Adaptive Drive - smoother ride? (yes I know there are a million threads on it)
Ok before you blast me I know there are a million threads on this and I read through quite a few of them. Is the ride quality with adaptive drive BETTER than the X5 with standard suspension and stock RFT? I am coming from a 2012 with sport pack (19 inch wheels, sport suspension DELETE, michelin RFTs) and was wondering if the truck had AD would the impacts from bumps be softer.
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one word. Yes.
Came from a 2011 X5/19's(michelins)/standard suspension. Now have 2012 X5/20's (214's)/AD, handles crisp and tight around curves, bumps are not nearly as harsh, no body roll, but not "cushy". The 19's and stock suspension was not nearly as smooth over rough roads.
Came from a 2011 X5/19's(michelins)/standard suspension. Now have 2012 X5/20's (214's)/AD, handles crisp and tight around curves, bumps are not nearly as harsh, no body roll, but not "cushy". The 19's and stock suspension was not nearly as smooth over rough roads.
Thank you! Helps a lot.
Just posted the exact same feedback as 335i on the adaptive drive thread. 50i/M sport/20s/AD, smoother than 35i premium with 19's.
Any one else with feedback on 2VA in regards to ride comfort?
I have a diesel now with 20" wheels. It has the sport suspension delete. I find the ride to be poor. Not as far as impacts but rather the up and down motion of the body even over fairly flat pavement with some undulations. The 19" standard all seasons are better in the same car, although the jounce condition still exits, it is somewhat minimized. It is very fatiguing on long drives. I had the car for only three months and one of the reasons I wanted a different car was to get AD + 19s. Judging by all the feedback I read here, it would fix that issue completely. I've searched all over to find a car with AD and at this point driven three cars with AD.
The first one was a 50i 2011 M-Sport with AD and 20s factory Bridgestones. I found the ride to be pretty stable but still firm, very responsive to steering inputs. There was just not enough rough pavement on the test drive to be sure of the comfort of this setup. Couldn't tell much difference between sport and normal setting.
The next car I drove was the same day at a different dealer over much rougher pavement. This was a 2010 3.0 with M-Sport and adaptive drive with staggered factory 19s and factory Continentals. This car rode really bad. The jounce was unbearable and the impact harshness was terrible. It also had a very floaty feeling that I absolutely hated. The sport mode felt noticeably better as far as float goes. I would run from this car into my diesel.
They also had a brand new 13 35i M-sport with 20s, Bridgestones. The M-Sport comes with Sport suspension in this car. Driving over the same bumps and potholes as with the 10 + AD, this car felt great. It quickly controlled jounce and impacts were soaked up much better. I was surprised by how well it rode with the 20s and Sport suspension. Car felt light on it's feet.
Unsatisfied with my experience as far as answering the questions I had with ordering my next car and the suspension/wheel options, I set out on another test drive with a different dealer the very next day. They told me they had a 13 50i M-sport. This is the one car I haven't driven yet. I was hoping it would be the Standard M-Sport with the Air self leveling suspension. Dealer was clueless as most are. I was pretty confident it would be since almost none are ordered with the AD for dealer inventory. Imagine my surprise when I noticed the Sport button under the shift lever. This car had AD, M-performance on top of M-sport and 19" Continentals. This is the exact combo I almost ordered, sight unseen based on all the talk about AD here. I was glad now they had it. Took a pretty extensive test drive in it. Over rough pavement and a few turns and open stretches. What can I say, I'm sure glad I drove this car. The floaty feeling I had in the 2010 the previous day was present, albeit to a much lesser degree. I didn't find the ride to be either comfortable or sporty. It handled rough pavement rather poorly with impact harshness pretty unsettling. The steering also felt numb. On the high note, the engine is glorious. You can really feel the extra power over a standard 50i. And that sound! :drive:
Having never driven the car, I ended up ordering the M-sport/M-perfromace standard air, self leveling setup with the 20s. Will report back in two weeks.
.
The first one was a 50i 2011 M-Sport with AD and 20s factory Bridgestones. I found the ride to be pretty stable but still firm, very responsive to steering inputs. There was just not enough rough pavement on the test drive to be sure of the comfort of this setup. Couldn't tell much difference between sport and normal setting.
The next car I drove was the same day at a different dealer over much rougher pavement. This was a 2010 3.0 with M-Sport and adaptive drive with staggered factory 19s and factory Continentals. This car rode really bad. The jounce was unbearable and the impact harshness was terrible. It also had a very floaty feeling that I absolutely hated. The sport mode felt noticeably better as far as float goes. I would run from this car into my diesel.
They also had a brand new 13 35i M-sport with 20s, Bridgestones. The M-Sport comes with Sport suspension in this car. Driving over the same bumps and potholes as with the 10 + AD, this car felt great. It quickly controlled jounce and impacts were soaked up much better. I was surprised by how well it rode with the 20s and Sport suspension. Car felt light on it's feet.
Unsatisfied with my experience as far as answering the questions I had with ordering my next car and the suspension/wheel options, I set out on another test drive with a different dealer the very next day. They told me they had a 13 50i M-sport. This is the one car I haven't driven yet. I was hoping it would be the Standard M-Sport with the Air self leveling suspension. Dealer was clueless as most are. I was pretty confident it would be since almost none are ordered with the AD for dealer inventory. Imagine my surprise when I noticed the Sport button under the shift lever. This car had AD, M-performance on top of M-sport and 19" Continentals. This is the exact combo I almost ordered, sight unseen based on all the talk about AD here. I was glad now they had it. Took a pretty extensive test drive in it. Over rough pavement and a few turns and open stretches. What can I say, I'm sure glad I drove this car. The floaty feeling I had in the 2010 the previous day was present, albeit to a much lesser degree. I didn't find the ride to be either comfortable or sporty. It handled rough pavement rather poorly with impact harshness pretty unsettling. The steering also felt numb. On the high note, the engine is glorious. You can really feel the extra power over a standard 50i. And that sound! :drive:
Having never driven the car, I ended up ordering the M-sport/M-perfromace standard air, self leveling setup with the 20s. Will report back in two weeks.
.
I'll have my X5 35d with 19's and AD on Saturday, so I'll be able to comment on the ride by Sunday.
This scares me... I am not getting M-sport with AD so I will only have 255 wide 19 inch tires with AD. Ugh.
I have a diesel now with 20" wheels. It has the sport suspension delete. I find the ride to be poor. Not as far as impacts but rather the up and down motion of the body even over fairly flat pavement with some undulations. The 19" standard all seasons are better in the same car, although the jounce condition still exits, it is somewhat minimized. It is very fatiguing on long drives. I had the car for only three months and one of the reasons I wanted a different car was to get AD + 19s. Judging by all the feedback I read here, it would fix that issue completely. I've searched all over to find a car with AD and at this point driven three cars with AD.
The first one was a 50i 2011 M-Sport with AD and 20s factory Bridgestones. I found the ride to be pretty stable but still firm, very responsive to steering inputs. There was just not enough rough pavement on the test drive to be sure of the comfort of this setup. Couldn't tell much difference between sport and normal setting.
The next car I drove was the same day at a different dealer over much rougher pavement. This was a 2010 3.0 with M-Sport and adaptive drive with staggered factory 19s and factory Continentals. This car rode really bad. The jounce was unbearable and the impact harshness was terrible. It also had a very floaty feeling that I absolutely hated. The sport mode felt noticeably better as far as float goes. I would run from this car into my diesel.
They also had a brand new 13 35i M-sport with 20s, Bridgestones. The M-Sport comes with Sport suspension in this car. Driving over the same bumps and potholes as with the 10 + AD, this car felt great. It quickly controlled jounce and impacts were soaked up much better. I was surprised by how well it rode with the 20s and Sport suspension. Car felt light on it's feet.
Unsatisfied with my experience as far as answering the questions I had with ordering my next car and the suspension/wheel options, I set out on another test drive with a different dealer the very next day. They told me they had a 13 50i M-sport. This is the one car I haven't driven yet. I was hoping it would be the Standard M-Sport with the Air self leveling suspension. Dealer was clueless as most are. I was pretty confident it would be since almost none are ordered with the AD for dealer inventory. Imagine my surprise when I noticed the Sport button under the shift lever. This car had AD, M-performance on top of M-sport and 19" Continentals. This is the exact combo I almost ordered, sight unseen based on all the talk about AD here. I was glad now they had it. Took a pretty extensive test drive in it. Over rough pavement and a few turns and open stretches. What can I say, I'm sure glad I drove this car. The floaty feeling I had in the 2010 the previous day was present, albeit to a much lesser degree. I didn't find the ride to be either comfortable or sporty. It handled rough pavement rather poorly with impact harshness pretty unsettling. The steering also felt numb. On the high note, the engine is glorious. You can really feel the extra power over a standard 50i. And that sound! :drive:
Having never driven the car, I ended up ordering the M-sport/M-perfromace standard air, self leveling setup with the 20s. Will report back in two weeks.
.
AD is AD, it's the same in every trim. I think the floaty feeling and numb steering I got with AD was partially a consequence of the 19 M-Sport Continental summer tires. The all season Michelins handle pretty well in the standard trim.
This scares me... I am not getting M-sport with AD so I will only have 255 wide 19 inch tires with AD. Ugh.
It isnt the tire sizes..ITS THE TIRES.
90% of posters here ignore tire models..(indeed, it is as if all BMWs come with one tire called "Stock Run Flats".)
Alignment and tire brand are critical to the overall ride quality.
Both my ADs had Michelins 255/50-19 Latitudes. Fine ride, IMO. Actually I wondered if all AD cars get Michelins?
90% of posters here ignore tire models..(indeed, it is as if all BMWs come with one tire called "Stock Run Flats".)
Alignment and tire brand are critical to the overall ride quality.
Both my ADs had Michelins 255/50-19 Latitudes. Fine ride, IMO. Actually I wondered if all AD cars get Michelins?
This scares me... I am not getting M-sport with AD so I will only have 255 wide 19 inch tires with AD. Ugh.
Ard, +1
I agree totally that the big difference in ride quality is the particular tire being used in a given application.
My 2011 X5 Xdrive50i AD has Continental "4X4 Contact SSR" 255/50/19 Run Flats, so not all AD models get Michelin.
As everyone here probably knows by now, I am NUTS over my X5 with AD. However, I do not have a very good feel for how good or bad these particular tires are (nothing to compare to). My gut feel is I think they are at least "OK". I plan to keep the 19 inch wheels for winter tires, and maybe for summer too. For this winter I am thinking about either Nokian Hallapelitta R or Pirelli Scorpions, both of which I have heard are great tires (for slightly different reasons).
Next Spring I plan to purchase a tire to optimize the X's handling (maybe Michelin Latitude) and I may or may not stick with the 19s. If I go to 20s, it would only be for looks as I think the right tire on 19s would probably handle just as well (or maybe better) than the 20s (all depending on the tire). In all cases I am moving away from run flats and am getting the spare tire kit.
I agree totally that the big difference in ride quality is the particular tire being used in a given application.
My 2011 X5 Xdrive50i AD has Continental "4X4 Contact SSR" 255/50/19 Run Flats, so not all AD models get Michelin.
As everyone here probably knows by now, I am NUTS over my X5 with AD. However, I do not have a very good feel for how good or bad these particular tires are (nothing to compare to). My gut feel is I think they are at least "OK". I plan to keep the 19 inch wheels for winter tires, and maybe for summer too. For this winter I am thinking about either Nokian Hallapelitta R or Pirelli Scorpions, both of which I have heard are great tires (for slightly different reasons).
Next Spring I plan to purchase a tire to optimize the X's handling (maybe Michelin Latitude) and I may or may not stick with the 19s. If I go to 20s, it would only be for looks as I think the right tire on 19s would probably handle just as well (or maybe better) than the 20s (all depending on the tire). In all cases I am moving away from run flats and am getting the spare tire kit.
I don't know about how well the Scorpions do on an X5, but I had them on a GL450 and it was the most awful tire. After about 5-6k miles from new, the road noise was extremely loud and got as bad as a 20-year old Kia's would have been by 9-10k miles. The tires wore like a SOB and needed replacement after 11k. BTW, I had the alignment and balancing checked when they started making the noise and it checked out fine. Replaced with Bridgestones and they worked like a charm.
patiently waiting for your update
does having 220 - self leveling suspension help?
'help' what?
Help bake cookies?
Just a guess but since the thread is about ad providing a smoother ride, he's probably asking about whether the self leveling suspension also helps make the ride smoother.
Since the inflation is mainly for compensating for additional weight in the rear from tongue weight or extra cargo, I would guess it wouldn't have as much impact on everyday ride and handling when unloaded.
Jay
Just a guess but since the thread is about ad providing a smoother ride, he's probably asking about whether the self leveling suspension also helps make the ride smoother.
Since the inflation is mainly for compensating for additional weight in the rear from tongue weight or extra cargo, I would guess it wouldn't have as much impact on everyday ride and handling when unloaded.
Jay
Thank you Jay
I have 2012 x5 35d with 20" AD and it is harsh drive but I like it,depends what u like,more softer ride is 19" AD,but I like feeling of conection to the road with 20"AD
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