Originally Posted by bha7176

sounds to me like your mind is made up. if you don't like the V8 or need the power of it, the acceleration of it, the gas consumption of it, you feel its heavier and stiffer and you aren't going to upgrade to an RPI exhaust to hear the roar of the NA V8 - WHAT'S THE PROBLEM? Get the 535 and be happy about it. Later on you can add the M-tech kit and 19" wheels if you want.

Should be a bit of a price difference where the 535 is a little less expensive than the 550. use that difference as a start to your mod fund and let the fun begin.

Can't go wrong either way.

What don't I like about my 550? It does feel heavier to me, compared to the two 3 series I own or have owned, but that's to be expected. Gas mileage is averaging around 20 mpg all around - my wife's 325XI only gets 24 mpg all around, so I don't think 20 is that bad. The V8 is great though, especially with the sprint booster V2, RPI ram air intake and exhaust. Hard to beat that combo short of an M5.

Originally Posted by stupiddude

Performance numbers aside, I'm about to blame you all for what you did to me.

I now have a carbon black 2008 550i (M kit, 19" wheels, paddle shifters, premium, sport, cold weather, nav, Logic 7, comfort seats, comfort access keys, 18k miles) in my garage

I'm blaming every one of you. Thanks guys!!!

Originally Posted by hooch999

I guess it's too late now , but anyway - what I don't like about my 550:

1.The engine doesn't have much on the low end, which means even on 3rd speed it can't accelerate quickly unless you push it really hard and pass 3000 rpm.
535 feels superbly lighter on its feet from start thanks to lower weight and a ton of low end torque.
2. The car overall feels substantially heavier with V8 than with V6 turbo, I didn't realize that since I have not tried 535 before got my car. Not sure if it's due to increased weight or different suspension or steering setup.
3. It's really thirsty.

Originally Posted by tuffluck

wellll if you had been paying attention, we were talking about the realistic differences between the cars. the 535i weighs more than the 530i, making the power difference closer to 24hp. the contention was that its 0-60mph times were 1.1 seconds faster than the 530i, but alas i pointed out that 0-60 times are typically used as marketing hype and nothing more. my proof: a 550i rated at 3.9 seconds going 0-60mph is never going to beat a 2008 viper that is rated at 4.0 0-60, or for that matter even an old camaro Z28 rated at 5.4 seconds. it is complete marketing bullshit when 0-60 times are posted, and the fact that people use that to determine how fast they think their car is, is stupid.

if dealers rated quarter mile times instead, think about how much more accurate they would have to be since those can actually be measured by a layman like us. end result: do i think the 535i is actually 1.1 seconds faster 0-60mph than the 530i? maybe, but probably not. no matter what you think is the answer, good luck proving it. surely someone has some track numbers out there for the two cars. that would be more realistic. i bet the 535i doesn't even run 1.1 seconds faster than the 530i on a track, never mind 1.1 seconds 0-60. likewise you'd have to be a moron to believe the 550i runs 2.8 seconds faster than the 530i in a quarter mile, never mind the same discrepancy in just a 0-60 race that it's RATED at.

they say .1 seconds in the quarter mile for every 10hp, weight remaining constant. if you read the thread i posted above, the 24hp actual difference in the 535i from the 530i, and the 74hp actual difference from the 550i and the 530i, puts quarter mile discrepancy actuals at something like the 535i running .24 faster in 1/4 mile than the 530i, and the 550i running about .74 faster. those numbers are far, far off from the rated 0-60mph differences, and the distance measure is further, so you would think the discrepancy is larger.

sometimes you have to put those 0-60mph numbers in perspective, because they are extremely misleading once you scrutinize them. again, they are basically impossible for us to measure, which is why dealers use them so often for marketing purposes.

did you read it all this time? no offense but repeating myself is kind of ridiculous.

Originally Posted by v_therussian

Dude, you crazy! Who's gonna read ALL THAT?! j/k

I'm still waiting to see who rated 550i at 3.9 seconds 0-60?!?!

And hey, sounds like the only way for us to resolve this is to get ourselves to the track

Originally Posted by Aartsy19

and a 550 doing 0-60 in 3.9..... YEah.. RIGHT!!!!!

Originally Posted by CVTBenhogan

the 535 isn't much lighter. 100lbs? It has does have a much flatter torque curve hence the feel of more response. The step is sluggish in the older 550s. This rectified by a flip to sport shift, limited traction control, and heavy application of the right foot. Nothing like a v8 on song. Ask the m3 drivers if they want inline sixes Back. Most likely no.