4.8is

This is my second post. In my first post I mentioned that I bought a 2008 550i with 14000 miles, black with beige, sport package. I sincerley thank everyone for the warm response welcoming me on board.

Well I picked it up yesterday and absolutely love it. The looks, the drive, even the sound are just amazing. My ride home was 50 miles and I think I was grinning the whole time. The sound system is great, I even like the i drive. The best part is even my wife really likes it. It is the perfect combination of luxury, sport, sophistication and performance. My only very minor questions / concerns are:

1) it has Continental Sportcontact 2 tires (19 inch). I can't find much info on these tires but suspect they are a summer tire. As I am in NJ, and since they have 14K miles on them, I think I want to replace them. Any recommendations? I am leaning towards an All Season tire, but am curious if most people go with a winter set and a summer set of tires.

2) after turning off the car and sitting inside (still admiring it), I noticed a sound coming from the nav disc unit area (in cernter console). It sounded like something was still running, and then after 4-5 minutes, it did stop. Is this normal?

3) During the drive home, I think I may have noticed an almost imperceptable vibration, not in the steering wheel, but something I could feel. It seemed to be right at around 60 mph, but again I may have been imaging it. If one of the wheels is bent, how would I know it?

4) I want to replace the mats. I'll probably just get another set of BMW beige carpetted mats, but am curious if there are any after markets that match colorwise that are nicer.

Again, I am thrilled with the 550 and recommed if anyone is thinking about one to purchase, I think you'll be pleased.

Thanks folks.

Bruce

kscarrol

1) Yes, the Conti's are summer tires. I've never had to deal with the snow but many have a separate set of winter wheels and tires.

2) Normal. The car stays "awake" for some time after shutting down.

3) Could be one of several things. The rims, a minor balance issue or even a small imperfection in the tire that the previous owner did not notice...

B_Bake

Hey Bruce nice pickup, as for #4 I have an extra set of mats from my 5er that are the beige color. I usually use these in the summer months when its not so wet out here in Seattle, which yes is pretty much all the time. But this summer I kept the black mats in all year long as I like the look of it better with the two tone black and beige dash that I have. They are the oem, beige with black bmw print. PM me if interested

sdg1871

I run on summer tires in the warm months and dedicated snows in the winter months. For summers, I run the wonderful and highly-regarded Hankook Ventus V12 Evo. Lots of members have them and like them. For winters, I run the Dunlop Wintersports. The Dunlops are not as grippy in the snow as some of the more hardcore snow and ice tires but they have good dry roas performance, making them a good candidate for New York City area winters.

bha7176

Seriously, if you can swing it, go pick up a cheap used jeep or some other 4 or all wheel drive vehicle - hell even a front wheel drive one and leave the 550 at home when it snows. for the money you will spend on new wheels and tires, not to mention the increased maint of driving a beauty like you have there around in all that salt and cinders, you could pick up something relatively cheap and not worry about it. Only my opinion - some do drive theirs year round and have no issues. Not me. I park it when the snow comes and for most of the cold months actually. Good luck man!

v_therussian

That vibration could be a sign of an ailment, that's probably still pretty new to you - its called the E60 owner's syndrome and it manifests in all kinds of obscure ways. From symptoms like carwash vertigo, to paint finish OCC, to acute schizophrenia, to severe parallel parking paranoia, and finally the very nasty dealer/mechanic shop depression. Scientists believe that the E60 BMW is so well-designed, that it provides its owner with extremely elevated levels of dopamine and serotonin, which in turn results in severe depression whenever the said owner/operator of the E60 is separated from his/her vehicle (sometimes surgically) Owners of such vehicles are urged to grab a glass of their favorite beverage and convene on the 5series.net for therapy every night.

In other words, home

Congrats on your newly acquired 550!

PS on the mats, I strongly recommend getting OEM rubber mats. Find Garry Romani's thread on this forum - he gives a standing 25% discount for all OEM parts to forum members, order a set of rubber mats - otherwise the carpeting even under the mats will eventually turn to filth. And once you get comfortable with her and get all the mechanicals checked, take her through some curvy roads at a nice pace - you'll know why after

Rudy

Congrats on the car!

As far as the snow tires are concerned, as others have said, most people run a set of dedicated snow tires on rims a bit smaller in diameter than the summer set. In my opinion, running all-season tires on a 550i would be a huge mistake.

Give the Tire Rack a call http://www.tirerack.com and they'll get you set up with something that fits and works well...

Mercy

Just do what I do, put the car away for the winter. Problem solved

user 4639202

Congrats on the new ride.

4.8is

Thanks for all of the feedback folks. I plan to take the car to the dealer just to have it checked out and to see of the vibration is indeed my imagination. I agree that we probably tend to be hyper sensitive to all things in these vehicles. I think I am also convinced to get a set of winter wheels / tires, and then a separate summer set. Still spending time with the owner's manual to learn as much as I can. Thanks again for all of the insights.

Bruce