Spartanburg 'Homecoming' tomorrow

[NicholasW]

Very cool. I was up there in 2010 with my R34 Skyline. The only troubling part is that it's full of blind curves, so if you go flying around a corner you may come up to a jack-knived semi, stopped car, oncoming traffic in your lane, etc. So be safe! One good thing about having your 8-year old daughter in your 8-year old X5 is that the X5 is a very safe vehicle. Hope you guys have a fun, safe trip!

Ps. Daddy/daughter days are awesome, my wife is pretty jealous of the good relationship I have with my sweet 9 year old!

[PropellerHead]

We had a GREAT drive! I don't know how many times I had been on the TOTD prior to this one, but this was the first time (as far as I know) for this X5. Since it only had 11k miles and was purchased by the retired original owner in Iowa, I am pretty sure it never saw this kind of service This was the... second(?) I think XDrive Bimmer I have taken on the Dragon. The first was an '06 330xi (or is it ix?). I think we ran it 4 times that day. I will say that the X5 is quite a bit more to handle than the E90- or any of the previous rides. But it was the most fun I've had in the 4.8is.

Why must I clarify? Well, I actually spun the 3.0 in the ice a few times while screwing around. THAT was a lot of fun- probably more fun than this, but that's more about being flat out irresponsible. And I can't say it was the most fun I've ever had in a BMW 'cause my first car was a 1975 2002. I convinced my first girlfriend to take our relationship to an all new level in that thing. God love those reclining front seats. A-N-Y-W-A-Y

XDrive (or I am sure the 1st gen E53 AWD, also) just PULLS the X5 around those tight turns. Like, when you're IN it and the front sidewalls are screaming to break free under hard braking, just hammer the right pedal at the apex. HAMMER it! The big X5 feels like it's getting towed by a steel cable as it pulls through the turn. After too many shift changes, I finally just put the thing in 3rd manually and just ran it like that. So much torque and so much sound from the resonater- free exhaust. It was a real blast in between the times I found myself second guessing of my speed.

It gets juuuust a bit spooky when the 315's in the rear try to follow along. I felt more than once the back end wiggled enough to make the ole starfish pucker. If I was completely out of hand, DSC would waggle an electronic finger my way. I noticed this was more prevalent under an extreme bank and with an off camber turn. Not the X5's happy place. But it was fun, and since I was charged with my wife's daughter, I settled in by ab the 70th turn (out of ~300). We kept it calm, but my daughter's eyes were closed a lot of the time!

At the end, we stopped to get pics of the welcome signs. The brakes were HOT and they smelled like they'd been working. I didn't experience a bit of fade. They did the job, but I was a bit worried they might have been over worked. If I lived within an hour of this place, I would likely get front/rear StopTechs like I have on my E39. I love those things.

Speaking of my daughter- what a charm! Over 13 HOURS in the car. What did I get? About three times- and all in the closing hour- "How far away are the COUSINS?!" She absolutely exceeded my expectations of ANY 8 yr old. She even let me take pics with her at Greer. Those will be coming.

While at the Zentrum, a guy came out and talked to me for about 10 mins ab my X5. I'm pretty sure that this is a planned service. They draw straws at the Zentrum cafe and the short one has to go out and make Bimmer knurds feel great about the car they brought in. Maybe not, but the guy was VERY nice and VERY excited ab my E53. It felt pretty good to tell the story.

I stopped in to see an old friend from the 2002 delivery of our E46 330. While there, he pointed out an E30 LTW on the back lot. Not sure I've seen one of those before. Pretty cool. I was all set to see the new M5, but they were out at an event. Ahh, well.. time will bring them.

Ultimately, we had to cut out our time on the BlueRidge Pkwy. It was an hour we would miss our time and our people in Greer. We return after an 0500 wake up on Sunday. Perhaps we can make sunrise on the Parkway. My daughter wants to see the tunnels.

[motordavid]

Titz ride, PH...and glad your daughter is a trooper, as is our 9 yr old granddaughter.

Do some of the BRPkway if you can on Sunday, or Cherohala Skyline, close to TOTD: higher elevations, higher speeds, less cops, nice views, little traffic.
It's a bitch living here, 20 mins from the high elevation section of the BRPkway,

Enjoy the time watching your D grow up; ours turns 45 this Dec and time fookin flies.
GL, mD

[PropellerHead]

More pics to come!

[epdarks]

Nice pics and review, thanks for sharing. Your daughter will be a BMW nut before too long.

[Ricky Bobby]

do you have 20" 132s? where did you get them from! Great pics and your daughter is adorable!

[PropellerHead]

Originally Posted by Ricky Bobby

do you have 20" 132s? where did you get them from! Great pics and your daughter is adorable!

Thanks for your compliments. We drove the Interstate all the way back yesterday, but it was still 10 hours with all the stops. She was a trooper though. CONS2 showed 17.2MPG for the trip. Probably really means 16. I certainly got better mileage from the 3.0, but that was bc I just couldn't hammer the gas and get the same results as I can on the 4.8is. The thing just moves when you tell it to.

I DO have 20" 132's! I bought them many years ago from a place I can't recall. I have looked into whether or not I could buy them again and I couldn't even find the vendor. Ahhh well..

They are much heavier than the stock 20's, but it's not that a huge deal (to me) on a truck.

[PropellerHead]

Finally got back home from a trip and got these delivered. I like the 'attitude' of the X on this turn. Allllmost got a 'salute' from the right rear.

[SlickGT1]

I'm loving these pics. I'm sure it was a blast. Thanks for sharing.

[ake53]

Nice. some great pictures. and good to hear that the kid didnt cause any problems on the drive. wish all kids were like that. my siblings still cant handle a 14 hour drive to South Carolina. and they are older than 9. Your X looks very nice. loving the color. must be a blast to drive like you mentioned it above.