Ordered 2013 X5 50i

Originally Posted by MRV99

BMW uses a dry application/bake process to paint these cars. You no longer have the wet/bake.

Sorry, not true for the BMW´s that come from Greenville S.C. Up here we use a new paint process called IPP. Integrated Paint Process, or wet on wet. We put the prime on, then we put the base on while the prime is still wet. Then we run it through a short oven, those coats are not fully dry when we apply the clear. This process has nothing to do with why these cars have orange peel.

Originally Posted by arrivederci

Mine is finally on a truck headed to Denver. They expect delivery on Wednesday, so it should be ready for pickup on Thursday or Friday. My guess is that yours is on the way as well. You got me thinking about a bow for my wife. And to think a new BMW isn't enough?

My CA called today and said mine left SC at 8:52pm yesterday. I am sure they are on the same truck then. He said they will most likely receive it at the dealership on Monday! You may see your X5 on Tuesday.

Originally Posted by TurboBusa

Sorry, not true for the BMW´s that come from Greenville S.C. Up here we use a new paint process called IPP. Integrated Paint Process, or wet on wet. We put the prime on, then we put the base on while the prime is still wet. Then we run it through a short oven, those coats are not fully dry when we apply the clear. This process has nothing to do with why these cars have orange peel.

Can you elaborate on why then????? Is it common knowledge at the factory that the paint sucks?

Jay

Originally Posted by jashearer

Can you elaborate on why then????? Is it common knowledge at the factory that the paint sucks?

The common knowledge at BMW is, we put a good quality paint job on the vehicles. I will agree it has some orange peel on it, but no more or less than some of the other automobile plants that I have been to with Mercedes being the worst and Nissan being the best. Some manufactures seem to care more about orange peel than others. I have discussed orange peel with the big 3 paint suppliers, BASF, DuPont, and PPG. There are so many factors that come into play with orange peel. Things like, spray pattern, bell speed, voltage, material, % of solids in the material, the material that you are painting (metal vs aluminum) and most importantly, film build. The technicality’s of orange peel are well over my head. I just program the robots that do the painting, I make sure the colors match, the film builds are correct and that the entire vehicle is covered. And its hard enough keeping up with all of that.

Originally Posted by TurboBusa

The common knowledge at BMW is, we put a good quality paint job on the vehicles. I will agree it has some orange peel on it, but no more or less than some of the other automobile plants that I have been to with Mercedes being the worst and Nissan being the best. Some manufactures seem to care more about orange peel than others. I have discussed orange peel with the big 3 paint suppliers, BASF, DuPont, and PPG. There are so many factors that come into play with orange peel. Things like, spray pattern, bell speed, voltage, material, % of solids in the material, the material that you are painting (metal vs aluminum) and most importantly, film build. The technicality’s of orange peel are well over my head. I just program the robots that do the painting, I make sure the colors match, the film builds are correct and that the entire vehicle is covered. And its hard enough keeping up with all of that.

Appreciate the color. To expand on my comparison to GM products, my truck and V are both 6-8 years old, so its very possible my comparison is unfair with changing technology and regulations.

Jay

Per my CA, my car is in "production finished/quality check" status. Should have it before the new year.

Originally Posted by TurboBusa

. Some manufactures seem to care more about orange peel than others.

No doubt.....

X5 arrived at the dealer this morning and is going through the setup paces. The front windows will be tinted (30%) tomorrow and hopefully the DVD system will arrive and be installed as well. If not I'm taking delivery and leaving that on the to be done list. Wednesday is the delivery date!

Is there any difference in exhaust note between 2012 and 2013 Msports?

Originally Posted by ktono

X5 arrived at the dealer this morning and is going through the setup paces. The front windows will be tinted (30%) tomorrow and hopefully the DVD system will arrive and be installed as well. If not I'm taking delivery and leaving that on the to be done list. Wednesday is the delivery date!

Congrats. Hopefully the blizzard that is rolling into the eastern Colorado plains today (and probably Kansas too) won't delay things too much for us. We'll probably take delivery on Friday. I'm not using the dealer for tint and clear-bra. My snow wheels haven't arrived yet either.

Originally Posted by arrivederci

Congrats. Hopefully the blizzard that is rolling into the eastern Colorado plains today (and probably Kansas too) won't delay things too much for us. We'll probably take delivery on Friday. I'm not using the dealer for tint and clear-bra. My snow wheels haven't arrived yet either.

This reminds me, all this discussion of paint jobs really isn't too important for those of us in the Denver area. A new BMW finish will be forever blemished from the gravel put down on the roads here and which is kicked up by RTD buses hogging the left lane or blown at hurricane force speeds into body panels from every direction. One my my BMWs actually had rock impacts in the driver side window and mirror. I don't even know how that's possible . . .

10am tomorrow is the official first look and start of the delivery and paperwork process. My CA called tonight and said that the DVD was installed and the windows finished and it is 100% ready.

Initial voyage will be to a basketball game with 4 screaming Cub Scouts and 3 adults so a full load! Throw in a little snow and this should be a memorable start.

Hope the Denver snow is not too bad and your delivery is still on track.

It's been a busy few days but the delivery process at the dealership went very smooth. There is night and day difference between the new 2013 50i with the 20" sport package and my old 2010 48i with the stock 18" wheels. It is noticeably quicker and shifts very smooth. I am very satisfied with the new X5 and can't wait for good weather to really put it through its paces.

Here are some pics including after driving on 3" of snow and ice on day two..

Deleted

Beautiful truck! and what a beautiful garage u have in pic 1
ps take a cold start exhaust video tomorrow in the morning and post it
good luck Rob

Originally Posted by 5seriesHB

Beautiful truck! and what a beautiful garage u have in pic 1
ps take a cold start exhaust video tomorrow in the morning and post it
good luck Rob

Ktono:cold start video please! are u happy without AD?
write a mini review so far! i just passed 1200 miles...cars a beast!
20" have a bit of a rough ride i notice!
and yes u should definitely get alignment checked... mine was so off! crazy!
rob

I don't have a cold start video to post yet and it's warmed up too much for a good one. Glad to hear that you like the "beast"!

Since I had a 2010 48i prior to this, I will provide some comparisons.

Likes:
- The sound of the exhaust on startup is amazing and much better than the 48i.

- The handling, especially turn in is noticeably quicker and turning is more responsive.

- The sport seats are a significant upgrade over the base seats and really provide a supportive and athletic feeling posture.

- The paddle shifting is cool but have not used it enough. I also noticed that the sport steering wheel is about 10% smaller than the standard wheel and much more hefty and less plastic feeling.

- The speed is unbelievably fast for an SUV. I am sure this will be troublesome as I tend to have a heavy foot. The only saving grace
is that with the 8 speed you have to downshift 3 times at highway speed before you really get into the quick rev range for swift passing. With the 2010 6 speed it was 1-2 down but the lack of power between the two is substantial. Way to go twin turbos. On a side note, I am taking it to my wife's company to see if they have any supercharger systems for it. Based on their other systems I'm guessing I could easily get 30-50% power increases, forget Dinan!

- The 2010 could not stream music from my iPhone. Still have not figured out the Bluetooth streaming but typically have to charge it anyway so I use the center console USB port.

- Love the look of the 20" wheels over the spoke wheels I seem to always have.

Dislikes:
- The ride is a bit rougher which is very noticeable when you least expect it. Knew that going in with the change from the 18s.

- Missing the moveable luggage tie down tracks in the back storage compartment. I actually used the vehicle to carry stuff from the hardware store.

- I absolutely hate the smartphone docking thing in the center console. I would love to remove it as I see NO value in it. Is this possible without any wires to disconnect that would affect BMW Apps?

The dislikes are minimal and FAR outweighed by the power and speed of this animal! It is by far the most enjoyable ride I have had in an SUV. I looked at the GL450 before "settling" on virtually the same looking X5 as my 2010. This time around I decided to spice things up from the 2010 and the change is dramatic every time I get in the vehicle.

As for AD, I'm not sad I passed on it this time but have never driven one with AD. From reading all the AD posts, the proof is in the pudding and I've never had a taste.

Rob - thanks for the follow up, man! Keep the posts coming.

Make sure you break in the car in DS mode for a fuller RPM range.

Way to go twin turbos. On a side note, I am taking it to my wife's company to see if they have any supercharger systems for it. Based on their other systems I'm guessing I could easily get 30-50% power increases, forget Dinan!

You realize that adding a supercharger is redundant when you already have a boosted engine right?

There are some instances when having turbo & super charging is necessary, a daily driven x5 is not one.

Jay

Originally Posted by TurboBusa

The common knowledge at BMW is, we put a good quality paint job on the vehicles.

Did you ever type "BMW orange peel" into google?

Originally Posted by jashearer

There are some instances when having turbo & super charging is necessary, a daily driven x5 is not one.

Jay

I assume he meant taking out the turbo and replacing with a supercharger.

Ktono:
Beautiful write up sir
I agree with the ride
I was a huge advocate of the AD
I test drove a bunch of vehicles with it
They were great! Handling was epic. Like unbelievable. The CPO
Manager did this crazy many maneuver from side to side when he was driving
The car handled like it was in rails '
I didn't have any near my home so I only had a 10 min test drive instead of an over the wkd test drive.
Everything always seems great on those.
With all the crazyness as the end of the approached and we went from considering an 2011 Msport that came w AD standard
And then all of a sudden I was Almost flying to san Francisco to get a 12 Msport Non Cpo 8k miles and when I found out I could get a brand new 12 for 3k less than a used car and for 12% under msrp I totally forgot about AD
Honestly I got soft close doors and the other 12 didn't have it.
U don't understand I literally love that invention
My kids sleep in the car
I can pop out 700 times and they never wake up
Whoever invented soft close meachanism should have one the Nobel peace prize
It was a no brainer to get it w little little kids
Love the car
The exhaust is literally so bad ass it almost seems like a mistake like its an
Aftermarket exhaust on a stock car! Lol
Ridiculous
Ps ur car looks amazing! Not just the color
The stance and all
All the best
Rob

Originally Posted by RockChips

I assume he meant taking out the turbo and replacing with a supercharger.

I assumed he was clueless. He did say "30 to 50%"...

But lets step aside and let the real automotive geniuses carry on the real conversation

Originally Posted by RockChips

Did you ever type "BMW orange peel" into google?

Maybe this it taking it too literal. Here is a Lime Rock edition M3 that was on the showroom floor in my dealer. I don't think the camera captured the extent of it. Really bad IMO.

Originally Posted by jashearer

You realize that adding a supercharger is redundant when you already have a boosted engine right?

There are some instances when having turbo & super charging is necessary, a daily driven x5 is not one.

Jay

Yes I do understand that. Wish they were dual superchargers. Fun to have their techs check it out as they will give me some stats on what their system could do. Since they manufacture the supercharges locally they love the Turbo vs. Supercharger debate and I like hearing about the power!