Do you drive your 7 series like an M3?

I've been driving my 7 series on the road like I used to drive my M3. But frankly, I'm finding it while not exactly tiring, it requires more concentration than I'm used to. Do you get that feeling?

With my M3, and also the E60 5 series I had prior, I used to dart in and out of traffic, have no concerns scooting up the inside lane, and jockeying for the shortest lane at the lights. However, with the 7's extra width, long wheelbase (I'm concerned against cutting a corner too tight), it's taking more concentration than I like. Instead I'm thinking to get the best enjoyment out of it, rather than driving it like a nimble sporty car, which it can do if needed with speed and control, to do so is counter productive. I'm better served to take it easy, stick to the middle or outside lanes, and when gaps in front allow, just use the thrust of the twin turbo V8. I'll get to my destination at the same time, but much more rested and comfortable.

One thing though, the 7 seems to be more composed no matter how I drive. The wife and kids used to cry bloody murder every time I got aggressive with the M3 or other cars. But not with the 7 series. The way it coddles and isolates you from the outside world is uncanny.

Care to share your experiences?

i drive my 7 like a hotel limo driver, i drive like a teenager in my Mini

My Li is a barge. No can do. I am thinking about the all wheel drive to get more power and better traction.

I drive mine pretty hard too...I am worried about the size of the car, but secretly hope the cars gadgets do their job in finding the car in the blind spot every time I change lanes

In sports+ little drifting can be fun with non RFT of course.

Are you talking about the track? But the number of public roads where you can get enough speed to approach the limits of the car, that are wide enough, and with low traffic are few and far between. I'm originally from the East Bay - where in the Bay Area do they have roads like that? Only on ramps from memory.

Sorry, this is public forum so I can't comment too much. Let's just say 680 up north.

Setup I have might make it little easier, 245/35/21 and 275/30/21 on Aplina. Approach corner at mid/high speed then down shift to keep RPM around 4K, power it out on the exit, 516 lbs/tq will just break the tire lose for maybe ½ sec then sport+ Activetraction control will kick in to try to save it. Now just need to find a way to turn off traction control completely by coding….I know F10 forum is pretty active on this kind of stuff.

I drive my 2012 xdrive 750li really hard. I bought it specifically for the ability to do that. I really like the way it handles as it's what I expect from a big powerful sedan. The only difficult part of aggressively driving it, is that the blind spots are huge so I have to be really careful.

I believe you should have a few cars and not put all your money in just a single car and torture it with something it's not intended for. The 7er is a cruiser. It has enough power to get you out of tricky situations when needed, but it's not designed for excessive track-like driving.
When I feel like driving more aggressively I take my 5er or the S8. Hell, even the older S8 is close to sporty driving than the new f01. It weighs pretty much as the 5 series, handles a lot better better (modded sport suspension).

Originally Posted by beamlord

I believe you should have a few cars and not put all your money in just a single car and torture it with something it's not intended for.

You miss my point, and perhaps I'm not exactly clear. How do you change your car mid-trip? How do you make the car narrower?

Suddenly the curb side lane opens up with a small gap - you can't just change your 750i to a sports car and then back to a 750i. The options I'm thinking about are, do I change lanes and power through, moving the 750i out of it's limo mode, taking a risk that requires heightened concentration, or just stay put.

Originally Posted by bruno787

i drive my 7 like a hotel limo driver, i drive like a teenager in my Mini

Exactly, that's why I bought a 7....however I have to say flipping between ECO, comfort, and sport on the loaner 5 series I had last week was a blast...they really nailed it well.

Originally Posted by beamlord

I believe you should have a few cars and not put all your money in just a single car and torture it with something it's not intended for. The 7er is a cruiser. It has enough power to get you out of tricky situations when needed, but it's not designed for excessive track-like driving.
When I feel like driving more aggressively I take my 5er or the S8. Hell, even the older S8 is close to sporty driving than the new f01. It weighs pretty much as the 5 series, handles a lot better better (modded sport suspension).

For occasional hard/spiritual driving I wouldn’t call it “torture” (okay, maybe for the stock RFT ) or else we might underestimated BMW’s engineering skill too much

Originally Posted by ayu910

Sorry, this is public forum so I can't comment too much. Let's just say 680 up north.

Setup I have might make it little easier, 245/35/21 and 275/30/21 on Aplina. Approach corner at mid/high speed then down shift to keep RPM around 4K, power it out on the exit, 516 lbs/tq will just break the tire lose for maybe ½ sec then sport+ Activetraction control will kick in to try to save it. Now just need to find a way to turn off traction control completely by coding….I know F10 forum is pretty active on this kind of stuff.

you can turn off traction control by holding down the traction control button for 30 secs

I took my car to a BMW driver school last weekend. Lots of 3 series, a few porsches and corvettes. I highly recommend this for 7 series owners. I have the 4 wheel steering, the active roll stabilization, and the sport package. This car can do a lot more than you ever thought it could. I could catch any 3 series through the turns, and some of the Porsches and corvettes, the only thing that could run me down was the later model M3 and a corvette Z06. It left all the other people flat footed. several other instructors came up to me in between track events and commented on how flat my car was in all the turns. I have a great pic of me running down a 330i with the ZHP Package on a 60mph curve, it clearly shows the 330i leaning more than my 750Li!! I pushed my 7 harder than i had ever dreamed it could be pushed, and it responded. I did get a warning from the computer about brake temps getting too high, and after 8 track episodes it turned out that i had slightly warped my rotor. but that included unbelievable number of hauling down from 125mph plus!

Wish I could.... ! with traffic light at every block .... cops waiting to get you for their Christmas bonus..gas about $4 p/g.. worry the tire will hit a pot hole with $$$$ repair... .......yeah..no ..! the 400hp truly a wasted for this real world driving environment... sorry ,,my ultimate driving machine ...!

I only hammered my car couple times since there is no place on the public road to use the powerful engine.

well as I have said before...sure i do!....in manual mode with trac off, and using the high torque on the AH7 I absolutely dont mind doing a power slide, fishtailing around the back etc....coming from a former porsche TT owner, used to a rear engine car, I guess if I dont get the feeling that my back end is pushing out, I dont feel like I'm really driving it.....Yeah the corners you have to slightly watch that you dont hit the sides because of the extra length, but this isnt a true sports car....but dont let that stop you from driving it hard either. IF you are on a lease like me....really go and enjoy yourself!

I'm not sure how many of the 7 owner's have the Dinan software, but having it really makes the difference. You have to concentrate a little more, to make sure your RPM's are right if you want to punch a gap, but it easily doable in Sport mode to weave in and out of traffic. I would easily take the 7 series over any of the other vehicles I have had the past few years. Great power, awesome gadgets, great comfort, quiet and safe. The only better big body sedan I have had was a 2008 S65, but I got 12mpg combined. Can't beat the 20.5 combined I am getting in my 7 series, still driving it very hard.

You got over 20 mpg combined while driving hard? I do 70% highway driving, and gentle on the car, and I can only get 17.8?!

Really? What octane do you put in, and what size tires/type do you have?

91 chervon or shell gas, 20' individual rims, 245 and 275s. Well, it has been 105+ degrees and I have my ac on all the time, and being lwb I guess it's little heavier, but 3mpg difference? Hmm, maybe I should check my tire presure.

Hmm. I agree that 3mpg is a lot. I am running stock 19's with the runflats. I put 93 octane in my car, but down it Dallas it's also been 100-110 degrees down here. I probably do 70% highway, maybe 75% but I am flooring it on every on ramp, stomping on the gas most time from red lights. I suppose I am not always driving it hard, probably 50% of the time I'll dog the car, and the other 50% I am an old man driver.

Just notice you have Dinan S1 too, amazing you still get 20+MPG.

BTW, any problem on the car since you get the Dinan installed?

I do wonder if the Dinan was installed correctly sometimes. I notice a lot more power at highway speeds, but if I am going strictly off of 0-60 times, there doesn't seem to be hardly any change. I did not get my software installed at a BMW dealership, but instead at Autoscope in Dallas. They agreed that it didn't seem to change the 0-60 time much at all. We rechecked the install, and I watched them recheck it. The computer confirmed that the software was installed. I've since had it checked at another dealership, and it confirmed it was installed as well.

I installed the software on day 1 from having the vehicle, so I really don't have another driving comparison. After having the Dinan S1 software for about a week, I got a "cylinder misfire #5,7,8" error reading on my dash. The dash said it was still driveable but to drive with caution. Took it into the dealership and they said they essentially reflashed the computer (checked the Dinan S1 and it was still installed) and the car has been perfect ever since. It's got 41,500 on it now. It does burn through oil pretty quickly though.

i run 93 octane, if i am not paying attention to my driving style, i get 18.5mpg which includes some spirited driving, but not all the time. if I am really trying i am able to gett 22mpg on the highway. when i took my car to the track i got 6 mpg while on the track!