Thoughts after 1700 ml trip

[leewan]

Some thoughts on the new M5 after 1700 mile trip, Minneapolis to Englewood Fl, One 6 hour day, one 13 hours, and one 7 hour day.

First the seats which felt so form fitting and firm, took a bit of adjusting and still need something to make them really good, my wife in the passenger seat was really uncomfortable half way though the first day. Second the area from where the windshield meets the hood back to the outside of the driver side mirror is a bit of a blind spot for me even with the little window, especially at night, it might be where I am sitting and should get better as I get used to it. Third the brake peddle has too much play, when coming off cruise control, the cruise cuts out immediately but the peddle feels like it has too far to travel to get to serious braking. I am going to talk to the dealer about that. Also when I floor the gas sometime the transmission takes a bit of time to find the go gear, sometimes has to search for the right gear, a bit disconcerting when trying to hit a closing window of opportunity. The cruise control works great, the speedo is a little off relative to the gps, at 70 gps 71, at 75 gps 77, you might want to check yours.

Sounds like I had a lot of problems with the car, not so , we really like the car. It drives like it is on rails, you have to pay attention all the time (a good thing) we felt safe and made adjustments to the above which I am sure will get better with time.

Now for the really good stuff. We got all our go to Florida for the winter stuff into the car without blocking the rear window. The car had about 900 miles when we left. The trip was 1688 (odometer) and we used 57.5 gallons for 29.3 mpg. I am really happy with that. Mileage was taken off the trip meter, each tank filled until the first click turned off the pump. Speeds were 72 for first part of trip, 77 for second half, air was on for only the last 4 hours.

One note about the Scangage e, going up hill under hard acceleration pushed the gauge to read 9999 mpg, like we were coasting, shortly after it read abnormally high mpg on a flat road, it did readjust after a while.

A happy M5 owner

chuck

 

[dieseldriver]

Thanks for sharing that. Looks like you had a good trip. I feel good getting the M5GT back instead of getting into a MS3. I really think this M5GT was well thought out from scratch, everything works in concert and thoughtfully placed. A bit underpowered but handling I think makes up for it. Tiptronic helps to reduce the anxiety travelling on left lane with cars behind you as I can quickly downshift to 4 for acceleration going uphill.

We took a trip to the temple yesterday, about 1 hours 15 minutes each way on mostly highway with very little traffic, mostly up and down small mountains. I did feel that "underpoweredness" but for some reason, I did not feel that engine was noisy or did not want to pull. It's a great car overall.

This weekend, I will be ordering a JL powered 10" subwoofer from Crutchfield to be installed in the trunk. It's a bit large for that small area but did not want to get anything small that will compromise the ability to move air. Just looking for that tight bass to go with the whole variety of music genres that I listen to.

My only concern is how I will be able to remove the rearmost panels where the speakers are located to tap into them. I've searched the Net for some instructions but nothing so far. So I will have to take my time to figure it out. I am excited to be installing the subwoofer. After that, most likely, Valentine1 remote will be installed in the dead center between tach and speedo. Scanguge moved to dead center and it's the perfect spot I think in terms of visibility and aesthetics. Finally, clear bra and tint for rear windows. May go with about 5-10% less dark than limo tint. Lots of fun projects for M5GT in store!

Some thoughts on the new M5 after 1700 mile trip, Minneapolis to Englewood Fl, One 6 hour day, one 13 hours, and one 7 hour day.

First the seats which felt so form fitting and firm, took a bit of adjusting and still need something to make them really good, my wife in the passenger seat was really uncomfortable half way though the first day. Second the area from where the windshield meets the hood back to the outside of the driver side mirror is a bit of a blind spot for me even with the little window, especially at night, it might be where I am sitting and should get better as I get used to it. Third the brake peddle has too much play, when coming off cruise control, the cruise cuts out immediately but the peddle feels like it has too far to travel to get to serious braking. I am going to talk to the dealer about that. Also when I floor the gas sometime the transmission takes a bit of time to find the go gear, sometimes has to search for the right gear, a bit disconcerting when trying to hit a closing window of opportunity. The cruise control works great, the speedo is a little off relative to the gps, at 70 gps 71, at 75 gps 77, you might want to check yours.

Sounds like I had a lot of problems with the car, not so , we really like the car. It drives like it is on rails, you have to pay attention all the time (a good thing) we felt safe and made adjustments to the above which I am sure will get better with time.

Now for the really good stuff. We got all our go to Florida for the winter stuff into the car without blocking the rear window. The car had about 900 miles when we left. The trip was 1688 (odometer) and we used 57.5 gallons for 29.3 mpg. I am really happy with that. Mileage was taken off the trip meter, each tank filled until the first click turned off the pump. Speeds were 72 for first part of trip, 77 for second half, air was on for only the last 4 hours.

One note about the Scangage e, going up hill under hard acceleration pushed the gauge to read 9999 mpg, like we were coasting, shortly after it read abnormally high mpg on a flat road, it did readjust after a while.

A happy M5 owner

chuck

 

[Nurburgringer]

Thanks for posting Chuck. My wife and I are taking the M5 to NJ for thanksgiving, with two curious Shih Tzus on board.
Going to do the whole 860miles in one shot. So far the longest I've been behind the wheel in one day is about 4 hours (no discomfort, and my right leg cramps up in other cars after much less) so it will be a big test. You've given me encouragement

the speedo is a little off relative to the gps, at 70 gps 71, at 75 gps 77

Er, our E39 BMW 528i's speedo consistently reads ~5mph over the GPS verified speed. Typical for the model.
I was quite happy to see the M5's speedo, GPS, and ScanGuageE all within ~1 mph!

I got pulled over in the M5 on Sunday on the way to do some sporting-clay shooting with a friend
Really bulls~t too. Saw the cop on a cross street, looked at my GPS and it said 40mph. This was a 35 zone.
Cop pointed hard at the car in front of me, then at me so I pulled right over.
He comes up and said "License, insurance...... Sir my pulse radar got the car in front of you doing 50mph, and after pulsing her a few times I switched to you. You were going at least as fast as she was". WTF??!?
Incredulously, I said in as polite a voice as possible "I honestly think you're mistaken Sir. I checked my speed immediately and was doing no more than 40".
He said "Well, I'm sure when you saw me you stood on the brakes. Stay here I'll be back".
After he went to the car in front and then to his car, my passenger confirmed I absolutely did NOT brake at all after we saw him, but this being a quiet little town figured oh well 1I'm screwed.
After 10 minutes he comes back, and, acting all magnanimous, issues me a warning. Bonus!!!!
Felt like the $40 in 12 gauge shells I blew off were free (and the lunch and beers I bought my buddy since he lent me a gun) since a ticket would have cost hundreds.
Cop didn't even notice (if he did, didn't say anything) the two shotguns in cases laying on the folded-down rear seats :/
I really don't have the urge to speed much in the M5, except on off-ramps

 

[90210]

Very nice. We are doing a 3500 mile trip to Mexico for Thanksgiving, car loaded with 6 people. Will report back how it does

 

[manualist]

Second the area from where the windshield meets the hood back to the outside of the driver side mirror is a bit of a blind spot for me even with the little window, especially at night, it might be where I am sitting and should get better as I get used to it.

This was even more of a problem for me in the Odyssey. One day I came to a local cross street, stopped and was about to turn left - a hatchback, probably a Mazda3, came out of the Odyssey's right A-pillar and scared the hell out of me. It was somehow completely blocked, which I think happen on most cars these days with big and angled windshield pillars.
I'm itching to take my 5 on a long trip too. Can't stop driving it - I put almost 2k miles on it within the first month. The best seats I know of were in my 03 Sentra Spec-V - I did a cross country trip in it with my wife, and both of us were very comfortable.

 

[dieseldriver]

LOL, this is what I do after work, I take the long U-shape like run even thought I know it takes me 10min longer. Also, this stretch of highway leading up to my house, exit 2 off the Palisades Interstate Parkway has been neglected for few years now and it has asphalt patches everywhere; a good obstacle course for the Mazda5!

Haven't made up my mind yet about this weekend, asked my radio tech to see if he can install the 10" Kicker with 350W amp for the Mazda5 for $275. He has not responded yet. I downloaded the Crutchfield manual showing how to remove the rear panel for 2006 M5 and it's almost identical as the 2012 model. If I get no response by tomorrow, I am ordering the JL powered 10" subwoofer from Crutchfield. I need more bass on this car!

I'm itching to take my 5 on a long trip too. Can't stop driving it - I put almost 2k miles on it within the first month. The best seats I know of were in my 03 Sentra Spec-V - I did a cross country trip in it with my wife, and both of us were very comfortable.