Got any low-end torque?

[///Manuel]

04 4.8is with CAI
When I'm around town and want to do some spirited driving at lower speeds (25-40mph), in third gear, I really do not have that much kick. The gears just seem tall (and they are). Second gear will pull hard around those speeds but in third the car is slow to get going. Is that an expected behavior? I thought the torquey V8 would pull harder down low...

6th gear at highway speeds is around 2k rpm's which is fairly low to me. Was that done for gas mileage purposes? So then you need to come down two gears to get a quick kick to do some passing around 60mph. 6th will not pull, 5th not that much and 4th is appropriate. Anyone has any experience with different gear ratios? That would put the engine power band right where it should be for daily US roadway driving.

With six gears I thought we'd have shorter lower gears.

EDIT: The other thing I noticed is the transmission spooling effect, when you press the throttle there's a slight spooling time which happens before power is transferred to the wheels. Is that something I just live with as well?

[AzNMpower32]

Woah there. Do you know how much the X5 4.8is weighs? I believe its well north of 5000 lbs. And yes, there is good torque from the big V8, but you've got that weight and physics working against you. Physics basically states that the heavier an object, the more force will be needed to get it moving. Of course, once it's moving it's got tons of momentum and you could probably steamroller a Lotus Elise without noticing.

The transmission is geared tall for a reason: to take advantage of that torque. Torque usually peaks in the mid-range and falls off at higher rpms, where horsepower takes over. If a car with a fat mid-range is geared too close, you'll get too quickly into the upper reaches of the rpm range. Similarly, high revving, narrow powerband cars are geared short because they make little torque and no power at all below 6000rpm.

The tall 6th gear is for highway cruising and fuel economy. If you've ever been in a 5-speed 4-cyl car, you'll get very sick of hearing the engine rev 80mph @ 4000rpm after 10 miles.

[B-Line]

Survey says,

"Ding, ding, ding, ding" -- Good answer AzN

[RamVA]

You could swap to the 3.0i final drive which is around 5% shorter. I doubt it would be worth the $2000-2500 it would cost.

[NINCHS]

try resetting your tranny software so it will learn your driving style

[///Manuel]

I agree with what you guys are saying and "you'll get too quickly into the upper reaches of the rpm range" I would love to have this problem! One other thing to consider I live a mile high so I'm sure it impacts throttle response and initial torque quite extensively.

Maybe the gears are also tuned for towing ability vs spirited driving? For sure when staying in 2nd gear, there's HUGE power there and the car gets moving in a hurry. However, that's just too much on the street and not discrete... 3rd gear is smoother and doesn't raise havoc.

Like you were saying, weight is also an issue. Why do they have to make everything so heavy? Why are the seats so heavy? I'm not sure if there's anything advantage of doing so? Lowering the center of gravity? Balancing the weight distribution (rear seats weight a ton)? Some sort of safety purposes?

I'm really not that disappointed, but looking to make my beast better

[AzNMpower32]

German cars are heavy because they are hewn from a solid block of granite. Japanese cars are fabricated from the plastic you find on washing machines.

Plus, I like that solid feeling. Sure, the X3 is smaller than a Lexus RX with a smaller engine, but it weighs about the same. However, the Lexus RX feels floaty (no thanks to the suspension). Plus, it's probably reassuring to know that the X5 (E53) did the IIHS offset test at 40mph and didn't even crack the windshield. Someone from Austrailia had a 20mph impact with a Hyundai, and the X5 was barely damaged.

[///Manuel]

Yeah I hear ya. I shaved 120 pounds (2.4% of the total weight) off the car, without removing the rear seats, and honestly it was hard to feel any difference...

[vinuneuro]

Manuel, a lot of 4.4/4.8 owners complaining about your problem have gotten a transmission s/w update and noticed a very big difference. Your dealer will be aware of this, so give them a try.

[SANguru]

doesn't help that you're mile high in Denver... thinner air...