[-jay-]

Took the X3 off roading last month, I think. Thought I'd post up some of the pics on here.
Went up to Tahuya, WA to see how the X3 handles the dirt/rocks/mud.
Stock suspension, wheels/tires. All iPhone pics.

Best part of the day was when the Jeep on the left and his other Jeep buddies were just staring at me go through the mud and taking pics. lol. He probably posted the pics on a Jeep forum and talking trash that BMW's don't belong in the mud. haha.

My spotter failed me and I ended up hitting a small tree stump which is why my bumper is dented
oh well. now I have an excuse to buy the Aerodynamic bumper :thumbup:

Looks so tiny next to my buddy's Tundra

got that 3 wheel motion. lol

She survived! The aftermath pics:

Playing in the mud

All in all, I had a blast driving the X3 in the mud/dirt. Pretty capable little SAV. :hi:

 

[suthtow]

Just awesome.... love it.... keep up the good work.

Sent from my C771 using Bimmer App

 

[mlukas161]

That's an awesome set of pictures! Thanks for sharing.

 

[X3-terrestrial]

Cool! Love the last/sig pic!

 

[spokelizard]

Sweet! I love to see these cars driven and getting messy!

Curious, what dash lights were flashing when you were 3-wheeling?

 

[-jay-]

thanks guys :hi:

spoke: the only light i noticed was the traction light whenever i'd lose traction. i'm sure the 4x4 light would've lit up too, but i need to replace my transfer case actuator so my 4x4 is always lit up anyway. lol.
and yes, i did the free fix for the actuator. but about a week or 2 after i did the fix, the trio of lights lit up again. so i figured i'd just save up to get a new one.

 

[AzNMpower32]

Nice!

 

[boramkiv]

Very Nice post. I love reading these because people dont realize
these X's can hold their own off road and not just a golf course.
I took my X5 through some mud in Tennesse about 4 months after
I brought it and this guy was like " I wouldnt go in there with that 2 wheel
drive vehicle". I'm like haha watch this!! Did pretty good.

 

[sjladopoulos]

These are the best pics I ve seen on this forum!
Good for you for having the @@ to take it off-road!
The X3 must be proud of you, and vice versa

Great Stuff!

 

[DrummerMan]

Very Cool!!! Thanks for posting!

Charlie
07 X3 6MT silver-gray/black-sand sport/premium/xenon/heated/privacy

 

[MADBMWX3]

Sweet!

 

[-jay-]

Thanks all. I'm surprised by the fact that you all like that I took the X3 off road. I was expecting to see some hate/objections :rofl:

But yea the X3 handled it all extremely well. There was only a couple of times when I doubted if I'd make it up a couple of the hills or not. But that doubt was mainly due to the fact that I was on all weather tires. I'll definitely be taking her out there again.

I loved the looks that I was getting when I was driving back home with mud all over the X3. My favorite was from an older lady in a brand new Audi Q5 with dealer plates still on it. She looked at me completely disgusted. :rofl:
I liked the look she gave me so much that I kept my X3 muddy for the next couple of days to see how many more dirty looks I could get. lol

 

[S85FTW]

There shouldn't be any hate for taking an x3 off roading. That is what they were built for. It does not look out of place at all and looks happy to be there. Those are some cool photos. Take it out more just don't roll it!

 

[mletchworth]

There shouldn't be any hate for taking an x3 off roading. That is what they were built for. It does not look out of place at all and looks happy to be there. Those are some cool photos. Take it out more just don't roll it!

Definitely the best thread I've seen on here in a while. BTW, what tires are you running? I've seen somebody on one of these forums has Toyo OpenCountry A/T, which I bet would be great at slinging some mud.

 

[mlukas161]

I really miss offroading. Here are a few pics of my vehicle before I sold it and bought the 330i. I really regret selling it... Although I still have an old beater Jeep for going offroad.

 

[TexasTurk]

Definitely the best thread I've seen on here in a while. BTW, what tires are you running? I've seen somebody on one of these forums has Toyo OpenCountry A/T, which I bet would be great at slinging some mud.

Yep, that's me, A/T's on the wife's '04 X3 3.0i, with 6spd. Fitment etc.:
http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/showthread.php?t=582160&highlight=toyo

Great photos and looks like a fun day OP, btw. I think this is actually a fantastic car/truck/thing for that kind of offroading, as the on-road manners are far better than those rigs that'll handle serious crawling.

We are several thousand miles in on those tires and so far so good. We have done some really mild trails on them and no issues, but I haven't found anyplace as nice as the OP's outing. Once the weather cools down a bit we may get it back out on the beach where I expect some improvement as well.

 

[ioannis214]

Great pics... Just great! Specially like the mud water crossing! Still haven't tried out the off roading a ilities of my x3. I'm only a year old on AWD cars and don't have any off road experience, neither has any of my friends so that I could venture iut together ith them so that I cam be initiated in it. And I'm pretty scared nit to get stuck anywhere and then can't find help to get moving again. Ideally I would like one competent car and driver near me so that I can get help if need. On top of that My wife and baby at the moment wouldn't appreciate being stuck either!! Soon, though,it will happen.... If more pics like this keep coming....

 

[can0n4]

Folks, unless you know how to tow a car like the X3 the proper way I would seriously reconsider getting yourselves stuck. Assuming you've managed to hook up a proper tow strap (not chains) to the correct components on the front end, AND youre willing to trust the guy pulling you out with his 1 ton pickup, and youre willing to take a few scratches on your body, I'd still be leary of causing issues with an already extremely tempermental vehicle.

 

[TexasTurk]

Folks, unless you know how to tow a car like the X3 the proper way I would seriously reconsider getting yourselves stuck. Assuming you've managed to hook up a proper tow strap (not chains) to the correct components on the front end, AND youre willing to trust the guy pulling you out with his 1 ton pickup, and youre willing to take a few scratches on your body, I'd still be leary of causing issues with an already extremely tempermental vehicle.

I'm not quite sure I follow here. Do you mean towing like, five feet to get you unstuck? Or some other kind?

Though you're right, flying rocks/gravel can take out windows etc. as well as scratches. Spotters are helpful, especially if they have some experience. A winch is a possibility, though I haven't worked details of that idea too hard just yet.

 

[can0n4]

I'm not quite sure I follow here. Do you mean towing like, five feet to get you unstuck? Or some other kind?

Either. Not trying to put down anyone who offroads in the X3. I loved seeing these pictures and even showing them off to a few friends who don't believe in the X3 like I do. What i was referring to, are the ones who have never offroaded and now feel as if they have a Jeep. Experienced or not, if you go in the mud you may get stuck. Then what? Tie a chain to your control arm? To the tow hook in the bumper? I wish I still had a picture of the two hook that got ripped out of my 325 years ago when we got hit with a blizzard in NY. Didn't take much. Tow hooks are made for moving the vehicle on and off a trailer/flat bed. Not hooking to the bumper of a pickup.

After reading about transfer case issues, dashlight issues, vehicles going in limp mode, etc... I'd be cautious to put my car in a situation that would put serious strain on a $40,000 luxury SAV for the sake of saying I got it muddy.

+1 for all those guys who take it camping, hiking, exploring. But to put it in the mud for the sake of getting it muddy.... i dont know. Not saying anything really.....

Moral of the story, Don't go in the mud unless you know, really know, how to get out.