[mobike008]

Originally Posted by robimahanta

Nice meet. Any reason for putting that sticker in the ORVM?

Is there a reason why everything we do in life needs to have a "reason".

Thanks for your meet-post appreciation. Added more pictures on that thread, if interested.

Cheers !!!

[mobike008]

As is our annual ritual, we never miss being part of the Tulips Festival.

I'm lucky to have lived in 2 places out of 3 where Tulips are grown in US.

We visited Tulips Festival in Skagit Valley last in 2015 and after 7-years we visited last Saturday and all old memories gushed back.

We knew the whole world will drive north. So decided to beat the traffic and leave home late in afternoon. It was 45 miles from home so roughly an hour's drive up-north.

We left home at 2:30pm and My guess was right there was massive traffic backed up on other end with folks going back from Tulip Festival.

It was 5C and extremely sunny (My kind of weather) and we spent a blissful 3- hours in the fields walking through all the tulips and just enjoying the splash of colors and god's wonderful creations.

I'm so much in love with outdoors here. Totally awesome.

If anyone traveling to this area in spring, do not miss the Tulips Festivals.

P.S : Enjoy the pictures and Click for full size

[mobike008]

Over the nearly 1.5 years, Blau Rakete endured the rough weather (Snow & Rains) but, stood tall and performed like a champ.

Finally, after going through so much, she finally got a home she deserves.





Now she can rest at night in peace while I work on keeping her clean and shiny in peace.

[RaviKBobba]

Even though late comer to this post, very happy to read through your ownership experiences.

Wishing more miles to go for your Blue Beemer.

[mobike008]

Last Sunday, BHPian Ashir messaged saying snowfall is happening in Stevens Pass. I just did not believe in first instance, so he posted a picture from a highway camera.

Imagine, snowfall in May which is pretty rare even for Seattle.

That's it. We had to go, I dropped all weekend chores and we decided to head there.

As it was just 55-miles (1-hour) from home. We leisurely left after lunch and drove over to Steven's Pass.

Just 10 miles below the mountain, the entire landscape was green, sunny and dry. But, when we drove up the mountains, the scenery there was completely different. It was like we entered the snow-world. Perhaps, Ladakh in winter would be more apt as there was just too much snow around with fresh snow lightly falling throughout the afternoon.

We spent an amazing few hours enjoying the snow before heading home, enjoyed a warm thai dinner (We got cold...Brrr) .

What a surprising and enjoyable day in May !!!

https://youtu.be/Qv2tXrKxgZ4

https://youtu.be/s1xgmn4uN1w

https://youtu.be/lQyyAKS6d14

[mobike008]

After moving into a new home, you know how it is.

Lot of work and especially if the home is big, the work doubles up. I'm an outdoor lover and also in last 4-5 years since we moved to US, I developed a deep passion for growing veggies and flowers at home. Ofcourse, I developed this interest from my better half.

We used to grow veggies and flowers at home even in small 3 bedroom apartments of 1200sft in Michigan/Washington.

Now we have space so we want to make our home a "Garden"

So you can imagine with all the lugging of flowers, soil, pots and other perphenalia, my beloved Blau Rakete got marred to the soul.

In privacy of my garage, last weekend I cleaned her up and this is my first cleaning of a car in US and it brought back gushing memories of how I used to do it so often back in India for all my steeds.

Our Pots in our apartment in Michigan







Home Depot on wheels.









Blau Rakete was cleaned exterior, interior and grime wiped from wheels and also got a bit of tyre shine.

[mobike008]

On May 22nd, I completed 17,000 miles in 16-months of ownership.

Most of the week, I don't use the car and on weekends, I cover up lost time.

[mobike008]

Had an enjoyable meet with fellow BHP'ian "Amitoj" in Boston







More details here : https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/team-...ml#post5331403 (East Coast US Meet)

[mobike008]

Holla Folks, Howdy?

It’s been a while that I updated my thread. Touchwood, Life has been good with the Blau Rakete and it is doing what it does best. Give utmost pleasure every single time, I sit behind it's wheel.

Have been driving a lot over the last month or so and I am currently at 19,000 miles. Basically, I am keeping up with a just over 1000 miles average per month as I have completed 17 months of ownership on June 30th.

I will probably write a detailed feedback once it crosses 20,000 miles and next service which is just a month away. Here is some basic feedback until then :

—Touchwood, the car drives like a dream and absolutely no issues till date.

—Have been tracking fuel efficiency from 10K miles onwards using an app called “Fuelly” and super happy with fuel efficiency which hovers from 18mpg to 24mpg. I drive 
 50% in sports, 25% in comfort and 25% in Eco-Pro (I hardly Ecopro. However, my mom is visiting us since last almost 6-months and she prefers to sit in front seat and 
gets terrified by engine sound. She feels the car is going too fast and due to which I am mostly in Eco Pro when she is riding with us).

— Since last 500 miles, tires seem a bit noisy and may be EOL. Let the service advisor tell me when I meet them for 20K service.

— Build quality is like a ROCK. Not a squeak nor any parts falling. The interiors feel as luxurious and new as when I got it brand new 17 months ago.

— Even if it’s a short feedback, I cannot close a feedback without mentioning about the engine (B58). As you may have noticed, I’m not a very technical guy and don’t care much for technicals as long as a car blows me.

However, for first time in my life, an engine code (B58) has been plastered into my mind, body and soul like never before.

I have driven many other BMW’s in last 1 year which have other engines and none of them impressed me (Including my sister’s BMW V8 engine with 445 HP in an X5 which is at best a distant second). B58 is what makes this car or any car that it serves so special.

Without this engine, the X3 is just another nice driving luxury SUV.

Alright, enough of B58.

On to more fun things, Last week couple of close pals visited me in Seattle ( One buddy travelled from Hyderabad and another pal lives in New Jersey). They stopped by to meet me on their way to Mexico as I could not travel with them. That is quite a bit of a detour, eh? LOL!

We spent glorious 4-days together gallivanting around Greater Seattle. All of us love the good life so we went to the best places to eat and drink, I donned my apron and made some nice foodie stuff at home.

I also showed off some great outdoors that PNW offers and in general we let our hair down.

Captioning a few pictures with description. Hope you enjoy the pictures and they are in no particular order. Click on picture for full resolution of these iPhone 13 Promax pics.

Cheers !!

I try to religiously input data to track fuel metrics. It gives me a kick every time I cross 20mpg. Lol!





On Ferry to San Juan Islands from Anacortes, WA.

Anacortes is a sleepy rich yachting city in WA and San Juan Islands is famous for Whale Watching in entire USA.



Posing outside Spheres (New Amazon Office in Downtown Seattle)



My favorite view when driving to Bellevue. That is Bellevue Downtown



Somewhere in Washington



Snoqualmie Falls- Pearl of our state. !!!



Egg Puffs that I made at home.



Anacortes, WA.



View from Ferry to San Juan Islands, WA.



San Juan Islands (Sunset View).



Stevens Pass. One of the most gorgeous place in Winters.



Whenever we visit Snoqualmie Falls, We never miss eating from a mallu restaurant which is best in Seattle. Fish Fry, Chicken and Coconut Shrimps served in car as they were closed for dine in when we reached there.



Your's truly posing in Snoqualmie Falls area.



Gorgeous view from ferry (Clicked from inside my car).



Blau Rakete posing in Sanjuan Islands.



3 Musketeers at Sunset View in San Juan Islands.



Island Pics.





View from our awesome restaurant on pier watching luxury yachts and sea planes land and take off.



Fresh Oysters, Mussels and Calamari- Fresh from the ocean.



Mainland WA- Anacortes, WA.



What a view.!!



Ready for the island trip. Lol!



Seattle Downtown view from Kerry Park.



Space Needle, Seattle.



With local gang.



3- Musketeers in Seattle Downtown.



Mt Rainer. This view is available for us to enjoy from wherever you go in Greater Seattle. Blessed.!!




Jacksons Beach, San Juan Islands

https://youtu.be/QDh9e7scgXA

Beautiful town of Anacortes, WA

https://youtu.be/t2L49zNxqto

[mobike008]

Finally the summers are here in Seattle (Pretty late this time and will most likely be a short one of 2-2.5 months).

I decided to make use of this lovely warm weather and hand-wash the car at home.

First experience of using a hose to wash the car. I just used water and couple of soft fiber cloths (one to wipe the wet car and another to fully dry it) to wipe.

Any recommendations on products and do and don't during a hand-wash.

For a first time, I think it got cleaned reasonably ok.



Tyre Shiner also used.

[mobike008]

20,000 Miles (32,000 Kms) Regular Service @19 months Ownership

Blau Rakete has been serving me well for last 19-months that I have owned this amazing performance SUV. I was fast approaching 20K miles so I decided to schedule a service with BMW.

Since everyone is running busy and have long waiting for appointments, I got one that was earlier than my planned 20K miles completion. I was at 19,600 miles but, I confirmed the appointment as the next date was far out and also didn’t have a loaner option.

I dropped the car at 9:00am with following requests to Chris (My Service Advisor)

--Multi Point Check of entire car
--Check tyre depth of all tires as I have reached 20,000 miles on my stock Pirelli run flats
--Engine Oil and Filter Change
--Refill all fluids in car

I got feedback that my rear tyres from inside were wearing out faster so an alignment was recommended was quoted $250 as that’s not covered in BMW Care. I declined as I would be changing the tyres soon and would get them all balanced and aligned at that time.
I also requested them to clean the brake pads as I felt the bite was not as strong as when it was brand new. They normally don’t remove the pads and clean but, Chris made an exception.

Within 15 minutes we were done and he handed over a 2021 BMW X3 30e (Hybrid car) with a comment “we normally don’t do loaners for a regular service when cars are returned the same day”.

Well, I told him “Negotiating what’s not regular is what I do for a living”.

I picked up the loaner and drove over to another car dealership where I had an appointment at 10:00am

More details on that 10’o clock exciting appointment can be found here :

https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/elect...ml#post5371857 (Test Drive : A day with the 2022 Tesla Model Y Performance)

Prior to that, I enjoyed an overnight experience of this :

https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/elect...ml#post5361760 (Test Drive : A day with the 2022 Tesla Model Y Performance)

20,000kms Ownership Update

As some of you are aware that I have long history of car and motorcycle ownership and many of them is shared here on forum as ownership threads. One of the biggest concern (more than me, its for my family) is that I lose interest in my steed after usually the 3-years mark or sometimes even before that. Besides this issue, I have never owned a preowned vehicle in my life. As you can imagine, it makes zero finance sense to not just buy new but, also change the auto as early as 3-years passing on the depreciation benefit to next owner.

Heck, I am like that who rarely uses brains and rides on emotions/feelings/heart. LOL!

I think this car has changed that mindset and ownership style as I don’t plan to sell this car for next 5 years. Every mile of the past 20,000 miles has been the best driving experience of my life.

I’m searching for excuses to drive the car like :

Buy unnecessary groceries just because I want to take the car out for a spin
Always take the longer route
Plan trips every single weekend (As I don’t get to drive much during the weekday)

In a nutshell, Blau Rakete has brought me smiles that is equal to all smiles put together of my entire car ownership till date in this short time span.

Driving, Performance and Engine

This is a ridiculously fast car and is almost like a sports car in guise of a compact SUV.

Out of the 4 modes - Eco Pro, Comfort, Sport, Sports Plus below is my rough guess of percentage of time the Blau Rakete spent in the last 20,000 miles

Eco Pro : 30%
Comfort : 40%
Sports : 20%
Sports Plus : 10%

Eco Pro is the most relaxing way to drive and car is silent and passengers can enjoy the quiet and also the ride becomes more plush. My mom is visiting us from last 6-months and she loves to sit in the front seat and initially, she got scared by the B58 loud sound whenever I accelerate so I always drive in Eco Pro when she’s onboard.

Comfort is the best of both world where you get to enjoy the lovely growl of the B58 engine, increased power and minus the pops and crackles when you brake.

Sports is where the real fun begins. Blau Rakete gets radically transformed into a lethal machine and this can be felt in entire car’s dynamics. Suspension becomes hard, Steering feels nicely weighted, Engine growl increases and whenever you brake and slow down, the pops and crackles of engine brings a huge grin to my face.

Sports Plus is a mode that I use rarely and only when I am in the mood to drive aggressive and fast. To share a simple analogy, dynamics of car feels double of what I have described in Sports mode. It feels like a tool meant to be on track and gives so much confidence in acceleration, braking and pushing in corners.

In this mode, even if you gently feather the gas pedal and car will be hovering at 90mph or 100mph. It is impossible to be below 80mph in this mode and feels like you haven’t even scratched the surface.

There is not enough words in the dictionary to praise the B58 engine of BMW. This is by far the best engine that BMW has produced and discussed and praised at length in multiple automotive forums.

The power is so relentless that it feels like it will never end. Even at the top end there is absolutely no harshness (I tried it multiple times on the mountains using paddle shifters and it hits the limiter and feels smooth as silk)

From so many articles out in the wild, this is by far my most favorite article on the B58 as it covers the entire aspects of this engine in simple terms to understand for an engineering noob like me.

I have read it so many times, I feel like now I am ready to take an exam on B58. LOL!

https://www.bmwblog.com/2021/12/20/b58-best-bmw-engine/

This is also the most tune able engine that BMW produced till date and with minor updates like adding a Cold Air Intake, Better Exhaust System etc B58 can be tuned to 650 HP at the wheel from its stock avatar.

Essentially for as little as $2000, it can be bumped up to a 650 HP monster (This will happen for sure in future).

A recent video of beautiful engine note of B58.

https://youtu.be/T8n14vP_gDM

Infotainment, HUD, ICE

The Infotainment is wonderful with a clean UI, Bright Display and Crisp with HD quality of text and pictures that pop with bright colors.

The touchscreen is snappy and there is absolutely no lag.

Music system is decent and can be enjoyed when driving in Eco Pro mode (other modes the engine note takes over..LOL) but, when you bump up the volume at the higher end the music quality deteriorates. For a car this expensive, they should have given a Bang & Olufsen at the bare minimum.

Connectivity is absolutely phenomenal. BMW is partial to Apple probably because of their tie up with them. iPhones connect to CarPlay/Android Auto seamlessly and wirelessly. When I step in car, everything is already connected and music moves to CarPlay. For example, If I am listening to music on my AirPods/Powerbeats Pro, I step into car wearing them the music automatically transfers to CarPlay instantly. Same thing happens with phone calls.

Also, switching between users like me and Wife is equally seamless. If she opens the car with her key, all settings are as per her choice. But, 8/10 times, I am driving the car so its rarely we use this amazing feature.

Heads-Up Display (HUD) should be made mandatory in every car. It is such a useful feature that now we cannot live without it. BMW HUD is one of the best in business, Crisp, Clear and High Quality. The HUD can be moved up and down depending on height of driver.

Only downside, Maps show up on HUD when using an iPhone. However, if you are using an Android Phone or Google Maps, then maps are not shown on the screen. BMW seems to be more pally with Tim than with Sunder. Haha!

Maps and Songs, Playlist can be seen in 3 different places- HUD, Instrument Cluster and Infotainment Screen. Amazing technology.

I also have the Parking Assist Package which is a useful feature as the 360 degree cameras come up as soon as you slot the gear in reverse and camera is HD quality and shows a view all around the car and even a top-down view.

Everything works seamlessly as day we took delivery of car. Super Happy !!

Build Quality

There has been not a single squeak till date, plastics creaking or anything fall off from interior.

It’s built like a tank and we still enjoy a silent cabin with zero complaints on anything related to build quality.

Stock Tyres

I’m surprised that stock RF’s have lasted this long. As per the feedback given by SA, they will last more as the current tyre tread depth is 6 in front and 4 at rear. Typically, it’s recommended to replace the tyre when the depth is 3 (Look forward to some inputs and advice from tyre experts here).

I will most likely change all 4 tyres when the depth reaches 3 at the rear as I don’t want to risk it any further as I love aggressive driving and push the car on a daily basis.

For now, I don’t get the same confidence in corners so I am taking it with my foot off the gas and also I can literally hear them in cabin as they got loud which was not the case a few 1000 miles before. And, we are going to get rains in next couple of months so need to clock some more miles before and change the tyres as there will be a serious risk of aquaplaning during rainy season.

Fuel Average

This is another area that I am super happy. B58 fuel consumption is reasonably good for such a powerful engine and if I push really hard the gas mileage drops to 17-18mpg but, since I toggle between Comfort and Sports, I get a pretty good city average of 20mpg-22mpg.

Just a comparison, some of my friends who own muscle cars- Mustang and Challengers have a hard time getting past 15mpg.

Overall, it has been a phenomenal ownership experience of my X3M 40i and love driving it every single day and mile. Keeping fingers crossed that I get to enjoy this beast for many more years to come.

Lined up for Service



Service Done at a princely sum of $0.





Tyre Depth Report





My Loaner for day (X3 30 e)

[mobike008]

Dear All,

With bated breath and quivering excitement, I share with you that Blau Rakete is getting a companion in the garage who is worthy of sharing the space with it.

https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/elect...ml#post5374032

Look forward to your best wishes and a safe and happy journey with Blau Rakete's younger sibling.

Cheers
Mobike008

[mobike008]

Last weekend, cousins were visiting so we decided to plan a short hike + picnic lunch “Up North” as the weather is gorgeous with temperatures ranging from 60-70F and skies were blue and slight wind blowing through the day to keep us cool.

We drove 50 miles north to a drop dead gorgeous area called “Deception Pass National Park” where the most popular area is the Deception Pass Bridge. That area has plenty of lakes, mountains and tall trees. Surprisingly, the lakes in that area has green color water as apposed to clear blue that we see in most other lakes in Washington area.

After living here for a year, I am slowly warming up to the idea of “Hiking” & “Biking” which is the most popular outdoor activity of Washingtonians.

Plan was to drive 50 miles to the trail head at Bowman Bay + Rosaria Beach where the hike would begin and we would hike through the beach, through mountains ledges with a steep drop to the ocean below and reach the end point which is 2.5 miles away.

It was an easy to medium hike (medium for me as I’m trying to get back into shape) and typical times for hikes is 25 mins per mile as the route is usually steep, treacherous with lots of rocks, loose gravel, sand and barks of trees that you need to scale to keep moving forward.

We completed the hike in couple of hours and stopped at multiple viewpoints to enjoy the nature before heading back to the car. We drove a couple of miles and found a parking spot in the busy area as Deception Pass is extremely popular and attracts tons of people during summer.

We hiked down below to the beach and found a nice spot under the bridge and settled down for our picnic lunch of veg sandwiches and charcuterie board.

As usual, driving the Blau Rakete elevates the whole experience to a different level.

Parking at the trailhead



Hike started from the beach



Then it goes up into mountains and 75% of hike is like this through small ledge with ocean on the side.



A few pictures from various spots during the hike















Parking above the bridge. This place gets super busy during summers



Our Lunch Spot below the Deception Pass Bridge. We hiked down below and found a place (A bit uncomfortable but, worth for the view)




Veg Sandwich



Charcuterie Board


Blau Rakete Posing away









Sunset view while going back home



Our Hike starts from here..Crank up the volume for videos

https://youtu.be/CGcqsNU2LxU

Walking through these slippery and narrow ledges with that gorgeous view was fun.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=gmysDPuxmzU?feature=share

End point of the trail hike- Folks waiting at corner to spot SEALS.

https://youtu.be/v6XR_XrpLQw

A short drive through video of drop dead gorgeous Deception Pass National Park area

https://youtube.com/watch?v=Zt1cSukyt_k?feature=share

Hiking is addictive !!!

[mobike008]

We are making full use of the gorgeous summers here in Seattle.

Almost every weekend, we are hiking. Last Saturday, it was the turn of Mt.Rainier (Don't know why it took me 1-year to visit Mt.Rainier) the "Shaan of Seattle"

BHPian Ashir joined for this hike. We drove 100 miles (2-hours) to Mt.Rainier and hiked for 6-miles which took us 5.5 hours.

We went through some amazing scenery of mountains, walking on clouds, lakes on mountains etc.

Please look out for a short "Photoblog" of this hike in travelogues section over the weekend.

For now, a few pictures of the Bimmer Brothers at Mt.Rainier, Washington.

[mobike008]

Guys,

Happy to share a new member has joined our garage. He's a cute white little fella.

https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/bicyc...ml#post5390836 (My Priority Current e-BIKE a.k.a White Lightening Review | A journey to a Fit Life!)

Meet him and give your blessings.

Cheers
Mobike008