[graaja]

Originally Posted by Santoshbhat

3.5 Years 50,000 kms update
...
I feel this car is going to be with me for a long time. It’s got everything I need in terms of performance, space and luxury. And with my good maintenance and 100% self driving it is not going to age quickly.

Great to know the car is running with zero trouble at 50,000kilometers. Wishing you many many more years of happy miles.

Originally Posted by Santoshbhat

New BBS Rims
...

With the low profile and the combination of white and black, the wheels look AWESOME! Good to know the ride comfort has not suffered due to the upsize.

Originally Posted by anandpadhye

But in 330i, I can't do that, I have to lift off the throttle when I I want to shift else there is a clear jerk from the engine/gearbox. This is especially pronounced when I am using paddles in S mode.

+1 to d3mon. This is a feature. When you upshift without lifting your foot off the throttle, you feel a shove when the box upshifts and it feels quite brutal. I enjoy this mode occasionally in open roads with zero traffic.

[anandpadhye]

Originally Posted by d3mon

Hey, that's a feature, not a bug! No, I'm serious!

The jerk is to make shifting feel sporty. They are in fact pauses in acceleration while the next gear slams home and the acceleration resumes in its full fury. My car didn't have the Sports Auto Transmission and didn't have these furious shifts in manual mode (D or S mode), but when I got that option coded in, I was able to experience these amazingly sporty shifts. And I absolutely love them!

If you really don't like it, try manual shifting at full throttle in Eco-pro mode. You'll get smooth shifting without the pauses in acceleration, which is what you are looking for.

Strange! While I can guess this is done to make some "MT" fans happy, it actually slows things down. That momentary loss of acceleration (however short it may be) breaks the momentum. Also, it makes me look like a newbie who is learning how to smoothly release the clutch pedal! If you could code it in, means they can code it out - for me? What is this called? What is the parameter name/code number?

Originally Posted by graaja

+1 to d3mon. This is a feature. When you upshift without lifting your foot off the throttle, you feel a shove when the box upshifts and it feels quite brutal. I enjoy this mode occasionally in open roads with zero traffic.

Well, brutal acceleration is exactly what this "feature" breaks according to me In GTI, keep the A pedal pressed, you get one giant wave of torque/acceleration, the thing just pulls all the way to redline doesn't matter how and when you upshift - no jolts, no pauses, it's just keeps pulling - like a train leaving a station or a plane taking off!

I want this exact "seamless" mode of the GTI in the 330i, can I get it please?

[Santoshbhat]

Originally Posted by Akshay1234

Wow those BBSs are truly stunning. Surprised to hear that the ride hasn't suffered much, that is whats holding me back from upgrading to 19s. With the 18s I don't really need to slow down for too much, will wait to hear your opinion once you switch back to the 18s, for some trip.

I am quite surprised how pliant the ride is with the 19s. It could be due to the fact that these Yokos are fresh with full soft tread whereas the 18" Pirellis are worn down to their harder layers. But if ride quality is holding you back then you need not worry. 19s feel very similar to the 18s. I just did a highway drive and the car drove very well. I could just feel a slight effect of drag due to the fat 275s at the rear especially when I lifted my foot off throttle. Also experienced a bit of tramlining on sections where heavy vehicles had made wave like patterns on the road. But yeah, I was a bit slower than usual just out of fear of damaging the wheels!

Originally Posted by Akshay1234

The car is looking awesome, but the M in the X3M isn't for me.

Thanks. BMW themselves have plastered M stickers all over the car. I just went a step further

Originally Posted by anandpadhye

Hi Santosh,

Congratulations on 50000km of fun and trouble free ownership

As you drive the GTI and X3 on the highways, and compare both engines and gearboxes to finer details (something I also love to do ), I have question about shifting manually. In GTI, I can shift up /down as I wish while keeping the accelerator pinned down and the DSG shifts smoothly with not a hint of jerk or hesitation. But in 330i, I can't do that, I have to lift off the throttle when I I want to shift else there is a clear jerk from the engine/gearbox. This is especially pronounced when I am using paddles in S mode. Do you experience the same in X3?

Cheers!

Thanks Anand. While I love using paddles on the GTI, I hardly use it in the X3. The engine in the X3 does rev quite high, but somehow it is not so enjoyable to shift manually in the diesel as it is in the petrol GTI.

As d3mon and graaja have mentioned, that jerk you feel is deliberate in the BMW and it is there in the X3 too. THat jerk is not in manual mode but in transmission sports mode irrespective of whether you are in manual or auto mode. I had made this observation and posted it earlier on this thread

Originally Posted by Santoshbhat

Now sometimes you want even more, because you know the car has more to offer, and you want it to give you the best its got. That’s when you tap the sexy gear lever to the left into its own Sports mode, which is independent of the drive mode selector. The car is now like a raging bull. The gear box drops down another gear and shifts are further delayed and shift times are super fast. In other words, performance is red hot. In this mode when you drive aggressively, for every upshift, the car gives out a very deliberate ‘thunk’, a kind of kick that feels very sporty. People talk of seamless gear shifts and here’s BMW progamming a deliberate kick to let you know, the car just changed a gear. Fantastic!

But I agree with you that the gear changes in the GTI are more seamless than the ZF in the BMWs. I have always said that the dual clutch in the GTI is faster when it comes to shift times. The next gear is preselected and the the shift is almost instantaneous. The ZF is quick for a TC, but there is just that small break in power delivery no matter which mode you are in.

Originally Posted by suhaas307

Nice little birthday present for the X3, I see!

Congratulations! The wheels look great, and surprisingly look very similar to the SRs on my humble little Polo. However, I guess that's where the similarities end and as you've correctly mentioned, the SR wheels do not benefit from the forged or flow-form tech and is purely for styling, whereas the CI-Rs use flow form and all that, for improved construction, etc. Shame they could not employ the same tech for the SR.

What else do you have planned for the X3?

Thanks Suhaas. I frankly don't care whether it's flow formed or not. If they had a non flow formed version of the same wheel for a lesser price, I would have picked those and saved some money!

I think I am all done with the X3. No plans of a remap as the car is mighty fast as it is. Dynamic dampers take care of the handling part, so no need of mods there too. The wheel upgrade project has a hidden purpose and that is to get me to slow down a bit.

Originally Posted by graaja

Great to know the car is running with zero trouble at 50,000kilometers. Wishing you many many more years of happy miles.


With the low profile and the combination of white and black, the wheels look AWESOME! Good to know the ride comfort has not suffered due to the upsize.

Thanks Ganesh. It's actually not that low a profile. If you compare it with say a VRS which runs on 225/45/17s, the sidewall on these 19s is almost 10% more!

Here's a bonus picture for those who like it dirty

[d3mon]

Originally Posted by anandpadhye

Strange! While I can guess this is done to make some "MT" fans happy, it actually slows things down. That momentary loss of acceleration (however short it may be) breaks the momentum. Also, it makes me look like a newbie who is learning how to smoothly release the clutch pedal! If you could code it in, means they can code it out - for me? What is this called? What is the parameter name/code number?

The option is called SAT - Sport Automatic Transmission (2TB).
https://f30.bimmerpost.com/forums/sh....php?t=1138452

I don't know of anyone who wants to tune this out. BMW charges $500 for the 2TB option in the US. Keep in mind that it will make regular Drive and Sport modes less sporty too in terms of shift speed & shift RPMs. But if you are able to code this out, you should be able to experiment with this mode and stick to it if you like it, otherwise revert the coding.

Best option is to use Eco-Pro mode while shifting manually. I don't think you're losing any performance, but you do lose on the steering firmness.

[anandpadhye]

Originally Posted by Santoshbhat

As d3mon and graaja have mentioned, that jerk you feel is deliberate in the BMW and it is there in the X3 too. THat jerk is not in manual mode but in transmission sports mode irrespective of whether you are in manual or auto mode. I had made this observation and posted it earlier on this thread

But I agree with you that the gear changes in the GTI are more seamless than the ZF in the BMWs. I have always said that the dual clutch in the GTI is faster when it comes to shift times. The next gear is preselected and the the shift is almost instantaneous. The ZF is quick for a TC, but there is just that small break in power delivery no matter which mode you are in.

Yes, the jerk is present in regular Sport mode also even when the box is shifting up on it's own! And It's not there in regular comfort mode, even if I use paddles.

Originally Posted by d3mon

The option is called SAT - Sport Automatic Transmission (2TB).
https://f30.bimmerpost.com/forums/sh....php?t=1138452

I don't know of anyone who wants to tune this out. BMW charges $500 for the 2TB option in the US. Keep in mind that it will make regular Drive and Sport modes less sporty too in terms of shift speed & shift RPMs. But if you are able to code this out, you should be able to experiment with this mode and stick to it if you like it, otherwise revert the coding.

Best option is to use Eco-Pro mode while shifting manually. I don't think you're losing any performance, but you do lose on the steering firmness.

"Sport Automatic Transmission"! Well if this is the name they have given, nobody would like to disable it! But ideally, they should have made this configurable independent of the engine and gearbox map. I certainly won't want to lose the aggression as a side effect of disabling it.

Let me try driving aggressively in Comfort mode and use paddles, IIRC this jolt is not felt in Comfort mode.

[Dr.AD]

Originally Posted by anandpadhye

I want this exact "seamless" mode of the GTI in the 330i, can I get it please?

That would be the "normal" Sports mode. I mean, select the Sports mode from the mode selector, but leave the gear lever in D. That is how I almost always drive, and enjoy it quite a lot.

Originally Posted by anandpadhye

Let me try driving aggressively in Comfort mode and use paddles, IIRC this jolt is not felt in Comfort mode.

You don't have to go all the way to comfort mode. Using Sports mode (but with the gear lever in D) will give you the desired acceleration and yet smooth shifts.

The engine response and shift timings are at their optimum (that is what I observed, at least in 320d) in this configuration, and it is a lot of fun. This gives the optimal balance between performance an seamless shifts.

The S mode is the gearbox is purely for extra exhilaration, and in which case, the super aggressive shifts and programmed jolts are part of the package :-)

[anandpadhye]

Originally Posted by Dr.AD

That would be the "normal" Sports mode. I mean, select the Sports mode from the mode selector, but leave the gear lever in D. That is how I almost always drive, and enjoy it quite a lot.

The S mode is the gearbox is purely for extra exhilaration, and in which case, the super aggressive shifts and programmed jolts are part of the package :-)

IIRC, even in S mode if I drive pedal to metal, upshifts happen with a pause and jolt. And if I use paddles, it happens with even slightly aggressive driving, not even pedal to metal. Let me try a few combinations again when I am out on highway next but the problem is the car is so fast, I run out of road most of the time

But I want to nail this down. Will keep everyone posted.

[Akshay1234]

Originally Posted by anandpadhye

IIRC, even in S mode if I drive pedal to metal, upshifts happen with a pause and jolt. And if I use paddles, it happens with even slightly aggressive driving, not even pedal to metal. Let me try a few combinations again when I am out on highway next but the problem is the car is so fast, I run out of road most of the time

But I want to nail this down. Will keep everyone posted.

Surely you can't be serious that you don't like this. The jolt is because of the faster shift times as compared to the regular mode. Its similar to how the DCT boxes and SMG boxes in the earlier Ms gave out a full jolt when shifting.

In comfort and eco pro you won't feel it. And in sports and sports + the shift times are faster, hence you feel it.

[arif_t01]

I finished reading this full thread in 2 days time. Superb Santhosh

I just wanted to get all of your attention to a topic related to BMW. Hence posted here as this is one of the most updated ownership thread for a BMW car in here. I am also reading the ownership thread of all the other BMW cars in here, one by one.

So, can anyone answer my query in this thread?
https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/india...ml#post4602360 (BMW 3, 5-Series, X3 now available with 360 degree programme)

[Nikhilb2008]

These wheels are absolutely amazing. I would have loved to get CI-Rs for my vRS but they arent available in 17" and I wasnt willing to upsize to 18" for my vRS.

Later on, when I went to my office, my boys told me how amazing the X3 was looking with these wheels and they were telling me to get a similar set for myself!

[GTO]

Other than the 3-Series, we really don't see red-coloured BMWs in India.

I think it suits them pretty well

[Santoshbhat]

Originally Posted by GTO

Other than the 3-Series, we really don't see red-coloured BMWs in India.

I think it suits them pretty well
Attachment 1902592

Looks like a 30d. I am yet to see a red 30d M sport on the road. Of course X3 30d's are rare by themselves, but I have seen red only in some media articles and videos. There was a red 30d with BMW themselves (probably that very media car) which I had seen when I was invited to one of their drive programmes. When I bought the car, red wasn't on offer. The car was officially available in black, grey and white only. I did not have any choice really. They only had one or two cars available all India and both were white.

Btw I had the M stripe grill for a few days. Somehow did not like it so much, so took it off.

[vignesh.cv]

Your car looks fabulous with those wheels. And very nice compilation of ownership report as well. Wishing you many more miles of troublefree ownership !!

[kdp]

Originally Posted by Santoshbhat

Looks like a 30d. I am yet to see a red 30d M sport on the road. Of course X3 30d's are rare by themselves, but I have seen red only in some media articles and videos. There was a red 30d with BMW themselves (probably that very media car) which I had seen when I was invited to one of their drive programmes. When I bought the car, red wasn't on offer. The car was officially available in black, grey and white only. I did not have any choice really. They only had one or two cars available all India and both were white.

Btw I had the M stripe grill for a few days. Somehow did not like it so much, so took it off.

Thank you for sharing your experiences with the X3. I too have an X3-3.0D, in white, which unfortunately I have not driven as much as I should. :-)

I did have a query about the the Nav system. Did you at anytime have the maps updated? My car came with the maps NEXT 2017-1 and all through the warranty period I was told that no updates are available. Now the maps are hopelessly out of date, so I tried again, and now, with the car out of warranty the dealer is happy to inform of an update on a chargeable basis.

Of course, I could always use a smartphone nav (and do on occasion), but there is a convenience about the inbuilt nav, especially if you use it along with the connected drive app.

any experience on this that you may care to share would be welcome

[Santoshbhat]

Originally Posted by kdp

Thank you for sharing your experiences with the X3. I too have an X3-3.0D, in white, which unfortunately I have not driven as much as I should. :-)

I did have a query about the the Nav system. Did you at anytime have the maps updated? My car came with the maps NEXT 2017-1 and all through the warranty period I was told that no updates are available. Now the maps are hopelessly out of date, so I tried again, and now, with the car out of warranty the dealer is happy to inform of an update on a chargeable basis.

Of course, I could always use a smartphone nav (and do on occasion), but there is a convenience about the inbuilt nav, especially if you use it along with the connected drive app.

any experience on this that you may care to share would be welcome

No I haven't got the maps updated and don't intend to do it either. I prefer google maps since I get live traffic updates and suggestions. I use an android phone and the connected drive feature is pretty much redundant as far I am concerned. I simply turn on google maps and place my phone over the iDrive screen. Easy to do in old BMWs since the iDrive screed is embedded in the dash and my smart phone fits snugly in this slot .

Where the in built navigation comes handy for me is on two lane highways and twisty curvy roads. I turn on the nav screen and it gives me a good idea of how the road curves up ahead. Not saying that I trust it completely to plan overtaking maneuvers etc... But it's nice to know if there is a sharp curve ahead. Also if I am out of home town it does throw up some good info like road names, fuel stations, eateries etc... around the area that you are driving through.