconds. It seems capable of 4.0 seconds. But on the other hand the M5 Competition seems to be faster to 62 mph than the official time and can even get under 3 seconds. I don't know why its like that. But it seems like the M550i is very fast between 62-124 mph in comparison with for example the Alpina B5 and the RS6 which are slower when going threw the Autotopnl measurements. Have they made the launch more softly than in the M5 or is the gear ratio more optimised for high speed autobahn?
I'm waiting for my car to arrive so can't tell you my own experience yet.

AutotopNL data https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets...9VQ/edit#gid=0

[PaLaKaT]

Originally Posted by igelkotten82

I have noticed on several youtube videos(carwow, AutotopNL) with the M550i that the accelerationtime from 0 to 62mph (100km/h) seems hard to get down to the official time of 3.8 seconds. It seems capable of 4.0 seconds. But on the other hand the M5 Competition seems to be faster to 62 mph than the official time and can even get under 3 seconds. I don't know why its like that. But it seems like the M550i is very fast between 62-124 mph in comparison with for example the Alpina B5 and the RS6 which are slower when going threw the Autotopnl measurements. Have they made the launch more softly than in the M5 or is the gear ratio more optimised for high speed autobahn?
I'm waiting for my car to arrive so can't tell you my own experience yet.

AutotopNL data https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets...9VQ/edit#gid=0

I honestly don't know but it is weird, 2020 M550i are putting out better times than my 2021. I will try hard once i hit the 1200 miles mark. As for the speed at the top end, it does pull well, i saw some videos on that too. I was wondering could it be that the car has some kind of software limiter before the break in? If not its very upsetting that I'm off by .5 sec from the time BMW advertises.
Also when i did 0 to 60 i noticed that car pulls very little off the start until 10mph then it begins pulling hard to get to 60mph.

Also has anyone tried to see if the Launch Control RPMs can be adjusted?

[LogicalApex]

I would try once the break-in period is complete and you can push the car to its full potential.

Originally Posted by WarReady

From past experience if it's going to break it's going to break weather 200 miles or 1200 miles enjoy your car don't get hung up in miles..

I'd say it depends heavily on your ownership duration. I purchased my car and intend to own it 5-7 years so I'll own it out of warranty for a decent period. That means following the recommendations from BMW is well advised.

If I were to lease and only hold onto the car for 3 of the 4 year bumper to bumper warranty and turn it in at the end. Well then yeah riding it hard isn't a real concern for you as someone else down the line gets to hold the bag when the enhanced premature wear starts to show up. If it hits you on the lease you drop it off to BMW and let them fix it and roll onto the next lease. It is why I see off lease cars as barely better than a used rental car.

[choppedliver]

One of our local car magazines in Australia (and normally conservative) did a 3.6. 0-100km/h.

That's in the Pure edition thats 220Lb less than the normal version.

Mines only got 400miles and I've done a break boost launch in the wet and it feels good for a 3.x. It definitely hooks up.

My old BMW 135i has done a best of 4.9 with very careful feathering of the throttle as traction is tricky at best. The 550 feels a lot faster.

I've got a Dragy and do intend to do some numbers soon once its got a few miles on it.

Anyone else noticed that it warms up according to the gauge really really fast.

[hoyas490]

Originally Posted by DB_BMW

I have been reading the forums for a while as well i just rarely post. As for the Actual Launch Control, it does engage with the Flag showing up. I had tried the Flagged Launch Control (DSC OFF) about 2 times now and Launched it from the red light about 3 times (DSC ON) with just gas pedal to the floor. The car was warmed in all instances and for the tires they are stock, believe or not i did not bother to check the brand, i just know they are 245s sitting on 19s. I put gas on the vehicle twice (MUCH MUCH BETTER FUEL ECONAMY COMPARED TO MY CHALLY) ever since i got it and i only use 93. I have not put too much pressure on the car, or so I believe. but so far i think those times that i launched with have been pretty weak.

Edit: When you do get ready to try the Launch Control, could you please post your numbers or PM me? Thanks

Not sure how this is relevant to the topic, but if you really want to know the car is financed. Would you like to know my car payments as well?
I have mixed feelings for the "Break in". All my cars i always launched them after 500 miles. Including the challenger on the picture.

No body is selling a car here

Ive got about 1,300 miles on the car, and will try snd find a nice empty road one night soon to do some dragy runs with LC and will report back.

[PaLaKaT]

Originally Posted by hoyas490

Ive got about 1,300 miles on the car, and will try snd find a nice empty road one night soon to do some dragy runs with LC and will report back.

Sounds good, cant wait to see what you get

[ejlover06]

Performance issue and M550i don't fit into same sentence As a 1.6lt G30 owner (8.3secs 0-100 and 6.4 with a Stage1 tune) it really sounds awkward

I don't know if BMW puts a limiter on cars but my BMW bike (S1000RR) had an electronic limiter until the end of break-in period. And dealer cancels the limiter on the break-in maintenance which also activates slick mode after that. Only explanation that I can think of is this one

[PaLaKaT]

Originally Posted by ejlover06

Performance issue and M550i don't fit into same sentence As a 1.6lt G30 owner (8.3secs 0-100 and 6.4 with a Stage1 tune) it really sounds awkward

I don't know if BMW puts a limiter on cars but my BMW bike (S1000RR) had an electronic limiter until the end of break-in period. And dealer cancels the limiter on the break-in maintenance which also activates slick mode after that. Only explanation that I can think of is this one

Yea, you know the thing is M550i was suppose to be a step up for me for 0-60 game. Because with the Challenger i did 4.1 with warm tires, but i still had so much wheel-spin ( i actually pulled a 3.8s 0 to 60 on the track with the challenger with 12.2 quartermile). I thought going AWD would put me under 4 secs since BMW advertises it as 3.6s. I know i can run a JB4 and get those numbers easy but i was suppose to be there stock and sub 3s with JB4
Plus my friend got an S8 that is pulling 3.6s from a launch and i wanted to be in the same numbers. I'm crossing my fingers that after the break in something will change. I will schedule a service visit to BMW for the 1200.

[hoyas490]

Originally Posted by DB_BMW

Sounds good, cant wait to see what you get

My runs from tonight, at sea level but 23 degrees on all season run flats with a full tank of gas (NYC area). 4.06 sec isn't too far off the quoted factory number which I assume was done on performance tires with next to no gas and plenty of heat in the rubber.

Best I got from an M340xi service loaner was 4.2, and best I could do on my 6MT 440xi with stage 1 BM3 tune was 4.64, and with stock tune was 5.58

So, definitely already a big upgrade in speed, but I want to get a fucking sub 3.6/3.7 run or two in.

Hope this helps other folks looking for some semblance of real world stats on the 2021's.

[ejlover06]

Originally Posted by hoyas490

My runs from tonight, at sea level but 23 degrees on all season run flats with a full tank of gas (NYC area). 4.06 sec isn't too far off the quoted factory number which I assume was done on performance tires with next to no gas and plenty of heat in the rubber.

Best I got from an M340xi service loaner was 4.2, and best I could do on my 6MT 440xi with stage 1 BM3 tune was 4.64, and with stock tune was 5.58

So, definitely already a big upgrade in speed, but I want to get a fucking sub 3.6/3.7 run or two in.

Hope this helps other folks looking for some semblance of real world stats on the 2021's.

What is this app? Does it reading speed from OBD? And what about incline data? Is it gathered automatically? I see this SSs on all tuner posts so I would like to give it a try if it's the most accurate app in the market. I'm still using BM3 datalogs to calculate these values

[igelkotten82]

Interesting with your runs hoyas490. Its strange that the M550i doesn't perform better than that. I have the impression that all other Bmw models perform better than the official number. And that the difference between the M550i and the M5 competition is over a second to 60mph seems odd. The difference between the M340ix and the M550i should be bigger since the weight difference is rather small but big difference in power and torque. Can it be that there is less torque on the first gear to save the transmission and the chassis?

I divided the numbers from your first run to see if the car is slow at any special speed but its equally fast at all the speeds.
0-10mph 0,66s
10-20mph 0,82s
20-30mph 0,63s
30-40mph 0,56s
40-50mph 0,70s
50-60mph 0,69s
If traction would be a problem the 0-10mph time would be worse. And the gear changes occur at 36mph and 56mph which doesn't seem to affect the acceleration at those speeds.

[hoyas490]

Originally Posted by ejlover06

What is this app? Does it reading speed from OBD? And what about incline data? Is it gathered automatically? I see this SSs on all tuner posts so I would like to give it a try if it's the most accurate app in the market. I'm still using BM3 datalogs to calculate these values

This is a screenshot from the Dragy app, uses a separate dongle to measure everything

[hoyas490]

Originally Posted by igelkotten82

Interesting with your runs hoyas490. Its strange that the M550i doesn't perform better than that. I have the impression that all other Bmw models perform better than the official number. And that the difference between the M550i and the M5 competition is over a second to 60mph seems odd. The difference between the M340ix and the M550i should be bigger since the weight difference is rather small but big difference in power and torque. Can it be that there is less torque on the first gear to save the transmission and the chassis?

I divided the numbers from your first run to see if the car is slow at any special speed but its equally fast at all the speeds.
0-10mph 0,66s
10-20mph 0,82s
20-30mph 0,63s
30-40mph 0,56s
40-50mph 0,70s
50-60mph 0,69s
If traction would be a problem the 0-10mph time would be worse. And the gear changes occur at 36mph and 56mph which doesn't seem to affect the acceleration at those speeds.

For sure, I was unpleasantly surprised with my results, but I think if I had done them on a warmer night and with less fuel, I might have put down a better time. Also not willing to rule out operator error on LC etc. either yet - but I was definitely hoping for stronger numbers out of the box.

Only other thing I can think of, is that the roads have been a bit wet / slippery because of all the snow here, so I'm not sure if I was giving this car a fair shot. (FWIW, the runs in my M340xi loaner and old 440xi manual were done in warmer weather and on totally dry roads. Though I did do the runs on the same overall loop of roads for all three)

[hoyas490]

Originally Posted by igelkotten82

Interesting with your runs hoyas490. Its strange that the M550i doesn't perform better than that. I have the impression that all other Bmw models perform better than the official number. And that the difference between the M550i and the M5 competition is over a second to 60mph seems odd. The difference between the M340ix and the M550i should be bigger since the weight difference is rather small but big difference in power and torque. Can it be that there is less torque on the first gear to save the transmission and the chassis?

I divided the numbers from your first run to see if the car is slow at any special speed but its equally fast at all the speeds.
0-10mph 0,66s
10-20mph 0,82s
20-30mph 0,63s
30-40mph 0,56s
40-50mph 0,70s
50-60mph 0,69s
If traction would be a problem the 0-10mph time would be worse. And the gear changes occur at 36mph and 56mph which doesn't seem to affect the acceleration at those speeds.

Also, total noob with using a dragy and measuring times like this (never done an actual drag race at a strip etc.)

Should I be using those 1ft rollout numbers instead of the main 0-60 ones? I did a quick google search to just see what that one meant, as at the best, it showed the 3.83 0-60 time that matches up better with factory claims.

[igelkotten82]

Originally Posted by hoyas490

For sure, I was unpleasantly surprised with my results, but I think if I had done them on a warmer night and with less fuel, I might have put down a better time. Also not willing to rule out operator error on LC etc. either yet - but I was definitely hoping for stronger numbers out of the box.

Only other thing I can think of, is that the roads have been a bit wet / slippery because of all the snow here, so I'm not sure if I was giving this car a fair shot. (FWIW, the runs in my M340xi loaner and old 440xi manual were done in warmer weather and on totally dry roads. Though I did do the runs on the same overall loop of roads for all three)

The official acceleration numbers should be achievable with full gas tank and a driver in the seat on a normal road with normal temperature. With four wheel drive traction should not be an issue even with wintertires or a little bit dust on the road. With launch control and automatic gearbox anyone should be able to achive the acceleration time. And since the figures I've seen on 100-200 km/h on autotopnl for the LCI model are very impressive(faster than the Alpina B5 and RS6) there seems to be enough with enginepower in the car. Just slow in the start.

https://www.automobile-catalog.com/p...0i_xdrive.html
In this simulation (don't know how they are calculating and if its correct) the numbers for 0-20mph is 0.9 seconds and in your runs 1.5 seconds. Seems to be in the start that car looses the time. Between 50mph and 80mph the car is in constant acceleration and gaining 10mph every second and from 80 to 100mph gaining 10mph every 1.5 second. Very impressive numbers to me.