Rudy's full review of the 2008 550i Sport Automatic
09-06-2007, 08:04 AM
#121
Senior Members
Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: Chicago
Posts: 977
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
My Ride: 2006 BMW 550i "Ben Hogan's 5 Iron"
SilverGrey/Black Sport, L7, NAV, CW, AS, Split FR
2003 Audi A4 3.0 CVT "Part of the Moniker"
Silver/Ebony, Prem, CW, Star 17s
Originally Posted by Rudy' post='466483' date='Sep 6 2007, 10:10 AM
Well considering that Ted is clearly not a hero of mine, I'll give you a big old NO! 
Not sure if the resemblance is there or not...
Attachment 37180
Not sure if the resemblance is there or not...
Attachment 37180
10-04-2007, 05:21 AM
#122
Members
Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: nyc,usa
Posts: 117
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
My Ride: 04 545 jet black/beige, smg sport,premium,sunshades,logic7,cwp,nav,pdc,bluetooth,16.0,light tint all around,Pirelli PZeroNero
Originally Posted by Rudy' post='456046' date='Aug 7 2007, 02:07 AM
Okay, now that I've gotten the engine up to full revs, I can say that this car is clearly faster than the 545 (no surprises so far, eh?) 
Here are some quick observations after another week or so with the car:
Transmission
1) In manual sport mode (pretty much all I've used so far), unlike the SMG, the car will upshift but only at redline. At first I thought that was a bummer but the more I think about it, the more I realize that it makes perfect sense to program it this way. The only possibilities are to either hit the limiter (like the SMG did) or upshift and maintain your acceleration (like the SAT does). In other words, I really doubt that there's much need to hold the gear at redline just before the rev limiter kicks in. That said, I'm cool with it.
I have to say that in this mode, at the higher rpms, the shifting is so fast and smooth that there are times when your really wouldn't know the car shifted if it weren't for the change in engine/exhaust sound and/or the snapping of the tachometer needle!
2) The downshifting is still probably the thing that takes the most time to get used to (coming from an SMG). Yes, it blips the throttle but it's not as pronounced and it just feels different. One small bummer is that the car will not let you shift into first unless you're down around 2000-2400 rpms. I have to say that the SMG would let you downshift into first gear way higher than that. Basically, as long as the blip doesn't cause the car to redline, why can't we downshift into first at a higher rpm? The other bummer about this is that when you try to downshift into first at say 2600 rpm, the gear indicator does show M1 (from M2) for a brief second but then it changes back to M2 because it decided that the rpms were too high for the downshift to occur. This is not good because I'm used to glancing down at the gear indicator (please put it in the HUD someday...) right when I hit the paddle so basically the car looks to me as if the shift occured but it really didn't. On the SMG, if the car wasn't going to let you shift due to a high rpm, the gear indicator never changed. Hopefully these types of things can be addressed in future software updates, etc.
Keep in mind that this isn't a huge deal, just a small bummer for someone that is hoping that the SAT is as good or better than the SMG. In this small case, it's not as good as the SMG and it's certainly not better.
3) Speaking of software updates, I really hope that BMW can find a way to address the non-linear nature of the gas pedal. There is too much of a dead spot near the beginning of the travel (the "sponginess" that I've been referring to) that just isn't necessary. Yes, I'm adjusting to it and getting used to it but I just don't think it needs to be this way. Make it more like the SMG was in sport mode. (I suppose in "normal mode" they could dial-in some sponginess if it makes the automatic customers happy...)
Again, I'm not in any way disliking this car or this transmission, I'm just highlighting some of the main differences between what I drove for the past 32,000 miles and these last 1200 miles. I'm sure after 31,000 more miles on this car, it'll feel like an extension of my body (like the SMG did). Keep in mind that I've never owned an automatic car as my daily driver...
Miscellaneous Comments
1) As I mentioned earlier, the Bi-Xenon LCI headlights are much improved. The other ones were great but these just seem more refined. They're more natural looking as far as color and they have a more even pattern. When the active headlights move, it doesn't look as much like two spotlights moving left and right -- instead, it looks like the entire pattern moves. Also, I still think the cornering lights are a nice added feature.
2) Speaking of illumination, I already mentioned that the DRLs now include the rear lights too. Probably not a bad thing, both for the safety aspect and the coolness factor. Those rear lights just plain look great! The interior illumination is also improved as well. The door pockets are illuminated, the door handles are illuminated more, the CD and DVD slots are better illuminated, etc. Pretty much everything that was lit before seems to have a brighter and more evenly distributed illumination.
3) Did I mention how much I like the exhaust note of this car? Oh yeah, I thought so... 
4) I'm still playing around with night vision and I am having some fun with it. So far, it's not really showing me too much more than how hot the power transformers on the telephone poles are during the August heat wave we're having here...
5) I was loving the 80GB USB hard drive I was using until tonight when it decided to stop responding in the car. I don't yet know what's going on -- my 4GB flash drive still works fine and the 80GB drive works fine on my computer so it may be power related. The puzzling part is that it was working fine for a couple weeks.
6) Comfort access is worth it. I just need to remember to get my key off my dresser when I need to get something out of the car or go for an unexpected drive since I used to simply leave the key in the ignition while the car was in my garage.
7) I know there's been a bunch of discussion on the gear selector lever and how it's not very intuitive going into reverse, etc. I agree it's a little confusing at first but I'm pretty used to it now. I do think that it could be the source of problems for people who don't drive it often like valets and/or spouses. Without giving it too much thought, it may make sense for the system to be refined a little more (even though it seems as if M-B is doing things the exact same way) they might want to consider just swapping the "Park" and "Reverse" functions. In other words, make reverse be the button you press and make park be the mode you get when you push the lever towards the dash (while the car is stationary.) Right now, the car puts itself into park automatically anyway if you forget -- it'll move the lever to park all by itself if you turn the car off or open a door while it's in neutral or in a gear and your foot isn't on the brake pedal.
That's pretty much all I can think of right now. I'm sure I'll be updating this thread as I come up with more stuff, etc.
Bottom line -- the car is incredible, sweet, awesome, a blast, etc., etc.
Here are some quick observations after another week or so with the car:
Transmission
1) In manual sport mode (pretty much all I've used so far), unlike the SMG, the car will upshift but only at redline. At first I thought that was a bummer but the more I think about it, the more I realize that it makes perfect sense to program it this way. The only possibilities are to either hit the limiter (like the SMG did) or upshift and maintain your acceleration (like the SAT does). In other words, I really doubt that there's much need to hold the gear at redline just before the rev limiter kicks in. That said, I'm cool with it.
I have to say that in this mode, at the higher rpms, the shifting is so fast and smooth that there are times when your really wouldn't know the car shifted if it weren't for the change in engine/exhaust sound and/or the snapping of the tachometer needle!
2) The downshifting is still probably the thing that takes the most time to get used to (coming from an SMG). Yes, it blips the throttle but it's not as pronounced and it just feels different. One small bummer is that the car will not let you shift into first unless you're down around 2000-2400 rpms. I have to say that the SMG would let you downshift into first gear way higher than that. Basically, as long as the blip doesn't cause the car to redline, why can't we downshift into first at a higher rpm? The other bummer about this is that when you try to downshift into first at say 2600 rpm, the gear indicator does show M1 (from M2) for a brief second but then it changes back to M2 because it decided that the rpms were too high for the downshift to occur. This is not good because I'm used to glancing down at the gear indicator (please put it in the HUD someday...) right when I hit the paddle so basically the car looks to me as if the shift occured but it really didn't. On the SMG, if the car wasn't going to let you shift due to a high rpm, the gear indicator never changed. Hopefully these types of things can be addressed in future software updates, etc.
Keep in mind that this isn't a huge deal, just a small bummer for someone that is hoping that the SAT is as good or better than the SMG. In this small case, it's not as good as the SMG and it's certainly not better.
3) Speaking of software updates, I really hope that BMW can find a way to address the non-linear nature of the gas pedal. There is too much of a dead spot near the beginning of the travel (the "sponginess" that I've been referring to) that just isn't necessary. Yes, I'm adjusting to it and getting used to it but I just don't think it needs to be this way. Make it more like the SMG was in sport mode. (I suppose in "normal mode" they could dial-in some sponginess if it makes the automatic customers happy...)
Again, I'm not in any way disliking this car or this transmission, I'm just highlighting some of the main differences between what I drove for the past 32,000 miles and these last 1200 miles. I'm sure after 31,000 more miles on this car, it'll feel like an extension of my body (like the SMG did). Keep in mind that I've never owned an automatic car as my daily driver...
Miscellaneous Comments
1) As I mentioned earlier, the Bi-Xenon LCI headlights are much improved. The other ones were great but these just seem more refined. They're more natural looking as far as color and they have a more even pattern. When the active headlights move, it doesn't look as much like two spotlights moving left and right -- instead, it looks like the entire pattern moves. Also, I still think the cornering lights are a nice added feature.
2) Speaking of illumination, I already mentioned that the DRLs now include the rear lights too. Probably not a bad thing, both for the safety aspect and the coolness factor. Those rear lights just plain look great!
The interior illumination is also improved as well. The door pockets are illuminated, the door handles are illuminated more, the CD and DVD slots are better illuminated, etc. Pretty much everything that was lit before seems to have a brighter and more evenly distributed illumination.3) Did I mention how much I like the exhaust note of this car?
Oh yeah, I thought so... 4) I'm still playing around with night vision and I am having some fun with it. So far, it's not really showing me too much more than how hot the power transformers on the telephone poles are during the August heat wave we're having here...
5) I was loving the 80GB USB hard drive I was using until tonight when it decided to stop responding in the car. I don't yet know what's going on -- my 4GB flash drive still works fine and the 80GB drive works fine on my computer so it may be power related. The puzzling part is that it was working fine for a couple weeks.
6) Comfort access is worth it. I just need to remember to get my key off my dresser when I need to get something out of the car or go for an unexpected drive since I used to simply leave the key in the ignition while the car was in my garage.
7) I know there's been a bunch of discussion on the gear selector lever and how it's not very intuitive going into reverse, etc. I agree it's a little confusing at first but I'm pretty used to it now. I do think that it could be the source of problems for people who don't drive it often like valets and/or spouses. Without giving it too much thought, it may make sense for the system to be refined a little more (even though it seems as if M-B is doing things the exact same way) they might want to consider just swapping the "Park" and "Reverse" functions. In other words, make reverse be the button you press and make park be the mode you get when you push the lever towards the dash (while the car is stationary.) Right now, the car puts itself into park automatically anyway if you forget -- it'll move the lever to park all by itself if you turn the car off or open a door while it's in neutral or in a gear and your foot isn't on the brake pedal.
That's pretty much all I can think of right now. I'm sure I'll be updating this thread as I come up with more stuff, etc.
Bottom line -- the car is incredible, sweet, awesome, a blast, etc., etc.
one more small but important detail to add to Rudy's excellent review:sunroof can be closed now after engine shut off-thank God!
10-04-2007, 05:34 AM
#123
Super Moderator
Thread Starter
Join Date: Mar 2004
Location: Pittsburgh, PA USA
Posts: 17,310
Likes: 0
Received 2 Likes
on
2 Posts
My Ride: G30 M550i
Model Year: 2018
Originally Posted by alexnyc' post='477863' date='Oct 4 2007, 09:21 AM
one more small but important detail to add to Rudy's excellent review:sunroof can be closed now after engine shut off-thank God!
10-05-2007, 09:10 AM
#125
Members
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: New York
Posts: 176
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
My Ride: 2008 550i, Carbon Black Metallic with Black Dakota Leather, Sport Package, Sport Automatic Transmission, NAV, Cold-Weather Package, Folding Rear Seats, Rear Side Impact Airbags, Sirius, iPod/USB Adapter,
Model Year: 2008
Originally Posted by alexnyc' post='477863' date='Oct 4 2007, 09:21 AM
one more small but important detail to add to Rudy's excellent review:sunroof can be closed now after engine shut off-thank God!
Rudy, we need to see you post to youtube your review while you are driving and also admiring your 550i. Will you?
10-05-2007, 01:27 PM
#126
Super Moderator
Thread Starter
Join Date: Mar 2004
Location: Pittsburgh, PA USA
Posts: 17,310
Likes: 0
Received 2 Likes
on
2 Posts
My Ride: G30 M550i
Model Year: 2018
Originally Posted by yayankee' post='478346' date='Oct 5 2007, 01:10 PM
Rudy, we need to see you post to youtube your review while you are driving and also admiring your 550i. Will you?
10-06-2007, 10:43 AM
#127
Members
Join Date: Jul 2007
Posts: 28
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Originally Posted by Rudy' post='477865' date='Oct 4 2007, 09:34 AM
You got that right! A small but huge detail...
10-06-2007, 04:54 PM
#128
Super Moderator
Thread Starter
Join Date: Mar 2004
Location: Pittsburgh, PA USA
Posts: 17,310
Likes: 0
Received 2 Likes
on
2 Posts
My Ride: G30 M550i
Model Year: 2018
Originally Posted by UDM' post='478641' date='Oct 6 2007, 02:43 PM
Wasn't this feature standard on all e39s? I know that I had it in my my 97 E39 from 10 years ago??
10-06-2007, 05:27 PM
#129
Contributors
Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: So Cal, USA
Posts: 14,776
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
My Ride: 545iSMGSilver GrayAuburn Dakota LeatherLogic 7 Premium SoundSports Package
Oh man when you guys quote stuff across pages you need to add what the topic is about... I had to go back and dig up what you guys were referring to.
And you're saying pre-LCI E60s cant? I forget if my sunroof can be closed after the engine is shut off... I dont think I've "forgotten" to close it before shutting the engine off... now i'm tempted to go try...
I've always assumed it can... my dads old E34 can... my old MINI can... and I knew the E39s can... Audi's can Merc's can... so I just assumed the E60 can...
10-06-2007, 06:35 PM
#130
Super Moderator
Thread Starter
Join Date: Mar 2004
Location: Pittsburgh, PA USA
Posts: 17,310
Likes: 0
Received 2 Likes
on
2 Posts
My Ride: G30 M550i
Model Year: 2018
Originally Posted by EBMCS03' post='478719' date='Oct 6 2007, 09:27 PM
Oh man when you guys quote stuff across pages you need to add what the topic is about... I had to go back and dig up what you guys were referring to.
And you're saying pre-LCI E60s cant? I forget if my sunroof can be closed after the engine is shut off... I dont think I've "forgotten" to close it before shutting the engine off... now i'm tempted to go try...
I've always assumed it can... my dads old E34 can... my old MINI can... and I knew the E39s can... Audi's can Merc's can... so I just assumed the E60 can...
And you're saying pre-LCI E60s cant? I forget if my sunroof can be closed after the engine is shut off... I dont think I've "forgotten" to close it before shutting the engine off... now i'm tempted to go try...
I've always assumed it can... my dads old E34 can... my old MINI can... and I knew the E39s can... Audi's can Merc's can... so I just assumed the E60 can...