saw a 550i today with m 172 wheels.....its the sport 550i i beleive? does that mean it has paddle shift on the wheel? couldnt see inside

 

You will know an ///M by the accents, M badges, vents, although you might run across some clones. A regular 550i will have the 550i badge. Just because it has 172 style wheels means nothing. It can also have and not have the paddles.

 

good to know so most likely it was a 550i with sport package

 

Lots of people make their cars look like m series cars. Front and rear bumpers and wheels are the most common. Round mirrors and a round rear view mirror is usually what I look for.

 

A 550i M sport will not have M badges except on the wheels nor will it have fender vents unless someone swapped some M5 fenders onto it. It will have a regular 550i badge on the rear, will be lower than a normal 5 series due to the M suspension, it will have the M tech front and rear bumpers as well as the side shirts. It will also have black tips on the exhaust. The car will also have a black headliner as well as black "shadowline" trim opposed to the chrome trim around the windows.

I think that covers it?

 

I think he was talking about an ///M5 not a sport.