BMW F10 530d M-Sport: On-going Review!!

Shock horror as tyres deemed amazing are actually not very good.

That is disappointing. I did notice the road noise in the F10 I tested was about 3 db louder (according to the app on my phone) than my E60 on 19s non RFTs. I didn't find the ride all that bad but it had the active package. Just a shame not many people will have spec'd that.
 
This thread makes me so sad :( Both F10s I have driven (530d and M5) rode well but both had the adjustable suspension.

Almost none of the used ones have adjustable suspension.
 
To be fair I need to give it time. I have only had them replaced today and simply drove it 11 miles home so not really a full test. I suspect the tyres are over inflated too which will have an impact so will tweak that and they are still in need of running in and feel a bit loose, which I would expect. I have 200 miles to do Monday on different roads and at the end of that I will have a better view as the tyres will be better run in and more time to judge it.
 
Housey said:
So today, finally I've ditched the run flats for Michelin Pilot Super Sports all round. First impressions......

Fox, you won't like this but the F10 suspension damping is ****. Even with the new tyres on, which of course need running in and will need some tweaking of pressures I feel, the car is still terribly damped. The bumps are smoother now, but they are still much more prevalent than they should be in a car like this. In terms of ride I am still disappointed with it but I will hold final judgement until I've put some miles on them.

One thing that has changed is road noise, the new tyres are presently noisier than the previous run flats. Not the revolution in ride I was hoping for to be brutally honest, but I shall give them time and review when they got a few hundred miles on them.

Flawed car this, as the magazines say, don't touch one without active ride as if you are like me it will start to annoy you.
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I noticed very little difference in ride when I switched to non runflats on my E61. It was slightly less harsh but certainly not leagues different like others said it would be. Once I factored in the price I paid for the spare wheel kit it just wasn't worth the swap in hindsight.

I find the Excellence on my car to ride quite well for a runflat, they do seem to be the better of the runflat options fitted to the F10/11 though.
 
The problem is there seem to be hardly any 530D or 535D with Active Dampers out there, no one seems to fit it so perhaps I am over sensitive. My GT3 would shake your lungs out your arse so I am not adverse to driving a hard ride, but it just seems to fidgety on the 5 series for such a car.
 
True, but it's a ride expectation that should never be in question with a car like the 5. So far the F10 rides worse than the E60 which subjectively rides worse than the E39. It's a sad sad time when in order to make a great car great, you have to spend options on suspension.....
 
Lucero said:
True, but it's a ride expectation that should never be in question with a car like the 5. So far the F10 rides worse than the E60 which subjectively rides worse than the E39. It's a sad sad time when in order to make a great car great, you have to spend options on suspension.....
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The ride in my F11 is definitely better than the E61 was, much smoother. The down side I have found with it is that the steering is somewhat numb so you cant place the car the same and the brakes although powerful don't have the same feel as the E61s.
 
Indeed, it's bloody madness and for me has ruined the car. Its still a great car, but not the car it could be and it would seem, based on the second hand market most people are driving the wrong car and BMW needs to have a word with itself.
 
I can see your point but I am really pleased with mine. It's not as sporty as the E61 which took a bit of getting used to but its much smoother and more powerful which itself is a nice combination. I wonder if the combination of rear air suspension and Excellence tyres (not sure what you had but they seem to be the best rated) makes it ride a bit better than the saloon. The LCI which is out this year apparently is going to fix the steering to improve feedback.
 
Housey - have you tried the same car on smaller wheels? Very often the damping is optimised to a particular wheel size & tyre profile, and is thrown out of kilter when using different sizes, even OEM options. Does the F10 come with 17/18" in any markets?
 
Dandle said:
I can see your point but I am really pleased with mine. It's not as sporty as the E61 which took a bit of getting used to but its much smoother and more powerful which itself is a nice combination. I wonder if the combination of rear air suspension and Excellence tyres (not sure what you had but they seem to be the best rated) makes it ride a bit better than the saloon. The LCI which is out this year apparently is going to fix the steering to improve feedback.
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The steering actually feels better with these tyres, there is more pushed through the steering but its still not great in feel. As I say I will hold judgement until I've driven it some more, the roads are at present crappy due to all the ice and grit and I need to get check the pressures but it is the rear of the car which causes the biggest problem and yours is set up differently.

Tom_ed1987 said:
Housey - have you tried the same car on smaller wheels? Very often the damping is optimised to a particular wheel size & tyre profile, and is thrown out of kilter when using different sizes, even OEM options. Does the F10 come with 17/18" in any markets?
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I think it would look utter crap but appreciate it's a balance. As I say I will hold final judgement until I've properly driven it.

I think people on forums often go into hyperbole when they discuss what are in reality very very small changes to something after an upgrade or replacement. The MX5 was the same, all this talk about transformation after a geo when in reality is was some improved steering feel and slightly improved control on the bumps, nothing more. Same with run flats to normals tyres really, the changes are there but subtle and not life affirming.
 
Changed RFT's on my parents Z4 to regular tyres and it did transform the way the car rode and handled. Though the Z4 was BMW's first attempt at a car with RFT's...
 
[TW]Fox;23631356 said:
Changed RFT's on my parents Z4 to regular tyres and it did transform the way the car rode and handled. Though the Z4 was BMW's first attempt at a car with RFT's...
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I did the same on my e89. Completely changed the car for the better.
 
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