the age old debate 535 or 550? its like trying to pick between two hot women. its all a matter of preference, which include a lot of factors. Both are great cars. I love my 535 so I am biased to that but i wouldnt return the 550. Id rather have an m5, but that doesnt make it better than the 535 either just a different type of car.

 

I can't help that the 550 guys keep chickening out! I was ready for every race that I said I would be, the 550 was a no-show 3 times.

 

Turbos have been around since the 1930's and have been in every big rig truckers that run 24hrs/day everyday. The turbo is a simple device and has any bugs worked out for decades.

 

January 16th eve it will go in to the dealer. The 535 needs to have the ecu removed and sent to Dinan because of the new connectors that have not been supplied to dealers yet. In a few months the dealer can do it in shop in about an hour. Its supposed to be at Dinan on the 17th and back to my dealer on the 18th.
This is the only upgrade I am contemplating because its only a software download and still covers me with a 4yr/50k mile warranty. My knowledge and anticipation of this download when I was selecting between the 550 and 535 was a huge reason I did not get the now slower 550, either in acceleration or top speed. I know the 550 guys will say its not about only the power but I did not want to have the 550 and experience 535's blowing me away. BMW made a mistake even making the stock 535 within a tenth or two tenths of a second difference between the two. Now with the word that the twin turbo v8 may only be a year away in the e60, I think it left the 550 guys high and dry.

 

It's all about what you want out of your car and what you want to do with it.

 

I did the exact same thing. I had a 535i ordered and then went to the dealership to make some changes and got an offer on a 550i, Sports Pkg., 6MT that I simply could not refuse. The feel of the 535i was good (great by most standards) yet because it reaches the peak torque at 1400 rpm, it felt a little flat from there on. The 550i doesn't even know what "flat" means! The handling and feel just cannot be matched. Not once have I looked at a 535i and thought I wish I had gotten it instead. If the 550i is within your budget then it really is a no-brainer.

 

Agreed

 

Agreed, I have never owned a turbo charged car to make comments. In my humble opinion, adding turbos and superchargers increase the complexity, treatment of a vehicle and added stress that the additional boost makes on the engine. I have heard many stories of blown turbos that cost a decent amount of money to fix. I know turbos have come along way. With no long term tests to prove that they have worked all of the kinks out, I am not willing to jump on the band wagon just yet. Now with the introduction of the V8 turbo, I will wait again and see if I want to upgrade. I also made the mistake with being an early adopter of a MY04, there were recalls, many SIBs and too many trips to service.

It is great that BMW has introduced turbo technology in their new models, lets hope that trying to stay competitive does not affect their quality assurance. Now with the Dinan/Vishnu enhancing performance on the 535s, what other problems will surface later on. I do not know many people that have held on to turbo cars for the long haul, because of the cost of ownership.

At least, if I hold on to my 550 for the long run, my computers will die, but my engine will still be running, sort of.

 

+1

I think it is unfair to compare the 535 to 550.... both are great cars but come on guys we're talking a 4.8l V8 BMW here!!!

 

Thats great if you are going to put it on a tee shirt, its not what the engine is- its what it can do. But mostly people buy BMW's for prestige and the V8 has better curb appeal, at least for now.