My speedo is always +5mph over the portable radar signs

My experience is with my 01 4.4i, took it 140 and kept going for about 10 min. With curved road and straight away. This truck is like riding on rails... I think BMW automobiles need to be driven hard and fast... Thats my experience...

I think BMW speedo are 7% more.

I don't know about previous years but I have the 2006 X5 brochure. On page 79 it states that the 3.0i and 4.4i have a top speed of 130. The 4.8is has a top speed of 153. It says that the top speed on all the cars is "limited electronically".:mad:

I've had mine at 135mph (measured on the micro road pilot - very accurate GPS based device) - it still wanted to go faster (due to the tunit box giving it an extra 40 BHP) but the wife wouldn't let me!! Certainly no electronic restriction.

I think all BMW's are electronically limited to 155mph (not that mine will ever get to that speed) to comply with some agreement set up between the various car manufactures / governments (certainly within the European market anyhow).

My '01 has a 5% error in the speedometer, so 130mph @ 4500rpm was really 122mph. Redline (Dinan) is 6200rpm. (122 x 6200)/4500= 168mph top end. Which is what BMW used to publish as top speed for Sport Package. Original redline was 5700rpm which gives you 155mph on early models. My '06 speedo only goes up to 140mph, bummer! But the speedometer is right on (no error). Non-sport models are supposed to be limited to 155mph. I have no idea what the 6-cyl engines are rated for.

I think the source of some of this confusion is BMW itself. Take for instance my 2002 4.4, the BROCHURE (which I still have) states quite clearly that those who purchased the sport package would not be electronically limited to 128 mph - so I bought the sport package.

THEN, about 2 months after my purchase I receive a letter (which I also still have) from BMW USA stating that my production run was outfitted with H-rated tires and as a result they ELECTRONICALLY LIMITED my vehicle to 128 mph despite the fact that I had the sport package. In the letter BMW USA attributed this discrepency to "typographical errors on the window sticker" which I found amusing as both the hardcopy brochures (which would typically be designed, printed and proofed months in advance) as well as the BMW USA website at the time stated quite clearly that 4.4 owners with the sport package had no such electronic restriction. :tsk:

my 2001 325ci reads about 5mph fast at 70-75mph.

Ok here is the story... I called my boy in NY, who's friends dad works at the BMW plant, he said that there has been mix ups with the gov. and instead of putting the right one in the right car, they have mixed them up at times... CAN YOU BELIEVE THIS MIX UP??? But this is what I've just been told...

OK, now I need to do a top speed run in my 2006 non-sport 4.4i. I have had it up to 110mph but that is it to date. If 140mph are being achieved for sport models, that is very good for this aerodynamically challenged vehicle. Besides for tire speed ratings, I'm not sure why the X5 would be electronically limited? Drag will take care of that.