[Diirek]

Picked up a pre-owned 2019 X5 xDrive50i a few weeks ago and I'm loving the thing. My commute is a combination of backroads, city streets and highway. I get more than enough performance when in Eco mode, but it seems more aggressive than it should be? The eco mode in my older 3 series made the car almost undriveable, as it completely neutered the car to where I didn't feel confident merging, etc. Def no issue with the X5 in this respect.

Sport + mode turns the thing into an absolute rocket, with very aggressive throttle mapping and downshifts. Kinda feels like my 3-series after installing aftermarket ECU and TCU tunes.

My question is, is the 50i (non-M but M-sport package) really tuned this aggressively from the factory, or is there a possibility the previous owner installed a tune and did no revert prior to trading in? The car was purchased through a BMW dealership. Does BMW check for aftermarket tunes when inspecting/preparing for resale? Any way to check myself?

[Bolt1949]

Originally Posted by Diirek

Picked up a pre-owned 2019 X5 xDrive50i a few weeks ago and I'm loving the thing. My commute is a combination of backroads, city streets and highway. I get more than enough performance when in Eco mode, but it seems more aggressive than it should be? The eco mode in my older 3 series made the car almost undriveable, as it completely neutered the car to where I didn't feel confident merging, etc. Def no issue with the X5 in this respect.

Sport + mode turns the thing into an absolute rocket, with very aggressive throttle mapping and downshifts. Kinda feels like my 3-series after installing aftermarket ECU and TCU tunes.

My question is, is the 50i (non-M but M-sport package) really tuned this aggressively from the factory, or is there a possibility the previous owner installed a tune and did no revert prior to trading in? The car was purchased through a BMW dealership. Does BMW check for aftermarket tunes when inspecting/preparing for resale? Any way to check myself?

I owned the same spec 2019 X5 50i M-sport as yours and what you describe is completely normal with a stock 50i. I suggest forgetting about any "eco" modes (it's a V8, after all!) and use either Sport, Comfort or better yet, configure a Sport Individual combination you like. I almost exclusively used Sport mode...comfort felt a little too "floaty" for my likes. I seriously doubt there is any aftermarket tune or race chip installed in your vehicle.

[Diirek]

I appreciate the feedback! I have eco individual and sport individual dialed in with the heaviest steering and stiffest suspension settings. I’m actually blown away with how confident the thing is at high speeds and cornering. I came from a 2020 C43 AMG as a daily and I swear this things has less body roll than that tiny coupe. Hands down a better driving experience and feels much closer to my M3 than I ever would have imagined.

[BlkGS]

See I feel like my M50i is asleep in eco mode. I don't like it, it really slows the throttle input down a lot.

That said, these have a lot of power, you're probably just feeling that. Keep in mind the HP rating BMW touted on these is roughly what they put down at the wheels. So yeah, it's gonna blow a C43 away in power, and it's got a fantastic chassis.

[mmm50i]

Originally Posted by BlkGS

See I feel like my M50i is asleep in eco mode. I don't like it, it really slows the throttle input down a lot.

That said, these have a lot of power, you're probably just feeling that. Keep in mind the HP rating BMW touted on these is roughly what they put down at the wheels. So yeah, it's gonna blow a C43 away in power, and it's got a fantastic chassis.

My M50i also feels asleep in eco mode. I hate having to press the pedal down more, compared to comfort mode, just to accelerate in eco mode. Unless I’m on the highway and using DAP, I never use it.

[njdangelo]

The possibility that it was tuned is low because the only way to do it was by removing the ECU and sending it out to get unlocked. Huge pain in the ass and not really an option if you only have one car. Most people went with a piggy back like a race chip which bmw would absolutely have removed prior to resale. Of course all that changed when mission performance created a dongle to easily unlock ECU without requiring it to be removed. That being said, the car is a beast and certainly pulls harder than the numbers would have you think.

[BlkGS]

Also, to be honest I doubt anyone would have tuned a regular xDrove50i. Someone that would be interested in tuning the vehicle would have likely gone for an M50i, IMO.

[TurtleBoy]

Originally Posted by BlkGS

Also, to be honest I doubt anyone would have tuned a regular xDrove50i. Someone that would be interested in tuning the vehicle would have likely gone for an M50i, IMO.

There were no M50i's in 2019.

[BlkGS]

Originally Posted by TurtleBoy

There were no M50i's in 2019.

Well that that blows a hole.in that theory, huh? Haha.

So maybe it was tuned? I still suspect not, but maybe. I think it's more likely the big power difference he's feeling. But hey, clearly I've been wrong before.

If it's tuned, the BMW dealer would have flagged it for powertrain warranty voiding, so the OP could always ask about it.

[njdangelo]

[QUOTE=BlkGS;30825392]Well that that blows a hole.in that theory, huh? Haha.

So maybe it was tuned? I still suspect not, but maybe. I think it's more likely the big power difference he's feeling. But hey, clearly I've been wrong before.

If it's tuned, the BMW dealer would have flagged it for powertrain warranty voiding, so the OP could always ask about it.

They aren’t selling it certified so there is no warranty to void but they certainly would have restored it to stock while doing their presale maintenance

[Diirek]

Originally Posted by BlkGS

Well that that blows a hole.in that theory, huh? Haha.

So maybe it was tuned? I still suspect not, but maybe. I think it's more likely the big power difference he's feeling. But hey, clearly I've been wrong before.

If it's tuned, the BMW dealer would have flagged it for powertrain warranty voiding, so the OP could always ask about it.

I got the X5 more for the utility and safety than anything... I never expected I'd like the driving dynamics as much as I would as this is my first SUV. I'm not a stranger to powerful cars, but guess I never expected a non-M car to be dialed this aggressively from the factory. I knew there was a very slim chance of the car actually having an ECU tune, but wanted to see if other people had the same experience with a stock 50i. You also don't see many of them... When I purchased I was searching for the 50i in black or carbon black with the M-Sport package - I think this was one of 3 available of the east coast.

Also, the C43 sucked. Didn't take me longer than a week to start missing my 3-series. It tries too hard to be a sports car and luxury car at the same time, doing neither very well. It did sound good though.....

[F15_SGM]

Originally Posted by Diirek

I got the X5 more for the utility and safety than anything... I never expected I'd like the driving dynamics as much as I would as this is my first SUV. I'm not a stranger to powerful cars, but guess I never expected a non-M car to be dialed this aggressively from the factory. I knew there was a very slim chance of the car actually having an ECU tune, but wanted to see if other people had the same experience with a stock 50i. You also don't see many of them... When I purchased I was searching for the 50i in black or carbon black with the M-Sport package - I think this was one of 3 available of the east coast.

Also, the C43 sucked. Didn't take me longer than a week to start missing my 3-series. It tries too hard to be a sports car and luxury car at the same time, doing neither very well. It did sound good though.....

I have same car. Completely normal. Sport plus mode has crazy shifting map.

[starlights]

I have a 50i as well and that's how it feels. This is one vehicle that I have driven where eco pro does not seem underpowered and accelerates aggressively when required such as highway merge ramps.

It may be a placebo effect but I thought that before I updated software from 2020 to 2021, it was more aggressive. It felt tamed down a bit after the software update so I stopped updating software and am still on 2021. My reasoning to myself was that perhaps when 50i was first introduced it was near the top of the X5 lineup and therefore needed to demonstrate the aggressiveness, however once the M50i was introduced perhaps BMW decided to tame 50i down a bit with subsequent software updates?

On that count - are the software updates same for 50i and M50i? in that case my theory would be irrelevant

[mobilejo]

Originally Posted by njdangelo

The possibility that it was tuned is low because the only way to do it was by removing the ECU and sending it out to get unlocked.

Not with a 2019 car. That could be tuned via OBD.

If it had a software update after June 2020, then it would need a bench unlock but even that isn't a PITA, mine got done on my driveway in 15 minutes.

[njdangelo]

I have a 2019 and it needed a bench unlock. This was before mission performance had their dongle of course

[TurtleBoy]

Originally Posted by starlights

I have a 50i as well and that's how it feels. This is one vehicle that I have driven where eco pro does not seem underpowered and accelerates aggressively when required such as highway merge ramps.

It may be a placebo effect but I thought that before I updated software from 2020 to 2021, it was more aggressive. It felt tamed down a bit after the software update so I stopped updating software and am still on 2021. My reasoning to myself was that perhaps when 50i was first introduced it was near the top of the X5 lineup and therefore needed to demonstrate the aggressiveness, however once the M50i was introduced perhaps BMW decided to tame 50i down a bit with subsequent software updates?

On that count - are the software updates same for 50i and M50i? in that case my theory would be irrelevant

I doubt they made it less aggressive with a software update, folks would be going nuts. They of course do run the same version of iDrive but they are different versions of the same engine so likely are running different software, tuning, etc.

[mobilejo]

Originally Posted by njdangelo

I have a 2019 and it needed a bench unlock. This was before mission performance had their dongle of course

Yes as I said, if it had a software update (even an OTA) after June 2020, then it would need a bench unlock.

A 2019 car that the owner remapped in 2019/early 2020 wouldn't have needed a bench unlock at that time, as it was before the offending software updates came out.

[Kobe4Ever]

Yes, these cars are really incredible. I have the same 2019 X5 50i model, I also have the active Autowerke GESI downpipes, Racechip on map 5 and BMC air filters, it's certainly very fast and I run 25/20 spacer set up on it, lowered on H&R springs, it handles incredible, and can easily take most cars. How many miles are on yours? What are your plans for it in terms of modifications? I am the second owner of my car, but I believe the sticker price was right around 92K on it certainly not a cheap vehicle. You get a lot of car for the money for sure.

Originally Posted by Diirek

Picked up a pre-owned 2019 X5 xDrive50i a few weeks ago and I'm loving the thing. My commute is a combination of backroads, city streets and highway. I get more than enough performance when in Eco mode, but it seems more aggressive than it should be? The eco mode in my older 3 series made the car almost undriveable, as it completely neutered the car to where I didn't feel confident merging, etc. Def no issue with the X5 in this respect.

Sport + mode turns the thing into an absolute rocket, with very aggressive throttle mapping and downshifts. Kinda feels like my 3-series after installing aftermarket ECU and TCU tunes.

My question is, is the 50i (non-M but M-sport package) really tuned this aggressively from the factory, or is there a possibility the previous owner installed a tune and did no revert prior to trading in? The car was purchased through a BMW dealership. Does BMW check for aftermarket tunes when inspecting/preparing for resale? Any way to check myself?

[Condorll]

After 12,000 miles on my '23 I have never tried ECO mode as it reminds me of Greta.

[Diirek]

Originally Posted by Kobe4Ever

Yes, these cars are really incredible. I have the same 2019 X5 50i model, I also have the active Autowerke GESI downpipes, Racechip on map 5 and BMC air filters, it's certainly very fast and I run 25/20 spacer set up on it, lowered on H&R springs, it handles incredible, and can easily take most cars. How many miles are on yours? What are your plans for it in terms of modifications? I am the second owner of my car, but I believe the sticker price was right around 92K on it certainly not a cheap vehicle. You get a lot of car for the money for sure.

Only aesthetic mods for now besides the exhaust valve controller. I’m sure I’ll do spacers in the spring time too. Bought it with 32k miles but it’s honestly like new. Gonna keep this thing stock to keep it as reliable as possible on focus my mods on the E93 M3.