Sticking my hand back in the garbage disposal

"phenotyp" (phenotyp) 11/30/2014 at 21:24 • Filed to: Bmw

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Traded the 07 550i for an 09 535 today.

Turbos. Man, what the fuck was I thinking.

Seduced by the black wheels and fewer options and cylinders, comprehensive warranty, and prettier lights, I guess....

Manuél Ferrari > phenotyp 11/30/2014 at 21:35

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How does the power difference feel so far?

phenotyp > Manuél Ferrari 11/30/2014 at 21:38

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Too soon to tell. Power feels pretty similar except at the low end, but the turbo engine idles and revs a lot higher and faster. Not as perfectly visceral as the V8, for sure. Overall, the car feels way lighter, less damped/isolated, less... Stately?

It also looks a lot smaller in the dark grey with the (same) black wheels.

Manuél Ferrari > phenotyp 11/30/2014 at 21:44

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Nice. Hopefully this one causes you less headaches.

Feeling lighter and more nimble is definitely nice!

phenotyp > Manuél Ferrari 11/30/2014 at 21:50

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Yeah, at some point I'll do a comparo write up. For now I'm happy to have a car that isn't leaking coolant, despite missing that monster V8 and a few toys. Definitely like the colors, interior and exterior, a whole lot more on this one. And the fact that it's 2 years newer, has half the miles, and full service history.

Manuél Ferrari > phenotyp 11/30/2014 at 21:56

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Does it have a newer version of iDrive vs the first one?

phenotyp > Manuél Ferrari 11/30/2014 at 22:08

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Yeah, 2008 was the update on the E60. It has a bunch more buttons around the knob, which will take some getting used to. It's a lot faster, since this one doesn't have the DVD nav.

Manuél Ferrari > phenotyp 11/30/2014 at 22:09

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Nice

I love iDrive in my 2011 M3

It totally destroys PCM in my 2010 911

itranthelasttimeiparkedit > phenotyp 11/30/2014 at 22:20

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I am getting rid of my 06 550i in the next 6-12 months (because 120k+ mi.) 535 is on the list. If I get another 5 series I am getting one with the new idrive. My mother in law bought a new-er-ish x5 after driving mine and the idrive is sooooooooooo much better

phenotyp > Manuél Ferrari 11/30/2014 at 22:20

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honestly I've never minded it. Slow sometimes, but seriously not bad.

phenotyp > itranthelasttimeiparkedit 11/30/2014 at 22:41

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It's definitely faster. This one has fewer options than the 550, and doesn't have the screen. Plus the prettier LCI lights.

JayZAyEighty thinks C4+3=C7 > phenotyp 11/30/2014 at 23:00

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My dream E60 is a 550 M-sport 6MT, but the 535i seems like the best-rounded choice. More efficient than the 50i, torquier than the 30i. As much as I like NA, 225lb/ft isn't enough for a big 5er. Congrats, it's a fantastic looking car!

My citroen won't start > phenotyp 11/30/2014 at 23:04

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The Lexus is unimpressed by your decision.

phenotyp > JayZAyEighty thinks C4+3=C7 11/30/2014 at 23:07

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Its colors are pretty much exactly what I'd wanted when I bought the 550 last year, and although my wheel time is way limited (as in, less than an hour at this point), it seems just as realistically fast, better in corners, somehow much lighter-feeling than the 550. I loved how fucking HUGE the 550 felt. The 35 feels way leaner overall. I bet with some tweaks and exhaust you could make it pretty frightening.

phenotyp > My citroen won't start 11/30/2014 at 23:08

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As the Lexus would be.

phenotyp > itranthelasttimeiparkedit 11/30/2014 at 23:11

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That is, it doesn't have the NAV screen, as in the DVD nav system.

phenotyp > itranthelasttimeiparkedit 12/01/2014 at 00:14

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I thought about waiting a while and looking at F10s, but I saw this one and thought that I'd be foolish not to at least look. I have no experience with F10s yet, but E60s are everywhere from overweight crapfests to overpowered leviathans. I loved the 550 for how huge, heavy, powerful, and isolated it felt. This 35 is very different, very lean, and much lighter, and realistically just as fast out of the box.

phenotyp > JayZAyEighty thinks C4+3=C7 12/01/2014 at 01:15

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I've driven the manual E60s in 28 and 50s... And honestly, they did a better job with the autos than the manuals. I'm sad to say it, but it's true.

JayZAyEighty thinks C4+3=C7 > phenotyp 12/03/2014 at 16:14

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Doesn't surprise me. The ZF 6 speed slushboxes are excellent, and the E60 5 series really isn't built for a manual transmission. With that said, I'd take even a crap manual transmission over any sort of 2-pedal setup. I wish that wasn't the case, but I guess I'll just be doomed to old cars 30, 40 years from now.

phenotyp > JayZAyEighty thinks C4+3=C7 12/03/2014 at 21:16

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Yeah. Obviously they sold like 99.8% with autos, so that's where the effort went. In the whole hour or so I've driven the 35, it's got a completely different character from the 50, and the transmission seems way snappier. Not at all slow and dumb like the 50's. It has the flappy paddles, and they actually seem to work pretty well. The manual 5ers I drove seemed really... Not well thought out. The ratios were weird, the final drive too short, and just ill-suited for the car in general.

phenotyp > itranthelasttimeiparkedit 01/05/2015 at 22:53

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The 535 is, so far (1 month in) about a million times better than the older 550. Just FYI.

itranthelasttimeiparkedit > phenotyp 01/05/2015 at 22:56

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bought a 540i because wagon (and only $5k)