motordavid, i agree with you. on my e28 when i went back and forth from my 15 inch balloonish wheels to my 17inch wheels, the 15 inch wheels exhibited the exact VELCRO characteristics you are talking about. the 'tramlining' was nearly a direct result of the wider contact patch and lower profile sidewall. it's very pronounced. that's why i describe this more as WANDERING, or FLOATY steering.

when i say dealer serviced, i mean that i have a 3 inch stack of paper from my dad's file with every single service visit since 2003. he was the only owner. i have consulted him on service etc since day 1.

oh and here is an IGNORANT question: i have always assumed that this SAV was 2WD. but X in bimmer-speak means 4. so does my car have AWD? : )

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2005 X5 3.0i - 71k mi (9.2018) -> 81k (9.2019) -> 100k (9.2021) -> 123k (8.2025)
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SOLD : 2003 X5 3.0 - 177k mi (9.2018) -> 186k (9.2019) -> 205k (9.2021)
SOLD : 1997 328is Coupe - Hellrot Red
SOLD : 1988 528e w/ Bullseye s256 / MS2 Extra / GC Coilovers / Yukon Coils ~ 300+ HP