X5 or X3?

[Fraser]

Originally Posted by amacman

hi, i drive a 2002 X5 4.4i sport auto permanent 4wd , the 2004 onwards have xdrive , this means they usually only drive the rear wheels so that you feel as though driving a rear wheel drive . the transfer case has a clutch pack to engage also the front wheel drive or send power in variable ratios to front or rear .

Not correct. Both xDrive and non xDrive models have a nominal 40%/60% front/rear drive bias (non xDrive is actually 38%/62%) on a high-traction surface. The difference is that the non xDrive has an open planetary style centre diff whereas xDrive has an electronic multi-plate clutch pack that can proportion the drive front to back according to the available traction and driving conditions. In a low traction environment, non xDrive only has its electronic traction control to help get the drive to where it can be best used whereas xDrive has both the centre clutch pack and ETC. With xDrive, it's only under extreme conditions that all the drive is directed towards the rear wheels.

[amacman]

Originally Posted by Fraser

Not correct. Both xDrive and non xDrive models have a nominal 40%/60% front/rear drive bias (non xDrive is actually 38%/62%) on a high-traction surface. The difference is that the non xDrive has an open planetary style centre diff whereas xDrive has an electronic multi-plate clutch pack that can proportion the drive front to back according to the available traction and driving conditions. In a low traction environment, non xDrive only has its electronic traction control to help get the drive to where it can be best used whereas xDrive has both the centre clutch pack and ETC. With xDrive, it's only under extreme conditions that all the drive is directed towards the rear wheels.

what is not correct , what are you trying to say ,seems like you just added more words to what i already said , none if my info is incorrect ,it says in the X3 handbook that it utilises rear wheel drive predominantly .
the xdrive vehicles feel more like a rear drive car .no big deal because the 38% 62% car is fine . the xdrive does potentially offer better traction options if you get really stuck .
i almost got stuck on a very narrow cobbled steep hill in Edinburgh whist turning car around i had to reverse uphill but one rear wheel spun on dry surface , you need to press the dsc button to make traction control work whereas the xdrive would shift more drive to front wheels in that event thus saving embarassment .
as for sport suspension , it`s not comfortable on anything less than a smooth road , not good to be pounding a baby , i know what i`m talking about . x3 sport has the worst suspension i have ever experienced , x5 sport nowhere near as bad .

[Fraser]

Originally Posted by amacman

what is not correct , what are you trying to say ,seems like you just added more words to what i already said , none if my info is incorrect ,it says in the X3 handbook that it utilises rear wheel drive predominantly .

I think that you need to go back to your original statement, ie: "hi, i drive a 2002 X5 4.4i sport auto permanent 4wd , the 2004 onwards have xdrive , this means they usually only drive the rear wheels so that you feel as though driving a rear wheel drive." This is incorrect. Both xDrive and non-xDrive X5s are essentially permanent 4WD vehicles. xDrive X5s don't "usually only drive the rear wheels", they usually drive all four wheels.

Here's a quote from BMW's technical info on (X5) xDrive: "In normal driving situations, the drive torque is distributed in the ratio of 40:60 between the front and the rear wheels. xDrive can also vary torque between front and rear axles depending on the driving conditions and can distributed drive torque briefly to one axle in extreme conditions."

What you X3 handbook says is irrelevant as we were discussing xDrive and non-xDrive X5s.

[amacman]

Originally Posted by Fraser

I think that you need to go back to your original statement, ie: "hi, i drive a 2002 X5 4.4i sport auto permanent 4wd , the 2004 onwards have xdrive , this means they usually only drive the rear wheels so that you feel as though driving a rear wheel drive." This is incorrect. Both xDrive and non-xDrive X5s are essentially permanent 4WD vehicles. xDrive X5s don't "usually only drive the rear wheels", they usually drive all four wheels.

Here's a quote from BMW's technical info on (X5) xDrive: "In normal driving situations, the drive torque is distributed in the ratio of 40:60 between the front and the rear wheels. xDrive can also vary torque between front and rear axles depending on the driving conditions and can distributed drive torque briefly to one axle in extreme conditions."

What you X3 handbook says is irrelevant as we were discussing xDrive and non-xDrive X5s.

ok , here is info from the bently x5 manual ,you can see how i reached the conclusion , i don`t have access to the x3 manual right now but read this and see what conclusion you can draw from it .