Interesting. Did you turn off the DSC?

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even with DSC off, isn't there still a very low level of tracion control that's still active? I remember reading about this a long while back.

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'01 BMW X5 3.0i

I don't know, this might depend on the year.

xDrive and ABS are permanent (unless they fail). I know on the X3, based off the E46, allows you to shut the whole thing down. I suspect now with BMW's DTC mode, you can turn the whole thing off as well.

The best way to get a drift in a big heavy car like an X would be take it down mountain roads. There, you have more speed to work with. I know with the X3, if you try too hard in a parking lot, all you get is understeer because the front wheels are underdriven. But with a proper set of mountain curves about 80 km/h to play with, it's a totally different story.

Drifting and sliding are two completely different things, plus it's not that intelligent/safe to do that on a mountain road

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2006 BMW X5 4.8is Lemans Blue/Beige/Dark Maple
-Nav, Comfort Seats, Heated Steering Wheel,
Rear Airbags, AUX Input
2009 BMW M3 Space Grey/Black/Carbon
-all options

The road has decent visibility, a wide margin for error, little traffic, and smooth pavement.

Drifting = 4 wheel slide while accelerating forward (or mildly sideways), right? I know it's not that fancy, but I accomplished this with winter tires, which don't really have as much grip.

I would consider drifting a controlled 4 wheel slide, not something you are just recovering from due to lack of grip and going to fast through a corner, a drift is intentional

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2006 BMW X5 4.8is Lemans Blue/Beige/Dark Maple
-Nav, Comfort Seats, Heated Steering Wheel,
Rear Airbags, AUX Input
2009 BMW M3 Space Grey/Black/Carbon
-all options