Driving and owning the M5

[wdc330i]

Originally Posted by 3LOU5

Agreed.

I absolutely LOVE my Contis. It's my first Continental tire, as I've bought Michelins and Pirellis for my BMW in the past.

For me, the ExtremeContact DWS06 performs good enough for me, and the value when compared to the more latest, more expensive Michelins A/S can't be ignored.

Guess I just got tired of giving my hard-earned money to the French company and wanted to "spread the wealth", lol. Gotta keep my car German, including the tires !!

I looked for those for my son's Mazda, but they were not available in the right size. Ended up ordering the CrossClimate 2s.

[3LOU5]

Originally Posted by wdc330i

I looked for those for my son's Mazda, but they were not available in the right size. Ended up ordering the CrossClimate 2s.

You can't go wrong with those CCs. They are consistently highly rated, and was going to purchase them for our minivan.

Ended up with Pirelli Scorpion A/S Plus 3 instead. Again, I was shopping for value, and plus, it's a minivan. It's made for just lolly-gagging around, lol.

[equ]

I said it before and I'll say it again.. The contis I put on the Golf Alltrack are the bees' knees. They are not even an UHP tire, just a nice grand touring one, Pure Contact LS but they are quiet, smooth riding and grippy, especially in the wet. I could see myself putting them on the 340i to make it feel more luxo if the PSS ever wear out.

I'm a long time michelin fan, but I have to admit, especially amongst the all-seasons, Conti has come a long way. Two main reasons I picked the conti over the cross climate were noise and secondly, the car has dedicated snows. Third was a preference for asymmetric over directional for more complete rotation, longer lifetime. I could see that for a four season car the cc or a vredestein might be a better choice, I think of this purecontact conti as a 3-season tire.

[FC]

This morning was further proof of the P-Zeros feeling line crap in the cold. Took the M5 and while it was just under 40F outside, the garage temp was in the 50's and the TPMS confirmed that. It was also sunny. Yet, the tires "slipped" on low speed tight turns. Don't know what it is but it happens on all the car with P-Zero's when cold. Completely unacceptable that tires with internal temperatures of >50F behave like this.

I will definitely change these tires out when they finally wear, but I must admit I am torn as to PS4S or PSAS4 (or other high-performance AS) for the M5.

[Alan]

Originally Posted by FC

This morning was further proof of the P-Zeros feeling line crap in the cold. Took the M5 and while it was just under 40F outside, the garage temp was in the 50's and the TPMS confirmed that. It was also sunny. Yet, the tires "slipped" on low speed tight turns. Don't know what it is but it happens on all the car with P-Zero's when cold. Completely unacceptable that tires with internal temperatures of >50F behave like this.

I will definitely change these tires out when they finally wear, but I must admit I am torn as to PS4S or PSAS4 (or other high-performance AS) for the M5.

I am pretty sure I have both of those for the Corvette, I am very happy with the Allseasons though I like the wheels better on the summer tires otherwise I don’t see a reason to even change out the all seasons.

With an M5 I would go with the all seasons if you plan on not changing them out for winter but you already have a winter set and it seems where you live there is more reason to have winter tires.

[FC]

Some additional thoughts...

Not to say that I regret getting the M5, but most of the time, it's not as fun to drive as one would think. It's big. I enjoy driving the GTI more, honestly (when not in traffic). That said, it is a very nice car and a nice place to be. I often think it is total overkill (it is) and that a non-M would be fine, but the reality is that a non-M would be even more frustrating and less fun to me. You can't get the suspension, the seats, the settings, the response, etc. It may well be that is a class of car I don't like and that is probably true if it were my only car.

I would never pay >>$100k for this car. I could see paying $100k new given all the options. But $130K plus another $20K in aftermarket stuff? No way. In the end, for what I paid and for all the nice equipment, configuration, etc., this is a nice car and worth it, but I would feel a lot more underwhelmed and closer to regret had I paid that same price for a more vanilla M5, which could have easily happened. My particular car is very cool and very nice, and I have come to really like the ///M exhaust. I got lucky.

The thing is, if the car is in a sportier M setting and you drive it even mildly aggressively it comes alive. It gets sharper, more agile, and the nice suspension and drivetrain come through. I can see why reviews are good since they will naturally test drive an M5 in sporty or aggressive ways.

In that regard it reminds me of the F80. Around town in casual driving and at slower speeds it felt big and heavy and unnecessarily uncomfortable. But when pushed it was a great car.

[SCA]

Originally Posted by FC

Not to say that I regret getting the M5, but most of the time, it's not as fun to drive as one would think. It's big.

I can totally relate to this as it pretty much sums up how I feel about the 992 chassis.

[wdc330i]

My 4 GC is really the perfect size for me--a bit bigger than a 3 series, but smaller than a 5. But, I am also not a tall person...

[FC]

A point I left out is how expensive cars are. A loaded M340i is 70k and a loaded i4 M50 is 80k, which is about what I paid for the M5.

OT: These prices make the $30k I paid for the mk7 GTI a bargain. I drove a rental Rav4 and I must say that it feels like a much lower class vehicle compared to the GTI yet is costs as much.

[wdc330i]

Originally Posted by FC

A point I left out is how expensive cars are. A loaded M340i is 70k and a loaded i4 M50 is 80k, which is about what I paid for the M5.

OT: These prices make the $30k I paid for the mk7 GTI a bargain. I drove a rental Rav4 and I must say that it feels like a much lower class vehicle compared to the GTI yet is costs as much.

Yeah. Not sure I want to climb the mountain again when it's time to replace my car (no time soon). Will probably just go with a Mini-something. Although, even a Mini may be $70k as well in 5 years...