A rare F10 car meet today

A few SA's were confused.
A tech thought he was seeing double.
The parts guys had to come out and see!
Curious onlookers knew something was very special, but they just weren't sure what it was.

What was it?
Two Alpine White BMW 550i xDrive Dinan Stage 3's met at BMW of SS today.

That's right wdimagineer and yours truly met up today to share in our pride of modified F10's, swap some car stories, and to pick up some more parts from the GetBMWparts guys. BTW, it was good meeting you wdimagineer!















Okay so what's new about Stage 3 over Stage 2?
Well, I only have 40 miles with the new exhaust and tune, but here's what I noticed. The Efficient Dynamics display now works. I was somewhat surprised to see the little blue display to illuminate. Also, probably since it was just reprogrammed and hadn't adjusted to my driving style yet, the tranny also held gear at much lower rpms. It was possible to accelerate from 1,000 rpms without a downshift. Kind of reminds me how how diesels just pull you out of hole without needing the aid dropping a bunch of gears.

Oh wait, I bet people want to know how it sounds. Well from behind the car, at idle it sounds like a couple of helicopters are about to pop over the tree line for a rocket attack. I made a phone recording, but didn't capture the low frequencies at all. From the front of the car, very little of the low frequency sound makes it forward. Inside the car, it is Jekyll & Hyde. At low rpms and applying the gas, the frequency is low and sound was pronounced. At mid rpms the sound is pure driving enjoyment. At high rpms, it was... I don't remember, I was like holy crap I think this car is even faster. Oh I almost forgot the J&H reference, well when you coast, the car is no louder than stock. I guess there is some advantage to having that vacuum controlled valve in the exhaust. I know what I'll be doing when I pass cop on the side of the road.

I'll provide more feedback soon, as I'm starting a 2,000+ mile road-trip in a couple of days.

DROOL!!! Dang, now I've got to go get a mop and clean up. Great cars guys.

Very nice indeed!

The pictures turned out great! It was a pleasure meeting you, too. The comments kept coming even after you left.

We will have to do this again once my new wheels turn up.

Originally Posted by wdimagineer

The pictures turned out great! It was a pleasure meeting you, too. The comments kept coming even after you left.

We will have to do this again once my new wheels turn up.

Sounds like a plan!

Nice, very clean looking cars guys.

I have never seen someone who is so much in love with his car and who loves modding. Funny thing is, threads like these usually show up in 1er or 3er forums and maybe M3, never in 5er. I guess you never know.

It's a great looking car by the way, don't get me wrong, I really like the diffuser, exhaust, and color combination, you have done a great job.

Have not been to BMW SS (Tischer) in a while. Is that where the old service drop off was? It looks enclosed now and with a nice floor - it was just a canopy before. Great looking rides.

Originally Posted by ksoze

Have not been to BMW SS (Tischer) in a while. Is that where the old service drop off was? It looks enclosed now and with a nice floor - it was just a canopy before. Great looking rides.

Thanks and yes, both Audi and Porsche moved up the road into new facilities and the BMW expanded into their spaces and did a remodel. It's not as fancy as say Passport, but it's a lot nicer looking (on the inside) than it was. I feel I need to mention the loaners that I have received so far, a 535iGT and a 528i, are a lot nicer than the Enterprise cars I got stuck with from the nearby Mercedes and Audi dealers.

Great write-up, and a nice way to start the day! You two have fabulous cars. It "sounds" like you had fun with the staff!

I also want to thank you both, as I've learned a lot from your contributions to Bimmerfest. As noted, it's great to see real love with the 5-ers! Even with my stock 535, I feel the "love!"

2 great looking cars!

Dunderhi - your grille doesn't look like the 550i grille. Do you also have night vision like WD imagineer or are you running a 535i grille?

Also the efficient dynamics gauge also works on the Stage 2 tune now since the did the 2012 update of the software.

I am very curious to hear the difference between stage 3 and stage 2 and if it is perceptible,

Dunderhi does have Night Vision. The parts I picked up yesterday included my correct iDrive controller and a replacement set of grilles for my car. I'm having them painted. Hopefully I'll be able to install them soon.

The housing for the NV camera is gigantic.

Did you find out about the dyno? I'd love to know if it made 540whp?

Originally Posted by jimefam

Did you find out about the dyno? I'd love to know if it made 540whp?

Unfortunately, yes. It was a load of crap. BMWSS does not have a dyno. The tech was apparently spouting numbers based on his diagnostic computer and relayed that to my CA.

I want to get it on the dyno as soon as possible, though. Just need to find a place local to me.

Originally Posted by Stealth.Pilot

I am very curious to hear the difference between stage 3 and stage 2 and if it is perceptible,

Unfortunately, I put the bike rack and the bikes on the roof today, loaded up the trunk, and even partially filled the back seat in prep for a three week road trip that starts tomorrow. So everyone will need to wait until April before I can hit the track again to measure if there is a meaningful difference between Stage 2 and Stage 3.

Originally Posted by dunderhi

Unfortunately, I put the bike rack and the bikes on the roof today, loaded up the trunk, and even partially filled the back seat in prep for a three week road trip that starts tomorrow. So everyone will need to wait until April before I can hit the track again to measure if there is a meaningful difference between Stage 2 and Stage 3.

Then you won't be able to tell us. You won't be able to remember.

Originally Posted by Stealth.Pilot

Then you won't be able to tell us. You won't be able to remember.

I am getting older, so you may be right about the memory thing, but I would think timings at the track would be much better form of measurement than my butt-dyno.

Originally Posted by dunderhi

I am getting older, so you may be right about the memory thing, but I would think timings at the track would be much better form of measurement than my butt-dyno.

Yes great idea!