[wesleyan92]

Folks - after 6 weeks of driving the LCI, here are my observations on the deltas compared to my pre-LCI. There is absolutely no science behind this, just my feel. Curious to see what others think:

- The car rides smoother in all chassis modes; this is most obvious given the M8 suspension pass throughs. The balance on comfort chassis is near perfect. In my pre-LCI, I felt the need to default to sport chassis mode for handling but it always felt a bit harsher

- The car feels faster in all modes. In D2 gear shift mode, it feels like the gears hold longer. This is the biggest change I see. I never felt like I was going to go jail for driving my pre-LCI but in LCI, I am always feeling like this is just too fast for public roads

- The transmission in my car is "clunky" when I initially shift to drive off Park...it is not smooth at all. Probably unique to my car and probably some issue going on. Also, when I turn the car off, 50% of the time, I feel a clunk/thud in my rear end coming from the bottom of the car. Super weird.

- iDrive and Apply Car Play - the car play connection is lighting fast at ignition on. In pre-LCI, there was always a 15-20 second lag

- Less pops and cracks in sport and sport plus mode - UGH

- Cosmetic - I am starting to dig the new headlights. This was a hard sell but coming around to it. I also like how the right and left rear intake areas don't have the web mesh cover

We are so fortunate to be enjoying this car - LCI or pre-LCI.

[Oswiff]

Have a comp LCI now and had a pre LCI base so not exactly a direct comparison but some things I do notice.

- Transmission - I only find it clunky in sport plus at low speeds, it lurch's and makes for a very uncomfortable drive. In traffic, I have to bring everything back to comfort to avoid the jostling.

- love the Apple car play and it does pickup very quickly. Also appreciate the larger screen.

- I would have preferred the rear fender flares to be more pronounced like BMW does with the m3.
I would prefer more of a clear visual differentiation between the m550 and the m5. At a glance, a m550 is pretty similar. There's never a question on an m3.

- I find the cracks and burbles to be quite loud and plentiful in my car. There are sweet spots where you will always get that noise and some where you expect to but get nothing.

Overall, there really isn't a better car for the money and when you factor in the generally favorable lease rates BMW offers, it's not even close.

[Greer]

I have a 2019 M5 Comp and it is good to hear this about the LCI version. Thanks for sharing. Now, where are the photos of your new Beast?

[irablumberg]

I've had my LCI Comp for 3 months. I have not had the transmission issues you describe. I do find shifts a bit jerky at low speeds in city driving when the transmission is in D3 and the engine is in Sport+. Other than that, no issues. Also in D3, the transmission will hold a lower gear longer than necessary for street driving since I rarely accelerate hard after making a 20 MPH turn on city streets ;-). That is about the only time I use the paddles which is to shift up to 3rd when the transmission is begging me to floor it in 2nd.

[greentrbo95gst]

I have the roughness and clunky shifts into P in my 21 M5c as well.

[ToddinTN]

I’ve noticed harsh auto downshifts even in D1 on my new ‘21 M5 Comp. When slowing, it aggressively downshifts as I come to a stop and I always look to make sure I haven’t bumped it into D2 or D3, or taken it out of comfort. It makes slowing to a stop a bit clunky. Maybe over time it will lessen, I’m only at 1000 miles.

[wesleyan92]

Originally Posted by greentrbo95gst

I have the roughness and clunky shifts into P in my 21 M5c as well.

I wonder what is going on; I hate to take it in to the dealer. They'll keep it for 2 days and come back with a "works as designed" diagnosis, all the while I am driving around in an x3.

By the way, if I force the transmission into Park by turning off the car while in Drive, there is no clunkiness.

Originally Posted by ToddinTN

I've noticed harsh auto downshifts even in D1 on my new '21 M5 Comp. When slowing, it aggressively downshifts as I come to a stop and I always look to make sure I haven't bumped it into D2 or D3, or taken it out of comfort. It makes slowing to a stop a bit clunky. Maybe over time it will lessen, I'm only at 1000 miles.

Same in my case, the downshifts are aggressive as I approach stops as well.

All first world problem. Minor nits in the grand scheme of things. I love my car.

[supershaft]

Originally Posted by wesleyan92

I wonder what is going on; I hate to take it in to the dealer. They'll keep it for 2 days and come back with a "works as designed" diagnosis, all the while I am driving around in an x3.

By the way, if I force the transmission into Park by turning off the car while in Drive, there is no clunkiness.



Same in my case, the downshifts are aggressive as I approach stops as well.

All first world problem. Minor nits in the grand scheme of things. I love my car.

I had the same issue in the beginning but at 15k miles this is no longer the case for me. Although I've been running the racechip after 1200miles.

[Simon H]

Im on my 3rd F90 M5 now, 2 pre LCI Comps, and now my LCI Comp. I can say, the car is quicker, and this has provoked my questioning the CS on the other thread, is the CS worth the extra $.I find the suspension to be smoother in comfort than the other cars, but i do still think it handles the rougher stuff better in sport for some reason, it seems to stay flatter, and soak the bumps up better, although the damping is firmer. The addition of the M8 Dampers must be the cause ?. A bone of contention on the CS is, that the new M8 dampers are being lauded, but my understanding is that the LCI already has them ?, the springs must be different on the CS being 7 mm lower ?. Apologies, dont want to keep comparing to the CS, but the LCI is just so good in itself.
I have the slight clunk, from P to D also, doesnt bother me too much, the rest of the box is great, maybe a little slurry going into the next gear at very high RPMs, but thats it. IMHO, the car is an all round revelation .

[snowbimmer]

Originally Posted by Simon H

Im on my 3rd F90 M5 now, 2 pre LCI Comps, and now my LCI Comp. I can say, the car is quicker, and this has provoked my questioning the CS on the other thread, is the CS worth the extra $.I find the suspension to be smoother in comfort than the other cars, but i do still think it handles the rougher stuff better in sport for some reason, it seems to stay flatter, and soak the bumps up better, although the damping is firmer. The addition of the M8 Dampers must be the cause ?. A bone of contention on the CS is, that the new M8 dampers are being lauded, but my understanding is that the LCI already has them ?, the springs must be different on the CS being 7 mm lower ?. Apologies, dont want to keep comparing to the CS, but the LCI is just so good in itself.
I have the slight clunk, from P to D also, doesnt bother me too much, the rest of the box is great, maybe a little slurry going into the next gear at very high RPMs, but thats it. IMHO, the car is an all round revelation .

This ^^^^^

I went from a pre LCI Base (22,500 miles) to an LCI Comp (9,000 miles in 6 months). LCI is a far and away better suspension, in all modes. City driving is now tolerable, but getting on the road is where the magic happens. Slightly chunky shifts sometimes coming to a full stop. Not really bothered by it, just a bit annoying.

Last night I had to go to a store 3 miles away....it took me 25 miles to get there.

[DDD31]

Originally Posted by ToddinTN

I’ve noticed harsh auto downshifts even in D1 on my new ‘21 M5 Comp. When slowing, it aggressively downshifts as I come to a stop and I always look to make sure I haven’t bumped it into D2 or D3, or taken it out of comfort. It makes slowing to a stop a bit clunky. Maybe over time it will lessen, I’m only at 1000 miles.

I've noticed the same behavior in my 21 M5C. I am surprised at how aggressive the downshifts are when coming to a stop. I would say it's almost the same as my F80 DCT. If the transmission is no smoother than a DCT what was the point of going to a slushbox other then saving money by using the same transmission across the board?

I still have very low miles on the car since I took delivery less than a month ago and hopefully it lessens as the car gets driven more. I'm still over the moon with the car and very happy with how fast the transmission shifts just kind of surprised by it's behavior when slowing to a stop.

[Fantastic 5]

Apparently, they couldn't do a DCT with AWD…..I would have loved it.

In fact, I love the M5 LCI as it is just awesome in whatever you ask it to do. However, if I could change things, it would be:

1. Add a DCT. The 8 speed ZF is very good, but I think Jaguar tunes it better for their high performance cars (when they had them….that's why I'm back at BMW).

2. Wider fenders, please!!!! I'm so sick of people saying, "it's nice but it looks like a regular 5 series." Obviously, such people don't know cars and don't pick up on details, but the difference should be obvious to a wider audience. And, no, I don't want an M8GC.

[Greer]

I just bought a 2022 M5 and the Carbon Ceramic brakes are so much better and smoother than the pre-LCI M5's. They were to grabby before and now they feel so much better balanced. As others have mentioned, the LCI has the updated dampers from the M8 and the car feels less harsh and softer in everyday driving. When I get more miles on my car I will give a detailed review.

[Demon Barber]

Originally Posted by Greer

I just bought a 2022 M5 and the Carbon Ceramic brakes are so much better and smoother than the pre-LCI M5's. They were to grabby before and now they feel so much better balanced. As others have mentioned, the LCI has the updated dampers from the M8 and the car feels less harsh driving on all surfaces. When I get more miles on my car I will give a detailed review.

Any idea if updated dampers can be installed on a 2018 model?

[ambletx]

Originally Posted by DDD31

I am surprised at how aggressive the downshifts are when coming to a stop.

I'm surprised at all the comments regarding this. This is one of my favorite things about my LCI. I love that I don't have to force the burbles and pops when coming to a stop, it just does it.
Also, I think that the burbles/pops are much more pronounced than they were on my 2018 base, and I had the exhaust valves permanently open on that car.

I always run my car maxed out (sport+ everything, D3/S3), and have noticed the "lurch" issue that others have noted. It's like the car is going to fall on its face, and then WHAM!! Hello throttle. It doesn't do it all the time, but I have observed it from time to time.

As far as ride comfort, I honestly can't tell the difference between my 2018 base and my 2021 LCI comp. Both cars were always run in the settings I listed above.

In terms of is it quicker/faster, I'm still on the fence here. Both my 2018 and now my 2021 had/have RC (map 7) and BMC air filters as mods, and my Dragy times between the two are very close. I actually think that my 2018 was faster 60-130 than my LCI. Waiting for cooler temps though to do more runs in the LCI

As far as Carplay goes, it is light years ahead in terms of quickness/response compared to my 2018. My old car would constantly lose connection to the car, and sometimes it would require a full restart of the car to reconnect to my phone. That's not the case with the LCI, it just works and works well in comparison.

I haven't noticed a "clunk" in going from park to drive but will start to pay attention to see if my car does the same thing.

[Greer]

Originally Posted by Fantastic 5

Wider fenders, please!!!!

To BMW: No, wide fenders on the M5. No. No. No. I don't think they look proper on an executive saloon that I will be picking up clients with and doing a lot of business with. Truth be told, the new M3 sedan has gotten so big, just purchase that car and boom, you have all the wide fenders you could desire.

[IBOOSTU]

iv had a pre lci and now have the lci i can say my pre lci was def MORE louder with pops and bangs with the M PERFORMANCE exhaust but the LCI ALOT SMOOTHER TRANNY AND RIDE QUALITY WISE

[PunjabiM3]

Originally Posted by wesleyan92

Folks - after 6 weeks of driving the LCI, here are my observations on the deltas compared to my pre-LCI. There is absolutely no science behind this, just my feel. Curious to see what others think:

- The car rides smoother in all chassis modes; this is most obvious given the M8 suspension pass throughs. The balance on comfort chassis is near perfect. In my pre-LCI, I felt the need to default to sport chassis mode for handling but it always felt a bit harsher

- The car feels faster in all modes. In D2 gear shift mode, it feels like the gears hold longer. This is the biggest change I see. I never felt like I was going to go jail for driving my pre-LCI but in LCI, I am always feeling like this is just too fast for public roads

- The transmission in my car is "clunky" when I initially shift to drive off Park...it is not smooth at all. Probably unique to my car and probably some issue going on. Also, when I turn the car off, 50% of the time, I feel a clunk/thud in my rear end coming from the bottom of the car. Super weird.

- iDrive and Apply Car Play - the car play connection is lighting fast at ignition on. In pre-LCI, there was always a 15-20 second lag

- Less pops and cracks in sport and sport plus mode - UGH

- Cosmetic - I am starting to dig the new headlights. This was a hard sell but coming around to it. I also like how the right and left rear intake areas don't have the web mesh cover

We are so fortunate to be enjoying this car - LCI or pre-LCI.

I have had mine since Jan 2nd and have also been experiencing this thud coming from the rear when putting the car into park. I wonder if perhaps there is something wrong with the rear diff? What is the build date on your car? Please post if you figure out what it is coming from, I have thought about taking the car to have it looked at but it is periodic and nothing that sounds bad, at least not yet.

[wesleyan92]

Originally Posted by PunjabiM3

I have had mine since Jan 2nd and have also been experiencing this thud coming from the rear when putting the car into park. I wonder if perhaps there is something wrong with the rear diff? What is the build date on your car? Please post if you figure out what it is coming from, I have thought about taking the car to have it looked at but it is periodic and nothing that sounds bad, at least not yet.

Agree; it's not that bad, is not getting worse, and doesn't impact any performance or operation. My build date was March 2021.

[Fantastic 5]

Well, Greer….by the same token, if you're picking up clients and don't want wider fenders but still want an executive saloon, then you can get a 550i.

M5 should be a more visually distinctive than it is

[Greer]

[QUOTE if you're picking up clients and don't want wider fenders but still want an executive saloon, then you can get a 550i.
/QUOTE]

Look at my signature, I am M5 do or die.

[e92hunter]

It seems that BMW changed the part number for the F90 shortblock and added “LDS coating” for the LCI cars. This is in line with the S58 having LDS coating. I don’t know why it wouldn’t be announced though. Here’s a better explanation from Holdax :

“Looked up the S63 engines at realoem.com and the older and newer short engines have different parts numbers.
From 7/2019 it says its LDS coated meaning most likely means its the cylinder bores and probably the cast aluminum block material is changed too.
It's probably the same stuff as in other newer engines like the S58 ect.

Also the pistons and some crank bearings have different parts numbers they're maybe more changes but thats what i could see at quick glance.”